Why so much emphasis on super fast prone shots?

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

Exactly. Also why is that the norm and also very successful ,,,yet with a rifle, omg no dont do that.... Dare I toss out the not ethical line




How much offhand rifle shooting have you actually done? I bet it isnt even close to shots off of a bag/sticks/whatnot

I dont know a single person packing shooting sticks. Never met a guy that shot off a tripod either. Where I hunt, inside 200ish yrds. It is going to be an offhand shot if there isnt a tree to lean against. Amazing how many animals hit the ground....

Used a dual tripod setup last year on an oryx hunt. Due to the terrain, vegetation, wind and animal behavior it was the only viable option. Two weeks later I used "the claw" on a pronghorn where the terrain, vegetation, and animal behavior made it the only viable shot option.

Lots of options out there and one thing is clear: no shooting position is 100% effective 100% of the time. But a hunter can increase his/her effectiveness by practice others shooting positions.

 

[Still Hunter]

Any practice shooting, in any position is beneficial. I have never shot a game animal from the prone position in my life. I just can't draw and shoot my bow from that position. However, practicing that position with a rifle sure will not hurt, should the occasion arrive. Shoot the way you shoot best. Know your personal capabilities and your rifles capabilities. Stay within them and enjoy your hunt. In reality, for a lot hunters that's less than 100 yards.
Too many "experts" today telling everyone "how" to do it. All they need is a platform, an opinion and a online Forum. Kind of like Rokslide!

 

[WSMHNTR]

I'll admit that I practice far more prone shots off a bipod than free hand but unless its sub 100 yards I'll be shooting off my pack or trying to get prone if possible. I think shooting with an elevated heart rate or under a time constraint to simulate the stress involved is far more important. I would venture to say that a majority of people hunt because they enjoy it not because they'll starve if they don't harvest an animal. I think we owe it to the animal and our own conscience to take the highest percentage shot possible for any given situation.

 

[Coyote Commander]

At the risk of sounding mean, if you haven’t been in a situation where you had to take a hasty shot, from any position, than you haven’t been in many situations.

 

[Coyote Commander]

Called in a pair of coyotes not long ago.

Killed the first, second lit out.

He paused briefly at about 420.

I knew I’d only have a second or two to get on him and make him deceased before he started moving again.


And countless other scenarios.

 

[hibernation]

I think there's a big difference between rushing vs being efficient. I took an elk last year at 200 yards from prone over my pack in a real hurry, the timed drills were helpful. The herd was feeding through a western Oregon clearcut toward the timber right at dawn in a low spot between some shorter rises. I could see them well from my dawn glassing spot 800 yards out, but to get closer quickly while watching the wind, I had to get to a rise just over 200 yds from the herd.

When I finally climbed up and started to see elk again, shooting lanes between all the young doug firs were real limited and they were moving steadily toward thick timber where I knew I'd lose them. One stepped into an open lane and the easiest position was to lay my pack down over all the slash at the crest of the hill, get prone, and get a shot off quickly.

I know 200 isn't a long stretch for most, but for me, the timed practice still made a difference. It wasn't that I was rushing, I just wasn't wasting time. I didn't need to adjust my legs, or move my bag, or take an extra couple breaths. Just tossed the pack over the brush, got on target, and fired before it could take another few steps out of the shooting lane. Bringing a timer into my practice has really helped cut down on the fiddle-f*ing around I used to do before a shot.

 

[WSMHNTR]

At the risk of sounding mean, if you haven’t been in a situation where you had to take a hasty shot, from any position, than you haven’t been in many situations.

That's my point exactly. In my younger days consequences of a botched shot never crossed my mind until after the shot was taken. Best case scenario you miss worst case you wound and never recover the animal. Short of an already wounded animal why would you have to take a hasty shot? Either youre confident in your abilities or you aren’t and thats really what it comes down to.

