By Tim H. Martin
In an earlier Buckmasters Tip of the Week, we discussed how using sandbags on shooting rails helps increase accuracy and steadies your firearm at the moment of truth.
Another tip discussed using an old sock filled with dirt as a makeshift sandbag to hang on shooting rails.
There are times when you won’t have access to sandbags or socks, but in a pinch, there’s something you always have that can be used as a gun rest: your fist.
Simply place your non-trigger hand on the shooting rail, make a fist (thumb-side up) and rest the forearm of your gun on it. Squeezing and relaxing your fist will raise and lower your scope’s crosshairs, just like a sandbag.
Your hand is surprisingly solid and you will be able to make minute vertical adjustments, which is much better than resting your firearm on a bare shooting rail.
Another good aspect of using your fist as a rest is keeping your fingers off the gun barrel.
Many hunters when aiming, especially newbies, have a bad tendency to wrap their fingers around the end of the fore stock, touching the barrel. The harmonics of the metal barrel, therefore, accuracy, are altered whenever something makes contact with it. Using your fist as a rest eliminates that possibility.
A fist rest actually has one advantage over sandbags; you can easily and quietly move your hand to any position on the shooting rail. If a deer appears in a place you hadn’t expected, moving a sandbag is impractical or impossible, but not so with your fist.
Practice this tip before using it in the field. You’ll be surprised how well it works. And, you’ll glad you did the next time you’re stuck without a sandbag and need to make a pinpoint shot.