Is a hook butt plate a necessity for prone?

[JH]

Hi all!

I currently shoot 50m prone only with a Anschutz 2013 (690mm) in a wood stock. The stock has the standard hook plate fitted. What are the advantages of using the hook plate in the prone position?

I have to offset my butt plate AND cant my rifle to try and get it close to my head. If I remove the hook, I can position the rifle closer in my shoulder and head without offsetting or canting. However, I don't want to remove the hook if it is going to have a detrimental effect on my shooting.

I realise that I need to experiment to find my own preference (and that I will do), but in the mean time I would like to learn from the past experience of the other shooters.

Kind regards,
JH

[Brian Carstensen]

I had the same problem as you did for a while with the hook and didnt want to use it. But i discovered all i had to do was turn the hook out from my body so it was more or less in my are pit in prone and it fixed all those problems.

[JH]

Ok, experimented by removing the hook off of the buttplate and found that the recoil (and my confidence!) was seroiusly affected! The shot recoil was all over the show and the hook really help more than I realised.

Also tried Brian's advice (thanks!) and it seemed to help a bit.

The problem is still present, though. If I don't offset the buttplate from the rifle and cant the rifle, I have to bring my head down sideways to the stock (my head is then not upright). Is it a problem if your head isn't upright? I was always thaught that my head should be upright and my buttplate in line with my stock in order to have a proper shot recoil. If I offset the buttplat to bring the rifle inwards towards my head, will that have an adverse and unwanted effect on the recoil?

Any advice?

[Dave IRL]

I used to cant the rifle in by means of an offset buttplate and it can be made work. It just requires you to reorganise other elements of your position to get the same nice, clean recoil. I've since changed to a Precise stock though, and found it sits in close and I can shoot comfortably without a cant. The foremost thing is to be comfortable, and if this means a vertical head position for you, then cant the rifle and offset the buttplate. For what it's worth, even with the vertical rifle, my buttplate is still slightly turned off the vertical for the best fit in the shoulder, and my recoil is fine.

[RobStubbs]

If removing the hook causes shots and recoil patterns to change, then you are most likely using the hook too much. The hook is merely there to assist consistent location of the butt in the shoulder, it should not be performing any mechanical function. If you think about it the hook sits under the armpit against the jacket and the soft tissue in the armpit. Movements of the hand will move that soft tissue, it is not therefore a solid position.

Rob.

[Guest]

As a reformed canter I'll add my twopenn'orth.

As Dave IRL has already noted, if canting the rifle works for you, and you're happy with your performance, why worry?

I have the butt offset to the right, I use off-set sights (only about 4mm), but I found that turning the hook out (rotating it to the right of the boreline), allowed me to place the butt vertically in my shoulder. I don't have a very wide position for what it's worth.

For a visual explanation look through the World Championship photos for Matt Emmons, his hook is out at nearly 45 degrees, and the plate is moved all the way right.

Tim S
Taunton UK

[guest_66]

It´s tricky to get the setup right, you really need to test it over some time.

My best advice is to loosen the buttplate screws (horisontal) and the hook screw just a little so they can move slightly, get into position and let the buttplate (and hook) move into the place it "wants" to be. When it feels good, carefully remove the buttplate from the shoulder and tighten the screws. A good idea is to have someone help you while doing this.

About the hook: I use it only as a vertical stop, pointing straight back, not touching my arm or torso. But I know some very good shooters who has it towards the arm or the torso, with a great amount of body contact.
It all has to do with your position, so there is no right or wrong way here.

Hope this helps.

[mobarron]

Lones Wigger, the most successful US shooter of the past century and the winner of 10+ National Prone Championships, did not use a hook. He used the old Anschutz prone stock with the plastic buttplate which he raised slightly above the top of the cheekpiece. The only part of the buttplate that touched his shoulder was about the top 1". If you want to try, you can duplicate his approach with the 1913 buttplate by taking off the hook and turning the buttplate upside down. Mike Barron