Sand bags or sticks

[Eric Krewson]

I sighted my .54 in off sandbags on a solid bench at 50 yards. I was wearing a thick Past recoil pad at the time which extended my length of pull about an inch.

In the woods my shots seemed to be hitting a bit high off my cross sticks so I replicated my shots at home, no recoil pad, no sandbags just my cross sticks while I was seated in a chair like I hunt out of.

I hit 3" high consistently off my sticks with a 12 o'clock hold.

Do you guys think this change of shooting style would make that much difference?

[Pukka Bundook]

I'd say Yes, the change could easily alter POI.

Did you rest the fore-end in the same position, for both types of shooting?  I ask, as there is a tendency to rest further out to-wards the muzzle with X sticks. This will surely send then ball higher.

Good luck on getting it sorted!
Richard.

[smylee grouch]

It's been my experience in shooting x-stix competition that holding the rifle on the forward part of the barrel will print the shot lower compared to holding the forearm on the stix. This is with a somewhat level gun. If the rifle butt is down from level considerably you will have the recoil pitching the gun up, more so if resting on the forearm.

[OldMtnMan]

I think it's smart to always sight in with the same method you hunt with. In my case that means offhand. In your case it's sticks.

[Daryl]

I sighted my .54 in off sandbags on a solid bench at 50 yards. I was wearing a thick Past recoil pad at the time which extended my length of pull about an inch.

In the woods my shots seemed to be hitting a bit high off my cross sticks so I replicated my shots at home, no recoil pad, no sandbags just my cross sticks while I was seated in a chair like I hunt out of.

I hit 3" high consistently off my sticks with a 12 o'clock hold.

Do you guys think this change of shooting style would make that much difference?

Eric - when sighting the rifle in off the sand bags, were you holding the rifle's forend or was it allowed to bounce?

When shooting off the sticks, was the forend or bl. resting in a leather saddle, your hand, or on wood?

All these 5 different hold changes can change the point of impact, along with powder charge, patch, ball and lube changes.

[hanshi]

In more than 50 years of having access to shooting benches, I've always noticed that both ML and modern rifles shoot higher off the bench.  That means I check them out from a sitting position similar to the way I sit and hunt.

[Eric Krewson]

I was resting forearm at the entry pipe and toe of the butt on a bag, not holding the forearm down.

Here is a 5 shot group off the bags at 50 yards. I later moved the sights to make the point of impact to the left and up a up to center of the spot. The other holes are from other guns, mostly my smoothbore while I was working up a load.



On the sticks I was resting the forearm in the same place with the forearm on the wood, actually I made my sticks out of rivercane.

[ddoyle]

"Do you guys think this change of shooting style would make that much difference?"

Yes. especially when exacberated with the recoil pad.

[J Henry]

  Practice like you hunt,,,,

[Standing Bear]

Back when I could get in x stick position butt on ground and get up and was shooting an off hand gun to do so, I was taught to lean the stix back toward the shooter slightly. If stix canted forward, recoil would cause them to cam over Raising the barrel.

Also if shooting an offhand gun from stix or bench, hold the rifle w the left hand (for rh shooter) just as when shooting standing. Then rest the front hand on the stix or sand bag.

Dedicated stix or bench guns are a different story.
TC

[One Shot]

Be it off hand , x sticks or on the bench my rest is always in the same place. Directly in front of the trigger guard. I do not experience any change in POI as a result.

[Eric Krewson]

More testing today, it is obvious that tilting my sticks back slightly brought my point of impact down from 4" high to 1" high, I was getting a cantilever  effect.

I had been shooting off the sticks and found shooting with the gun in my hand a resting on the sticks gave me the best groups.

I did some dry firing practicing my trigger pull as I am bad to snatch the trigger. I found the hammer strike would move my sights about 1" to the left no matter how carefully I squeezed the trigger. I don't get this on sandbags.

I filed my rear sight down a little and got my group right where I wanted it to be.

Thanks for the good advice, stuff that never occurred to me. I like to build guns but don't shoot them as much as I should so I am a little lacking in the finer points of shooting.

Look what came today, that .32 Kibler kit that was on the classified. It is like christmas morning around here.

[Eric Krewson]

Putting all of your advice to work I killed a big doe off my sticks this morning, I hit her exactly where I was aiming.

I didn't take a good picture of her where she fell and I don't like to post what I consider a disrespectful picture of a deer hanging gutted. I had to cut my way into a blackberry briar thicket 8' tall to retrieve her and didn't take my camera with me.

[smylee grouch]

Good job Eric. Now you can start on that new kit.      

[hanshi]

Nothing like the smell of success, Eric.

[Standing Bear]

 

TC