help with my shooting at the range...

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TheDeej

New member
I've been a hand gunner for a while, and have always had a few .22 rifles, but never required hearing protection. well, I recently picked up a lever action 3030 w/ scope. even with the high mount rings on the rifle I can't get my eyes directly on the scope because of ear muffs. I also wear corrective lenses, so its even more of a pain because I lay my head down to look down the scope, the muffs hit the rifle and throw my glasses off wack.

do any of you more experienced riflemen have some suggestions?
thanks in advance!
 
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taylorce1

New member
Ear muffs bother me a lot when shooting rifles as well. I use ear plugs most of the time to avoid the problems you are having. A .30-30 isn't going to be terribly loud unless it is a trapper model with a short barrel, so regular foam ear plugs will work fine. If it were a large rifle with a brake I'd recommend the molded ones.
 
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TheDeej

New member
Thanks man. I actually tried a set, the RO told me he had to be able to physical see the protection device.... lawyer crap he said.
The gun is a run of the mill marlin 3030, nothing special about it. I had it bore sighted by a friend at the range, but even when he said it was "dead on", I was still putting rounds about 4 inches high and about 3 to the left at 100 yards. the gun was on bags. the guys there said it was because I was "broken" & too used to pistols, that it would take time to learn how to shoot long arms...

its the glasses and the muffs and the damn tables that seem to short for the chairs!!!!
 
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TheDeej

New member
Hey taylorce1, off topic, noticed you were from the springs. I used to live in winter park, have a brother-in-law near you at the army base. how did you fair with all the stuff down there? hope your well and your family. And sorry about the off topic .
 
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jmr40

New member
You are doing something wrong. I only have about 15% hearing in 1 ear and to preserve the good ear as much as possible I always double up with both plugs and muffs. Never had a problem with any gun.

even with the high mount rings on the rifle I can't get my eyes directly on the scope because of ear muffs.
Click to expand...

This is a clue to me. Lever action's have much more drop in their stocks which make scope mounting a little tricky. Most are much easier if mounted as low as possible to counter the drop in the stock. If you have a scope mounted high and are having trouble seeing through it I suspect there is something wrong with you technique.

If your scope is mounted properly you should be able to rest your cheek on the comb and have the scope line up with your eye. With levers you often have to rest your chin on the comb to get it right and if mounted high your face may not even touch the stock. Your face should be upright. If your muffs are touching the stock you are tilting your head way too far over.

Are you shooting right handed with a dominate left eye? This might explain the problem. You wouldn't notce as much with handguns.
 
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johnwilliamson062

Moderator
You should not be leaning your head over as much as you are. your head should remain as upright as possible.

Your balance is based on liquid in your inner ear. When you lean your head you brain thinks your whole body is sideways and it will cause you to get slightly dizzy. Sort of. SOmeone else may offer a better explanation. Look at some competitive shooters and you will see their head is upright though.
 
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Picher

New member
I have some compact Peltor muffs that don't touch the stock if the rifle or shotgun is mounted properly. They should be placed as high as possible on the ears, even tucking the earlobes in a bit, if that's comfortable for you.

Some folks have lower ears and shorter necks than average, so need to get some really well-fitting plugs that cut the noise adequately. There are some pretty nice ones made today, but I don't have any...yet.
 
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taylorce1

New member
Some folks have shorter necks than average,
Click to expand...

That would be me!!! I have a set of low pro Peltors and sometimes I can get away with wearing them but most of the time I just use plugs to KISS.


As far as the fire goes, I was lucky my house is on the East side of Colorado Springs. So my home was several miles from the evacuations. However I have a rental property that was about 1.5 miles east of the evacuations along Centennial. That was about as close as I got to the whole thing. Plus my work has kept me out of the Springs for several weeks and my Wife was visiting family in OK. So at least we didn't have to be there to see it as well.
 
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Rimfire5

New member
Deej and taylorce1

I too have a .30-30 lever action (Marlin 336 XLR) with a scope on it.
I have pretty fat ear protector muffs (pretty cheap ones so they arn't very thin). The rings are medium height and the scope is a 3-9x40mm.

I know what you all mean by the muffs getting dislodged but that only happens when I tilt my head over the rifle stock. There isn't enough room for the muffs between my head and the stock.
I don't have a problem if I set up with my head mostly vertical. I don't have a problem with getting behind the scope.

Then again, the tilting set up isn't particularly conducive to accuracy IMO so having the muffs get in the way tells me that I am reverting to bad habits and I reset my hold to a more vertical hold.
 
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smoakingun

New member
if your muffs interfere with your shooting there is a possibility your problem is the way you shoulder the rifle. It sounds like you are a pistol shooter? with a pistol, you pushnthe pistol straight out in front of you, with a rifle, you imdex yourself 30 to 45 degrees into the rifle. When your body is properly indexed, your muffs shouldn't interfere
 
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TheDeej

New member
Ill be honest and tell you I have no idea about how to properly align myself with a rifle. I can say I get slightly dizzy when shooting rifles, but I thought that was just from getting hot. please explain more.
 
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taylorce1

New member
Your missing the point, I never said I couldn't wear muffs and shoot a rifle. I just said that sometimes I have the same problem as the OP if I do wear muffs and it isn't with a .30-30 or any rifle in particular. I prefer to wear plugs most of the time, but I do keep my Peltor muffs in my range bag because there are times I forget to replenish my ear plug supply. I do a lot of shooting for varmints and coyotes and sometimes I don't have the opportunity or time to line up perfectly and I hate it if the stock hits my muffs, so I rarely wear them as I again prefer ear plugs.

If the OP is running C-Thru mounts then more than likely that is what is screwing him up. I'd get some lower mounts and and that way he can bring the stock up higher to get his eye inline with the scope and get a proper cheek weld. Then he will probably not have to tilt his eye over to get it inline with the scope.
 
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tobnpr

New member
I fail to understand why there seems to be an assumption of poor shooting form if muffs are "interfering" with proper cheekweld.

They do for me, I imagine it depends on the 'muffs.

Solidly resting the weight of your head on the bottom of the cheekbone (or zygomatic bone )- places the rifle stock just below the floor of the orbit.

Some guys prefer a "chipmunk" cheek type of rest, I prefer flatter and like to rest solidly on the bone. When I settle down, and place the entire weight of my head onto the comb, it hits the bottom of the muff and wants to shove it upwards.

Some guys prefer a different type of cheekweld. Most important thing, is that you're comfortable- and that all the weight of your head is resting on the comb. I once heard a military sniper state that you should be able to fall asleep behind behind the rifle...meaning totally relaxed and fully supported. You don't want to be relying on muscle tension at all for support- it needs to be all bone support, just as with any shooting position for optimal results.
 
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mehavey

New member
Back to JMR40's crucial question:

Is the OP trying to shoot this rifle "cross" eyed?
(i.e right-handed/left-eyed)
 
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