Improving bolt action technique for rapid fire

[pdoggeth]

Hello folks

Im a bolt action newb, but I recently got a m1903 and I love that rifle. Accurate and a great piece of history. I was trying some "mad minute" type rapid fire exercises, but unfortunately I find that I'm not that fast. Probably can only muster 15 shots in one minute. This is shooting Greek surplus ammo.

I find my first hangup to be ejecting the round --sometimes the bolt is very difficult to rotate after firing a round, and I have literally bang the handle upwards to rotate the bolt and extract the round. Is there anything that can be done about this? A tried and true technique? Would different ammo work smoother?

Likewise when inserting rounds from a stripper clip, this is another major hangup in time. The rounds just sometimes do not like to be pushed in. Is there a better technique for this too, or do I need to use special lube or cleaner cartridges? Or maybe I need to practice doing this with dummy rounds off range.

Any suggestions will help, thx.

[JMP]

On some of the old rifles, it is just hard and it takes practice. Also, old rifles are often not set up with a muzzle brake, which helps your recovery time.

If you went to a modern rifle like an Accuracy International with a brake, you'd be cycling it way faster. However, at the end of the day, it is something that you need to practice in spite of whatever rifle set up you have.

Get some snap caps and practice on them.

[Monster]

Buy a Weatherby Mark V it has 54* bolt lift.

[ElvenSoul]

You need a Enfield

https://youtu.be/G9xEd4z2GyQ

[tanks]

Of course then there is the technique of shooting a right handed rifle as a lefty. Here is me shooting a friend's .458 left handed.

http://vid116.photobucket.com/albums/o24/Tanks-PL/458%20BampM%20Shoot%201.mp4

[milotrain]

Try shooting off the bolt handle and running the trigger with your middle finger.

I don't necessarily agree with the premise of the video but this is a good example of running the trigger with the middle finger.

[calshipbuilder]

http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/2012/04/scandinavian-bolt-rifle-speed-shooting-stangskyting/

[pdoggeth]

I should probably mention that this isn't a true mad minute exercise. I don't have any of the targets out to 200 yards (or whatever it is). In fact, the target is close in at 50 yards, and probably about a 5 inch plate. For the most part I can hit them no problem, but as some of you have posted already, it all boils down to more practice.

As for getting a modern sporting rifle or a lee enfield, I don't think that's a viable option at the moment. Looks like I'll just have to get some snap caps and start practicing my cycling and feeding from stripper clips!

Thx

[Fjold]

Try not grasping the bolt handle. Push the bolt up and back using the heel of your hand with your hand open, then rotate your hand inward and push the bolt forward and down with the ball of the thumb.

It's much faster but doesn't give you as much leverage on the bolt.

[CessnaDriver]

Try shooting off the bolt handle and running the trigger with your middle finger.

I don't necessarily agree with the premise of the video but this is a good example of running the trigger with the middle finger.

Yeah, my thoughts too. Give it a try with some dummy rounds.

[as_rocketman]

If your bolt is really stuck after firing, you may have a headspace issue...

Stripper clips: Use Swedish Mauser 6.5x55 clips. Fits fine but doesn't grip the rims quite so hard.

As noted above, you don't grip the bolt so much as push it, kind of like speed shifting a manual transmission...

Also, manage your expectations. 15 shots in 60 seconds, if they're on target, is plenty fast. I'd settle for 10 solid hits in a minute.

[tanks]

...

Also, manage your expectations. 15 shots in 60 seconds, if they're on target, is plenty fast. I'd settle for 10 solid hits in a minute.

Where are you guys getting the bolt action rifles that hold that many rounds? My DG rifles hold 3 rounds, my .308 and .375 hold 4. The only rifle I have that holds 10 (has a magazine) is my .22 Anschutz.

[bazineta]

Well, my uncle, who served in the Korean conflict, always said, you know, when you've pulled back to the last line and the Chinese are massing for the third wave, it's just amazing how fast you can work a bolt-action rifle. In his case, a Lee-Enfield.

So you just need to find that motivation.

However, here's the thing. If you're experiencing hard bolt lift, then that's often a result of a round that was too hot. If you examine the fired primers and find that they're either smashed flat or have flowed around the firing pin, leaving a crater, or there's an obvious imprint of the ejector on the back of the fired case, then I'd be concerned about that particular ammo.

[milotrain]

Where are you guys getting the bolt action rifles that hold that many rounds?

Military bolt rifles.

[200Apples]

Here's a picture for the hoplophobes...

.

tanks

Where are you guys getting the bolt action rifles that hold that many rounds? My DG rifles hold 3 rounds, my .308 and .375 hold 4. The only rifle I have that holds 10 (has a magazine) is my .22 Anschutz.

This is my Ruger Gunsite Scout rifle, with additional magazines and .308 Win cartridges laid out on my bench. A pic for the hoplophobes. Hahaha...




The latest genre, if you will, in bolt rifles is the "Scout" rifle concept. Steyr was the first to manufacture a "friendly" (to shoot, carry and handle) .308 bolt gun based on Jeff Cooper's ideal field rifle. Since that time, Ruger, Savage, Tikka, et al, have brought their versions of a Scout rifle to market. While a DBM may not have been at first requisite, it is now a feature.

I should warn you that the Scout rifle concept is indeed a very polarizing subject. I for one think they're great, and have become also a good hunting rifle. My Ruger, for instance, is a wonderful shooter; very easy to make center hits on 100 yd steels with iron sights, offhand. I'm working (slowly) at becoming proficient with the iron sights to 300 yds from field positions.

http://www.steyrscout.org/project.htm - Scroll down a little bit for the basic Scout rifle criteria