MAGAZINE

Personally I think Martinov could shoot a bent stickwith a lump of gas pipe for a barrel but, every year wesee a new development issued and within the studythat this article is headed with, I wonder…..ThisSMALLBOREBusinesspointed to the target in contact with the left side curveof the fore-end and, the width of that fore-end wasmade so that the measurement from the web of thethumb to the index finger knuckle was identical.This position of the left hand also allowed a 10 degreepositive cant (into the face) of the rifle.This factor was a bonus that I had not consideredwhen I made that stock but, I can tell you, theadvantages of this was a huge improvement becauseI discovered that the butt-plate system fittedbeautifully within the muscle structure of my rightshoulder! (Even when I shot a straight stocked 1411Anschutz prone rifle.)Over the years, I have developed a butt-plate systemthat is very simple and, coupled with the fit for theshoulder, produced an extremely stable, extremelyaccurate prone position. (You may remember that tenshot group illustrated earlier in this magazine that a 22rimfire case would not drop through?)An interesting photo of the author’s left hand showingthe area of the ball of the thumb. It should be notedthat the measurement from the thumb-joint to theknuckle of the index finger coincides with the width of acustom stock on my Finish Lion smallbore rifleLately I have been working with a shooter who doeshave an exceptionally fine rifle and,, to my mind, theonly adjustment on his stock that is fundamental isthe fore-end accessory rail - that can be reversed andso allow a much more comfortable left-hand positionbecause the rail is closer to the ball of the thumb.Well, when I built my own alloy stock way back in1980, the accessory rail was milled into the fore-end6mm off-centre towards the left, as I wanted my lefthand to operate properly - given that if you hold yourleft hand face up, you will see a lot more of your handon the right of the ball of the thumb.I had also noticed that when my hand is settled into acorrect position, the ball of the thumb has a relativelyflat area (see photograph) that the fore-end of the rifleis rested on. The left thumb, in my technique, actually51It is very desirable that prone shooters for smallboreand 300m use a hook butt-plate on their rifle. Thestability gained when a hook is fitted, or adjustedcorrectly, is of paramount importance, as we all knowthe hook function is to allow position repeatability.The back of the rifle is securely locked in place withinthe shoulder and, once the face pressure is settledonto the cheek piece of the stock, there is very littlethat will affect the position and recoil stability whenthe shot is released.There are however, a number of sensitive areas withthe hook butt-plate system that can produce errorsof startling proportions and, it is with these thoughtsin mind that I arrived at the heading of this article,‘Accessories, overkill or what?’ Tell me, do you thinkthere are too many options available? Has the ‘KISS’principle gone out the window?The most dangerous problem of adjustment with thehook under the arm-pit, is the contact of the hookwith the body of the shooter inside the jacket. Firm