Prone vs bench shooting

[Morgan321]

I'm no world class shooter. I shot some groups for load development last week prone. The groups were better than I normally shoot, but being load development I attributed it to a good load. I shot the same best two loads again today, the only change being they were shot from a bench, and the same loads went from overlapping bullet holes and ~0.7 moa groups to around 1.5moa. Used the same two sandbags and nothing changed except the shooting position. Is this typical?

I've been thinking about getting a bipod to ditch the big front sandbag, do people generally shoot better/worse with a bipod vs a sandbag? Does it depend on the person? Anything else I should know? I was really surprised at the difference between shooting positions.

 

[Papagallos]

Tag for later.

 

[damoncali]

If your position is solid and you're shooting to your NPA, you should see similar accuracy going from bench to prone. The things I would check:

1) are you muscling the gun at all, even a little? This is easier to do at the bench, so maybe your'e getting away with it. The answer is to stop and shoot only when your NPA is on target, even from the bench.

1a) Fatigue - This is related to #1, but a bench is comfortable, and will not expose poor fundamentals as quickly as prone will. Hows the trigger feel when prone?

2) parallax - if your parallax is off, a change in position can cause headaches. Check to see that the cross hairs do not move on target when you move your head. If they move relative to the target as you move your head from side to side behind the scope, adjust your scope until they don't.


The good news is that you should be able to get the same good accuracy when prone, just check the fundamentals and don't forget your scope parallax.

Edit: I misread your post and thought the good groups were off a bench. Advice still applies though - NPA and parallax are the likely culprits, and possibly a less than stellar bench.

 

[wilecoyote]

No Change in Point of Impact - YouTube
hope can help

 

[mark5pt56]

Don't worry, aside from fundementals, it could simply be you shot better, or worse on one day.

 

[psinclair]

Never been much difference for me.....I apply slight forward pressure with my shoulder when I shoot from the Harris. Consistant trigger break is the key IMO.

 

[turret]

i've always shot slightly better from prone with bipod than from the bench with bipod. not sure why, and it's not as drastic as the op, but better just the same.

 

[kraigWY]

I shoot better prone. I shoot prone better with a sling, unsupported. Per the CMP Vintage Sniper Match Rules, you can shoot off sand bags or you can use a sling. Can't use both. I spent a great deal of time working on both and found I'm much better using a sling un-supported.

I personally believe you should practice the way you're going to shoot. If you're a bench rest shooter, then shoot from the bench. If you are a tactical shooter, using bipods, rear bags, etc, then practice that way. If you shoot NRA or CMP High Power, shoot the sling un-supported. If you are a hunter, then practice field positions.