smallbore - open sights and position

clamdigger · Post by **clamdigger** » Fri Jul 06, 2012 7:29 pm

I have been shooting NRA smallbore for about 6 years and am using an Anschutz 1913 with a 6805 rear sight. I have a couple of issues I would like advice with. I am 51 years old, have been myopic since I was 15 and now need to use reading glasses in the last three years.

I am starting to do well with scope, but with open sights, I am terribly inconsistent. It feels like my eye is not lined up with the rear sight or I am looking through it at an angle. The rear aperature never looks round, but more like a half moon at times. I have considered getting some sight blocks so that I can raise the cheekpiece to the same height as when I shoot with my scope and get my head more square to the sights. But then I realize have to watch for any canting. Or perhaps it is my glasses which is an old pair of trap shooting glasses I bought 7-8 years ago. Not sure what to do for glasses with someone with my vision.

At one match, I accidently left my normal cheekpiece at home and had to fashion one out of a buttplate carrier and an extra cheekpiece from another competitor. I had my best open sight score ever. That was probably due to no movement in the checkpiece at all and it is felt very hard against my cheek.

Last question. What is the best source of information for adjusting your rifle to get your best position. I do have 'Ways of the Rifle' but it does seem to tell you what to do if you first start shooting and get a new rifle. Give me a simple sequence for setting my the rifle for a good position.

NMC_EXP · Post by **NMC_EXP** » Fri Jul 06, 2012 8:56 pm

Here is a link to an article by German Salazar (distinguished small bore prone) regarding setting up a rifle. In this case it is an Eliseo tube gun but the sections regarding how to position the rear sight and cheek rest should apply to the Anschutz.

http://riflemansjournal.blogspot.com/20 ... stock.html

Regards

Jim

Tim S · Post by **Tim S** » Sat Jul 07, 2012 7:02 am

I'd suggest a trip to an optician who understands shooting, or who is happy for you to bring along your sights (or even rifle). A recent thread discussed the calculations, but essentially you need a slightly different prescription from everyday glasses. As we age it becomes harder for our eye muscles to focus the eye, so a lens made to the correct prescription helps. I got my first lens at 27, and found it made a difference; I no longer had to try to focus properly, the lens did it for me.

Yes, head position is important. Have you tried making a new cheekpiece since your lash-up? I presume that you had to give the borrowed parts back. A set of raiser blocks may help to raise up your head, especially if you shoot a metal stocked rifle as these have very shallow fore-ends.

DavePat · Post by **DavePat** » Sun Jul 08, 2012 4:02 am

Clamdigger - I'm 56, shoot smallbore 3 position with open and aperture sights and also scope. I just went thru the process of getting shooting glasses as well as everday glasses and based on my experiance here is what I would do.

1. Get a pair of shooting frames like the follow examples.

http://www.knobloch-schiessbrillen.de/w ... g-glasses/

http://www.intershoot.co.uk/acatalog/Varga_Frames.html

Champions are the best but also the most expensive. The Olympic archers are great. They can be adjusted while on the face.

2. Go to your optomitrist and have your eyes examined and get an updated prescription.

3. Then contact a gentlemen named Art at the following web sight and tell him what you want to do. He will ask you a few questions about your shooting, your sights and also your prescription. You will send him your frames and he can make a lens for you for $ 40. I can use my scope, open sights and aperture sights with the same lens and the front sight and target are in perfect focus as well as my scope image.

http://www.shootingsight.com/

clamdigger · Post by **clamdigger** » Sun Jul 08, 2012 4:44 pm

Good information about the rifle setup. I think I will try setting up my 1913 with those instructions.

I think I will buy some shooting glasses up at Camp Perry in a couple of weeks. I really feel like I could do much better if I could see through the rear sight better. Not sure if that is due to my glasses or the alignment of the rear sight with my eye.

I have tried setting up the cheekpiece in a similar way as the adhoc fashioned cheekpiece but it still does not fee the same way. We will see what happens after following that setup in blogspot.

Thanks everyone for the information.

Tim S · Post by **Tim S** » Mon Jul 09, 2012 3:27 am

Regarding the cheekpiece, there is no rule that you have to use the one from the factory. Plenty of shooters recounter the factory shape with rasps, chisels, or epoxy. Others start afresh with a different piece of wood.