Shooting Mats!

Carpet remnant is only 2.5ft wide and about 5ft long. Only needs to be large enough for elbows and torso when prone. Anymore isn't really necessary.

Compare that to the size and weight of a dedicated expensive mat and the cost and I'm sorry, hands down, it's a chunk of carpet.
 
Last edited:
Dave951 said:
Carpet remnant is only 2.5ft wide and about 5ft long. Only needs to be large enough for elbows and torso when prone. Anymore isn't really necessary.

Compare that to the size and weight of a dedicated expensive mat and the cost and I'm sorry, hands down, it's a chunk of carpet.
Click to expand...
LOL - It's all in what you want. If the carpet works for you, that's great.

I'm not the kinda guy that is gonna heave that around between stages (in whatever kind of weather) and not drop just a few bucks to save some weight and make it easier on myself in the long run.
 
BurnedOutGeek said:
LOL - It's all in what you want. If the carpet works for you, that's great.

I'm not the kinda guy that is gonna heave that around between stages (in whatever kind of weather) and not drop just a few bucks to save some weight and make it easier on myself in the long run.
Click to expand...

To each their own. I find it highly amusing that the weight will be discussed between competitors who do nothing more strenuous than to roll said mat, plunk it on the gun (baby) stroller and walk to the next stage which is often less than 50yds away. Now calculate the weight of a couple extra drinks in the cooler and some munchies for keeping the shakes away and that couple ounces (a pound tops) just don't really register anymore. I think the real issue is self image to the other competitors, kinda like keeping up with the Jones's or being tacticool, but in my contrarian world view, nothing tickles me more than to administer a smack down in a match to the guy with everything that money can buy and I'm out there with the bare bones and my gun ain't even purty, much less me :D:p
 
Dave951 said:
To each their own. I find it highly amusing that the weight will be discussed between competitors who do nothing more strenuous than to roll said mat, plunk it on the gun (baby) stroller and walk to the next stage which is often less than 50yds away. Now calculate the weight of a couple extra drinks in the cooler and some munchies for keeping the shakes away and that couple ounces (a pound tops) just don't really register anymore. I think the real issue is self image to the other competitors, kinda like keeping up with the Jones's or being tacticool, but in my contrarian world view, nothing tickles me more than to administer a smack down in a match to the guy with everything that money can buy and I'm out there with the bare bones and my gun ain't even purty, much less me :D:p
Click to expand...
Well clearly I must be attending the wrong kind of matches. WTH do you even need a mat for if you've got a baby stroller a full cooler and all the rest of the stuff mentioned?
 
After attending the Appleseed shoot this weekend at CR&PC, the mats proved to be more than worth the relatively minor investment. We had one of the MidwayUSA Pro Series Gen 2 Competition mats and one of the Cabela's mats. Totally saved our knees and elbows. Especially the elbows while in the prone shooting position on the concrete firing line.

We saw a lot of different mats out there. Everything from simple ground cover to "yoga" foam mats to carpet to these dedicated "expensive" :rolleyes: mats. Most common were probably the MidwayUSA mats though.

Only downside the MidwayUSA mat was the velcro on the straps doesn't extend far enough to get it rolled up as tight as possible. Not a big deal if you are just tossing it in a baby stroller I guess, lol. :p
 
Added the Harbor Freight Anti-Fatigue Foam Mat Sets that some folks are using. Some folks had success with these and some complained about them coming apart on them. Usually the later was during heavy and/or consistent moving on their part, often when changing positions quickly.

Also added a Tactical Tailor fold up mat. Usually avoid the fold up models as they can be more of a pain to lug around, but they do usually offer more padding.
 
Last edited:
My point in bringing up carpet remnants is really quite simple. Some folks think they have to dump loads of money into each and every new tacticool toy to be an accurate shooter. What makes an accurate shooter is PRACTICE, TECHNIQUE and knowing your firearm and load. Mats don't mean squat if you can't shoot for shinola. Put the money into Appleseed or lessons on how to shoot accurately. Then practice what you've learned till it's second nature. Notice cool mats aren't in that equation. Once you have the fundamentals pretty much in hand, then you can make a much more educated choice as to what really will help.

Along this line, a while back, I was approached by a new AR15 owner who wanted me to hang a bunch of tacticool stuff on his toy. I asked why, seeing as how he just purchased his rifle. His response, it's to make me a better shot. I told him to just save the money for the tacticool crap, get some lessons, buy quality ammo and practice. Then we'd talk. To further explore this line of reasoning, I shoot a plain jane 2x7 Leupold on my AR15 but it'll shoot sub 1/2moa all day with my handloads. Is higher magnification needed to shoot well? Perhaps, but only past a certain point. There is a reason most of the commonly used optics in military sniping are fixed 10x. Say what you will, but for me, if you don't know how to shoot, buying stuff is just a crutch. :D
 
We don't disagree. Most any match I'm shooting doesn't need a mat since they're more positional and not prone. The couple (literally 2) times I've got to use it in a match was the stange was flooded and I didn't feel like absorbing the "puddle" for everyone else with my britches. The other time was it was hot as Hades and we through it over the asphalt shingles on a roof stage to keep from scalding any exposed skin. Would the carpet have worked? Sure. Was a light easy to carry mat easier to carry and deploy? Most likely
 
In my advanced age, I have no desire to go prone in the mud anymore but if necessary, I'm yer huckleberry. As for hot shingles, back when I was very active in IPSC, I wore baggy cargo pants or BDUs with hard shell knee pads underneath. Cheap, stealthy and effective.
 
Dave951 said:
In my advanced age, I have no desire to go prone in the mud anymore but if necessary, I'm yer huckleberry. As for hot shingles, back when I was very active in IPSC, I wore baggy cargo pants or BDUs with hard shell knee pads underneath. Cheap, stealthy and effective.
Click to expand...
It wasn't the knees that got it bad, it's the elbows. HOT!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom