How many of you use a 6 oclock hold and how many use a center mass hold for high power service rifle competitions ?? And what advantages does one have over the other ?

the 6 position makes sense to me if the targe is the same size and at the same range every time.  or if you are just looking at a hit on target and not caring about exactly where.

6 o'clock hold...............

When I used to shoot Camp Perry I was taught to use the 6 o'clock hold.  If I recall, it prevents your front sight from covering the target enabling more consistent shots.  If you see white under the "lolly pop" then your holding low.

I use the "bull's eye" method  (looking at the pic below) because sometimes the front sight post is hard to see using the 3rd method

I use center hold because I like that it is independent of target size.  Jim Owens has written that it doesn't matter in his arguably old books.  I discussed this with my friend who takes CMP very seriously (high master, trains SDM's- smart guy).  He said Jim Owens wrote good books but to take what he says with a grain of salt because some of the material is behind the times.  He makes a very strong case for the 6 oclock because the 6 oclock picture is easier for the eye to manage.

I find that a "sub-6", or "line-of-white" works best for me.  I have trouble seeing the front sight against the aiming black, so in sitting and prone I let the front sight come up into the black, then lower it until I just resolve a little bit of white, then take the shot.

The human eye can resolve approximately 1 MOA, so when my eye picks up the little bit of white my sight is pointed just about 1 MOA below the aiming black.  But consistency is the key.  As long as you are consistent your POI will be the same each time (if you do your job).  Then it's just a matter of adjusting the sights to put the POI in the center.

This technique works out good for me in offhand.  I never could get a nice tight wobble area in the black.  Heck, all I can see is a little tiny blurry baby aspirin out there!  Like most folks, I would stand there and watch my front sight wobble all over the target until my eyeballs sweat.  No more!  When the target comes up I mount the rifle and take a breath, letting the sight drop down below the target as I exhale forcefully so as to check my number board.  Don't want to put rounds on my neighbor's target.  Then as I inhale I let the sight climb up through the target frame.  I then let the breath out normally to my respiratory pause.  I watch the sight start down through the target frame, correcting windage as it passes through the top of the frame, and let it continue to sink down through the black, refining the windage as it does so.  Then, when it drops out of the black and my eye sees that little flash of white, I send it!

I shoot better with the 6:00 hold.  YMMV

In highpower, which is what I shoot, the target is always the same size and at the same range.  As a matter of fact, the targets - the aiming black anyway - are all approximately 6 MOA at all ranges.

6 is what i use. shot the sport just for fun on reduced ranges, and once or twice a year on a farm, full scale.

I shoot CMP and NRA highpower and I started out with the sub 6 hold but changed to center mass when my eyes started to age.  I began vertically stringing my groups, so I switched.  You should fire both ways and compare your reults.  I started off just firing offhand using CM and it paid off dramatically, so I switched across the course and all of my scores came up.  It doesn't matter what others hold, your results are what's important to you. Your targets will tell the story.

Offhand I shoot center mass, six everywhere else.

The marines taught center mass and I used that for 20 years as it made sense in that your bullet went to the location of the tip of the front sight post and not some vertical offset.  I suppose that's better for combat when you're aiming at a portion of a human exposed behind a tree or foxhole.  It might have less horizontal offset if you accidentally cant your rifle too.

For the last couple of years I've been having an issue with losing focus on the tip of the front sight and using a 6 o'clock hold has helped. (old eyes too)

What Sight Picture Is Best For You? - By SSG Tobie Tomlinson


Shooting Tips from the USAMU and the CMP