Sighting in Freehand vs. with a rest??

[TreeGuy]

A lot of times I wish I had a free hand

[Elmo]

You don't want to do that . When a rifle is fired , the barrel vibrates ( barrel harmonics ) . Resting the barrel rather than the forearm will affect the shot ..........

 

That's why I never rest the barrel on a rest but rather the stock.  It also helps that pretty much all my barrels are free floated.

[Daveboone]

What happens if you rest the barrel vs. the forearm when sighting in?

Good question!

Allways rest on the forearm, not the barrel. Also, although you want to shoot from a solid rest, be sure to pad it. A solid rest (like a board, or stack of books) will make your shot jump. A rest such as sandbags, or I usually use the firmly rolled up wool blanket I have in my car,steadies the the gun, but also keeps it from jumping.

An alternative is a rest such as the "shooting Sled" (I think I got the name right). It firmly locks the gun into place, so that the zero doesn't change. Few people really have a need for one though. Be sure to wear a heavy jacket to pad your should also. Such padding helps minimize the little vibrations from the shooter that contribute to sight movement. Ignore the comments that think your initial question is surprising. Every visit to the range I see folks trying to sight in off handed. 09/10 times I get turned down when I offer them my rest...until they see the clover leaf group from my muzzleloader, and they cant keep the shots on the paper.

[Dinsdale]

Pygmy, on 22 Nov 2013 - 12:05 PM, said:

 

 

You've piqued my interest, Shawn..

What guns require setting the zero shooting offhand ?

 

Double rifles require offhand shooting; and many would argue left or right barrel first depending on regulation of the original loads/barrels. Gun needs to free recoil to duplicate point of impact.

 

Many use a standing rest with a hand between fore end and a sandbag and trigger elbow supported.

 

I use the same setup for any hard kickers/light guns now, leaning in with a shoulder standing is much better than traditional bench IMO. And its a short transition to just shooting sticks and then offhand.