Anyone else on here that DOESN’T shoot a lightweight rifle particularly well?

[elkduds]

Good artcle, snake. Reinforces using the sling and front hand on stock forend, I find if I apply too much sling pressure to the forearm of my Tupperware stocked light 270, I can shift point of impact by pulling the forearm against the free floated barrel. That doesn't happen w my wood stock. Also, when properly slung and gripped, the rifle butts against my shoulder without being held by the trigger hand. Which leaves that hand to prioritize the squeeze of the trigger. When I pay lots of attention to all that, I can shoot the light one as accurately as the heavier one. As 816 noted above, the more similar the triggers are between 2 personal rifles, the better.

 

[gonzaga]

Trigger pull has alot to do with the LR blues IMHO. I have a sub 8# 260 and once I switched the heavy trigger out, my groups and comfort level dramatically got better.

 

[JeffRaines]

From that article, I've found "overhand control" to be the easiest method for me.

 

[Mike 338]

A "one size fits all" style of shooting does not necessarily transfer from one rifle to another. A heavy or light recoiling gun can often be shot with the "ole classic" relaxed style of using your off hand to manipulate the rear bag and all you gotta do is hold still and break the shot. A lighter/heavy recoiling rifle may require a harder hold, stiffer pocket muscle, body alignment, cheek pressure, trigger control and some combination of pull/push into the butt. Not unlike shooting a bow, good equipment is a big plus but good repeatable form may produce noticeably better results. I wouldn't dismiss the rifle until I've done a fair bit of experimenting on the shooter side of things.

 

[JeffRaines]

I got my Kimber out today to stretch it out some...

I was great to 420, at 500 I was missing... however, I think this is more me than the gun.

My Tikka SL however, I ended up with first round hits out to 600 on a 9" piece of steel. I tried at 750 and missed twice, however I only have a BDC scope on there and I had to use the post to get out to that distance. I limit myself to 600 yards and in anyhow, any shooting beyond that is for giggles. I didn't miss by that far though!

 

[lyle_destroys]

It is possible to shoot lightweight rifles accurately... but they definitely require good form - and greatly magnify any errors.

Case in point - the past couple weeks been shooting my Tikka SL in 6.5 and my Montana in 308 trying out loads. First two weekends out with the Montana I was all over the place... pull the Tikka out, I could shoot bug holes, started to think "I guess I lost at Kimber roulette"... even went as far as planning to buy another Tikka in 308 if I couldn't manage shooting the Kimber well this weekend. Thing is, vertically I was dead on... it was just horizontal stringing. You could literally put a straight edge under the shots and it would be straight across. This gave me some hope.

I read up on shooting lightweight rifles, then I went and bought a trigger gauge. Turns out, the trigger pull on my Montana was somewhere around 2.5lbs. For a 6lb all up rifle, its too heavy(at least for me). I lightened it as light I could without it slam firing(1.75lbs), and yesterday put up a 3/4" group. Its not impossible, but it definitely requires concentration. I plan on trying to stretch it out to 400-500 yards this weekend. I didn't buy the rifle for long range hunting so if I can manage hitting my 9" plate at those distances I'll be satisfied with the rifle.

I guess what I'm trying to say is - they can be great, but, before you buy know what you're getting into and the limitations of a lightweight rifle. They ain't thousand yard paper killers.

I was very surprised with the recoil of the t3x 300wsm I just got. I thought it would be much more stout. Shoots very well but I need to improve myself like lots of others here have said. I think im going to lighten my trigger and see what it does for me. Good advice.

 

[robby denning]

Yes, they are harder to shoot.

It took some getting used to with my Christensen Arms Summit Ti (6lbs 3oz naked, 7lbs 4oz scoped).

I can sometimes get the sub-MOA to 600 yards, but not all the time. So I've limited my in-the-field shots to 460 or less and killed all 5 bucks I've pointed it at (with a few warning shots to get them moving in some cases

Overall, I'll take the lightweight over the precision a heavier rifle offers. If I didn't take my rifle on such long walks, then I wouldn't worry so much about the weight.

But I will say at the current weight I listed above, I don't want to go much lighter.

 

[TomM]

I went through a spell of bad shooting with lighter rifles, what I realized was that 7.5-8 lbs scoped seems to work for me. Though the most important aspect is balance. Heavy actions with short/light barrels was a disaster for me. I like weight forward. I think is the reason Tikkas shoot so well for many, 22.5” barrel with some meat, paired with a light action. I’m sure the superb accuracy and good triggers help as well.

 

[ianpadron]

Trigger should go right down to a nice crisp 2#

That's where I found the biggest improvement with my T3. Adding a brake helped as well. Made the .06 feel like a .243

I was very surprised with the recoil of the t3x 300wsm I just got. I thought it would be much more stout. Shoots very well but I need to improve myself like lots of others here have said. I think im going to lighten my trigger and see what it does for me. Good advice.

Sent from my LG-H872 using Tapatalk

 

[JeffRaines]

I was very surprised with the recoil of the t3x 300wsm I just got. I thought it would be much more stout. Shoots very well but I need to improve myself like lots of others here have said. I think im going to lighten my trigger and see what it does for me. Good advice.

Funny you say that, I think my 308 hits pretty hard for it being a 308. I wouldn't want one in a LA/Magnum thats for sure.

 

[JeffRaines]

Trigger should go right down to a nice crisp 2#

That's where I found the biggest improvement with my T3. Adding a brake helped as well. Made the .06 feel like a .243

Sent from my LG-H872 using Tapatalk

My T3 30-06 with a brake kicks less than my Montana 308 does with a brake if you can believe that.

I don't think the Kimber brake is all that effective.

 

[ianpadron]

I believe it 100%

The Kimber is definitely not on the same level as side baffle/directional brakes.

Amazing what a good one can do to calm down a jumpy rifle!

My T3 30-06 with a brake kicks less than my Montana 308 does with a brake if you can believe that.

I don't think the Kimber brake is all that effective.

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[lyle_destroys]

Funny you say that, I think my 308 hits pretty hard for it being a 308. I wouldn't want one in a LA/Magnum thats for sure.

Im not a huge guy either. 6' 180 but I was shooting from a bench where I could get a lot of my body weight behind the rifle, only shooting 165gr american whitetails also. I think a lot of what I was expecting was in my head from reading what other guys thought of them. Its a heck of a lot sharper than a 30-06 though lol

 

[lyle_destroys]

I think shooting flintlocks for me is harder than shooting light rifles. That damn flash makes me flinch every time! Flintlocks and light rifles really make you focus on fundamentals.