Prone position after 28 years off.

[CcoFirst]

I got in the prone for the first time since my days as a Marine 500 known distance sling shooting grunt. I found to to be a bitch not to strain my neck or for that matter to adjust the bipod to the correct height without running out of rear bag height as well. recoil moved the system left every shot with first group great and every group after looking like a 2 moa . I have shot from benches testing reloads for years and hunting game but no PRS or long rang at all. I have watched Franks G video and pod cast on fundamentals. guess my question is raised cheek pad help with this or just time in the position. 30-06 ruger M77 sporter barrel 178 eldx H4350 at 57.3 . a lot of recoil but i added a limb saver to tame the 8 lb hunting rifle. Not know for its precision at all so I bedded and FF . My first question on SH

 

[Pbgt]

Remember all that crap the old fogies said " not to do" when you were a kid? now ya gotta pay for it! I am in the same boat as you. Before a prone shooting session, a couple of advil will help relax my spine, stretching as a regular routine will also help tremendously. I see some of the older guys running hi-prone, using support under their chest, extended bipods and double/triple rear bags with some decent success, especially compared to a low prone they can't hold or maintain w/o discomfort. Another position that can be useful for some is raising the right knee to 90*, this will roll/ twist your body to the side, allowing for a unique prone, but sometimes workable, great for the bigger belly guys. None of these are magic fixalls, just do the best you can, with what you have.

 

[CcoFirst]

Remember all that crap the old fogies said " not to do" when you were a kid? now ya gotta pay for it! I am in the same boat as you. Before a prone shooting session, a couple of advil will help relax my spine, stretching as a regular routine will also help tremendously. I see some of the older guys running hi-prone, using support under their chest, extended bipods and double/triple rear bags with some decent success, especially compared to a low prone they can't hold or maintain w/o discomfort. Another position that can be useful for some is raising the right knee to 90*, this will roll/ twist your body to the side, allowing for a unique prone, but sometimes workable, great for the bigger belly guys. None of these are magic fixalls, just do the best you can, with what you have.

Raising knee like hi power guys do?

 

[Macca]

You’ve given us a fair bit of detail in what problem’s you’re having but left out some specific’s that can help us help you.
For instance are you tall,short,long necked or not.Shooting up hill or flat.
At an initial guess,your rear bag isn’t high enough for your bipod height.You can either get another bag or squeeze the ears to move the butt up.
I dare say you’re not loading your bipod correctly either.

 

[bourbonbent]

At the risk of sounding like a fuckin hippie, I’d strongly suggest seeing a chiropractor. Numerous injuries over the years have left me with some real problems. Make sure it’s a good chiropractor.

I have to hike in a mile or so to get to where I shoot, so by the time I get there I’m good and warmed up, a little mild stretching helps as well.

If you can have someone take a video of you whilst shooting prone, or several, or even some photos, that would help folks get your issue squared away. If anyone acts weird about it, remind them that coaches video athletes. Footage doesn’t lie, and gives you a hard starting point for tracking progress.

Hope that helped, and I really can’t overemphasize how much a good chiropractor can help, especially with neck pain and all that.

 

[CcoFirst]

You’ve given us a fair bit of detail in what problem’s you’re having but left out some specific’s that can help us help you.
For instance are you tall,short,long necked or not.Shooting up hill or flat.
At an initial guess,your rear bag isn’t high enough for your bipod height.You can either get another bag or squeeze the ears to move the butt up.
I dare say you’re not loading your bipod correctly either.

I’m 6”2 using a rear bag about the size of a big Fosters beer can. Range is set up for 100 yard bench so target is about chest level to me. On flat ground. I’m new to bipod shooting for sure . My neck is not long but thick. Big guy but not too fat . craining my neck just to get a sight picture but not able to hold it.

 

[CcoFirst]

At the risk of sounding like a fuckin hippie, I’d strongly suggest seeing a chiropractor. Numerous injuries over the years have left me with some real problems. Make sure it’s a good chiropractor.

I have to hike in a mile or so to get to where I shoot, so by the time I get there I’m good and warmed up, a little mild stretching helps as well.

If you can have someone take a video of you whilst shooting prone, or several, or even some photos, that would help folks get your issue squared away. If anyone acts weird about it, remind them that coaches video athletes. Footage doesn’t lie, and gives you a hard starting point for tracking progress.

Hope that helped, and I really can’t overemphasize how much a good chiropractor can help, especially with neck pain and all that.

I never even considered a chiropractor. Thanks. I would like to leave the bench and venture into something new but if I can’t get the basic position down why bother buying the gear and suck none stop?

 

[DownhillFromHere]

I'm 5'11, 185, age... over 65. Thirty years ago I was 6'1" and 175. There are essentially no disks left in my neck - ROM very limited. No pain, but over-flexing can make some fingers go numb. In my first match two years ago and the class and practice leading up to it, I simply could not get into a stable prone position at all, let alone maintain that position through a stage. I realized I was going to have to figure out a workaround.

As suggested above, the solution (for me) was a 9-13" bipod set to about 11" (for flat terrain) and a pillow bag under my chest. These items allow my neck to be less flexed and takes a lot of weight off my elbows, so I can hold the position long enough to comfortably finish PRS stages. I've also learned to drop into position such that the toe of the stock rests on a corner of the bag. Quite stable, quite comfortable. I still prefer to do load development and such from a solid bench as opposed to prone, but at least now I can get prone and stay that way through a stage.

Hope this helps.

Edit: My lumbar spine is also a wreck and has been for many years. I tried chiropractic for awhile - relief duration was measured in hours after I left the practice. Xray-guided steroid injections didn't help for more than a couple of days. Then a buddy steered me to an acupuncturist who turned off my lumbar spine and sacroiliac pain like a light switch, and it stayed off for years. Different people respond favorably to different treatments, and practitioners vary in skill. The acupuncturist told me before he ever started that, if he couldn't give me significant and lasting pain relief within three sessions, acupuncture wasn't going to work, and that principle applied to other treatment approaches. The chiropractor never told me that. He just kept taking my money, as did the spine-injection guy. Learn from my example.