RB/RP Shooting
I have spend a LOT of time in the last 15 years watching GREAT RB/RP shooters shoot, and trying to refine my technique to model them. Tony Boyer, Faye Boyer, Smiley Hensley, John Brown, Wayne Campbell, Dale Boop, Allie Euber & Lee Euber come to mind. I have not watched Allie & Lee shoot for a couple of years, but of the other six, Tony, Faye & Wayne use a cartridge holder made by, or modeled after the one that Scotty Crawford makes. They also use a Farley rest. Smiley, John & Dale lay the cartridges out on their towel...no cartridge holder...and use a Hart rest...no adjustment...
Your left hand should NEVER leave the "gearshift" if you use a Farley rest, or never leave the base of your rear bag if you use a fixed position front rest. Additionally, always, Always, ALWAYS keep your left eye open to watch the field! An additional suggestion if you use a cartridge holder...have the five rounds that you are going to shoot on the record target at, or above, the level of the port. Do NOT have to "raise" them to get them into the port...that's wasted motion...
Here's the sequence that has worked pretty well for me after watching these guys shoot LOTS of groups over the years:
When you go to the record target, move the rifle back and forth in the bags to make certain that no "set" has been taken as you adjusted upwards from the sighter.
Adjust your point-of-aim with your left hand, and fire the first shot.
Without taking your eye out of the scope, push the rifle forward with your right shoulder while opening the bolt with your right hand...all the while keeping your left eye on the field of flags.
As the rifle hits the front stop, you should be reaching for a cartridge on the block or from the towel with your right hand, while beginning to make your point-of-aim adjustment with your left hand.
As you throw the round into the port and close the bolt with the right hand, your mental approach should be finalizing the decision as to whether you're going to continue shooting or stop (95+ % of the time you should be continuing...if you are not, better pay more attention to starting at the right time)...and finalizing your point-of-aim for the next shot.
Continue this until you are finished shooting your group...
Much has been written about whether or not you should shoot with your stock against the front stop. If conditions are such that it is going to take a .15xx to win the agg, maybe it makes sense to take the extra time to pull the rifle ever so slightly off the stop to "preload" the position of your stock in the direction that it is going to recoil. If conditions are such that shooting below .25xx is going to have you "in the hunt", do NOT waste your time!
Forget the elbow pads, props to elevate your wrist, and all that other fancy stuff that has come along in the last couple of years. All you need is a towel that is big enough to give your right arm/elbow some protection, and that is going to catch your empties. Make certain that it is well secured in some way...sooner or later you're going to shoot in a match that will have wind that is blowing it all over the place. I REALLY like the new towels that Dave Dohrman is selling...
Of the shooters I have mentioned above, Wayne & Dale are the only two that frequent this board. I hope that they will jump in here and add their thoughts about any of the above...
Good Luck to you...