First of all, new to the board so as a quick introduction…..my name is Michael. Have been shooting rifles for a few years but have only started shooting issf air rifle in the last couple of months. So far just shooting casually and really enjoying it .
Now onto the question…. I’m struggling a bit with my left arm placement while shooting. So far I have been working with the standard position of hip popped forward with my left elbow on my front hip. While this is reasonably stable for me, it creates a rather uncomfortable forward bend in my torso so as my elbow reaches my hip. I also have some problems getting enough height with this method. If it makes a difference, I don’t use a shooting suit at all and probably don’t intend on getting one.
Does anyone have any suggestions of alternative/modifications to the standard position I could try?
Not everyone is able to shoot offhand with their “hip popped forward.” Female shooters are sometimes more adept in their ability to shoot comfortably in that manner. My suggestion to you is that you consider reading one or two of several good books on position shooting. CMP offers Gary Anderson’s book, “Coaching Young Rifle Shooters.” It is available through their e-store at $21. NRA offers Launi Meili’s “Rifle, Steps to Success.” This book is part of the Human Kinetic series for Athletes and is available in NRA’s Program Fulfillment Center in the Training and Education section of their website. Priced at $30. I have not read “Ways of the Rifle” but heard it is also informative.
1. Make sure your elbow ends up directly below or forward of the rifle so the weight of the rifle is not pulling away.
2. issf rules allow a palm rest not to exceed 120mm from the center of the bore. Use the largest legal palm rest to get the maximum height.
3 Adjust the butt plate to the height where the rifle comfortably settles on the target (within the rules).
You probably knew most of that but that is my limited advice without seeing your setup/position.
A LOT depends on your physical build. When I was much slimmer I could throw out my left hip and rest the elbow on it directly. Some additional support and rifle direction was gained by my upper arm resting along my rib cage. I was tall shooter 6'3"/170# and had to use a actual palm rest (1st a Mr. Cairo/Freelands then a more skeletonized palm rest) shooting a 52C in college. The palm rest was nearly maxed out to get an up right head position. I experimented in practice with a "fist rest" style hold and had more center shots standing but more "way outs". Probably because I had less hip support using this technique.
If you do use an actual "palm rest" bone up on the rules for its use (depth measure from the bore).
When I graduated I bought a Anschutz 54 Mod 1407 (This was in the mid 70's). In shooting the 1407 I did not used a palm rest. I was a very early advocate of the shooting block. Even with the deep forend of the 1407 I still needed the additional height that a block gave.
Current schools of thought is using a block rest over a "palm rest". It brings the arm holding structure closer to the body and still be within the rules. The deep forend of the 1407 AND the block would/might be illegal today.
@Xman the original poster was referring to air rifle hence the limits on the depth of the fore end stock (120mm). Smallbore has a 200mm limit on the palm rest per the rules I linked above.
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