TargetTalk

in order to reload you have to break your position. I have only just started shooting small bore and my club only has low grade shooters. they say to reload by pivoting your left arm over and down enough to access the ejection port with your right hand. this leaves all of your points of contact with the ground intact but can induce changes in the front hand contact and shoulder/ cheek weld.
I watched a few world cup finals and noticed everyone seems to be lifting their right arm off the ground and reloading without moving the rifle. this wouldnt affect the front hand but then induces more movement in position.

Im assuming this is a better way to do it because it seems all the top shooters are doing this.

is that correct?

The right arm and hand don't actually do much in position, the arm just rests on the rifle. The entire weight of the rifle is over the left arm. It's better to move the right elbow rather than moving the entire position as you say. When reloading by lifting the right elbow off the ground you've just got to focus on putting the right elbow back in the right place. The easiest way to do this is to put your hand on the pistol grip and just drop the right elbow onto the mat. So yes, it's better to reload in the manner of the top shots!

Muffo,

tilting the rifle over to load was common back in the day, particularly when Martini-actioned rifles and two-point slings (which spread the body weight over both elbows) were popular across the Anglophone world. It does have the advantage that the right elbow doesn't move, and doesn't need to be repositioned. It's true that the right elbow doesn't move, but tilting the rifle can upset the left elbow, and the position of the butt in the right shoulder. When shooting on multi-bull targets the right elbow has to be repositioned every few shots anyway. Anschutz rifles are less suited to the tilting method, as the breech is several inches further forward of a Martini* so the rifle has to be twisted further.

As you have seen on ISST TV, and as noted above, most shooters release the grip and extend their arm to load. This does take practise to avoid disturbing the buttplate, but is very reliable once mastered. Yes, the right elbow has to be repositioned, but this is not that difficult. I find it easier to take hold of the pistol grip, and then drop my elbow. The grip is shaped to guide my hand into place, which helps to locate the elbow. If I lead with my elbow, the floor offers no handy markers, so it's all to easy to get the elbow and the hand in the wrong place. This can upset trigger release and interfere with the recoil.

*The new generation of bolt-actions like the Bleiker, G&E Racer, and the new Anschutz and Walther offerings address this by shortening the bolt, so the breech is much closer. Free Rifles stocks, which place the whole action closer to the grip than ISU Standard or Prone-only stocks, also make for easier loading.

Actually, all your suggestions are correct. But I think the most accurate one is to reload where you are comfortable with in moving.

thanks guys. i will modify my position to allow me to lift my right arm to reload

I am kind of late responding to the question and for the most part agree with the raise the right elbow technique, however I would like to add a couple of thoughts.

I was taught to push the gun over to the right and load without raising the elbow. It didn't take long for me to realize though that all that movement destroyed my natural point of aim. It also moved the sling around and basically added nothing to the position.

In loading with the rifle in position staying in the shoulder and not moving anything but the right arm I could keep the rifle aligned on the target between shots and the point of aim moved very little.

In America we shoot in conventional NRA prone matches half of the match with scope sights. When doing this you can keep the gun in the shoulder and the cheek on the check piece between shots and the point of aim can be kept in the bull between shots and allows the shooter to get the sights in the x ring quicker. The same would be true of iron sights when shooting electronic targets. But even with iron sights on paper targets the principle is the same.

Allowances, however, must be made for individual body configurations. It might be that some shooters can adapt to one style better than the other.

Since I shoot a round action Anschutz, the loading port is fairly far forward. I tilt the rifle a little and lift my right arm if need be.

Do whatever is comfortable; if it's painful you will dread loading and your mind will start to wonder, when you really should be thinking as little as possible. Make sure your NPOA is good between every shot. If you move your right arm off the mat, make sure when you set it back down in its new position it's not too close to the rifle, exerting excess pressure sideways on the grip. I am not a coach, so take that with a grain of salt.

Since you said you're new to the game, I would suggest taking the rifle out of your shoulder to load for awhile. This teaches you to regain the position perfectly for every shot. Once you get past the basics, loading from the shoulder is definitely the way to go. Lifting your elbow is significantly more consistent than tilting the rifle over to the side, and with a decent position, you can do it with almost no movement at all.
Matt