 

[highcountrymuley]

My buddy, a nonhunter but a shooter went turkey hunting with me. We sat down way too close to the roosted bird, he was right over us but still gobbling so I guess we didn't spook him too badly. I told my friend to get ready to shoot him as soon as he hit the ground cuz he will be in range and we are too close... as soon as bird jumped out of tree my buddy goes from.back-against-tree to jumped forward prone on a steep hillside to try and shoot.... I think I actually laughed out loud. I think k he thought that was the way to do it from watching too many sniper movies.

I have never shot prone at anything in 42 years of hunting. Most shots are kneeling with forend or hand against tree or kneeling/crouched up against a rock. Prone seems most applicable to longer shots than I typically take.

 

[Q_Sertorius]

I have never shot prone at anything in 42 years of hunting.

There is a time and place for everything. Sure, your buddy was showing his inexperience going prone on a wild turkey at close range, but I was taught that you owe it to yourself and the animal to take the highest percentage shot reasonable under the circumstances. There’s a reasonable medium between going prone at under 40 yards and never going prone.

I set up two of my new steel targets specifically for this “coming up over the crest and seeing a deer” scenario. One at roughly 200 yards from the true crest and one at roughly 420 yards.

When I went out for my walk yesterday, I got a good chuckle out of the proximity of grazing deer to my new targets.

This one was fifty yards left of my longer target.

And I immediately ran drills on both these deer practicing shots from as many positions as I could before they ran off.

 

[TaperPin]

The most effective predators sit and watch in some situations and move with purpose through areas that can’t simply be looked at. Same applies to the most effective western hunters. Some animals will be a long way away and moving slowly and some will be under 100 yards and not waiting long before taking off.

The western hunting where animals that are bumped into stand around for a minute while the hunter dilly dallys around getting into position is something I’m not familiar with from the sage foothills, timber, or above timberline. More deer and elk are lost from a lack of ability to shoot quickly than many of the things folks spend too much time on, regardless of position needed.

People should know what their limits are in each position and not choose a slower alternative because of a bias to their favorite. I was still a teenager the first time an animal was lost because of that mistake and it drove home the importance of knowing the fastest way to send a bullet down range for the distance and situation. If you can’t shoot past 350 yards seated, you better be fast at getting prone when a buck has stopped for a few seconds before hopping over the ridge at 400.

 

[Macintosh]

I live in the east where "prone" just isnt a thing. Literally, its for movies and matches and nothing else--it simply doesnt exist in any practical form for hunting here. I practice standing offhand, kneeling unsupported with gun elbow resting on a knee, standing/kneeling supported by a tree or post, standing/kneeling supported on a branch, and sitting supported on a pack or sticks. I practice prone becasue I have used it hunting in the west (several times), and for matches. Fastest field prone shot I ever took was a bull elk at 60 yards prone...I was sitting, and was so jacked that I was noticeably unsteady, so I flopped forward prone and shot him through the heart. Popped up to kneeling and shot him again through his heart when he stopped to look behind him. Probably could have hit him with a rock at that range, but being steady didnt hurt!

IMO most timed drills on anything arent necessarily because that thing happens fast all the time, it is to introduce pressure that causes lapses in ability or process to become more apparent. I time myself not to be fast as much as to make sure I am efficient and can focus on position, breathing, trigger, making sure I dont make stupid ranging or dialing mistakes, etc. It's about grooving-in my process to be smooth and efficient...it just so happens that smooth and efficient also happen to be fast. They also happen to usually be quiet. While it isnt often necessary in my experience to take a prone shot in 20 seconds, the ability to do so never hurts, and will also increase your odds when you do have the time. That's the same regardless of any position imo.

 

[Coyote Commander]

That's my point exactly. In my younger days consequences of a botched shot never crossed my mind until after the shot was taken. Best case scenario you miss worst case you wound and never recover the animal. Short of an already wounded animal why would you have to take a hasty shot? Either youre confident in your abilities or you aren’t and thats really what it comes down to.

I gave one such situation in my second post.

