I see a lot of guys talking about how the fundamentals are different with a gas gun than with a bolt a action, but usually it's left at that and nobody gets very specific on what's different. I would assume breathing, trigger pull and sight picture should be the same, but what's different? What do I need to be doing to make sure I'm getting the best out of the rifle? I shoot exclusively from a bench with a bipod and rear bag and generally at 100 yards. I use a board clamped to the front of the bench to push against with the bipod to load it ( I do this with both my AR and bolt action). As far as equipment all I'm going to say is my AR has a good quality barrel, good trigger and good, mid priced glass. I'm not going to go into specifics on what I shoot cause I don't want this thread deteriorating into a "what you have is crap, go buy this" thread and keep it about fundamentals of marksmanship when shooting an AR. So what do I need to do to get to the point where the only way to improve is to make changes in equipment and ammo?
- Thread starter rcmigpilot
- Start date
Like you, I had read this numerous times but never any details. So about 6 months ago I started thinking about it from an engineering standpoint because I wasn’t happy with the results of my shooting and this is what I came up with.
On a bolt gun there is only a rearward, into the shoulder, force that is produced when the bullet starts to move forward. Newton’s Third Law. On a gas gun there is a rearward force, from the bullet, and a forward force produced from the bolt carrier group as it returns to battery. The forward force is dependent on the mass of the bolt carrier group (BCG) and the buffer and the buffer spring force. Force=Mass x Acceleration. This is Newton’s Second Law.
Stating the obvious, as the bullet starts down the barrel there are components that are moving and producing unwanted forces, both forward and rearward, in the rifle while the bullet is still in the barrel which can change the POI. To minimize the movement of the rifle caused by these forces, I load the bipod, which minimizes the rearward movement, and once the bipod is loaded I apply a rearward force on the grip pulling it harder into my shoulder to minimize the forward movement. It has improved my groupings notably and also keeps the rifle on target for quicker follow up shots.
Ironically about a month ago I was watching Magpul’s “The Art of the Precision Rifle” and Todd Hodnett told the person he was instructing, who had an M110, the same thing I have been doing. Todd stated to apply “medium” pressure to pull back. I don’t know how to define “medium” pressure. I have just been pulling back “firmly”, again I can’t define “firmly”. I don’t know if this helps you but it works for me. I have a Knights SR-25 E2 PR M-LOK.
On a bolt gun there is only a rearward, into the shoulder, force that is produced when the bullet starts to move forward. Newton’s Third Law. On a gas gun there is a rearward force, from the bullet, and a forward force produced from the bolt carrier group as it returns to battery. The forward force is dependent on the mass of the bolt carrier group (BCG) and the buffer and the buffer spring force. Force=Mass x Acceleration. This is Newton’s Second Law.
Stating the obvious, as the bullet starts down the barrel there are components that are moving and producing unwanted forces, both forward and rearward, in the rifle while the bullet is still in the barrel which can change the POI. To minimize the movement of the rifle caused by these forces, I load the bipod, which minimizes the rearward movement, and once the bipod is loaded I apply a rearward force on the grip pulling it harder into my shoulder to minimize the forward movement. It has improved my groupings notably and also keeps the rifle on target for quicker follow up shots.
Ironically about a month ago I was watching Magpul’s “The Art of the Precision Rifle” and Todd Hodnett told the person he was instructing, who had an M110, the same thing I have been doing. Todd stated to apply “medium” pressure to pull back. I don’t know how to define “medium” pressure. I have just been pulling back “firmly”, again I can’t define “firmly”. I don’t know if this helps you but it works for me. I have a Knights SR-25 E2 PR M-LOK.
The online training covers this stuff in detail. It will make anyone a better shooter if they study and apply it
