Instructions for shooting rifle with a crescent buttplate

They were never intended to shoot off a bench.

A trick would be changing your angle at the bench, so your sitting angles more resemble your standing angles.

Stand at a 90 degree angle to your target. hold the gun across your body, and place the crescent butt plate between your shoulder muscle and bicep. That's the proper position for a rifle with a crescent plate.

It's very comfortable firing all of my black powder long guns that way. When I shoot from the bench, I put a folded up wool sock between me and the gun. Works great. Those guns weren't/aren't made for bench shooting; they were made for practical field use. After I work up a load, I don't hoot from the bench any more. There's no reason to.

Dusty_Traveler said:

They were never intended to shoot off a bench.

A trick would be changing your angle at the bench, so your sitting angles more resemble your standing angles.

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Agreed on the never intended to be shot from a bench. But I see no reason to change anything. Not going to be able to replicate all the different positions one might shoot from while hunting off the ground. That's especially true when shooting up into the trees on steep angle shots. I'm consistently more accurate now than I ever was when I shot those crescent buttstocks from a bench.

Also, I've never been able to hold any rifle more steady offhand than I can my GPR. Its amazing how steady that ML holds on target.

Nothing broken.

leadhoarder said:

Does anyone know where to find a good tutorial on this. I tried to explain the proper technique to someone and I realized that I really did not know what I was talking about and need to brush up on this myself. I know where to put the butt but I am not well versed on the rst of my technique to hold steady offhand.

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Its one of those difficult to explain but easy to show things.

Live squirrels?

Well shucks! My crescent buttplate rifles all have cast-off stocks so’s I can snug the buttplate on my arm just below the shoulder. If your rifles don’t have stocks with cast-off, it will be a problem. If you put the butt of the rifle out there, you’ll have to stretch yr neck and put yr cheek on the comb where the recoil will fetch you a lick on your cheekbone. So far as shooting off the bench, I just turn so the rifle’s basically laying across my chest, and take care not to lean into the recoil. Works for me.

Bushfire said:

They're very comfortable to shoot

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That's the funniest thing I have seen all day. Mebbe even month or year. For me, very uncomfortable and unnatural. And, invariably just as I am about to shoot the bicep flexes and my shot goes into the wrong county. But, somebody designed them for some reason. That reason escapes me.

I seem to have more trouble shooting my T/C Renegade flat buttplate than my GPR. Not sure why. I've gotten a little bony shouldered now in my 70s, so the GPR seems to drift out under the armpit better. I finally got a lace-up leather recoil pad for the Renegade, which greatly helps with that steel butt. I only shoot sitting from a bench these days.

Mike in FL said:

Live squirrels?

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As opposed to a picture of a squirrel on a paper target, on flat ground, at a known distance, when shooting from a bench.

A suggestion.........For years , I use a trap shooting right arm/shoulder position. That being the right elbow /arm , raised up at a 90 degree right angle to the right side of the body. The left arm firmly pulls the butt back into wherever the butt plate is anchored. Over the years , I've had to adjust a couple military trained shooters in the ways of shooting muzzleloader rifles. Usually , this method is surprising to them , in that off the bench , they don't get smacked in the face with the rifle's comb. Also , large caliber rifles over .50 , are not the norm for mountain rifles. Some thoughts....

Mike in FL said:

Live squirrels?

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Who would shoot dead squirrels???

Comfortably_Numb said:

I put the toe in my armpit, more or less. Flat buttplates come in on my shoulder farther.

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This is correct.

They go between your bicep and your shoulder muscle. Period. End. Of. Story.

Bit late to the show but...

Comfortably_Numb said:

It's a helluva shooter too. Under an inch @ 100 yards.

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Hey, I can do that, too. But only with the first shot.

Tanglefoot said:

Well shucks! My crescent buttplate rifles all have cast-off stocks so’s I can snug the buttplate on my arm just below the shoulder. If your rifles don’t have stocks with cast-off, it will be a problem. If you put the butt of the rifle out there, you’ll have to stretch yr neck and put yr cheek on the comb where the recoil will fetch you a lick on your cheekbone. So far as shooting off the bench, I just turn so the rifle’s basically laying across my chest, and take care not to lean into the recoil. Works for me.

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A fellow shooter here, after discussing cast, decided to try and alter the shape of his Pedersoli long rifle. He watched a few YouTube movies about bending wood over steam, and went to work.

He held the stock over a boiling pan of steam for maybe five-ten minutes. Then he stuck the butt in his bench vice/vise, and pulled.

It broke.

Needless to say he was less than happy. The replacement stock took almost two years to arrive, was a very poor colour compared to his original, and cost as much as the rifle had.

TFoley said:

A fellow shooter here, after discussing cast, decided to try and alter the shape of his Pedersoli long rifle. He watched a few YouTube movies about bending wood over steam, and went to work.

He held the stock over a boiling pan of steam for maybe five-ten minutes. Then he stuck the butt in his bench vice/vise, and pulled.

It broke.

Needless to say he was less than happy. The replacement stock took almost two years to arrive, was a very poor colour compared to his original, and cost as much as the rifle had.

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You will feel the wood gain a rubbery feel.
I have never heard of steam being used only hot linseed oil.
I did once take the warp out of a rifles forend by placing it in an adjustable jig over boiling water. It took about two hours of steaming to work though.

Britsmoothy said:

You will feel the wood gain a rubbery feel.
I have never heard of steam being used only hot linseed oil.
I did once take the warp out of a rifles forend by placing it in an adjustable jig over boiling water. It took about two hours of steaming to work though.

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I've done it, as you note, but with a cheap older air rifle after an old pal lost an eye with a ricocheting BB. I used the recommended linseed oil, boiling it in an old car sump over a camping gas fire. I'd forgotten all about it until you mentioned it!

Pete G said:

Who would shoot dead squirrels???

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Good point.

Pete G said:

Who would shoot dead squirrels???

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Sometimes they play 'possum.