Made an effort to resolve a few issues I'd been having today. The top button of my jacket was not properly placed, and would undo itself as it wasn't sufficiently tight. I moved it about half to three quarters of an inch and moved the second button about a third of an inch and the fit is much nicer. I prefer to use only these two for shooting prone, finding it gives me improved space for breathing and comfort, as well as reducing the feeling of contact along both sides. This also had the effect of preventing the sling from dragging, as had been a conspicuous problem, with a well built and comfortable, stable position deteriorating after perhaps twelve to fifteen minutes. This also had the follow-on effect of reducing the truly awful pressure in my forward hand. The rifle sits deeper into the hand now with less suffering. While this has forced me to adopt a mild cant, the pressure on the cheekpiece and solidity in the shoulder is still good. Live fire will, I am sure, reveal strong and consistent recoil patterns. I'd like to invest in a spirit level for the foresight, but funds are prohibitively tight at the moment. I also need to invest in another carrier for the second buttplate, and to develop a system for changing it quickly from standing to kneeling. I don't need raiser blocks for either prone or kneeling, but may well do so when I get around to shooting more standing (probably next week sometime. I want to focus on polishing the prone and improving the kneeling for this week and weekend). I had some photos taken of the position and I'm very happy with how it's composed and oriented, so I'm pressing on with things as they are, keeping the prone skills good and just improving kneeling for this week. I expect I'll shoot both on thursday, and perhaps one each day saturday and sunday. I'd like to shoot a full prone match under improved circumstances to check out the current setup. Also going to shoot it as quickly as possible, breaking shots quickly on first good sight pictures. I must also look into a new set of frames or repairing mine, as the nose-piece has fallen off, and this was causing all sorts of interesting parallax effects at the weekend as they wouldn't stay steadily positioned behind the rearsight.
The kit list for the next while (five months or so) is as follows:
Jacket altered once I reach the weight I'm happy to stay at
Trousers made at the same time (Hopefully after the 50m Nationals in October)
Extra buttplate carrier
Extension tube (I just can't see any wobble in my hold. It will also help with my sight picture as my foresight is of a larger size)
Variable sight raising blocks
There are one or two other little bits. A new sling would be nice, I need a decent visor, wouldn't mind new and better shooting frames with more adjustability for the positioning of the lens. These are all relatively minor however, with the above far more important. Unfortunately, the cost required for the above is fairly substantial. Add in the batch testing in Lapua next spring and the cost of the ammunition itself, as well as hopefully a trip to Munich, and there's a good reason I can't afford a flat for this year. Hopefully it won't affect my training much, as the rifle will be stored in the college. I'll be attempting to get two mid-week sessions and two mid-week physical training sessions in, with a bare minimum of one weekend session at the 50m range as well. Still hoping for 585+ in the Nationals. It's very, very doable. If I can start moving upwards then towards the 590+ mark for next spring, a trip abroad is definitely on the cards. Even if I put in around 588-589 in the qualification I might be invited to go for the experience, which is the most valuable part of all. Here's hoping, anyway.
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