prone shooting mats?

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Axis II

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I'm getting into woodchuck hunting farmland quite a bit and have had to take a few prone shots in hay or bean fields and worried about chiggers and ticks so I was thinking about getting a shooting mat. I have never used these before but it looks like it would work. my questions on it are below.

Do they mess with being stable off a bidpod at all?
bulky when rolled up?
quick setup and packup?

Thank you!
 
Catch the Midway mat(s) on sale. It's a good mat at a good price. They have two, this one is the bigger one. I have both, get the bigger one. It's about this big. (See pic.) Folds out in less than a minute. Rolls up fast, slower if you try to keep crap out. People shoot F Class off of mats, so stable enough. Depends on what's under it though. I have a $20 "mini" mat that is small and thin but handy to keep in the vehicle. It will work OK, but the bigger ones give more protection from the ground/critters/etc.
 

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medalguy said:
Shooting in dirt, I just use a tarp. Works OK for me.
Click to expand...
Tarp would be kind of large to pack I would think. I figured the mat would be quick to throw down and not make a lot of noise or movement and spook game.
 
ohihunter2014

Actually those blue vinyl tarps can fold up into a pretty small package and kept that way with a couple of bungee cords.
 
I got this small one on sale for $20 from Primary Arms. (That's all it's worth). Others sell the same basic thing. It's small and handy, stashes easily in the vehicle, and will put something between you and the wet/dirty ground.

That's a 12" tile.
 

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Walkalong said:
Catch the Midway mat(s) on sale. It's a good mat at a good price. They have two, this one is the bigger one. I have both, get the bigger one. It's about this big. (See pic.) Folds out in less than a minute. Rolls up fast, slower if you try to keep crap out. People shoot F Class off of mats, so stable enough. Depends on what's under it though. I have a $20 "mini" mat that is small and thin but handy to keep in the vehicle. It will work OK, but the bigger ones give more protection from the ground/critters/etc.
Click to expand...
I keep the rolled up mat in my VAN. Works great for a sleeping mat.
 
I have both the Midway and Primary Arms mats and second Walkalong. Wait for a "sale". The Midway mat is way better for only a little more if you catch both on sale, but the PA rolls up smaller. Mostly I use the Midway mat for shooting prone (when the weeds are low enough to allow it :) ) and the PA mat for hanging along a fence to keep the brass on my side of it, although it'll do for prone shooting in a pinch as it is small enough that I just keep it in the car in case I ever need it, could also come in handy changing a tire etc.

If you are humping it in the field, the smaller, lighter PA mat be a better choice, if you are only walking a short distance from your vehicle, I think you'll really prefer the extra size and thickness of the Midway mat.

I also have a large canvas tarp, but its really only useful if I have another person to help deploy and fold up when done unless there is basically no wind -- its best use is for keeping brass out of the weeds and collecting it in one fell swoop as you fold it.
 
TheSquire said:
Ticks I know, but what are 'chiggers'?
Click to expand...

Chiggers are this little red bug...they are very small. I think they might be in the same family as a tick, but much MUCH smaller. You don't generally feel them or see them, and they can be brushed off very easy....now don't quote me on this....but if memory serves they really want to find a bird for a host animal....they will leave red itchy marks on your skin and if you get enough bites they can really mess you up.

I have gotten eaten alive by them working a crash on the side of the highway.....and I have seen the FAA guys and gals just torn up after a crash investigation....they are all over the place in the central US, think Missouri, Kansas....basically the center of the country. Get bit enough and you will get sick, this is why those city folk from DC got so sick....not use to it.
 
And yea, to the OP just hose yourself down with Off or something like that. Wear your socks on the outside of your pants, yea you look stupid, but I would rather look stupid then be itchy....and long sleeve shirts, you can get some very light long sleeve shirt...those really help.

If you find a tick, make sure you get all of him when you remove him from your body.

I live in tick country, about every time I go outside in the summer I will get something on me....just the way it is. The only ticks you really need to worry about are the deer ticks, these are little guys and usually the ones that have the lyme issue....trust me you don't want that.

Bottom line hose yourself down with something, and wear good clothing, the correct pants and shirt and stuff can really protect you and are not too hot.
 
Yoga/exercise mat, sprayed down in off. Don't use your wife's- she probably won't like that. Also try to get it in a "manly" color so we don't laugh at you. Bipod feet in the dirt.
 
"Ticks I know, but what are 'chiggers'?"

