Off hand hold and rifle cant

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JSBmatch
Posts: 277
Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2009 10:16 am
Location: London England

Off hand hold and rifle cant

Post by JSBmatch »

Hi, looking at many ISSF videos of 10-m air rifle shooting over recent years, shooters, both men and women are now tending to favour a more up right position with almost no rifle 'cant' rather than the older back bend and twist stance with cant. Any thoughts

JSB
TenMetrePeter
Posts: 603
Joined: Sun Sep 04, 2016 10:59 am

Re: Off hand hold and rifle cant

Post by TenMetrePeter »

Better sight raisers and stock adjustments?
Pat McCoy
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Joined: Tue Mar 02, 2004 1:34 pm
Location: White Sulphur Springs, MT, USA

Re: Off hand hold and rifle cant

Post by Pat McCoy »

The old back bend, and twist position caused lots of back problems. Newer positions are more upright, with a horizontal shift in the upper body away from the target (to get the rifle weight more over the hips). The current stock adjustments help achieve this.

At short ranges the cant is not bad IF it is consistent.
JSBmatch
Posts: 277
Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2009 10:16 am
Location: London England

Re: Off hand hold and rifle cant

Post by JSBmatch »

Yes agree, stocks now are so much more adjustable you can reduce the back bend and twist quite a lot, I have had to adopt a more upright stance with the rifle and only a couple of degrees cant because of lower back pain. I have just increased my raiser block heights from 12-mm to 20-mm and it really is more comfortable all round and my forward hip is pushed out more towards the target to get good gun balance. Its taking a bit of time to adapt to this new position but so far my scores have nor suffered.
TenMetrePeter
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Joined: Sun Sep 04, 2016 10:59 am

Re: Off hand hold and rifle cant

Post by TenMetrePeter »

There's still some need for a little back bend and maybe hip thrust to get the centre of gravity above the front leg. I am still skinny enough to lock elbow onto hip (no coat).
patriot
Posts: 272
Joined: Fri Jan 18, 2013 11:59 pm

Re: Off hand hold and rifle cant

Post by patriot »

I no longer use twist, seem to shoot better with weight over my feet, but I still push the hips forward enough to balance the rifle weight. Its not only stock adjustments, do the same shooting silhouette.
WesternGrizzly
Posts: 278
Joined: Sat Jan 09, 2010 10:43 pm

Re: Off hand hold and rifle cant

Post by WesternGrizzly »

An upright position is most often more stable. Standing straight up is more relaxed than standing in oddly contorted positions, and relaxation nearly always means more stable. As mentioned above, the older positions caused major back problems, and with current skill levels on the international level people are training harder and more often than ever before. If shooters used the older positions with the current training volumes they would have to retire in just one or two years.
As for cant, it has a lot to do with how the rifle is fitted, but also facial structure and shoulder position. Cant is fine as long as it is consistent. The same goes for holding the rifle straight up and down.
Matt
gwsb
Posts: 425
Joined: Mon Mar 01, 2010 11:13 am

Re: Off hand hold and rifle cant

Post by gwsb »

The current coat and pants used in AR and 3P are so much stiffer than the old eqpt it is possible to stand upright more and causes less back issues.
JSBmatch
Posts: 277
Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2009 10:16 am
Location: London England

Re: Off hand hold and rifle cant

Post by JSBmatch »

I think the ISSF has shown concern over juniors shooting with to much back bend and twist, but I have no details, I'm finding the up right position much more relaxing and less painful as westernGrizzly commented on. Cant or no cant can be kept consistent with cant bars in the foresight tunnel.
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