Advanced Marksmanship weak side recoil?

[GUNNER10]

while shooting the M110's today, we ended up shooting from weak side while shooting prone. something that we all immediatly noticed was that within 3 or so shots, the recoil was pretty much brutal.

first shot, damn,
rebuild and confirm a good position

second shot, holy shit,WTF???
reconfirm a good position

third shot, fuck that, back to strong side,

had no problems hitting out to the 500 we shot, but i have to say, we were totally caught by surprise on this? anybody have any insight onto what is going on here and how to manage such an issue?

 

[Niles Coyote]

I shot support side for the first time last year during a Rifle’s Only class and found that with the awkwardness of doing something new I was adding a lot of tension or muscle in my shoulder. By the end of the day I was sore. I am not sure if that is what you are experiencing but it may be worth a look. Also make sure you are resting your cheek on the stock as you would for strong side as that will add to the perceived recoil if you’re not.

 

[GUNNER10]

it may have been somthing along those lines, next time we go out, i am going to revisit this issue

 

[Powder_Burns]

For me, when shooting weak-side I think my tendency is an inadequate natural point of aim, ie the rifle is not parallel with my body and I need to adjust NPA so the rifle is pointing more 'inside'. I seem to have a habit of under-compensating the alignment of rifle/shooter/target. This might be something to look into.

 

[relentless1]

I am not clear about what weakside shooting means...is that something someone can explain to me please?

 

[GUNNER10]

just shooting from the opposit shoulder that you normally shoot from. its crazy how differnt it feels.

 

[Graham]

Most people who don't practice shooting from the weak side will tense-up and muscle the rifle in order to get into a weak-side position that permits them an unobstructed view of the scope image. Not being relaxed behind the rifle, and forcing the position, over time leads to muscle soreness. Not being straight behind the rifle, and cocking one's head, makes the perceived recoil greater.

 

[MattyG]

yup Graham hit the nail on the head. I do a lot of week side shooting in training and comps and I find it interesting to watch others try it who do not practice. for most of us we build the setup around our strong side and some of those cannot even get a sight picture week side. Even training for it I find my muscles are tensed trying to find a good sight picture and stable shot. it throws everything off, including perceived recoil and follow through.