Why prone?
- Thread starter TonyG
- Start date
I just turned 60. I personally feel that anything that puts you on the ground and getting back up again, under your own power, cannot be overstated in terms of health benefits ……
Prone is the most stable platform to shoot from in the field. But in tall grass it can be futile. Even at 59 years old wrestling, standing on concrete, and running in combat boots has taken it's toll. So I can empathize. If you don't want to get down in prone then practise whatever is comfortable, practical, and useful. Where I used to hunt sitting was the most useful field position. So I used to practice sitting slung with a backpack. If I only needed to shoot from the bench then so be it. At 70 years old shoot whatever makes you happy. I think you earned it lol.
Prone - because that concrete shooting bench is just too heavy to carry around?
I came to the same conclusion clearing brush so the target could be seen from the prone position. I still practice it some- but have only taken a few shots from the prone position when hunting. Lots leaning against trees, off of fence posts and across hoods and off mirrors and windows (for rodents that can be hunted from a truck).
It is the easiest way to get stable with the least equipment needed- but in the sage brush and grass the opportunities are rare.
It is the easiest way to get stable with the least equipment needed- but in the sage brush and grass the opportunities are rare.
You don’t have to.
Get good with what works for you.
Fact is though the more you become one with earth the more stable you will be.
Get good with what works for you.
Fact is though the more you become one with earth the more stable you will be.
Why would you have to shoot prone? Shoot in any position that works for you. I give you permission.
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Because its the most stable position.
I'm 70, lumbar laminectomy 15 years ago, lumbar fusion 6 weeks ago, and I will be in PA with the Frank/Marc show shooting to 1k prone in late Sep. Hell, did a four day with them last year and my back only gave out on me in the afternoon of the last day! haha
As soon as I'm cleared to shoot again...end of Jun kind of thing...I will be shooting prone to see how it is with new work on lumbar but I expect it will be just fine and I will shoot that way to recondition those particular muscles.
Now, I'm not saying you have to...if you prefer, shoot off of a bench. Benches are fine. But prone is...at least for me...the most stable and the position that I shoot with the greatest precision.
Do you know about modified prone where you basically lay your upper body on the bench so its sort of prone like but not on the cold hard ground?
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Eventually you will be prone so why not practice now for the enviable ....
No, eventually you will be supine, unless you have them bury you face down so the whole world can kiss your a**.
As most have said most stable position to replicate good fundamentals. If you can and have the means build a bench that emulates prone. Wide enough for you to get square behind the rifle and your elbows deployed as you would prone, even better if you can get your whole upper body supported by the bench. Long and wide, Marc and Frank have a setup like this at the range in AK.
Appreciate all the input. I could go prone if I absolutely had to. Getting down is ok, but it takes a lot of groaning and creaking getting back up! Probably need some new knees! Bench is my friend, and I want to see how well I can do sitting with a tripod. With pretend dry fire I feel pretty stable. Looking at getting a stool.
Looks like sitting a tree stand would be more comfortable than laying on my belly in the snow waiting for a deer to walk in the one small area I could see and shoot from that position.
I had thought that as well in the past but some of my most unconfortable hunts were sitting in tree stands.
Then i encountered a couple of different places that the deer were very keyed up to tree stands.
One of those places i actually set up a tree stand and then set up a pop up ground blind just thirty yards away.
I could watch the deer come in verify the tree stand was empty then stroll into bow range and settle down before getting stuck and bleeding out.
Never encountered that were i grew up hunting.
I have shot more hogs from prone than anything else as well.
Most think the same. I have a mat and warm layer below so no laying on the ground. Below the winds, can see more area than a tree stand, and the brush behind me conceals small movements. Not to mention I can't ask for a steadier shot.
The beauty of all that is we get to do what the fuck we want when we go hunt, and all the haters stay on the internet!
Get a drummer’s throne. Up/down, rotate, and made to break down and be transported. Also, allows you to position BEHIND the bench and not in those silly side notches that no one but free recoil BR shooters like.
And, if you raise your stool, I bet you could lay your upper body on the bench (if it’s long enough) and shoot modified prone that way too.
I was not trying to tell you you are doing it wrong or anything like that. I was simply commenting on the fact that prone on belly is not very comfy. Especially if you are trying to look forward where your neck is in full flexion.
I like to get prone for a shot if I can, but in the field its rarely been an option. To the point I keep considering dumping the bipod.
You could see a lot more ground the way I would set up there. Which would be walking through it chasing all the deer out. Saying well damn theres tracks but no deer.
I bought a drummer's seat in short order. Best option for the bench.
Long time ago as a Private Soldier I was told......
If you don't need to be running walk, don't need to walk - stand, don't need to stand - sit, don't need to sit - lie, if lying down you may as well sleep
Moral, during training your either running or sleeping....
I shoot a lot from the prone - or lying down about to sleep
If you don't need to be running walk, don't need to walk - stand, don't need to stand - sit, don't need to sit - lie, if lying down you may as well sleep
Moral, during training your either running or sleeping....
I shoot a lot from the prone - or lying down about to sleep
Why? Back in the 1960’s, we didn’t have no fancy benches, no fancy waxed bags, could not even afford no nice leather slings, not even a real shooting range, but we laid on the ground like mean snakes, held the rifles in our hands with our off side elbow supporting the rifle and shot some damn fine groups. As good as the rifles of the times could shoot In those days.
My favorite shooting area was on the Hamilton Lake road on the river side of the levy. Hamilton lake was an oxbow lake of the Ouachita river. The levy’s were kept mowed and had frequent bends to follow the river bed. That gave a great 100-200 yard shooting area with a great backstop. Now, stupid people have built homes there, On the Wrong Side of the Levy!
GOD knows how much I miss those steady hands, that strong back, supple, pain free joints and good eyes. (And the open, empty country)
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