Why Am I The Only One Not In A Chair?

[Cosmoline]

At my local range, run by state F&G, there are benches alternating with spaces to run the stances. Yet time and again out of a dozen or more rifle shooters on the line I'm the only one with a mat and the only one shooting off hand, kneeling, prone, etc. I can understand the need for the bench to test loads or sight in, but it has no real use beyond that particularly as this is a simple 100 yard range. And you never see folks sitting at the handgun benches.

Is this something other folks notice at their rifle ranges as well, or is it a local problem?

 

[Vern Humphrey]

It's very common. My shooting game (I only compete with myself) is 50 rounds offhand, usually with my Kimber M82 fired at a standard NRA 11-bull, 50 foot target. This has dramatically improved my shooting from all positions.

 

[R.W.Dale]

Oh great here we go another "I'm a the only REAL" marksman around thread.


A word of warning fellas don't throw your shoulders out of socket giving yourselves a pat on the back.


Tapatalk post via IPhone.

 

[Andrew Wyatt]

People don't like doing things they're bad at.

 

[68wj]

At my local range, run by state F&G, there are benches alternating with spaces to run the stances. Yet time and again out of a dozen or more rifle shooters on the line I'm the only one with a mat and the only one shooting off hand, kneeling, prone, etc. I can understand the need for the bench to test loads or sight in, but it has no real use beyond that particularly as this is a simple 100 yard range. And you never see folks sitting at the handgun benches.

Is this something other folks notice at their rifle ranges as well, or is it a local problem?

There is something to be said for bench time getting to know your rifle and working loads, but many eroneously feel that a small group from a bench means they are a good shot. My real world shots have mostly been unsupported and I like to practice that way too.

 

[Cosmoline]

Oh great here we go another "I'm a the only REAL" marksman around thread.

Don't misunderstand me, I've never claimed to be a marksman or even a particularly good shoot. My NIECE* is a good shot. I'm merely passable and that's on a good day when my contacts are in place and my old eyes are working. What I'm wondering is why so many shooters are just sitting there firing instead of standing up and actually practicing.

*The 2011 national champion BB gun shooter.

 

[451 Detonics]

People shoot from the bench because all they are interested in is trying to make the smallest group. The vast majority will never fire a round at an animal of any type, nor will they compete in any sanctioned competition. Whatever trips their trigger...

 

[BigG]

I think in addition to the group shooting it might be that folks often forget to keep their muzzle pointed downrange and therefore the tables have a useful function of keeping the guns from swinging around as the shooters change their stances. Just a thought.

 

[Dr T]

When I go to shoot at a range, I go there specifically to use the benches because it almost always involves test something (and I include sighting in as testing).

The rest of my shooting is in the field. In the country I hunt, I really don't want to get prone because:

1. The field of view of my intended targets is far too limited,
2. If the stuff I would be lying prone on was not poisonous or have thorns, it would be a sharp rock;
3. Because of #2, it usually hurts getting prone (and I have had a number of experiences, usually starting somewhere on the back of a horse).

It turns out that the sitting position at a bench is a good surrogate for the typical hunting hide that I use. I rare shoot offhand (except at aluminum cans in the caliche pit), and will usually use a mesquite branch or fence post as a rest if one is available.

 

[christcorp]

Because most people won't use a rifle as a defensive weapon. It's either going to be used for plinking; which is what they're doing; or for hunting. And in hunting, most rifle hunters brace their rifle on a bipod, tree, fence post, etc... So, for the average shooter, they ARE PRACTICING. They're practicing shooting a still target. At the most, possibly practicing for hunting.

Then you have the other extreme. The ones who are so into the competition/marksmanship of long range shooting. They think because they can rest a rifle on a bench, vise, etc... and shoot a target at 300+ yards, that they automatically are going to be a great home defense shooter. You can tell a lot of these folks, because they LOVE to use the letters "MOA".

The reality of home defense, is to hit your target in the center of mass. This is about the size of a basketball. If you can hit a "Probably Moving" target, inside of 100 yards; "More likely inside of 10 yards", in a 15-18" area, then you've done what you're suppose to do. But again, most home defenders won't use a rifle for home defense. Either because they aren't comfortable enough to use a rifle, or because in their particular scenario, a rifle isn't a good choice. Yes, you'll have the AR/AK hard-core owners try and tell you that it's the most effective self defense round there is. Effective is relative to your environment. For many people, a rifle is the wrong weapon. In my house, a rifle is the last weapon I'm grabbing for home defense. My primary is a 357 magnum revolver if it's 2am and I'm in bed. If I'm awake already, it's a Sig p220 45acp or possibly a 9mm. I don't even listen to those who want to argue using a rifle and not using a pistol. Most aren't worth my time.

So, you need to find out what those people at the range are planning on doing with their rifle. If it's practicing for hunting or just target practice, there's absolutely nothing wrong with sitting at a bench. If it's for home defense, then they should practice various tactical positions. But realize, defending your home is not the same as an assault team going into a building and clearing it. For the true home defense, there's nothing wrong with someone preferring a pistol over a rifle. I love all my AR's and all my AK's, but they would definitely not be my primary defensive weapon.

 

[Cosmoline]

That's something I hadn't thought of. But don't you still need to practice braced field positions? For example the method of putting your hand on a tree and resting the rifle on the thumb is something I think folks would want to practice.

