Prone position pistol shooting: What are the benefits of training?

So you want a new shooter to take a ridiculous course and think it’s going to help? I’d rather they focus on core skills and practice so the rounds hit their intended targets and not innocents.

Hey I get it, new shooters scare many people, just like new teen drivers scare the hell out of me. How does either get better? Experience, practice and most important…a desire to improve! I understand, the instructors are finding new and creative things to make a buck to survive, but it’s still ridiculous.

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No one said that.

New shooters do need to be aware of what is available.

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Agreed…and that’s why I called the prone training absurd so new shooters immediately identify that type of training as not immediately necessary. Instead they can focus on more immediate fundamental classes. If they’ve gone through every other class and have money to burn like the other person I was talking to, then knock yourself out and take standing on your head shooting fundamentals.

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Ditches, curbs, speed bumps, low retaining walls, large planters or grow beds, a slight rise in the middle of an open space between me and the shooter, Shooting under cars. There are many, many reasons to use a prone firing position OTHER THAN the fact it is the most accurate of the unbraced shooting positions (because it IS braced by default). Mobility? You ROLL out sideways and only get up from prone/supine when shielded by cover or concealment. But hey! What do I know? :skull_and_crossbones:

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Hey family, thanks for all who responded to the post. We all have an opinion and we all can learn from one another. So let’s agree to disagree. I’m sure some of us got something out of it.

:v:
Johnnyq60.

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Sorry, I’m just a retired Navy Chief, working stiff who puts in 60+ every week for a flat rate of less than I am worth. As a side note I want thank you tax payer for sending me to all those high speed low drag shooting schools so I could more effectively put boolits in bad guys or more precisely in my case keep the bad guys from putting boolits in my guys.

There are MANY levels on competency within this forum, not just newbies and to call a specific training ridiculous because you THINK you will never need it is foolish at a minimum. The USCCA advocates TRAINING and KNOWLEDGE, which is precisely what you learn at non standard belly up to the bench shooting programs. If you wish to test my point the next time you go to the range flip your gun on it’s side and get back to me about how well that worked for you.

Cheers,

Craig6

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nope…it’s realistic. Just because underwater basket weaving is a class doesn’t mean it’s the best method or even considered reasonable for basket weaving. It’s a class and some yahoo out there will spend the money and do it for the hell of it. Is it ridiculous…yes…but someone might do it for the novelty. Classes on prone shooting are ridiculous…but if you want to waste your money (taxpayer or not) be my guest. As the kids say, “you do you.”

As for me, I look and see a pile of poo. You want to polish it and say its art…be my guest…but it’s still poo never the less.

One thing I would like to add as I read all the valuable comments regarding the prone position. What was not mentioned, or maybe it was and I missed it, was being injured in the “fight of your life”. We all want to believe that we will be victorious and unscathed in a use of force that rises to the level of “lethal force”. But that may not be the case. Therefore, I would use training (firing) from the prone as a “fight position” whereby the use of my leg(s) is non-existent. ideally, for me, it is not a position of choice, but of chance in a defensive role.

Stay safe, stay strong, and stay adept…

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@Steve162 Welcome aboard!

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This to me is very insightful. You are right. A lot of us, when we train, never stop to think “what am I going to do if I get shot.”

Reminds me of something one of my old instructors used to say. “If you’re going to fight, expect to get hit. If you get into a knife fight, expect to get cut. If you get into a gun fight, expect to get shot. Train for it all and be ready.”

Thank you for the reminder.

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Welcome to the family @Steve162 and you are in the right place at the right time.

I thought surely you were going to type, “THAT’S NOT CLOSE TO YOUR HEART, MAGGOT! MOVE…MOVE…MOVE!” or something like, “RUB SOME DIRT ON IT, SISSY-BOY! SHOW ME YOUR WAR FACE!” :airplane: :parachute: :parachute: :parachute:

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Ha. Too Cliché. :smiley:

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Did you ever meet a DI who wasn’t a walking cliche dispenser? :thinking:

I didn’t say “drill instructor”. I only said “old instructor”. The instructor i heard this from was at CQB school…not Boot Camp

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Thank you all! Looking forward to this part of my journey.

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Tell me about it. The benefit of going down to the ground may very well be offset by the length of time it takes to get up😖

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Remember shooting prone also allows you an upward shooting angle at a standing threat which may minimize the possibility of hitting innocent souls

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There is an important issue for everyone, not just newbies, “you do not know what you do not know”. Expose yourself to as many different training situations as possible to learn something that you did not think about because in a life threatening moment it is not the time to realize your OODA loop is disrupted by an unknown situation. I know several people who think that the basic CCW class is all they need and have asked why waste money on learning something that they will likely never use.

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Reading your comment made me think I was listening to myself​ :roll_eyes::joy:
I tell people regularly concealed carry training should be the beginning of the training experience not the end of it. Find a reputable instructor who will teach you proper technique and then practice what you’ve been taught. Many do not realize handgun skills are perishable and must be honed on a regular basis.

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