Why Am I The Only One Not In A Chair?

[Andrew Wyatt]

The majority of shooters can't shoot from positions very well, and get frustrated when they can't print tiny groups like they can from the bench. If this doesn't apply to you, there's no reason to be angry. If it does apply to you, i'm not the person you need to be angry at.

 

[Cosmoline]

I learned to shoot offhand in the 1950s.

Would you say most folk then at rifle ranges were shooting in stances or at the benches?

 

[BrocLuno]

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.

What he said - minus the horse (haven't hunted horseback going on 30 years), but add ATV and across the hood of the truck.

I practice from the bench on things I might use like a rolled up jacket, scrunched up hat, gloved hand (supporting), tool bag, etc. I like to know how my rifles react to me supporting hand on different materials. It ain't always the same.

Oh yeah, I also shoot offhand at the range just to give the bench weanies something to gripe about (that guy is moving around too much ).

 

[JohnBT]

I learned to shoot offhand in the 1950s.

Would you say most folk then at rifle ranges were shooting in stances or at the benches?
_________________________

I don't know, I didn't start shooting at ranges until the mid- or late-90s. Give a man a chair and he'll sit in it; especially if it's for 2 or 3 hours and he has lots of ammo.

Seriously, I didn't see very many people who had boxes and boxes of ammo until 10 or so years ago. Most people prior to that period would shoot a shot, check it out and then ponder the options and think it over before the second shot.

That period of super-cheap ammo we had brought out the blasters and ammo wasters.

 

[m33p0n3]

The people sitting at the bench all the time don't bother me one bit. Most of them are there just to have some fun popping shots off or sighting in a hunting gun. I tend to get a few strange looks since I shoot off hand in a more target shooting style than most are used to seeing.

But it does annoy me that the only local range has the line setup so that you have to shoot standing or off the bench. There is just enough room between to slip through, but not shoot from prone or other position. I've taken to climbing up on the table and shooting from kneeling or sitting, but I'm a little too tall for prone to work out.

 

[Still Shooting]

Another Bench Guy

I belong to a local club that has a good outdoor range - berm is at 203yds, about 40 benches, all on concrete and under roof. While I'm a lifetime hunter, in the past 10 years or so, my work has given me few opportunities to shoot at all.

Right now I have 11 rifles; a year ago I got back into reloading, sporterized a $20 SMLE No. 1 Mk III, took down and completely went over a couple of Remington .22's, did some work on a Savage 99 (.308), and found out my 257 bob was not delivering the accuracy it fromerly had. I also started my wife out shooting, put Timney triggers in our 3 Ruger 77's, and had my 77/22H rechambered to K Hornet. I recently acquired a Winchester 94 (1949 mfg.), and a new Savage 11 in 7mmWSM.

So I "bench it," when I am home on weekends, 'cause I have a LOT of load testing, gun testing, and re-sighting to do. Do I shoot offhand when hunting? Sure I do, but I like my rifles to be sighted in, with a "pet" load, and as accurate as I can make them.

First priority is "getting everything in order" - take it out, and know it'll shoot where it's pointed. And now, that takes up all the time I have for shooting.

 

[Beetle Bailey]

I live in Los Angeles County, and there are few rifle ranges nearby. The vast majority of the rifle shooters I see at the range shoot from the bench. They run the gamut from competition level to raw beginner, and everything in between. Next most popular shooting position is standing. Other than High Power shooters, it is rare to see competent shooters from standing around here.

After that, prone is the next most popular. If I had to generalize, I'd say the prone shooters as a whole are more competent then the first two groups. The causal rifle shooters don't want to get on the ground and also do not have a shooting mat.

Again, other than HP shooters, you rarely see anyone shoot from a sitting or kneeling position around here. It is the least common position I see being used at the public outdoor ranges I go to.

I should add that I mostly shoot on the weekends, and that many serious shooters only go to public ranges on weekdays to avoid shooting next to inexperienced shooters. Or the serious shooters belong to a private club and shoot on a private range. The causal shooters mostly go on the weekends so I see them the most. Also, the majority of the rifle shooters I see do not hunt. So their rifles are range toys and they enjoy them best shooting from the bench. Since I live in a heavily anti-gun part of a heavily anti-gun state, I am certainly happy to have the causal shooter around safely enjoying his or her rifle from the bench I hope this is what you were looking for.

 

[Peter M. Eick]

Down here in Texas if you go prone at my range you better be prepared to deal with the fireants.

I have the bite marks on the legs still to prove I was going prone recently. Those buggers hurt and have left some permanent scars now from prior shooting sessions.

I see the logic of bench only for rifle if you check the benches for ants first.

 

[41 Mag]

Cosmo,

I might be one of th bench sitters while at the range, but rest assured 95% of my shooting in the field is standing or kneeling.

I shoot form the bench to relax, work up loads, and tweak the rifle and load into the smallest groups I can. When I hunt, I know that within my ranges for that particular rifle/load combo, all I need to do is my part and settle the cross hair where it needs to be. It takes the guess work out of that part of the equation, and lets me concentrate on what I need to do to make the shot. I have crawled on my belly through stickers and thorns simply to get up on a pack of sunning hogs, Same for deer in the areas I hunt, we stalk or still hunt the woods, and if you cannot hit at 100yds offhand you might as well go home. Most times there are plenty of things to rest off of, but like mentioned, there are also things which will block your vision when those positions are assumed. I usually have some sort of bi-pod with me to help out especially when hunting wide open pastures. I am confident in my loads and my shooting to reach out to 400yd when using them with no problems IF the conditions allow.

I do also hunt with handguns and this adds to the being prepared part. I am easily capable of hitting what and where I want to 50yds with the handguns I carry in the field, throw in a scoped TC or similar and that can be stretched out quite a bit further but again from off the top of a pack or bi-pod.

 

[isc]

I always wonder why I'm the only one shooting from a kneeling position or the prone.

 

[jcwit]

I shoot from the bench when using my target rifles, both rimfire and centerfire.

However one of my favorite shooting is with my M1 Carbine shooting cast loads at 2" x 4" x 4" foam blocks offhand at 70 yds, open sights of course. It very satisfying to hit a block 10 out of 10, especially if done before block stops rolling.