Unfortunately, part of the choice is fit. I found that some rifles and pistols fit me better than others. Here are some thoughts:- A wood stock is more comfortable to handle in extreme temperature conditions than a metal stock. The metal stock is colder in cold temp and hotter in hot temp than a wood stock.- The metal stocks have more adjustment to fit the stock to you than a wood stock.- I dot not know how carbon fiber feels vs wood and metal.- Some people can feel the effect of a recoil absorber on a rifle, I can't.- If you use riser blocks, a rifle/sight like on the FWB-700 with the built in adjustable risers might be worth considering.- If you are LH, which rifles and models are available LH.- Ignore the Field Target sub-models. Those are NOT 10m rifles.- Ignore the running target sub-models. That is only for the specialized running target event.Go to the TargetTalk.org web site and ask the question in the rifle section.
Rather than bend my head over/on top of the rifle, I cant the rifle to the left.This lets me keep my head upright, which is supposed to help your balance.The other thing that I have on one of my rifles is an offset riser block. The sights are offset about 20mm to the left, so that I can keep my head more upright without canting the rifle as much. I am planning to put one of these offset riser blocks on my FWB also.Glad the new rifle worked out for you. It is HARD to buy a rifle or pistol without holding it, because the fit can be so different from brand to brand.
If you do not have an AR shooting jacket, go to Home Depot (or other hardware store) and get yourself a back belt. The back belt is NOT competition legal, but it will help to protect your lower back when you shoot at home. I use one whenever I shoot 10m AR.
Interesting that your rifle is so much lighter. I figured that all full size 10m rifles would be close to the max regulation weight, which was/is approx 11 pounds.My AR coach told me that "weight is your friend." The weight helps to dampen out body movement, so that it is easier to shoot accurately a heavy target rifle than a light sportster.I got my books from Pilkington.http://pilkguns.com/books.shtmlMaybe Amazon does not list it, because I think it is printed in Germany.