TargetTalk

Hello all,
I am having a terrible time with my settle. When I try to bring the rifle down on to target, it ends up getting out of control and it will dance around before settling back to a 10. My NPA is pretty consistently high (about 3-5 inches above black) and I bring the rifle straight down, but I can't get it to be "fluid". It just seems like I am "muscling" it down even though I am just relaxing it. I also sometimes have to force the rifle down. I know this is not the right thing to do, but if I move my NPA down, it is always too low and I have to bring the rifle back up. Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.
Ryan

How do you try to bring your NPA down?

The best way I've found is to SLIGHTLY close the distance between your feet. Moves as small as 1/4" can move the NPA half a bull. Sometimes I just move my foor inside my shoe, for very small adjustments.

Adjust your buttplate, not your position to get your NPA correct. Not that Pat is incorrect, he is not. You can certainly change your NPA as he describes. If your position feels good, you can also change it by raising or lowering the buttplate. Just a quarter or eighth of an inch will usually be enough.

What position are you shooting? My response below is assuming that you're shooting prone.

I agree with Mr. Marsh; if you're that high over the black, and your overall position feels good, your buttplate is likely too high. Lowering the buttplate on the gun (again, a small amount, 5mm is a major change here) will pivot the muzzle down. It will also pivot the cheekpiece up, so you may need to fine tune that after moving your buttplate; I had the opposite problem (NPA in the dirt), and had to raise my cheekpiece about 2mm after raising my buttplate.

Assuming it is standing (because you come down on the bull), there are a few options to lower your NPA.
The first option is to move your position. This is probably the most commonly used, and probably the best for very minor tweaks. But as was pointed out, if your position is good and solid, you want to change it minimally.
The second option is to lower your buttplate. (like 2mm) This also has drawbacks because it raises the cheekpice and subsequently your head position, so you will have to make adjustments to your cheekpiece height and risers (maybe).
The third option is to tilt the buttplate a little bit. This will change the contact location in the shoulder some, but will have less effect on head position. LOP will also probably need to be tweaked. (see photo)
The fourth option is to lower the palmrest. This could make your grip touch the chest though, and might change your head position a little bit.
The fifth option is to combine a few of these. I would drop the buttplate and shorten the palmrest. This would keep your position most consistent. After getting it close, you could move your feet a little bit (think mm/ feet inside boots).
Matt

This is for standing air rifle. I currently adjust my NPA by moving my feet or hand position because I am bottomed out on my butt plate. However, my questions is less about NPA and more about settling on to target.

Should the rifle be centered on the bull when I look through the sights, or should it be slightly above, letting me settle down onto target (by breathing or relaxing etc)?

My scores aren't terrible as it is (580-586), but I see this as one of my big flaws right now.

This also brings another question to mind... When using SCATT, my length is exceptionally long (usually and average of 24-25), but my percentage in 10.0 is usually 85-90 percent. Is it okay to have such a high length because I have good percentages? If not, how can I reduce my length?

I think I have the same problem. When I put the rifle up I am always much higher than the bull. I am tall and with the butt plate in the lowest position and the forestock reduced to the absolute minimum I am still at least 6" high. I could move my left hand out but the position doesn't feel good like this. So what I do is "breathe" (probably relaxing the whole body structure) the sights down so they are exactly centred, checking NPA by eyes shut/open. I then take a shallow breath which drops the sights below the dot, then exhale and let the sights rise and settle on the bull, take the shot.
Don't know if is its "right" but it seems to work..