One of my favorite Jack O'Connor stories was when he was out trying for some kind of varmints at medium range with a rifle that had a 6X scope on it. He posted himself at a high place - but the varmints were not cooperating that day.

So he decided to head back to camp, and started walking down the hill - when a big bobcat popped out of the brush, not far ahead of him on the trail. He described the frustration that followed when it was impossible to get a clear sight picture at close range with the 6X scope.

Jack was all set up for varmint shooting - but then when an actual hunting opportunity popped up, he was SOL.

I like 12x or better at the range, but when in the field I set my scope at 4x unless a situation calls for more, or less power.

If I were going to buy a single power rifle scope for hunting, it would be 4x.

You have a front bag and rear bag and cant hold steady? Its in your head man what are you shooting? Have you tried it with a .22? serious though not trying to be funny

No, I said with a front and rear bag, I can hold very steady. It's when I'm shooting off a backpack, or a bag of corn on the hood of my truck. I'm just wondering if my form or grip is an issue. Form and grip are going to have less impact when the gun is on bags.

No, I said with a front and rear bag, I can hold very steady. It's when I'm shooting off a backpack, or a bag of corn on the hood of my truck. I'm just wondering if my form or grip is an issue. Form and grip are going to have less impact when the gun is on bags.

Caffeine doesn't give me the shakes

Caffeine doesn't give me the shakes

For me, precision shooting is a lot like overhead welding. - It is a matter of deliberately relaxing each and every muscle that is not directly required for the job at hand.

This relaxation means there will be less tremor, and incidentally it makes the shooting process a lot more enjoyable, less tiring.

As an extreme example: Once I was invited to shoot a benchrest rifle, a thirty pound bolt gun chambered in 30-30 Winchester of all things. The owner of the gun gave me three rounds to shoot, which is more generous than it may sound like when you consider the pains that those guys go through to produce accurate ammunition for their guns.

The gun weighed thirty pounds, was securely mounted on a very nice custom shooting rest, and was shooting a 30-30 load that was on the light side. So, after aligning the crosshairs on the target for each shot, I deliberately avoided touching anything on the gun except for it's hair trigger.

After viewing my group, the owner commented that I shot the gun better than he did, by which I guess he must have been putting it to his shoulder, etc. thus allowing heart beats and muscle tremors to have more of an effect.

This is an extreme example, but it shows the general direction to go for. - Relaxed muscles, minimum required contact, trigger control, careful sighting.

With lighter made, heavier recoiling firearms you are not of course going to get by without a firm grip upon the weapon - but even then if you look into it closely, you will probably find that you are tensing up muscles that are not really required for the job at hand. It's a natural human tendency that you have to be aware of so that you can control it.

Kind of like folks who wrinkle up their faces and frown when trying to think something over... They may unconsciously believe that all of that facial muscle action helps them to think - but does it really? Is all of that really necessary?

So, if you are struggling to hold steady, that struggle may be doing you more harm than good.

There are lots of good tips here, this is my two cents on the matter.