Shot off a few rounds at the range today with the 30-06 and 6.8. I am getting better at every range session that is for sure. Love the new 6.8 upper from Blackstone Arms. No issues whatsoever!!

I am getting better at my breathing etc etc but I do have one major problem that seems to be my nemesis and I cant seem to beat it. I am getting consistent 1.5 inch groups at 100 yards and I know my gun can do better than that and the reason I am not is my heartbeat. Every beat of my heart moves the reticle and I find myself trying to shoot between heartbeats. I am a hunter and I want to practice the way I hunt so yes I shoot off of a bench but the only sand bag is on the muzzle so I am not interested in all sandbags. I need real world experience.

How do you either control your heartbeat or keep it from affecting your rifle on each beat?

sandbag "on" the muzzle or under lol

Without a bench and dual sandbags I don't know that you can. One of the other guys will be along to correct me soon

First put the bag under the stock near the recoil lug, nothing should touch the barrel, not even your hand.

As for the heartbeat, apply firm rearward pressure until the reticle moves with the heartbeat, then let off the pressure until it no longer moves. Practice dry firing so the reticle does not move when the trigger breaks.

Make sure you are square behind the rifle and leaning forward from the waist.

Last, practice regularly, it does make a difference.

Back the rifle up so your chest isn't touching the bench. I've never had a heart beat problem on a bench, only prone. I build up my rear bag so much that the reticle is is below the target. When everything is right I have to relax my non-firing hand, that is holding the rear bag. The weight of your head should rest comfortably on the stock, another reason I like Triad Tactical stock packs. My head rests on a pillow, on the stock.

In order to shoot tiny, from a bench or prone, you need to not be muscling anything. The only thing doing any work, at all, is your non-firing hand. Get where you can relax, and squeeze the trigger on the exhale. Don't hold your breath!

You don't 'load up' your bi-pod @ all?

Turn your scope down

I do, but that is to witness impact. And my body weight is doing the loading, I'm still not muscling the rifle. He may not have a stock that can be supported by a bipod, without the forearm touching the barrel, and did not mention shooting from a bipod, only bags. That's why I didn't bring it up.

Makes sense. Thanks.

I was going to reply to scope down as well. I notice when mag'd really high it becomes more apparent but when mag'd down it isn't an issue.

Of course what fireman said is to be taken into account as well. When I sight in I try to sand bag front stock and if possible under stock in back, with essentially only my firing hand on the gun and off hand as loose as possible. When firing from stand or not sighting in (just firing) intypically use just a front rest to get a true gauge of what I and the gun can do in real life setting. Firing the way you hunt is good practice.

Also, some shooters wrap their right thumb (for a right handed shooter) around the top of the grip and squeeze during firing. This can cause you to see your heart beat from the pulse in your hand. If you float your thumb on the right hand side of the stock (see below picture), this will help minimize the the visible heart beat. When you wrap your thumb across the top, the inside part of your hand can cause you to see your heart beat in the reticle. Float your thumb, and this should go away.

The bottom 3 fingers of the right hand are applying rearward pressure into your shoulder, your trigger finger is 90 degrees to the trigger to pull it straight back, and your thumb is resting on the side of the stock. For a lighter weight hunting rifle that may be a magnum or hard recoiling caliber, this is where you DRIVE the rifle. I apply hard pressure rearward with the bottom 3 fingers to help control the recoil, and apply firm cheek pressure into the stock for added control. On some customer rifles where the scope is mounted too high and you have to, what I call, turkey neck your cheek position on the stock, these rifles become difficult to DRIVE the rifle. The right hand is critical in driving and controlling the rifle. The firm rearward pressure helps as a fulcrum point to hold the rifle down during recoil.

I think the magnification is a very good point since I have been shooting my bolt on max power (9X) at 100 and 200 and I have noticed that my AR w/3 power at these distances does not have the same problem. I also feel more comfortable at the bench with the AR also so I may be more loose and relaxed.