Lessons learned : rifle support for ELR

[big5ifty]

There are two main rifle support systems for ELR, another not so common, and one that beginners tend to start with.

1. the front is elevation adjustable
2. the rear is elevation adjustable.
3. front and rear are adjustable.
4. neither is adjustable, and the rear bag is moved forwards or backwards against the angle of the stock to add or remove elevation.

I did start out using method 4. My scores improved dramatically when I went with a rear squeeze bag. I find it very easy to control, and extremely consistent. Not a good option for anyone with arthritis in fingers or hand.

I prefer a fixed front. My bipods are the foldable, lockable leg variety. None of my bipods have rubber feet, all are flat and hard. I find that rifle stability is more in the length of the fore-end than in the bipod type, and rubber feet tend to result in a bit of muzzle movement under the recoil impulse.

My favourite rear bag is a squeeze bag. This works well for me when the rifle is not heavy.

I found the rear squeeze bag impossible to use on a heavy rifle [ 20kg ] simply because most of that weight is on the rear bag, and I don't have enough strength in my fingers to squeeze the bag enough to move the rifle. I tried that once, each stage ended up a wrestling match for me on the firing line.

So for that rifle, an adjustable rear is the ticket.

Universal Adjustable Bar Rider.

Every person is different, and what works for me won't work for you, to it's important to try different things till you get your best result.