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Posted: 6/18/2010 9:06:44 PM EDT
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Is there a correct way to do thisor if there is a particular method?
I have never shot prone before as all my shooting ranges are set up with benches, im planning on just laying down under one of the tables on the ground. BTW, im inclined to try shooting this way because i was dry firing my new lower, and i tried dry firing prone in my back yard, and i could keep my crosshairs on target much more consistently. |
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If the targets are shooting back at you, it's an excellent position.
If you really want to "go prone" there are several variations such as on side (either) and others I won't go into for safety reasons. You can find info on these on the net and then practice as your ability allows. |
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Good info. Is it uncomfortable for you skinny guys to shoot prone? I find it painful but i'm probably doing it wrong. |
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POST your body. Drop your support hand to the ground kinda like you're a football player. Keep your barrel up.
POINT your weapon in the direction you want to shoot. Your body should naturally square up behind your weapon if you had a good standing position already. SPRAWL. If you're wearing kneepads, you can pretty much drop straight down. Look to Mother Nature for support with a good stable prone position. Some additional points: If you don't have a bipod, use your magazine for support as if it were a monopod. Some folks will disagree, but it doesn't hamper the operation of the weapon in the least. Keep your support hand out far enough to help manage recoil, but close enough to allow you to steer the weapon left or right. Experiment with a good position. Keep the buttstock planted firmly at your shoulder. I see a lot of dudes forgetting this, especially directly after going prone. Have a blast... or thirty. |
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There's really two prone positions. Which one you use depends on if your in a long distance engagement or a close engagement. The linked guide should give you all of the info on both. I used the cocked leg position when I'm going for long range distance shots, and the straight leg when I don't really care about using the natural respiratory pause technique. The straight leg works better for follow up shots since it blunts the recoil better; this gives you the edge in close engagements. The beauty of the cocked leg position is that it lifts your weak side off of the ground a bit in an attempt to minimize the sight movement that your breathing will cause. I personally like using the prone position better than shooting off of a bench. The rifle is better zeroed to your body in the prone position than on a bench, using the bench also makes using looped sling feel awkward, and I don't feel totally locked into the rifle on the bench. In the field will you actually have a bench to use? I'm 5:10 150lbs with a 30 inch waist and have no problems with any of the firing positions young AR. |
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AR: I have problems shooting prone when I have stuff all over my FLC in the front. When I was deploying to Iraq the BDE HQ sent us a specification for how our MOLLE would look (I know, it's modular for the soldier's comfort / ease, right? They were REMFs, what can I say). It had most of our ammo on our chest / stomach and prone shooting was just impossible if you didn't have lots of padding (like a REMF). So at the range I readjusted everything after I had so much trouble zeroing and, whaddya know, I actually could hit the broad side of a barn!
See above post, good job explaining prone positions. Only other thing I will say is you might try practicing with both your feet kicked out to your side, good for when you're using some type of linear cover. And practice in any position you think you might use, so standing and kneeling, too. |
| For hands-on instruction, consider going to an Appleseed Shoot; their schedule shows several events in PA this summer. At least half of your shooting time will be done from prone. Be advised that most of the shooting will be on reduced-scale targets at 25 yds, but since the focus of the event is to master the fundamentals, this is a non-issue IMHO. |
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Quoted: For hands-on instruction, consider going to an Appleseed Shoot; their schedule shows several events in PA this summer. At least half of your shooting time will be done from prone. Be advised that most of the shooting will be on reduced-scale targets at 25 yds, but since the focus of the event is to master the fundamentals, this is a non-issue IMHO. Yes, go to these guys. It's one of the best cost wise and time wise marksmanship clinics that tours the country. I went to my first one about a month ago, and was close to qualifying expert. |
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