TargetTalk

I have recently started shooting prone. I guess that in my old age my skin has become thinner. I was using a sweatshirt under my shooting coat. Anyway, I wore a penny size spot of skin off my right elbow. I have used "Liquid Bandage" to get it to toughen up. Is there anything else I can do, beside sucking it up and continue to use the skinned elbow until it develops a callouse?

Misny:
A friend of mine had the same problem. He put some surgical tape on his elbows before starting the match, like prophylaxis, and it worked for him. Otherwise, a jacket with softer elbow stuffing (such as the Mouche Germania) makes a huge difference in comfort.

If you wore off a spot, you must have been moving the elbow about a lot. I'm new to prone as I mainly shoot pistol, but my 'slightly sore' elbows were cured using a long sleeved shirt. I notice you can buy extra elbow padding but I don't think that would solve things for you (?).

Rob.

The other thing is your matt. What kind of matt are you using? I used to use, when i was a teenager, a freeland matt. Now in my late 40's I have found one with much thicker padding is helpful. The Kurt Thune matts are great- very nice thick padding. They are tremendously expensive though. Seems like some others must make some matts with good padding. I use an older hawkeye matt now that has reall good padding.

I also struggled with sore elbows and used a neoprene elbow pad for relief (not International legal). I have no natural padding of my own. I do own a Creedmoor mat and recently purchased a sleeping pad from REI. Now no need for an elbow pad at all. I got the Therma-Rest RidgeRest small pad (about $19.00) and just place it under my mat. Feel is still firm, not bouncy, but infinitely more comfortable. I don't think anything more is needed and definitely not a self-inflating pad. This is just closed cell foam. Weighs just ounces and rolls up.

you must have been moving the elbow about a lot

I was keeping my left elbow in place, and raising my right elbow while rolling on my left side to check through the spotting scope and load another round. The left elbow was a little sore, but held up ok. The right elbow was getting rubbed each time I lifted it and replaced it. The neoprene elbow pad idea sounds pretty good. I'm using a Champion's Choice mat. I did notice that all the other shooters were using the same mat, but some did have some extra padding slipped under. I may have to try that as well.

Thanks for the responses.

When I got back into shooting I had one of those matts. I gave it to the jr. club. My elbows hurt with it too. Get yourself some better padding and you will be fine.

When ever I take a break from shooting (I usually take 3 or 4 weeks off If I don't have any big shoots coming up and if I have just shot in a fairly substantial match) and then get into it later I find my elbows are sore for the first couple training sessions. I think a good matt is very crucial but it will take a while just to get used to it.

set up your scope so you dont have to move your body to see through it.... just roll your eye towards it to see through it each time u take a shot. the most important thing for prone is keeping one position and staying in it untill you are forced to change your NPA.

I fell jogging a couple of years back and lit on my elbows on asphalt. I don't have much skin left on my elbows. I use a Champions Choice 700D mat with sweatshirt, elbow pads on both elbows and then my shooting coat. Does real well for me. Don't need them in kneeling. If I forget the elbow pads I know it the second I lay down, can't get off two shots. Rich

I had elbow problems for a while also. I had my shooing jacket, sweatshirt, elbow pad and it still hurt. This is shooting prone long range rife/palma. Then I read in David Tubbs book about the elbow position. Feel your elbow, there are two bones there. The pressure should be equal between both them. After re-working my position, I can sling up bare- armed on my mat and not hurt.

Misny wrote:I have recently started shooting prone. I guess that in my old age my skin has become thinner. I was using a sweatshirt under my shooting coat. Anyway, I wore a penny size spot of skin off my right elbow. I have used "Liquid Bandage" to get it to toughen up. Is there anything else I can do, beside sucking it up and continue to use the skinned elbow until it develops a callouse?

Yea! I used to suffer the same symptoms! I cured it when a shooting friend offered a 2'W x 3'H x 2"T piece of high density foam. Some of the other prone shooters were using it as well. I placed the foam under the shooting mat and wow! did that ever alleviate the sore elbow syndrome!
So, if you have a plastics distributor in your area, check them out and see if they have an odd piece.

Matt

This is my biggest problem.
I chipped the end off my left elbow when I was 15, never a problem until I moved to 50m smallbore.
I have a Kurt Thune mat which is great, but illegal. I now am looking for a legal solution as since I started getting regular podiums at regional level, people are less forgiving....
It can get so agonising that I have to quit the competition.
Interested in the high density foam option (velcro'd into the jacket?), is it legal?
Also thought about the gel shock absorbers you find in roller blading elbow/knee pads.
What are the typical offerings at various ranges? In my area it tends to be old thin carpet over wood or concrete, and a coarse hair "cork" doormat.

Not sure about the legality, but I find that the cheapest foam knee pads from Home Depot and Lowes work well for me. The cheap foam absorbs "bounce" better than more expensive ones and the last thing you want is your elbow moving around. I tried gel pads and many other approaches, but the cheap foam worked best. I shoot high power with an ISSF coat and use the pad on the outside of the sleeve. You might be able to glue the foam to your mat, too?

Best,

Joe

This is a new one to me.. Can't say I recall any real problems shooting at Los Angeles Rifle and Revolver club matches. We had shooters ranging from kids to 70 year olds, and we shot off of asphalt. I used ISU jacket and ISU mat. When I was shooting a lot, I had a Hawkeye leather jacket, the t-shirt I was wearing, and 2 sweatshirts. Most everyone did in the 1980's. And yes, it was ISU legal, and I believe it still is. They just measure total thickness of the shirts.

Forget all of this "padding" stuff. It is just going to make your position unstable. And probably illegal for competition.

I think the problem is you are using the wrong part of your elbow. You should not be on the boney, pointy tip of your elbow. You should be slightly above elbow joint, almost on the back of your upper arm. Get into position balancing on the tip of your elbow, and then move forwards about 1-2 inches. You will kind of be on the tip of your elbow and the back of your upper arm.

Also, if you are rubbing skin off, that means you are moving, which you should not be doing at all. If you keep moving, not only will you keep damaging your arm, but you will never be a good prone shooter. If you move your arm, you will change the natural point of aim and the pressure in your shoulder, affecting recoil.

Get into position, find your natural point of aim, and don't move until shooting is finished. If you have to move to reload, then your gun is not set up properly.

Incidentally, this is the reason why a lot of good shooters favored the Winchester 52 action for prone. It is very compact, and you did not have to reach forward to reload. The Anschutz is kind of long, with the loading port pretty far forward. It can pull you out of position to reload. When you do that, scores go down the toilet.

So no, the Anschutz is not "perfect"!

Jeff