Cool! My son-in-law brews his own as well. Another great hobby!

Yes, to all. I had not thought about sand level in the front bag. I did reduce the ammount in the rear bag to allow the butt to seat deeper in there.

Our range has some steel frame benches set up alongside the concrete ones. The concrete work much better. I think another reason they do is because the steel benches are longer and the barrel does not extent past the edge of the bench. I think I can feel the vibration of the muzzle blast on the steel bench.

So free recoil vs what I call a 'hard' hold. At what level recoil or weight of rifle does a free recoil make sense? If I have an angle on the bottom of the buttstock is free recoil still an option? Sometimes it seems like free recoil works better and sometimes it doesn't. I know part of it is me and a consistent hold. Maybe that's why the 'hard' hold works better for me, because I am in a more consistent position?

Oh, and free recoil. I have seen BR folks not even touching the gun when they 'pinch' the trigger. Others do put their shoulder and check on the stock.

And, yes, the fliers are different. If I have jerked the trigger they are routinely to the right and low. But, if I lift mu head they can be anywhere. And sometimes they are just out there and I don't know what I have done. The sight picture is perfect when the gun goes off.