db_tanker
Member
I mix and match...I have mostly 30's but I have five 10 round mags for bench shooting...twenty 30 round mags for fun.
Well, there is “proper” prone, and then what one may have to do, on uneven ground, and/or when cover is scant, and the other side is not cardboard or steel, and has loaded firearms.
Incorrect. Not all prone shooting is high power style leather jacket stuff. Trying to cover a big prairie dog town prone off a bipod on top of a hill, for instance, I much prefer 20s to 30s.
I'm fact, I prefer the general handling and clearance of 20s to 30s for most shooting. Although I have several times the number of 30s as I do 20s, the 20s get most of the use.
I knew people were going to take issue with my post, but I still remain unconvinced here.
The military has only uses 30 round magazines for their M16 variants and has since Vietnam (where they started issuing 30 rounders at the end of the war). I'm not exactly sure what point you're making here but, when it comes to fighting / training for wars, we went prone with 30 round mags just fine. There shouldn't be any condition when you're firing prone where the extra 2 inches of a 30 round mag should be getting in the way, or even making contact with the ground unless you absolutely want it to as an added point of contact with the ground or you aren't firing from a proper prone position. In my experience, most of the time we fired from a kneeling position from behind cover.
I don't understand how this would make sense because, if you're shooting off a bipod, your silhouette is even higher -- so you should have even more clearance off the ground. Even on a hill, you're literally talking about an extra 2-3 inches at most with modern magazines (except some of the smaller 5 rounders):
View attachment 952685
I mean clearly you guys have a right to do what you want but these few inches of clearance should not impede someone shooting from a prone position
It's two or three inches in a specific place that makes a difference to handing if you're trying to get relatively low on a bipod and shoot at varying distances.
Whether the hill helps or hurts depends on exactly where you are on the crest. I'm not guessing on this, been there, done that a few times and know which one I prefer, give it a try if you don't believe me. .
.It also goes without saying that 30s often get in the way when shooting on a bench, especially from bags.
Regardless, inferring that people who prefer 20s for prone shooting just don't know what they are doing is nonsense.
Who bloody well cares? Everyone is built differently. Guys talk about using a 30 rounder in the prone position as a monopod. I can't. 30 rounders are too short. Only think I can think of is the extra padding around my middle.... because... I wear a heavy coat when shooting... means I can't get low enough. Perhaps if I took my... heavy coat... off when shooting, I could get lower. But unfortunately I'm rather attached to my... heavy coat... and it could take awhile to give it up....if you have this preference because the magazine is "getting in the way," I'm very confused as to how you're having this problem...
I also have long arms. To get low enough to use a 30 rounder as a monopod, I have to splay my elbows pretty far apart and it feels unnatural. I have to use the Magpul 40 rounders for a monopod.
Who bloody well cares? Everyone is built differently. Guys talk about using a 30 rounder in the prone position as a monopod. I can't. 30 rounders are too short. Only think I can think of is the extra padding around my middle.... because... I wear a heavy coat when shooting... means I can't get low enough. Perhaps if I took my... heavy coat... off when shooting, I could get lower. But unfortunately I'm rather attached to my... heavy coat... and it could take awhile to give it up.
I also have long arms. To get low enough to use a 30 rounder as a monopod, I have to splay my elbows pretty far apart and it feels unnatural. I have to use the Magpul 40 rounders for a monopod.
I've also stacked bean bags high enough to get the 30 rounders off the bench. On the benches at my local shooting range, that was too tall to use the stool. I had to switch to 20 rounders. Just use a taller stool, you say. HA! The shooting stools were part of the bench and didn't adjust high enough.
What works for one shooter may not work for the next. I know guys that are perfectly happy using 30 rounders off the bench and as monopods in prone. Or had no problems with 30 rounders in prone. So, un-confuse yourself and just accept that what works for you, doesn't always work for others. Accept the fact that just because it's not a problem for you doesn't mean everyone can make it work
Everyone is built differently
I've also stacked bean bags high enough to get the 30 rounders off the bench. On the benches at my local shooting range, that was too tall to use the stool.
I'm not trying to start an argument here, but you're basically just dismissing my point without providing a counter argument. At this point, I'd really like to see a picture of someone shooting properly from a prone position where the 2-3 extra inches of magazine prevent them from doing it. In this case, we have a prone unsupported shooter:
View attachment 952722
I don't know how small your arms are but, unless they're 7 inches or shorter, that 2-3 extra inches of magazine shouldn't interfere with your prone position. That said, the distance, elevation, or curvature of the hill your shooting from doesn't make a difference at all from this prone position because your body is still in one straight line. Even if the hill is close to a straight drop, you're bracing the ground with your elbows so it doesn't make a difference.
I even picked someone in what is close to how Marines teach the prone position in order to illustrate that there is variance to stable prone positions that shouldn't interfere with your magazine. This is especially confusing to me because, again, a bipod should raise your silhouette.
Oh believe me, I "gave it a try" when I was in the military for years (not shooting gophers or whatever you're talking about). I've done it probably in more geographical locations than you might have guessed, and I still do it several times a week to this day. I remain totally confused as to how you're shooting from a stable prone position and that extra 2- inches of a magazine "gets in the way" unless you're shooting from an unstable position.
.
How are you setting up your bags?! Assuming your bench is flat, they shouldn't be close enough to the magazine to make a difference.
View attachment 952724
I know this photo isn't on a bench, but that's irrelevant because it only takes like 2 or 3 bags to raise that rifle like a foot off of it.
Well for starters, I didn't say people who "prefer 20s for prone shooting don't know what they're doing." What I said was someone who has a difficult time shooting prone with a 30 round mag don't know how to shoot prone and "you guys have a right to do what you want but these few inches of clearance should not impede someone shooting from a prone position." I stand by this particularly if the argument is that "the magazine gets in the way," which to me is almost inconceivable as to how this is happening unless you're not bracing the ground with your elbows or using a bipod that's way to small. To this point in the conversation I still remain totally unconvinced.
That said, if I misunderstood you and that's your preference that's fine. I'm not going to sit here and tell you that you're an inferior shooter because you prefer a 20 round mag. However, if you have this preference because the magazine is "getting in the way," I'm very confused as to how you're having this problem.
If you really want to shut me up, show me a picture of what you're doing and how this 30 round magazine gets in the way, because I'm willing to bet dollars to doughnuts you're probably not holding an AR-15 style rifle in a proper prone position if a 30 round mag is getting in the way.