setting height of buttplate in smallbore prone

cedric · Post by **cedric** » Thu Feb 10, 2011 7:02 am

HI! I have gone through numerous posts here about setting up the smallbore rifle for prone detailing how to adjust LOP, distance to handstop etc. However there is not even one post about some guidelines to adjust the butt height and butthook for prone position (50M ISSF) Some shooters keep the adjustable butt about 1" over the boreline while some have it parallel to the bore and some have it lower. Can someone point out the correct way this should be adjusted please.

Dave IRL · Post by **Dave IRL** » Thu Feb 10, 2011 7:37 am

It's a pretty personal thing. There's no real set way to do it as such. Look at Sergei Martynov and Matt Emmons. Both are top notch prone shooters, and Sergei has his buttplate very high, raised shoulder, left arm a long way out, while Matt has his very low, high position, shoulders flat. See what feels right for you, experiment. Keep an eye on your recoil magnitude and consistency, what's most comfortable and what gives you the best hold, then keep that and work from there. Even on a more local level you see huge variations, so use your training time and experiment. No shortcuts around that I'm afraid.

Globesmasher17 · Post by **Globesmasher17** » Thu Feb 10, 2011 10:59 am

There are some very good guidelines and ways to set up "the rifle" in the prone section of MEC's "Ways of the rifle".

That being said, it is very much like Dave mentioned ... it's a very personal thing. The key is to have the rifle fits you and your position as perfectly as possible.

The "fun" lies in the experimenting and fiddling ............

bruce · Post by **bruce** » Thu Feb 10, 2011 2:40 pm

Globesmasher17 wrote:There are some very good guidelines and ways to set up "the rifle" in the prone section of MEC's "Ways of the rifle".
............

As I recall it, the recommended starting point is for the centre of the contact patch to coincide with the line of the bore.

Globesmasher17 · Post by **Globesmasher17** » Thu Feb 10, 2011 9:18 pm

There are some good pictures and explanations on pages 87 & 88 of the 3rd edition of the book - "Ways of the rifle 2009".

Strangely enough those pages are in the "standing shooting" portion of the book. The explanations and diagrams show examples of the 3 recommended positions for the buttplate.

Nick · Post by **Nick** » Fri Feb 11, 2011 5:20 am

[quote="bruce]As I recall it, the recommended starting point is for the centre of the contact patch to coincide with the line of the bore.[/quote]

Bruce, what do you mean by "contact patch"? Is it that part of the butt plate which is in contact with the shoulder?

Thanks

Nick

Nick · Post by **Nick** » Fri Feb 11, 2011 5:20 am

[quote="bruce]As I recall it, the recommended starting point is for the centre of the contact patch to coincide with the line of the bore.[/quote]

Bruce, what do you mean by "contact patch"? Is it that part of the butt plate which is in contact with the shoulder?

Thanks

Nick

KennyB · Post by **KennyB** » Fri Feb 11, 2011 7:31 am

For me, the butt plate height is set to:

a) give a comfortable neck position - i.e. the head isn't too cranked back trying to see through the sights. Raising blocks and an adjustable cheekpiece can help here.

b) point the rifle at the target while in position. (according to how high your position is - depending on sling length, handstop position, arm length etc...)

c) transfer the recoil of the rifle directly into the most solid part of the shoulder/chest to minimize muzzle flip - i.e. the bore of the rifle is in line with a point just below the collarbone (in my case).

If you can find a point where all of these conditions are satisfied, you're doing well.

I HAVE seen shooters with the buttplate offset waaaaay out to the side but I can't recommend it. Roughly in line with the bore is my suggestion.

K.

bruce · Post by **bruce** » Sat Feb 12, 2011 6:03 am

Nick wrote:[quote="bruce]As I recall it, the recommended starting point is for the centre of the contact patch to coincide with the line of the bore.

Bruce, what do you mean by "contact patch"? Is it that part of the butt plate which is in contact with the shoulder?

Thanks

Nick[/quote][/quote]

Yes. This is only a rule of thumb, but it's a good place to start.

The final position of the butt plate will depend on your physical geometry and the target height

cedric · Post by **cedric** » Sat Feb 12, 2011 8:28 am

Thanks for the replies guys - appriciate the points raised , Its strange that very little research has been done in this aspect compared to LOP adjustment and handstop adjustment. IMHO this adjustment is very important as the cheeckpiece adjustment is inter-related to this and till the rifle does not sit properly in the shoulder one cannot get a stable position. Well the search continues with a hit and trial method :)