Rifle butt placement

[kransky93]

Hi fellas
Just wondering what everyone else does in regards to the placement of their rifle butt in their shoulder. Do you try and put it in the same place every time? Or
does it change depending on how your body is positioned? E.g shooting from a car window or going prone etc.
thanks

[GQshayne]

Both.

Repittion is best, but circumstances often do not allow it.

[Oldbloke]

Both.

Repittion is best, but circumstances often do not allow it.

[JohnV]

It's hard sometimes to get the perfect cheek weld when sticking a gun out a vehicle window . As long as you get the butt in your shoulder reasonably well to control any recoil and have a good centered sight picture and correct eye relief , along with a good padded rest for the fore end then it should shoot ok . I usually take a slightly tighter grip on anything over 243 out the window just in case the stock comb comes up and wacks you a bit because you might have a poor cheek weld . This is particularly a problem when you are the passenger shooter and the bloody driver never turns the vehicle properly to get onto the shot easily or the game moves when you are just about to shoot and you have to angle more out the window to get a shot . That is why big recoil guns can be difficult out the window when you don't have the right rest or position .

[animalpest]

If only everything is the same when we are shooting in the field!
Whether a hasty rest against a tree standing, a log when kneeling or shooting out of vehicle, you need to make the most of the position you have. Simply getting a good sight picture and putting the butt somewhere on your shoulder can be the best you have. Getting a good shot away in these circumstances is what makes good field shooters and hunters and separates them from the "on the bench" shooters.

On the weekend I had to shoot some animals in culverts where the pipe was only 300mm high but the entrance was partly covered in dirt. The ground was uneven and had rocks and thick vegetation at the entrance. Just actually getting a sight picture was enough and I was trying laying sideways, upside down and all sorts of things to even put the scope on the animals! Then actually being able to have the scope align without hitting the top of the culvert and running out of room, having the torch at the right angle to see and contend with a less than agile body of an aging shooter (jeez I was sore on Monday)

As JV said, shooting out of a vehicle has its own challenges, you may be leaning way out with the side of the mirror as a rest and your bum halfway out the seat, the animal moves, your driving buddy doesn't think of the best position for you, or you don't have the experience to set yourself up.

You just need to get the rifle somewhere on your shoulder sometimes and be able to get a steady but good sight picture! Obviously if its a hard kicker that will be even more challenging but in answer to your question, you need to be able to adapt. Mind you, I have more than once shot animals from the vehicle that ae well behind and not had the rifle even near my shoulder which is fun when shooting out of the wrong eye!

[kransky93]

Thanks for the replies.
I’m having trouble when I put the rifle in the “shoulder pocket” the top of rifle butt sits on my collarbone which is comfortable, but causes the rifle butt to slide right causing my shots to pull left. If I have the butt of the rifle under the collarbone it’s too low for my head and in positions such as prone, the rifle just slips straight down because there’s nothing really there. What I’ve been doing if putting the rifle butt further out on my shoulder past the “shoulder pocket” pretty much where the shoulder join and collarbone meet and that seems pretty solid and stable.
I guess what I’m trying to figure out is am I doing something wrong? And or does it matter that I’m not using the shoulder pocket?

[JohnV]

It sounds to me like your elbow is too low making it harder to hold the butt in the shoulder well. When you raise your elbow up it flexes the front shoulder muscle and creates a better position and more padding for the butt to push on and getting it off the collar bone .
Try that . Everyone is a bit physically different so it does not matter so much if the butt position is not exactly the same as others as long as the gun is held well so it does not slip out or jump back at you under recoil and you get the right sighting alignment . Using iron sights or scopes . Where the collar bone ends is pretty much the normal spot . The stock length of pull might be too short for you which tends to push the elbow back too far .
This reminds me of a funny thing an ex pro shooter said to me , when I asked as an inexperienced teenager , what was the biggest cartridge I could use for spotlighting , he said if you can't shoot it off your " balls " it's got too much recoil . I nearly fell over laughing .