Quote Originally Posted by Maury Krupp View Post
That target looks a lot like you're trying to "drive" the rifle. Trying to *force it* to shoot where you want it to instead of letting your position and natural point of aim *let it* shoot where it's going to naturally. That doesn't work; the rifle always wins.

When it comes to positions, everybody's body is different. You need to find what works for your body.

That said, no position should include any straining. Straining means you're using your muscles and that's something you don't want to do. Not only do you get tired but it's impossible to strain the exact same amount the exact same way for every shot. And if nothing else highpower is about being almost obsessive-compulsive about shot-to-shot consistency.

You want your positions to be as relaxed as possible. That way you can repeat them consistently. You may need to stretch or push a bit to get into position, especially at first, but once you're in you should be relaxed with very little to, if possible, no muscle tension.

Another key to a repeatable position are "landmarks." Having specific places for body parts to be in relation to other body parts or places on the rifle.

For me those head position landmarks are the receiver heel, trigger guard, thumb, and cheekbone:

-My thumb touches the left rear corner of the receiver heel
-My middle finger's second knuckle touches the back of the trigger guard resting in the depression in the wood where the TG latch goes
-My thumb touches my right nostril (but not inside!)
-My cheekbone rests on top of my thumb with the cheek skin/fat rolled up
-Chin slightly forward (but not straining) so I look through the center of my eye socket not the top

All in all pretty much like the Army Training Films.

Another trick is to use the Front Sight Screw to aid in sight alignment and checking head position. Get it tangent with the bottom of the Rear Sight Aperture. Move your head around and see how that alignment changes when your head position changes. Combined with your landmarks this will help you maintain a consistent head position.

Whether you'll see any benefit by using a Center Hold (aka Navy Hold) instead of 6 o'clock or any other hold depends on what you can see and repeat. Ditto for the NM Aperture. You may have other vision or shot execution issues that affect your group size and location but neither a different hold nor a new aperture will do anything to fix position issues.

Maury
Thank for your help, Murray. One other thing I've thought of. I did not let my left hand rest against farward swivel in the sling, I tend to "choke-up" and place my have further back. I betcha I varied the sling tension as well. Would this have contributed to the issues seen in the 1st photo? Thanks again for all your help.

Mike D