Advanced Marksmanship Shooter position related POI shift

[Bad Wolf]

I am having a problem with POI shift due to slight changes in shooter/bag position. My rifle, a .17 cal CF, has been rear pillar bedded, barrel floated and fitted with a very light 2 stage trigger - otherwise it's factory standard.

After reading many excellent, informative, posts on this forum I have experimented with rifle hold and types of bags but still the problem remains. About 0.4 MOA shift solely due to shooter related position.

My question: is it worth buying a specialist, custom rifle which has been properly fettled or will I still experience POI shift due to shooter postion regardless of the rifle ?

TIA

 

[Lowlight]

Re: Shooter position related POI shift

It's the shooter not the rifle, your rifle doesn't know the difference in what position it is shooting, so you need to practice more.

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[jpretle]

Re: Shooter position related POI shift

Practice is what developes shooting positions. Once you develope the muscle memory, you will know when you are out of position and can correct. Practice, practice practice, it the only way to develope the muscle memory. Positioning becomes nearly automatic once this accomplished.

 

[kraigWY]

Re: Shooter position related POI shift

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">is it worth buying a specialist, custom rifle which has been properly fettled or will I still experience POI shift due to shooter postion regardless of the rifle ?</div></div>

No sir, you cant gimic your way to good scores. The main reason for change is zero do to changing positions is head placement. I think if you checked, you will find that Position Shooters, as in High Power or Small Bore Rifle shooting, the shooter has differant zeros for differant postitions.

Example: You slow fire standing is going to have a differant zero then you setting rapid fire. The reason for this, or at least for me and most of those I have coached, is you have a differant position for you head (you shouldnt but you do), plus in rapid fire one has the tendency to bleed into the black, so even your setting or prone positions zeros may be a tad differant between your slow fire sighting shots and you rapid fire record shots.

LOwlight is correct, practice corrects this, spend the gimic money on rounds down range. Over time you'll find you are making the above corrections without even knowing it, you'll subconsciencely glance through your spotting scope and make elev/windage corrections and not know it. You'll try to mark the data in your score (data) book but wont remember what you did until you count back down to you're mechanical zero to see what you did.

Shooting is habits. Good practice instills good habits, your subconscience will force you do revert to those habits (good or bad) without thinking about it.

Too many people try to over think things, over gimic or over math a situation.

 

[acttacus]

Re: Shooter position related POI shift

Practice, but practice productively.

When you shoot, regardless of the position you're in (Prone/sitting/standing... etc), make sure your shooting shoulder is firmly behind the butt stock, and all muscles relaxed. POI change is due to the rifle experiencing a different recoil upon firing a shot at different position, and the different recoil is due to you man handling the rifle instead of letting it recoil naturally.

my 2 cents. Hope this helps.

 

[ker2222]

Re: Shooter position related POI shift

some people take all the mystery out of everything......................

 

[Bad Wolf]

Re: Shooter position related POI shift

I am now paying a lot more attention to maintaining a consistent firing position and the groups are noticeably tighter.

Thanks for all the replies.