Old guy shooting prone needs suggestions

Farleg said:
Gday mountainman
Would you mind sharing what you’ve found has helped with the prone shooting position

Look @ elk 👍 hmm terminal pics would top that off 😉😍😇
Cheers
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After a lot of trial and error I would up slightly offset to the left, somewhere between the straight back method they recommend now and the offset position the military used to use. My right leg is bent slightly and both feet are flat on the ground. Bipod set tall at about 12" with corresponding high rear bags and me resting my weight mostly on my elbows like BFD suggested. This keeps me from having to tilt my head too far back. Initially I had my left forearm on the ground and wrapped around the rear bag but today I found I was a lot steadier by resting my hand on the stock just ahead of my cheek.

The 215's have enough recoil even in this heavy rifle that it can create an issue. I think moving my leg forward helped me get my shoulders more square to the rifle. Once I did this and rested my hand on the buttstock I was able to be back on target fast enough to see my hits. This has been a problem up until today as I was very inconsistent. This upcoming shoot has no spotter so if you can't see your misses your up the infamous creek with no propulsion device.

When I started I was afraid I was going to have to cancel. I couldn't stand being in that position for more than a few seconds and after that I didn't shake, I would literally vibrate. Today on the second round after modifying my position a little more I was able to fire 5 rounds back to back, sat up a little bit and gave my head a shake, then fired the remaining 5. No pain just some discomfort. I hit the ram every shot and the circle 4 times for certain (possibly maybe 5 as I never drove back up to check it out). Just to be honest the first 10 rounds fired today hit all around the circle like it had a force field around it and one shot missed the ram completely.

If I make a fool out of myself on Saturday I promise I'll be real quiet about it Monday. ;)
 
There are so many nuances to the precision prone it's baffling. One would think it would be so easy to just lay there and shoot, but it is a challenge. My best groups come from bagged, or bipod front rest and rear bag from the bench. Way less fatiguing. Again, it's counterintuitive to think laying down wouldn't be the most relaxing. @Mountainman - as long as you are lined up straight behind the gun, you can kick that right leg up like the plastic green army man prone position and it will relieve some stress off the back. You must always shoot like this or not. It changes POI.
 
Well I made it back and can say I actually hit the target. I did as poorly as I could to pull it off by not hitting it until the last shot but I had a lot of fun doing it. Best thing was I was very comfortable behind the rifle and was easily spotting my misses.........all 9 of them. Sweetums was spot on with all but one all round (pilot error) hitting at the correct elevation, I just wasn't smart enough to get ahead of the increasing wind. Learned a lot this time (I will let someone else go first next time) and am looking forward to going back.

On a side note I also took the 1903 A1 Springfield marine sniper replica I built. Brandon tried it out and hit the little silhouette dude at 950 yards with it. :)

The old guy can still shoot with the young hardbellies ;)

Regards
 
@Mountainman

It’s great to hear you worked out your issues and put up a good showing.

The old guy vs the young guys hits home with me 😁. Every time my kids, and now their friends, call me old we engage in a “little s~~t talkers” challenge. I found myself in some of these challenges last night at a get together with a couple 13 and 14 year old boys. I beat them at more than I lost, but I’m going to have to start working out to keep up much longer.

Thanks for the inspiration mountainman. Keep testing yourself as I believe it’s what keeps us young.
Kneedeep
 
Mountainman said:
Well I made it back and can say I actually hit the target. I did as poorly as I could to pull it off by not hitting it until the last shot but I had a lot of fun doing it. Best thing was I was very comfortable behind the rifle and was easily spotting my misses.........all 9 of them. Sweetums was spot on with all but one all round (pilot error) hitting at the correct elevation, I just wasn't smart enough to get ahead of the increasing wind. Learned a lot this time (I will let someone else go first next time) and am looking forward to going back.

On a side note I also took the 1903 A1 Springfield marine sniper replica I built. Brandon tried it out and hit the little silhouette dude at 950 yards with it. :)

The old guy can still shoot with the young hardbellies ;)

Regards
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So we can have a long range shoot-off now?
 
Working on another rifle/load to take back to this match. Resurrected my old Warlock (30 Nosler modified) and been working on loads with 182 HHT and 160 Target Hammers. I had ordered these with the USPS super duper fast shipping earlier hoping to use them in my 06 but naturally the postal service decided to take them on a scenic tour and I didn't get them in time.

Both loads are shooting bughole groups at 100 yards and the ballistic advantage actually lies with the 160's due to the 3560 fps velocity. The 182's are scooting along at 3330 and they would have the advantage of shooting steel in the morning and critters in the afternoon. Going to stretch the distance today to 400 and tomorrow at the yonder range weather permitting and see which bullet gets to go.

Regards
 
Mountainman said:
Working on another rifle/load to take back to this match. Resurrected my old Warlock (30 Nosler modified) and been working on loads with 182 HHT and 160 Target Hammers. I had ordered these with the USPS super duper fast shipping earlier hoping to use them in my 06 but naturally the postal service decided to take them on a scenic tour and I didn't get them in time.

Both loads are shooting bughole groups at 100 yards and the ballistic advantage actually lies with the 160's due to the 3560 fps velocity. The 182's are scooting along at 3330 and they would have the advantage of shooting steel in the morning and critters in the afternoon. Going to stretch the distance today to 400 and tomorrow at the yonder range weather permitting and see which bullet gets to go.

Regards
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I’m sure that didnt stop them from from pocketing what you payed for expedited shipping.
 
MeatBuck said:
I’m sure that didnt stop them from from pocketing what you payed for expedited shipping.
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You'd be right there. I know you can go after USPS for a refund but they count on you not wanting to go to the trouble. Worst one yet was they actually lost a money order I had purchased from them and mailed, then they charged me $20 to look for it, then I had to wait a month to be reimbursed. 🤬
 
Shipping horror stories aside I'm getting a little wound up about taking this rifle/bullet combination to the 1K competition. Shot a 3 shot one hole group at 200 yards with the 182 HHT's yesterday (the 160 Target Hammers shot a 1/2" group). It also stuck 3 well inside 1" at 400 yards. I did not get a chance to take it to the yonder range today as the weather turned very fugly. Looks like Tuesday might be my best chance now.

I'll come clean and admit that all the groups were shot off the bench. Once I get my load verified I'll get my old self back on the mat and practice more prone shooting. Excited to do this with Hammers next time around.

Regards

300 Warlock.jpg300 Warlock3.jpg
 
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