And countless countless others.


Here’s another.

Last light.

The buck you’ve been after for a week finally stands up out of the sage brush with just a couple minutes of shooting light left. You can’t get into a decent firing position at your position based on his, but if you can get to the next hill over 100 yards you might. But that will eat up precious time leaving you very little time to engage that target once you get in position.

Or one that happened to me last week.

Had a coyote come in sneaking in real cautious down a draw with heavy sage.

He wasn’t far, 300-350, but I was on sticks due to defilade and cover, and it was breezy.

He was gonna have my wind in another 200 yards so I was gonna have to figure something out fast. Luckily, he spotted the dog and spooked, lopeing off in the opposite direction stopping briefly on the far side at a little over 400 next to one lone sagebrush (which I had luckily ranged prior).

Again. I was gonna have just a second or two to get on him, settle and shoot. He was not gonna sit there for 20-30 seconds while I figured my stuff out.



I guess if you can’t see the advantage to being able to quickly, efficiently, and with some level of precision, engage or re-engage targets in real world hunting situations, there’s no sense discussing this further.

Not to mention, time, and money, are the safest ways of inducing stress and pressure into practice (both fun and competitive).

 

[Beendare]

A bit of a segue from the original question....

The Backfire Channel and Eric Cortina on Youtube have recently been doing a bunch of hunter challenges at long range. It has exposed a lot of guys that think they shoot better than they do at 400y plus.

These vids are also instructional as to what works.

 

[greyghostnw]

Just like anything. Practice enough and keep it simple. Results will follow.

 

[hp3]

Does anyone have tips for a better prone setup? I am fine off-hand, kneeling/sitting and off the bench but whenever I go prone, I end up with bruises.

 

[huntnful]

Does anyone have tips for a better prone setup? I am fine off-hand, kneeling/sitting and off the bench but whenever I go prone, I end up with bruises.

Lose some weight if you’re heavy set. Don’t throw yourself on the ground, it’s not necessary. Bipod, squeeze-able rear bag, ease down, kill animal, ease back up.

 

[hp3]

Lose some weight if you’re heavy set. Don’t throw yourself on the ground, it’s not necessary. Bipod, squeeze-able rear bag, ease down, kill animal, ease back up.

Sorry for the confusion, I meant bruises from recoil.

 

[Q_Sertorius]

Sorry for the confusion, I meant bruises from recoil.

What rifle are you using? And what chambering? How much does it weigh? What are you using for front and rear support?

 

[huntnful]

Sorry for the confusion, I meant bruises from recoil.

Oh sorry hahaha.

Shoot a smaller cartridge, lighter bullet, heavier gun, or use a good muzzle device.

 

[Fireflyfishing]

I killed my elk and pronghorn last year from the prone position.

The elk was at 600 and worked out great as I ran about two miles down a ridge unseen to get to a good shot. I was able to climb up to a hump without my pack and use my Gunwerks bipod and my bino case. The shot was 600 yards, meat in the freezer.

My pronghorn was 534 yards, and was a hurry shot. I was hunting in sage that was about 18” high. I used my bipod on top of my pack to clear the sage.

Conversely, I shot a whitetail buck at 40 yards off hand because he pranced right out in front of me.

In years past, I’ve found I have had plenty of prone shots available, but I was unable to take the shots or flat out missed because the animals were spooked and on their way out.

While I don’t time myself and get into competition mode, I do practice getting into positions I would use for shooting once a year or so. I do find it productive as you can learn the limitations with your gear and create a system when you find yourself needing to take a shot. I don’t limit myself to prone shots though. I have trekking poles I practice with regularly for the shots with ground cover. I use my backpack, shoot off tree branches, etc. Going out on a mountainside shooting rocks from all these positions makes for a fun and interesting afternoon and really helps for any shot possibility.

I think when it comes to the lack of time on some shot presentations, it’s important to quickly identify which shot position is needed to get the job done and then efficiently get yourself into it and take the shot.