Glued To The Bench--a growing trend?

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Cosmoline

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Another warm season is upon us, and yet again at the local ranges most of the rifle shooters are sitting at the benches firing from rests.

I understand that there is a niche sport of bench rest shooting, and I understand the need to use a rest to sight in, but why do so many American rifle shooters seem unable or unwilling to fire from any stance?

Is this something others have been noting? If anything it seems to be getting worse around here, not better. This in spite of the much larger influx of vets and active duty military. There are a few younger guys using modern techniques and single point slings with AR's, but actually not that many. Why would you get a tricked-out AR and shoot it from a bench after sighting in?

What's gone wrong? What can be done to fix it? I have half a mind to print out some cards with the stances on them and start passing them around. If you can't shoot in the stances, IMHO, you really can't shoot. And stance shooting requires constant practice to keep in form.
 
I agree with you. I grew up shooting guns from many positions - off hand. It is a valuable skill for field use. They way I see it, people shooting form benches just seem to enjoy hitting the target accurtely. It is very satisfying. Some people jsut get frustrated not hitting it on the dot.

I only bench shoot when adjusting a scope for a rifle. After that I am on my belly or on my bum with elbows resting on my knees, or even standing and hitting distant targets. I am not hoping to hit the bullseyes. I hoping to hit a water bottle sized target at 200 yards plus free hand.
 
Part of the reason is that a lot of people shoot, but not nearly as many hunt anymore. Another part of it is that people are lazy (myself included) - shooting 10 well positioned shots is much harder physically than sitting the rifle on some sandbags and pulling the trigger 50 times. The other thing is the obsession with miniscule groups. Most people will shoot better groups from the bench than from any stance. Comparison has in some degree fueled group size as the mark of proficiency instead of rifle familiarity while shooting in the field. For others, it's more about going to the range for fun to burn up some ammo. Thank you Cosmoline for the timely reminder that there are no benches in the field - it's time for me to stop being lazy.
 
I think it's about money. People send big $$$ on rifles and want to see what their rifle can do. Money can buy accuracy from a bench. Shooting offhand? Not so much.
 
I started shooting from a bench, but only because I was so small I couldn't hold up a rifle!

Benches are fine. If that's what the shooter wants to do, and it's his/her idea of a fun day at the range, then have at it. I surely won't protest.
 
Well, the bench is such a convenient place to park your equipment and the seat just looks so inviting....... . But in real life situations like hunting or combat, you don`t always have the option of shooting from a bench.:cuss:
Because of back problems I prefer to shoot standing upright rather than kneeling or prone. Sitting on a blanket down on the ground - shooting`s not so bad but getting back up again - that`s a bear with a mean disposition :eek: if you get my drift. It`s not fun gettin old, but it sure beats the alternative!:evil:
 
I'm with you on this idea.

I shoot from the bench to check the accuracy of my guns and reloads. I then shoot standing or in some other un-aided position to test myself.

I'd far rather hit the 200 yard gong found at my range 4 out of 10 times from a standing or kneeling self supported stance than 10/10 from a bench position.
 
I use two guns a lot when I go to the range- a Savage .17HMR and an AK-74. I start off shooting the Savage from the bench until the first ceasefire, at which point I set up reactive targets for the AK and shoot offhand and such. I can do both, and it's fun! :D
 
I cannot speak for everyone, but the only reason I go to the range is to use their benches to work on load development or zero a scope. I have many other places where I can and do practice from other positions. I suspect many others do the same.
 
The two rifles that I shoot the most at the range are my .308 bolt gun and my AR carbine. I'll shoot my carbine from varying positions, because, well, it's a carbine.

My .308 weighs about 18lbs, so I don't do too much off hand shooting with that.
 
I shoot my M1As, Garands, and ARs from a bench at my local range all the time.

Big deal. That is how you do load development.

I also am shooting 4 matches per month standing, sitting, and prone. My favorite position is kneeling. Again, no big deal.

Of course someone who didn't go to the matches or see me practicing for them might assume I only shoot from a bench.

Personally I am happy to see anyone out shooting however they like. We need more voters who shoot. If they choose to shoot standing on their head it is all good with me as long as they are safe.
 
There may be more people trying out different new loads for their gun(s) than one realizes.

