Sweet Spot

[Ward Olson]

Looking for a little advice here please.

When you are shooting long range competition, how do you rest the rifle? Do you support it on the forearm or do you locate the sweet spot and support it on the barrel?

thank you
ward

[Don McDowell]

I support the barrel in the crossticks, the Shiloh's like the sticks about 4 inches from the muzzle the CSharps likes the sticks right against the forearm.

[Lumpy Grits]

When I 'bench' shoot, I rest the forward bag just in front of the forward forearm screw.
When sit'n with X-sticks using my Shiloh, I do as Don sez.
Gary

[Old Jim]

My 45/70 Shiloh has a heavy-wt. 30" barrel. The sweet spot is 12" back from the muzzle. To get the best groups possible from it, I must rest the barrel on that point, either on the x-stix or a bench-rest support.

YMMV

Jim

[bigted]

here is an easy way to find the spot your rifle wants to be rested at...

with one hand grasp the action of your rifle...allowing the muzzle to hang towards the floor...as you hang on to the action of the rifle take a plastic or wood hammer [so as not to mar the finish of the rifle] and litely rap the barrel from the muzzle up in around 1/2 inch distances...going up the barrel you will find a place that there is no vibration felt in your hand holding the action....try to remember this spot and now work down the barrel from the end of the forarm downwards towards the muzzle in the same 1/2 inch increments to find again the spot that the vibration stops at....this is the "sweet" spot or "barrel node" and many times there are more then 1 spot but ussually the one that feels "dead" with NO vibration is the best one to use. i wrap a small thin bit of tape at the spot on my rifles so i can find the spot to either rest on the bean support or sticks.

sounds crazy but that is what i use to find this spot...i personally use an older inertia style bullet puller to tap the barrel with...doesnt take much of a tap either...some just use their knuckle to tap the barrel.

[Ward Olson]

Thank you all for the answers - it will sure give me some things to try fooling around with.

ward