Along the lines of absorbing recoil & "weighting" a rifle to help do that, I am offering the following as another option for doing so that has helped me and countless others for many years. I only bring this up since so far no one else has and it helps to accomplish some of what is being addressed by this topic. So I am just posting to help inform for those who are not familiar with such things & just sharing what I can.
When shooting rifles, if it has a sling, I use it not so much to carry the piece, but I use it to hold the rifle steady & with downward pressure to stabilize it & keep it from moving much in any direction. I also use what I call, a "shooting sling", (Looks a lot like this one in the pic, but the 2 I have are pretty ragged as compared to this new one.
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which is an adjustable sling used in particular for shooting & it is designed to work not only as a "parade" sling ( which is what most folks use, IMO.) ,but as a way to "lock in" the rifle to your arm (
I usually strap it in to my arm between the elbow & the base of my bicep, and sometimes above the bicep towards the armpit depending on how it suits me best for the particular rifle I am using.). Here is a pic of someone using the type of sling I am speaking of( Not me, I am wayyy uglier.
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Once this is done properly, the rifle literally stays still & the only movement is when you breathe in & out. So, when I am shooting, I sight in on the target, then slowly breathe in/out & watch as the sights rise & fall on the target, occasionally stopping the in/out & holding my breath to find the point at which I am completing my sight picture & sight alignment to the optimal position to fire. Once that point is established, then it is time to shoot. It took me longer to type this than to do it, BTW. ( that method was taught to me while I was in the Corps.) I do not know if they still use those slings or not , unless perhaps for the Match teams & such. I don't know since it has been a long time since I was in and on a rifle range ...)
When used with the addition of sandbags, to enhance the stabilizing effect, that method works exceptionally well for me, but it works superbly well, even without any other support such as sandbags..
My point was that "stabilizing" a rifle using a sling to prevent rifle movement when shooting & to help absorb recoil, has been around a long time & the addition of that "shooting sling" basically adds the weight that was mentioned by downward pressure on the rifles fore end & upward pressure from your hand & arm to "lock it in", & you are basically trying to make the rifle an extension of your body, so that when recoil occurs, it is absorbed not just by the shoulder, trigger hand and arm, but also by the opposite "forearm" hand & arm, and depending on ones shooting position, other parts of your body as well. ( Kneeling, or sitting for example, dependent on what "style" you use, allows your leg that helps brace the arm with the sling on it helps absorb some of the recoil & helps to keep the sight picture & alignment on target.)
Perhaps, not using a part of your body to support the forestock of a rifle is fine , but it is not how "I" shoot. although it could be said that , "Well you are not a Bench rest shooter, so what do you know?". Well, I do know that while I do not shoot in competitions like some do, I am no slouch at shooting a rifle, and what works for me works for me. Besides, at least long ago, the Corps taught how to do this & IMO, No one in the Corps who qualified with a rifle was a slouch, when it came to shooting out to 500 yards(KD course) with open sights.
I suppose that those who are not using the forearm hand/arm on the forearm of the rifle are doing so to keep the "barrel harmonics" from being effected by doing so , or something along those lines. Then again they are likely also using some sort of a "Rest" contraption to shoot as well. Which might be great for being in competition, but is not suitable for hunting or military needs for the most part, Id reckon.
Anyway, Thanks! to the OP for the interesting topic/subject!