Prone shooting fatigue

Grizzlypeg

Grizzlypeg

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I notice that my accuracy quickly deteriorates as I shoot prone. Neck gets tired, scope starts winking out and accuracy goes all to hell. I was shooting my AR off a bipod and rear bag this week, and the first two strings of 5 shots went incredibly well, then things started getting worse, and I couldn't even keep it MOA. I took a break, went back, and it started punching a nice group again. I find I get tired, start putting weird pressure on the stock, have trouble aligning my eye with the scope, and even find the trigger pressure starts to feel excessive.

I'm shooting prone on a mat, bipod on rifle, bunny ear style rear bag.

Any suggestions?
 
Try to get your prone position and your bipod as low a you can. Lowering your rear bag could help with neck fatigue. The other thing I do is just take my head of my rifle and lower it down to relieve the tension. Then just reset into the shooting position, take a few seconds to rest you back or neck won't hurt your groups.
 
For your sight try shooting with both eyes open. This will knock out a ton of eye strain and help keep everything including breathing more controllable.

As for your trigger, use proper fallow threw. Epically with an AR. When the rifle fires do not spring ur finger forward right away. Hold the trigger back and when ur ready allow it to slowly go forward. When you feel the click it's set and ready for the next shot.
 
Grizzlypeg said:
How much do you pull the stock into your shoulder with the pistol grip hand? How much weight do you put on your cheek?
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Someone posted some awesome links in regards to this but I can't remember where to find them. I saved the article as a PDF it was so helpful. It talks about firm hold / semi hold etc. it was a good read.

It's called "Bugholes from a Bipod" and talks about some guy named "Froggy"
 
Tikka223 said:
Someone posted some awesome links in regards to this but I can't remember where to find them. I saved the article as a PDF it was so helpful. It talks about firm hold / semi hold etc. it was a good read.

It's called "Bugholes from a Bipod" and talks about some guy named "Froggy"
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Found it. Will read it after work. Thanks.
 
i get more satisfaction from shooting from a bipod/prone freehand rather than off a bag and on the bench..
but if you dont do it regularly or you put on some Xmas weight, i find that going back to it can cause some aches and pains.. do some basic exercises for chest, upper arms, shoulders and back.. should help things out
 
Grizzlypeg said:
I notice that my accuracy quickly deteriorates as I shoot prone. Neck gets tired, scope starts winking out and accuracy goes all to hell. I was shooting my AR off a bipod and rear bag this week, and the first two strings of 5 shots went incredibly well, then things started getting worse, and I couldn't even keep it MOA. I took a break, went back, and it started punching a nice group again. I find I get tired, start putting weird pressure on the stock, have trouble aligning my eye with the scope, and even find the trigger pressure starts to feel excessive.

I'm shooting prone on a mat, bipod on rifle, bunny ear style rear bag.

Any suggestions?
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RAISE your rifle. This is a very common problem for F class shooters - essentially how you are shooting.

I found that raising my rifle to get my head more upright helped alot BUT this is like fitting shoes. Whatever is comfy.... do it.

Sounds silly but when I started in F class, I couldn't stay prone for more then a few minutes (same issues as you) so I got a tip and it worked.

Put your TV on the floor and lie down to watch it. Try to get to 1 commercial break, then another, then another. Eventually, you build up the flexibility and endurance for prone shooting.

Elevating the front (ie shoot on a ramp) really really helps too. Most F class matches either shoot off mounds or raised platforms.

Jerry
 
I've been fiddling around trying to figure this stuff out too.

What I have been doing is just laying down without a rifle, pretending to look at a distant target, just trying to figure out what the most comfortable position is. Then I get behind the rifle and see what I would need to do to adapt to the rifle.

Now I hope to configure the rifle to allow me to shoot in this position without having to do any scrunching or straining to conform to the rifle. I will do this via adjustable butt plate and cheek piece, as well as changing my scope mounting height.

I've found what Jerry said, I needed to get up higher so that I'm using my arms and upper back more, rather than trying to bend my neck up so sharply.

Being in good physical shape would help too, get a chiropractor or RMT if you need it, and work out.
 
Raising the bipod and rear bag makes sense. It would allow the chest and lower back to bend upward, instead of just the neck. I find myself looking through the top of my shooting glasses. I will try putting something under my rear bag and raising the bipod. I'm using a Harris BR swivel with notched legs. I have the other style leg model as well, but I hate dicking around with those knobs to set height.
 
djmay71 said:
That *might* cause some feeding problems, no?

Some good tips here, for when I finish my DMR build.
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Thousands of service rifle shooters across the country disagree.
I was teaching on a DMR course last summer and we did various tests with C7s and bipods. The two don't mix very well. The closer to the muzzle you put the bipod the worse it gets. Zero at 100m off the mag was over 12 inches lower than with a bipod run under the hand guards. And since they are not free floated the zero wandered and produced large groups. I've fired tens of thousands of rounds off the mag and never had any issues. If you to to Connaught or Bisley you will not see anyone shooting off the elbows any more.
 
Install a good quality, rigid, comfortable cheek rest and adjust it so that your eye is aligned with the sights at the "cheek rested" position.
Neck fatigue is caused by the muscles at the back of the neck having to support the weight of the head for long periods of time.
Check the Mystic Precision site for cheek rests.
 
To clarify, I have a 24" heavy, free floated barrel. The handguard is an aluminum tubular style that screws onto the barrel retaining nut. On a good day, I get 5 shot groups from 0.5" to less than 1". Certainly 10 shots into less than 1" on a good string of shots. But, I make a long string of errors when I get tired, after say 10-15 shots. Barrel heat might be making a bit of a difference, but I believe its more my technique and concentration fading.
 
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