towserthemouser
AH enthusiast
+1 for cycling firmly. I believe this is good practice with EVERY bolt action rifle. Work that bolt like you mean it. They don't need to be babied. This is how my father taught me, and it's also what we were taught in firearms training classes at Gun site. It has served me well.
On a related note: I know there will be a range of experiences and opinions here on this subject..... I personally am in the camp of pulling the rifle down off my shoulder and visually watching as I operate the bolt. This way I can make sure that the spent round is ejected and the new round is picked up and loaded home.
There are many who believe the rifle should remain on your shoulder during bolt cycling and have been trained this way, and I salute you all. You are probably faster that way.
For me, supporting a 10 pound rifle at shoulder level with my off hand actually leads to some inconsistency in my bolt handling and I don't think I'm as reliable that way. I'd prefer to lose a few milliseconds and be SURE I'm properly loaded. An off-shoulder reload might cost me a little bit of time, but a jam or improper load is going to cost me a LOT of time, and possibly my life.....
I strive to be smooth (smooth is fast) and consistent and work the bolt with the same motion every time, and to visually confirm success. And I practice re-shouldering the rifle and quickly acquiring the target again. When your rifle and scope fit you and you've practiced, and your scope is not set to a crazy high magnification (it should NOT be when hunting DG.....), this is actually pretty fast for me. By the way, I'm not talking about dropping the rifle down to waist level; I just pull it off the shoulder and drop it a few inches and rotate it just enough that I can see the action, then back up again.
I'd love to hear opinions on this subject from PH's, guys with military experience/training, and those with lots of experience on DG, or anyone who has an opinion and a you-know-what LOL.
On a related note: I know there will be a range of experiences and opinions here on this subject..... I personally am in the camp of pulling the rifle down off my shoulder and visually watching as I operate the bolt. This way I can make sure that the spent round is ejected and the new round is picked up and loaded home.
There are many who believe the rifle should remain on your shoulder during bolt cycling and have been trained this way, and I salute you all. You are probably faster that way.
For me, supporting a 10 pound rifle at shoulder level with my off hand actually leads to some inconsistency in my bolt handling and I don't think I'm as reliable that way. I'd prefer to lose a few milliseconds and be SURE I'm properly loaded. An off-shoulder reload might cost me a little bit of time, but a jam or improper load is going to cost me a LOT of time, and possibly my life.....
I strive to be smooth (smooth is fast) and consistent and work the bolt with the same motion every time, and to visually confirm success. And I practice re-shouldering the rifle and quickly acquiring the target again. When your rifle and scope fit you and you've practiced, and your scope is not set to a crazy high magnification (it should NOT be when hunting DG.....), this is actually pretty fast for me. By the way, I'm not talking about dropping the rifle down to waist level; I just pull it off the shoulder and drop it a few inches and rotate it just enough that I can see the action, then back up again.
I'd love to hear opinions on this subject from PH's, guys with military experience/training, and those with lots of experience on DG, or anyone who has an opinion and a you-know-what LOL.
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