By Dave Smith
First let me say that I have spent the last 15 years of my life learning to shoot and perfect the use of ultra lightweight rifles. I have developed highly sophisticated lightweight carbon fiber barrels as well as rifles capable of extreme accuracy. It is now possible to have world class benchrest quality accuracy in a lightweight rifle.
The high performance available to rifleman today in lightweight packages requires us to address some issues that will insure we can wring out the best in these guns
First, you must understand that lightweight rifles are certainly every bit as accurate as any rifle, and sometimes even more accurate depending on the components used. Do not assume that you are limiting performance simply due to weight..
The main thing to remember is that since the rifle is light, it is more sensitive to all the influences affecting performance: touch, trigger pull, shoulder pressure, bag and or rest pressure, wind as well as the psychological issues such as anticipation of recoil.
In addressing some of these issues I will make an effort to provide suggestions that will help achieve your accuracy and performance goals.
Once the rifle is properly broken in and a maintenance regimen is established, you must first determine what the “money shot” means for your rifle. It it’s a hunting gun, determine what conditions the rifle will be used in and how you most likely will be mounting the gun when taking that all important shot at what could be the trophy of a lifetime. What I mean by this is how will you shoulder the gun? Tight shoulder pressure, light pressure, where will the forend be supported most likely, on shooting sticks, bi-pod or backpack?
Practice at the range that does not reflect field conditions will more than likely give you point of impact differences and take away the more important factor in rifle performance: confidence.
When developing loads and practicing at the range, the first thing to establish is how the gun reacts when dry fired. I suggest putting the smallest aiming point you can see clearly at the longest range you can and then mount the gun. Make all necessary optical adjustments to your scope at its maximum power and then chamber a dummy round. This is important in dry firing to insure that all harmonic factors are identical to field conditions. Watch very carefully through the scope to what happens to your aiming point when the sear breaks. You will be surprised at the amount of movement you see. Take another shot to see if you are repeating your shooting technique to verify any movement you see is the same as the first shot.
Now examine even closer your mount of the gun, is the shoulder pressure what you will use in the field? If so, change your cheek pressure or trigger squeeze a little and fire again. If the movement has diminished, tweak your grip on the gun and repeat until you see the crosshairs stay right where you are aiming. You will soon see how significant your influence on the gun is, no matter how seemingly small of change is made.
I can’t over emphasize the importance of this dry fire practice as taught to me by a world class cast bullet benchrest competitor who actually does this during matches to maintain his shooting technique to insure his performance is solid.
The position of the rifle on the rest is sometimes critical in getting good groups out of your gun while at the range for testing and load development. I have found that the majority of the time lightweight rifles prefer the front rest or forend support to be a little further back than most are used to. I like my rest to be just in front of the chamber area generally.
The rear bag position is less critical to performance, but, the front rest position can cause problems until the sweet spot is located.
Try different rest positions on the forend during your dry firing routine to help establish the most stable position of your gun. If sandbags or some other type of rest is being used during your range sessions, the same influences apply. Try different positions on the forend until your rifle performs to your standards. I would avoid using any rest that pinches tightly the forend or contacts the barrel in any way (like bull bags); and do not use any rest that supports or holds the rifle during recoil (like lead sleds). These products put undue recoil on the weapon, and give false accuracy results. Recoil is part of the game, if you can’t handle the recoil, switch to a lighter caliber.
When this is done and you have established a steady hold during the dry firing, it’s now time to go hot. Load a live round and repeat all the good things you just learned during the dry firing session and put a perfect shot on target. Do not forget to do this dry fire exercise each and every time you go to the range in order to teach yourself what your gun needs from you.
Take a moment during your live fire sessions to let your barrel cool to ambient temperature to insure consistent performance. This is most critical when a lightweight steel barrel is used. You will see the best accuracy when everything you and your rifle do is consistent. You will also save the life of your barrel throat by keeping things cool. You carbon barrel shooters realize this is not a factor in your shooting as far as performance, but, your throat will pay for any shooting done rapidly.
Forget about recoil as a factor in your rifle’s performance. Recoil has a much larger influence on your performance than it does on the rifle. I cannot remember anyone recounting a great shot made on a successful hunt ever mentioning recoil. If the recoil of your rifle is truly detrimental to your shooting , don’t be hesitant to down size caliber or add a muzzle brake. The ability to put the bullet exactly where you want each and every time you pull the trigger is more important than power and speed.
When going to the range for practice, make sure and document in your notebook where that first clean cold bore shot impacts as sell as all other shots taken. That way you can adjust shot placement to reflect where the rifle shoots in any condition.
In closing, I want to reiterate that the mastery of a lightweight high performance rifle is indeed more difficult to achieve then a heavier gun. But, the many advantages far outweight any perceived disadvantages. Don’t forget, there are not shortcuts to anyplace worth going. The ability to shoot great groups with a lightweight rifle makes you a significantly better shooter. The diligence required takes us to higher levels of performance and lets us self-diagnose our technique during dry fire which will prove to be invaluable to each and every shooting discipline.
If you are reading this, you are obviously considering becoming a customer of Lone Wolf Rifle Stocks. As the inventor of the Magnumlite carbon fiber barrel, and the holder of the three patents issued relative to the construction of this barrel system, I can assure you that you cannot and will not find a better stock anywhere. I have used Bob Culbertson stocks exclusively on each and every one of my personal guns as well as every development rifle I have built and will continue to build. Bob’s stock virtually cut my group sizes in half on my first project and I have never looked back.
Good luck in your shooting;
David B. Smith