When I take my tack-driving rifle to the range, I don't want to shoot many rounds at all. I make each shot count. If there happens to be no wind at all, I just might set up a target to see how the scope is adjusted at 200 yards, seeing just how tightly I can pull a group. Yes, there is much satisfaction in shooting five shots in one ragged smaller-than dime-sized hole from the 200 yard bench off sand bags, or even off a Harris Bipod!

Once I have confirmed the rifle is dead-on (sic), I stop, as I have no desire to burn up both my handloads and also my barrel!
 
What's gone wrong? What can be done to fix it? I have half a mind to print out some cards with the stances on them and start passing them around. If you can't shoot in the stances, IMHO, you really can't shoot. And stance shooting requires constant practice to keep in form.
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Here's a crazy thought. Some people simply enjoy shooting that way. The idea this is somehow wrong or needs to be fixed is absurd. While you may not approve or believe those people "can't shoot" i would imagine and hope they couldn't care less what you think. Why on earth would somebody believe its their place to tell others how to recreate?
 
There are outdoor ranges in my area that forbid shooting center fire rifles off hand, rimfire is OK at 25 yards or less off hand. One outdoor range forbids loading more than three rounds into your rifle's magazine once to verify function. I'm not sure if the loading more than one ban was lifted. And I live in the GunShine State of Florida
 
I only do it for sighting in and some plinking with a .22 but other then that, I'm usually standing.

There are outdoor ranges in my area that forbid shooting center fire rifles off hand, rimfire is OK at 25 yards or less off hand. One outdoor range forbids loading more than three rounds into your rifle's magazine once to verify function. I'm not sure if the loading more than one ban was lifted. And I live in the GunShine State of Florida
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Wouldn't shoot there at all!
 
Most of our hunting is done from elevated box blinds, so we almost always have a rest in the field. Plus, I'm always tinkering with different loads, and different oal, so I shoot from the bench a lot to test loads. There's nothing like seeing how small you can get those groups.

If I did much stalk hunting or hunting from my feet, I would definately practice more from those positions.
 
Several ranges that I use do not allow rifle fire while standing or prone, it's from a bench only. When I'm at a friend's backyard range the only time we use a bench is for sighting in a scope.
 
..Because they like to? I mean, why is it so hard to accept that thats what they get their jollies from and thats how they prefer to shoot. Same could be said of "why did you buy a gun instead of camping/hiking gear or a motorcycle/Cruise to the bahamas/$2000 of Facebook stock?" Whatever floats their boat, is what floats their boat.
 
I shoot from the bench when at the shooting range because I'm testing loads for accuracy and using the bench gives me a more true picture of the potential of my loads.

I don't need to go to the shooting range if I just want to pop off a couple of rounds offhand. I can do that at the farm.
 
I have a 100yd home range with a bench. It is great (as noted previously) for load development. It is also great for kids that find it a little hard to hold a 22 lr rifle. Some times it's nice to just sit :)

It also helps position new shooters and formalize the process of being at the line or behind the line.

When handguns plinking it makes a great place to stage the ammo and magazines. Or water, or stapler, or targets or muffs, or...

and beside, a person should just have a shooting bench.
 
Today I busted a bunch of water jugs from 100 yards with my 30-30 and iron sights. I hit all of them on the first shot with a howling wind. It's practice for real world hunting conditions. I shoot from a rest when dialing in my scope or testing out a new load.

i never shoot a handgun from a rest, What's the point? It's a handgun.
 
Theres nothing wrong with shooting of a bench, just as long as you understand, its not a true benchmark as to what your skills are.

Most people I know shoot from a bench, and almost to a one, they seem to think that what they do from a rest on the bench is what their "skill level" is as far as shooting goes. Ask them to step away and shoot without a crutch, and the excuses start to fly right away, if they will do it at all.

I understand the load development comments, I do it on occasion myself, but even during load development, I usually shoot more from a rested prone position (bipod or ruck) than I do from a bench, as it gives a more realistic idea as to what the load will do in use. Its also a lot more comfortable when shooting a lot of rounds. Shooting from a bench isnt the most comfortable way to shoot, especially with a larger caliber gun and "working" LOP rifle stocks.
 
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