Besides, isn't the notion of bracing that the object braces you and you hold the firearm? So you still need to have a good stance even if you're leaning on a tree or whatnot.

 

[jmr40]

If I'm at a range I'm there because I need the benches. If I don't want to shoot with the benches I can shoot from field positions at any number of other places.

 

[aka108]

I'm getting on in years and am not as stable a platform as I once was and I don't care to get on the ground as it's uncomfortable and I have to think about how I'm going to get up. You bet, I bench it nearly all the time now. Handgunning at the range has not changed much for me over the years but rifle shooting has. In the field it was always nice to have a tree, a rock, a fence post or some other solid object to help steady you up for your shot.

 

[splithoof]

Read "The Art of the Rifle" by Jeff Cooper. He makes a very good case for learning field shooting techniques. Yes, as has been said, benches are a useful tool for learning, equipment/load development, etc., but for some folks a simple day of shooting off one can be relaxing. Many shooters have not been exposed to other methods because they were never taught or offered the chance. Go ahead and try it, especially with good reactive steel targets. It will be a humbling experience, but you will be hooked.

 

[TonyAngel]

Well, maybe they do it because they think it's fun. As far as I'm concerned, that's a pretty useful reason for doing it.

 

[Ogham]

At my local range, run by state F&G, there are benches alternating with spaces to run the stances. Yet time and again out of a dozen or more rifle shooters on the line I'm the only one with a mat and the only one shooting off hand, kneeling, prone, etc. I can understand the need for the bench to test loads or sight in, but it has no real use beyond that particularly as this is a simple 100 yard range. And you never see folks sitting at the handgun benches.

Is this something other folks notice at their rifle ranges as well, or is it a local problem?

it sound like my local range... i wonder if they pack a bench when hunting.

benches are good but you need to lay on the ground from time to time

 

[R.W.Dale]

benches are good but you need to lay on the ground from time to time

No offense but unless you're "going over the top" in wwI or laying in a foxhole for cover in the deer woods shooting prone is if anything a more useless skill than sitting from a bench. I've shot deer sitting in a chair with the rifle on a "bench" I have yet to lay on my belly and crawl around in the sawgrass rocks and briars to shoot at lunch.

prone shooting skills today are only useful in shooting "games" for sportsman and other civilian marksman, and since the advent of body armor the last thing you want to do is present only your head and shoulders to the enemy

 

[Cosmoline]

What about the other stances, though? Kneeling, sitting, squatting, off hand--supported or not. These are the ones that require constant practice in my experience. And fine tuning. Surely there are folks hunting from something besides a portable table and chair.

 

[Andrew Wyatt]

I hunt from my hoveround.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

What about the other stances, though? Kneeling, sitting, squatting, off hand--supported or not. These are the ones that require constant practice in my experience.

Yep.

My experience is that shooting offhand will aid you in all those other positions. I won the Oklahoma small bore collegiate championship more years ago than I care to remember, and I did most of my practice offhand. I look at it like this -- anyone can shoot a perfect score prone. Most people can shoot near-perfect sitting. It's kneeling and most of all off-hand where people drop all their points, and so that's what I worked on.

In the field, I'll use any advantage I can find, from leaning against a tree, to resting my rifle over my pack. But there are times when you have to take the shot standing, and you need practice to do that.

 

[TonyAngel]

It's all a matter of shooting discipline that you are practicing. I have a precision rifle that has a 26" Krieger heavy varmint profile barrel on it with a Nightforce 5.5-22X50 scope. I'll guarantee you that you won't be doing much off hand shooting with this rifle.

The only point that I'm trying to make is that people shoot for many different reasons. Don't knock what they're doing because you don't see the value of it. Personally, I wouldn't want to be kneeling, sitting or squatting in any of the places where I shoot. When I do it, it's just to be doing it for the fun of it.

As for R.W. Dale's comments about shooting prone from a bipod, I have to agree to an extent. The only time I shoot prone is when I'm practicing to shoot long range for match purposes, just in case I ever get the chance to actually shoot a match.

 

[LemmyCaution]

Sometimes I wish I had a bench. Particularly after a week of heavy rain. I don't do anything but position shooting, other than resting my rifle on a pack, which is often my shooting position when I'm set hunting.

 

[RaceM]

Don't sweat it Cosmo, it's a to-each-his-own kinda thing. I practice like you do, sans the mat. Mud is where I live, so mud is where I practice.

 

[Sav .250]

You can shoot how ever you like.......... It doesn`t bother me one bit.
As for me...............I`m a bench guy.

 

[christcorp]

As you're noticing, it all DEPENDS ON WHY YOU'RE SHOOTING. MOST people simply enjoy shooting a target. Most don't even care about Minute of Angle. They just want to hit the target. Others shoot in competition. Some like to hunt. There's some that like the uber long-range; 600 yards+. They like to practice being a sniper. They like all the other factors that come into play, such as gravity, wind, inclination, etc... Short shots, <300 yards, the bullet gets there in LESS than 1 second. Outside forces aren't as disruptive.

Then you've got those that want to use the particular rifle for home defense. They don't get to practice the way they'd like to when they're at the range. So it all depends on what they are shooting for. You will find that the majority of gun shooters; rifle or pistol; aren't obsessed with MOA; don't care about vise, bench, etc...; etc... All they care about is hitting a target at 100+/- yards. If they hit it, they win. It's fun. They're happy.