Chiggers are the arthropod from hell.

The good news is that, AFAIK, they don't carry any diseases.

The bad news is that, when you get a bad case, it's like having a couple hundred mosquito bites. But you know how mosquito bites itch bad for ten or twenty minutes? Chigger bites itch at that same intensity for days. And they like to seek out the warmest, moistest places ... like under your underwear, if you get my drift. Also IMHE, their populations are pretty sporadic - you may get lazy and think 'I only was there for a few minutes, and have never gotten chiggers, so I won't shower until tonight' - and whammo, this time they were having a population boom.

Others probably know better - when I grew up I moved to the Rockies - better grizzlys than chiggers :)
 
The Midway shooting mat works well. I recently got their thick padded mat to try out.

Just be grateful that chiggers aren't as big as ticks!
 
ohihunter2014 wrote:
...worried about chiggers and ticks so I was thinking about getting a shooting mat.
Click to expand...

I would think that by the time you could deploy the mat and get set up on it, your prey would have either noticed all this unnatural activity going on or simply moved on to the next task on its daily schedule.

You can use nerve agents to protect yourself against chiggers and ticks, but if you prefer something with fewer potential side effects, just use a sulfur ball.

For those not familiar with it, it is exactly what it sounds like. It is a ball of elemental sulfur about the size of a baseball. You can get them at most farm supply stores. Stick the sulfur ball in an old tube sock and then beat the ball against the hem of your trousers, the waistline of your trousers and the cuffs of your jacket; the places where vermin will try to get inside your clothing. The sulfur is an effective deterrent so you can walk through as well as lay prone in the bush and be very safe from the blood suckers without needing a mat. Launder the clothing separately from other clothing and you should not have any lingering odor of the sulfur when you return to civilzation.
 
TheSquire said:
Ticks I know, but what are 'chiggers'?
Click to expand...
Horrible little critters that get on you, bite you, wait for the bite to melt your flesh, then they feed on that goo. The red bugs/chiggers are gone as soon as you bath/shower (They don't burrow in), but the bite has been done and they will ooze and itch for a week or two (Sometimes more). Nasty buggers. Window cleaner (Ammonia) makes them stop itching immediately for many people, and also makes them heal faster. I have about four or five bites right now, (legs and buttocks). I have had dozens at one time before. Talk about miserable until I found the glass cleaner cure. Spray around your ankles/pants leg before entering enemy territory. I didn't do that last Wednesday evening.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trombiculidae
.
 
I would think that by the time you could deploy the mat and get set up on it, your prey would have either noticed all this unnatural activity going on or simply moved on to the next task on its daily schedule.
Click to expand...
I'd assume he was planning on setting up a position and snipe at them as they came in and out of their holes.
 
hdwhit said:
I would think that by the time you could deploy the mat and get set up on it, your prey would have either noticed all this unnatural activity going on or simply moved on to the next task on its daily schedule.

You can use nerve agents to protect yourself against chiggers and ticks, but if you prefer something with fewer potential side effects, just use a sulfur ball.

For those not familiar with it, it is exactly what it sounds like. It is a ball of elemental sulfur about the size of a baseball. You can get them at most farm supply stores. Stick the sulfur ball in an old tube sock and then beat the ball against the hem of your trousers, the waistline of your trousers and the cuffs of your jacket; the places where vermin will try to get inside your clothing. The sulfur is an effective deterrent so you can walk through as well as lay prone in the bush and be very safe from the blood suckers without needing a mat. Launder the clothing separately from other clothing and you should not have any lingering odor of the sulfur when you return to civilzation.
Click to expand...
We generally sit and watch a field for an hour or so. I've been spotted before and they generally come back out in an hour or so. i figured a mat would keep me clean and keep the bugs out.
 
Chiggers are juvenile forms of a mite. And a mat will just give 'em an easy way to drag you away. snicker.
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/chiggers/article_em.htm
"...makes them stop itching..." 500 mcg of B12 daily or witch hazel. Doesn't do anything for the itching from rolling in/on hay though.
Like bannockburn says a 4 x 6 tarp rolls pretty small. Comes in camouflage too($3.29 at Harbor Freight). A blue foam camping mat will do as well.
 
A table spoon of Apple cider vinegar taken the night before you visit the woods/grass will keep the chiggers away ... I usually mix mine in a small glass of tea and down it ... the awful taste will be nothing compared to the really really awful itch of the chiggers !!!
 
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