Sore shoulder...am I doing it wrong or am I just a pansy?

[akcharger]

To begin good day! my 1st post and new appleseed person

I Did my 1st clinic this past weekend with my M-14.  Started off poor, then using lessons improved but as day went on got worse and Im thinking because my shoulder really started to get sore and I was jerking shots. So am I doing anything wrong or am I just being a little girl??

Backgorund: I've shot 3 hi-power matches with the same gun and never had any issues though that was when I was in my 30's, I'm 54 now. I could switch to my black gun but I REALLY like my M-14.

Thanks in advance

Bill

[Mark Davis]

Bill.
You probably fired quite a few more rounds at appleseed than a highpower match.
You could be having some other issues in your shoulder.
Bring your black gun next shoot, save the M1-A for the last couple targets on Sunday afternoon.

[BillP_556]

I've found that pulling the rifle deep into the shoulder helps with reducing muzzle rise and recoil kick.

[maxwell]

Mark is spot on, Bill, and that's great advice to break out the M-14 for a couple of AQTs on Sunday. A typical 80-round highpower match in one day is no big deal, but an Appleseed weekend is like shooting five of them consecutively. Even if you have a coat with a padded rubber shoulder, that recoil is going to wear you out.

It sounds like you've already demonstrated that a rifleman persists, though; way to go, and welcome to the forum!

[akcharger]

Copy all guys thanks!  Makes sense...ill zero my M-14 before shoot and save it for last day and use black gun for skills.

Interesting to note 5.56 and 7.62 is about the same price when buying bulk on line.

[akcharger]

great program BTW, ive volunteered to be a helper for additional shoots down here in Fl.

[Hasty Sling]

I know this is an old thread, but I felt compelled to add my 2¢. When I first started shooting my M1A, I was a little taken aback. I was trained on an M16A2, so shooting a 7.62, wood stock rifle was a new experience. The recoil was so jarring I could feel my teeth rattle, no joke. I honestly considered buying a football/boxing mouthguard. It was very discouraging. Then one day (I think I was reading Fred's ‘Becoming a Rifleman' or something similar) I discovered my shoulder pocket, I mean REALLY discovered it, which is to say that I had been putting the buttstock just outside my shoulder pocket, more like at the top of my bicep. Bad move. With the buttstock now where it belonged - firmly in that shoulder pocket - the recoil just gave me a gentle shove, one which I could readily absorb with my whole body behind the rifle. I felt like the clouds had parted - I had seen the light.

This kind of stuff is no big deal to old hands and experienced competition shooters, but it eluded me early on. I didn't notice what I was doing wrong with my 10/22 because the light recoil was no big deal. But with my 7.62 NATO/.308, I FELT it! Later, when I picked up a 7.62x39 boltie, the kick was no big deal. With the rifle firmly seated in my shoulder pocket, I could ride the recoil and fall back into NPOA before my next shot.

Have fun out there on the range!

Hasty Sling

[The Wolfhound]

There is a reason that steady hold factors include "a firm handshake grip with the bottom three fingers of the trigger hand, pulling the butt stock SMARTLY into the shoulder pocket"....

If those exact words are new to anyone in the cadre, report to an IBC, soonest!

[Earl]

Ah, over a year away from my last Appleseed event and this thread tickled me. You can never be wrong, keep asking, keep learnin' and stay on the forum and the trail. I am still in awe that there was a shoot in Mass.