Recently it came to my attention that there may be some tips or suggestions that I and others could offer with benching the M14/M1A.
Please add your tips and suggestions.
1) First off, pick a good day, light/no winds.
2) Solid bench is critical.
3) Work your reloads/ammo carefully. Don't expect best accuracy with crap ammo. I trim every round, hand prime, weigh every charge and use Sierra 168's.
4) A good bench setup is critical. Get a good stand and front bag.
5) Good rear bags are important. I like the leather rabbit ear type.
6) Lube the bags with dust or graphite. Make sure things slide smoothly.
7) Return the rifle to exactly the same spot (critical with the m-14)!
8) Experiment with how you hold it. My Super likes no contact with me other then the trigger (squeeze between trigger and guard) while my National wants a cheek weld.
9) Make sure that after recoil the gun is aiming at the target. If it is skewed the shot will be bad.
10) Use your wind indicators
11) Read the benchrest sites.
12) Get a bench rest coach to help you out.
13) Most important have fun!
Other suggestions?
Picture of my standard setup:
Please add your tips and suggestions.
1) First off, pick a good day, light/no winds.
2) Solid bench is critical.
3) Work your reloads/ammo carefully. Don't expect best accuracy with crap ammo. I trim every round, hand prime, weigh every charge and use Sierra 168's.
4) A good bench setup is critical. Get a good stand and front bag.
5) Good rear bags are important. I like the leather rabbit ear type.
6) Lube the bags with dust or graphite. Make sure things slide smoothly.
7) Return the rifle to exactly the same spot (critical with the m-14)!
8) Experiment with how you hold it. My Super likes no contact with me other then the trigger (squeeze between trigger and guard) while my National wants a cheek weld.
9) Make sure that after recoil the gun is aiming at the target. If it is skewed the shot will be bad.
10) Use your wind indicators
11) Read the benchrest sites.
12) Get a bench rest coach to help you out.
13) Most important have fun!
Other suggestions?
Picture of my standard setup: