Bench vs. prone shooting

[Mr. Wolf]

Relatively calm afternoon after AM thunderstorms. The rains made a mess of the ground so I shot from the bench for the 1st time in about a year. What a humbling experience.

Horrible showing with no consistency, so I slowed down and thought things through.

1st— my neck was extended too far forward so I moved the scope rearwards by 1 pic rail slot and shot the top left group below.
2nd- I noticed that my shoulders weren’t as relaxed when on the bench, in something like a shrug posture. I moved the buttstock closer to my collarbone and made a conscious effort to relax both shoulders. The next 3 groups were much closer to what I’m used to seeing out of the 10/22 with Kidd ULW barrel.

Shooting prone vs. bench seemed like a different gun/shooting discipline but I felt like I grew as a shooter and learned more about the rifle.

What are your experiences and/or techniques when shooting prone vs. bench?
TIA, happy shooting

 

[Defender32]

I find my self to shoot faster and less concentration when bench shooting. I have to make myself slow down. When I am prone I think more about slowing my breathing and paying attention to the trigger brake. This is cause my belly makes me move when breathing. I am working on loosing some of that.

I have to refer back to " Focus on the Reticle and slow steady pressure on the trigger"......

 

[Mr. Wolf]

Thank you for sharing. I agree with the breathing and concentration piece, but for some reason, I am more comfortable prone.
What % of your shooting is done on the bench? Could it be familiarity with one position vs the other as was my case?

 

[Skg_Mre_Lght]

I haven't shot off of a bench in years, except to do modified prone, meaning I square up behind the rifle directly behind the bench, lean forward into the bipod with a rear bag just like shooting off of a sturdy barricade.

The ergonomics of sitting to the side of a bench with your rifle beside you, instead of in front of you is not good form at all.

 

[Defender32]

At home I 50/50 bench prone with Centerfire. With Rimfire I am 90% prone as NRL22 does not use a bench. It is prone and barricades. At the gun club some times I have to shoot on a bench based on where others are shooting and what bays are occupied.

 

[Snoooy]

Natural point of aim....respiratory pause....zen on the sight.. trigger pressure....repeat as needed....follow through....
Different support...
Decaffeinated coffee

 

[Baron23]

I haven't shot off of a bench in years, except to do modified prone, meaning I square up behind the rifle directly behind the bench, lean forward into the bipod with a rear bag just like shooting off of a sturdy barricade.

The ergonomics of sitting to the side of a bench with your rifle beside you, instead of in front of you is not good form at all.

I too will not shoot from those stupid side seats on most benches.

I bought a drummer's stool online and use it from the rear of the bench. Works very well.

 

[Appalachian]

I shot from prone for the first time ever last week. I only shot ten rounds in the rain and heavy wind at 100 yards. It was much harder regardless to hold still than on a bench for me. I need some practice.

 

[huntnh]

Just the opposite for me I grew up shooting of a bench

 

[AManWearingAHat]

I much prefer shooting prone with a sling than off the bench. Great to hear you learned something as a shooter!

 

[Mr. Wolf]

Good advice, thank you.
Before getting into precision rifle shooting, I'd shoot off the bench for convenience, but since NRL22 and some long-range classes, I transitioned to shooting prone and barricades about a year ago.
I didn't realize how little I understood about the fundamentals of marksmanship and how different positions can be in getting the right technique.
In the future, I'll practice squaring up to the bench instead of shooting sideways and really practice natural point of aim and decreasing that shoulder tension.

22LR really showcases the breakdown of fundamentals, doesn't it?

YMMV, happy shooting.