Discussion Forums

Scott Struif

I’m aware that Nathan doesn’t appreciate owners of his books divulging information contained in them, when doing so might cause him to lose sales. I don’t think anything I say here would fall into that category. Much of what he has to say about shooting technique is contained in his free article, “Hold that Forend!”.

Nathan advocates the use of sandbags for bench rest shooting, which can be easily made by filling cut-off sections of old trouser legs with sand. He suggests using a stock with a beefy, flat-bottom forend. This provides a flat surface to rest on the bag, and also gives the shooter a wide, solid place to firmly grip the stock. He further suggests that the forward fingers of the hand rest on the bag, just behind where the stock rests. A further point he makes, which I think may be lost on most readers, is that a sling is essential for optimum stability.

His theory of good shooting technique only makes sense to those of us who understand two things:
1) the rifle wants to move as soon as the shooter begins to pull the trigger, and
2) recoil begins when the firing pin strikes the primer.

He discusses other factors, such as proper cheek weld, buttstock placement on the shoulder, angle of the body relative to line-of-sight, etc. But the main point is stability of the rifle.

He discusses the use of bipods, too. I don’t think he means to advocate their use on a bench. I think he’s talking about their use in the field, where the legs can be resting on a softer surface than the hard surface of a bench. In that case, he has an alternative technique: place the forehand on top of the scope and exert downward pressure on it through the shot. I’ve never tried it. I would never use a bipod where I hunt. However, the technique makes sense. It seems like it would be easier to master than the bench rest technique he advocates.

The only purpose of a bench is to sight-in and test a rifle and ammunition. It’s useless for practicing for hunting, unless you hunt from a bench somewhere you expect game to wander by. It seems to me that the best bench rest technique should be the one requiring the least amount of thought, practice, or skill . . . the one least prone to error, yet still effective.

I haven’t tried it, but it occurred to me that Nathan’s bipod technique could be applied on a bench with sandbags. Make a pile of trouser-leg sandbags aligned with the line of sight. Lay the forend on the pile, and hold the rifle down with your forehand on top of the scope.