Do you shoulder a gun properly?

[getitdone1]

Did anyone ever teach you how to properly "shoulder" a gun? Expect most of you are like me. Heck, you just put the butt plate up against your shoulder and shoot!

What bought this subject to my mind is I've just finished watching Hickok45 on YouTube (really like the guy and his videos) and noticed that he--like me--doesn't get all of the butt against his shoulder. From 1/4 to 1/3 of the top of thebutt plate was above his shoulder or maybe more correctly was not touching his shoulder as he was shooting. This is bound to make recoil more severe with heavy recoiling guns.

For some time now I've tried to correct this and found that when I get the butt further down on my shoulder I then have to bring my head down further than I'm used to. So maybe that's it. We have the butt high on our shoulder so we don't have to bring our head down so far.

So maybe I needed some lessons about this long ago, and maybe I have company.

Shoulder a rifle (as you normally do) and see how much of the butt plate is sticking up above your shoulder or at least is not making contact with your shoulder. You might be surprised.

Have any of you had lessons regarding this? Perhaps some of you skeet or trap shooters have.

I'm all ears. Never too old to learn.

Don

[AJMD429]

What gets me is all the "kids rifles" that have a stock that is 'kid' size - if you think a 'kid' is 15 years old - but won't properly fit a REAL 'kid' of 5-10 year age. The poor kids wind up with the guns tucked in their armpit sometimes...

An AR-15 with a collapsible stock set to the shortest position is WAY better than the 'Chipmunk' type rifles I've seen, unless you're just starting to teach shooting when the kid is 5 ft tall and weighs 100 lbs. Of course you might want to use a 22 LR adapter on it, if your 5-10 year old kid is new to shooting...

[Old Savage]

Yes.

[7.62 Precision]

How you shoulder depends on the rifle and the type of shooting you are doing. What is correct for one type may not be for another. We all have different body sizes as well.

How I shoot an M4 in CQB is not how I shoulder a precision rifle, which is not how I shoulder a levergun, and I shoulder different leverguns differently depending on the stock.

In many situations, bringing your head down to the rifle is not what you want. You want to bring the rifle to your eyes. In others, this is not the case.

I was taught several techniques for different situations and weapons.

[Borregos]

Yes.

+1

[BrentD]

How you shoulder depends on the rifle and the type of shooting you are doing. What is correct for one type may not be for another. We all have different body sizes as well.

And for the type of firearm you are shooting. A rifle with a crescent plate, for instance, needs to be further out on one's shoulder - or even at the top of the arm. A shotgun butt can be tucked in closer.

What's right - depends. On everything.

[jeepnik]

Funny how this just brought back a decades old memory. What I learned from dad was simple. Does it feel right? Is it comfortable? Does your eye naturally line up with the sights? Then again, I learned from a man who grew up with a rifle in his hands (during the depression he often help to feed his family with it), served in WWII and was his companies "sniper", which meant he had to drag an '03-A4 across Europe without firing a shot from it.

[madman4570]

I got some big shoulders and no neck! so the wife says. My big jug head just sits on top my shoulders. Otherwise if I had a neck would be 6' 7" (Linebacker position in football did it ??) She says boy you have tiny ears too and look they are touching shoulders.
Way too much information ?? Isn't she precious ? She is a hottie too!
Common sense tells me that the amount of surface area impacting shoulder area in relationship to recoil force being distributed less trauma to shoulder absorbing the full surface area of gun butt fully against shoulder being held firmly.

In grades 7-12 (Rifle Club at school) our Instructor who was a previous 1000yd Wimbledon champ ????(1960's ?)
Hug that gun butt tightly, fully, and completely like you young fellers hug your girlfriends.

[JerryB]

I think I do!!!!!!!!!! My dad told to shut my eyes and throw the rifle to my shoulder, then open my eyes, should be looking through the sights.

[m.wun]

Alot of guns are not fitted perfect to their body properly. Most guns come to fit everybody as best they can. Some iron sighted rifle stocks are flat to the point you have
to mash youre cheek on the stock to see the sights causing the butt to be high on the shoulder. Then some put scopes on a gun and lift their head high to see through it not
getting a (cheek weld).Its so nice when you shoulder a gun and it feels right and sights line up with out having to strain to see them.

[KirkD]

I don't know if I do or I don't, but the photo below shows how I've shouldered a rifle all my life and how I teach my kids. The butt nestles into that little dip between the bicep and the shoulder muscle. Feels real good and the arm absorbs the recoil better than my shoulder. As I said, I ain't claiming this is the proper way, but it works for me. Also, if I'm walking along and think I may have to get off a shot surprise shot real quick, the rifle is carried pointed down about 45 degrees and angling across but with the butt already in that handy little crevice so that the butt is already in position to shoot the moment I swing the muzzle up. Here is the well-used photo yet again ....

[Blaine]

I've never had a rifle custom fit for me, so, I throws it up there in a position that lets me feel the sights are in the right place....(even with low rings most scopes seem too high for me )

[Ji in Hawaii]

I've noticed many right-handed shooters on YouTube videos have their right elbows way too low. My dad (who shot expert with all firearms while in the US Army) taught me to keep my elbow up and even with the shoulder. He showed me that you could easily keep a rifled shouldered with one arm if you kept your right elbow up. Also allot less painful shooting this way especially with heavy recoiling firearms. Keep your elbow up!

[AJMD429]

I think I do!!!!!!!!!! My dad told to shut my eyes and throw the rifle to my shoulder, then open my eyes, should be looking through the sights.

That's the way I tell folks to pick a handgun; one that is 'already lined up with your eyes' when you quickly raise it to 'ready' position with your eyes closed, likely is a good 'fit'.

[Blaine]

our Instructor who was a previous 1000yd Wimbledon champ

That's one he!! of a long serve....grass, or clay courts?

[horsesoldier03]

I always went with the philosophy that if it hurts you did it wrong! It dont hurt as often as it used too.

[Griff]

Did anyone ever teach you how to properly "shoulder" a gun?
Don

Yes. Uncle Sugar, and his representative in the form of that GM1 brooked no deviations. I found that if I followed his instructions, my rifle and I became very efficient.

[JReed]

I've noticed many right-handed shooters on YouTube videos have their right elbows way too low. My dad (who shot expert with all firearms while in the US Army) taught me to keep my elbow up and even with the shoulder. He showed me that you could easily keep a rifled shouldered with one arm if you kept your right elbow up. Also allot less painful shooting this way especially with heavy recoiling firearms. Keep your elbow up!

That is the way they taught me. It raises the whole shoulder so that you dont have to crank your head over as far to use the sights.

[QCI Winchesters]

It seems that lots of girls have trouble holding the rifle butt right on the shoulder. This girl holds the 03A3 the same way my wife shoots. Lots of girls that come to our shoots hold rifles the same way. You would think the '06 would hurt with so little of the butt on her shoulder!

[7.62 Precision]

I've noticed many right-handed shooters on YouTube videos have their right elbows way too low . . . Keep your elbow up!

Not always correct. For many types of shooting it is not as stable.

[QCI Winchesters]

A really common error is having the weak arm elbow too far to one side, it should be right under the gun. I see lots of people shooting rifles that hold them like they were shotguns. Also, 90% of people seem to hold the crescent buttplates wrong. KirkD has it right!