Free Recoil
Free Recoil. What does that mean? Free Recoil is essentially that, allowing the rifle to recoil naturally, without any substantial resistance from the shooter.
It is a matter of hit or miss past about 300-400 yards. In the precision rifle world or shooting off of barricades for that matter, free recoil is a must. Long range shooting requires constant consistency. It doesn’t matter what gun, what bullet or what gear you use, find what works for you and stick to it. The same goes for free recoil. It doesn’t matter which side of the platform you shoot from, find a way to do it and practice it over and over again. It may not feel comfortable (at first) to the traditional shooter trying to get into precision rifle shooting but muscle memory will come easily with practice. I can’t express this enough; practice practice practice. Experiment at home before you go to the range.
Start by MAKING SURE YOUR GUN IS CLEAR AND UNLOADED BEFORE YOU BEGIN.
Grab your favorite barricade bag (like the CrossTac Saddlebag pictured above which is what I use). Find or build a barricade in your backyard that you can lay your bag on. Staple a paper target to your fence as far away as you can. Lay your gun on the bag to where it will balance itself without touching it. For right handed shooters, place your left hand over the scope in front of your windage turret (vise versa for lefties). Get behind the gun, look through the glass, DO NOT SHOULDER THE STOCK. This step is the most important. If you shoulder the stock, your reticle will move all around the target and you may impact 1 out 10 if you’re lucky. The only 2 points of contact on the gun shall be your left hand over the scope and your right trigger finger. The stock should be floating with your left hand controlling the muzzle. Put your cross hairs on target and slowly pull the trigger rearward and let it surprise you. As mentioned above, practice makes perfect. Dry firing your gun in these positions is the most effective practice you could ever do. It teaches you how to pull your trigger without jerking it, and how to hold your rifle steady on target with the least amount of contact possible. Once you think you have it, take your new skill to the range and see how you do. The first time will more than likely not be perfect but don’t give up. Watch how you are shooting and correct yourself. We are all creatures of habit and I promise you that your natural reaction will be to shoulder the rifle (AGAIN DON’T DO THIS). Correct yourself on the fly. Once you’ve mastered free recoil, you will be surprised how accurate of a shooter you are at distances out to 1,100 yards and beyond. Hope you guys take this advice and stick to it; I did and it made a HUGE difference in my accuracy when it counts the most!
As always, see you at the range.