Project Appleseed

I bought a "civilian" shooting jacket. Its made of a very stiff canvas. Any tips on how to softer it so that its less uncomfortable to wear? As an example. when using the sling, I have to add about 3" to the length. It bulks up that much. Right now I'm working on the theory that with use it will soften, so I literally wear it while doing my house chores. The result is that I feel like I'm flirting with heat exhaustion. I also heard that washing/drying will fix the problem. I have no issues with washing, but the "trimmings" are neoprene rubber; They might not like the dryer. Help!!
AJ

I got mine from a nice woman named Mary and am very happy with it.

https://sites.google.com/site/madebymcron/jackets

Mine doesn't have the Neoprene, but washing it did make it softer. If I were you, I'd do that and then just let it air dry.

You could also try laying it flat and rolling a barrel or something over it. Over and over.

A shooting jacket is not meant to be comfortable. It is meant to protect your elbows, provide a positive purchase for the buttstock, and help insulate the rifle from pulse. A plus is that a stiff jacket helps your standing position and can help your prone as well.

A well fit jacket will be snug in the shoulders (this is VERY important). If the jacket is not snug in the shoulders you will not get the best use of it. It is better to have your belly hanging out than the jacket to be loose in the shoulders.

If well fitted it should add nowhere near three inches to the sling length. If you are not interested in shooting High Power, just get one of the Mcron jackets. It will be fine, but in my experience they tend to bulk up more than a well fitted canvas jacket since they are normally looser.

Quote from: jmdavis on September 25, 2015, 12:51:36 PM
A shooting jacket is not meant to be comfortable. It is meant to protect your elbows, provide a positive purchase for the buttstock, and help insulate the rifle from pulse. A plus is that a stiff jacket helps your standing position and can help your prone as well.

A well fit jacket will be snug in the shoulders (this is VERY important). If the jacket is not snug in the shoulders you will not get the best use of it. It is better to have your belly hanging out than the jacket to be loose in the shoulders.

If well fitted it should add nowhere near three inches to the sling length. If you are not interested in shooting High Power, just get one of the Mcron jackets. It will be fine, but in my experience they tend to bulk up more than a well fitted canvas jacket since they are normally looser.

What JM Davis said x 2... A comfortable shooting jacket is kind of an oxymoron.. If you find one, it likely isn't going to do its job...    B

You folks are probably right; I keep hearing the same from shooters at my club.

My question would now be: what is the threshold when you are so distressed that you stop thinking about the basics of making the shot and instead focus on how uncomfortable you are?

aj

Quote from: jmdavis on September 25, 2015, 12:51:36 PM
If you are not interested in shooting High Power, just get one of the Mcron jackets. It will be fine, but in my experience they tend to bulk up more than a well fitted canvas jacket since they are normally looser.

Will they help at all with High Power? I like the look of the Mcron jackets, but I'm hesitant to shell out if they won't do much. I'm just using a sweatshirt to shoot my M1 now.

I have a usmc shooting jacket. The reason I went with the civilian shooting jacket was that the neoprene pads do help stabilizing the buttstock.  the usmc version would help with felt recoil but not much with anything else. I do believe that just as jeans get softer with time and use, so will this jacket. I guess time will tell.
aj

A good shooting jacket is almost necessary for Highpower shooting. Fitted properly it helps a great deal to stabilize all of your positions. It should be stiff and it should be snug but it should not be painful to wear. About the only discomfort I have wearing mine is how hot it can get wearing it when it's 95 degrees out.

If you look closely at my profile picture you'll see how mine fits. It is snug and stiff but not at all uncomfortable. Remember that with a jacket like that one (a Creedmoor hardback) you'll only fasten all only the straps when shooting offhand. For sitting and prone only the top two straps are needed.

You might want to post a picture or two of you in the jacket and maybe more details on what you have and we can try to help more.

Quote from: maxwell on September 26, 2015, 02:24:33 PM

Will they help at all with High Power? I like the look of the Mcron jackets, but I'm hesitant to shell out if they won't do much. I'm just using a sweatshirt to shoot my M1 now.

If the fit you, they can help in high power, if they are floppy, they might protect your elbows but they won't offer real support.

All of that said, silhouette shooters don't wear the jackets and some shoot amazingly out to 500 yards in offhand. If you already have the coat, use it and see how it works. If it is loose, wear a well fitted sweatshirt underneath for some extra padding. You can shoot good scores in a sweat shirt or t-shirt. But a day of elbows on the ground will make you want some additional padding.

The firing line isn't a fashion show. Nobody cares how you look or what you wear, unless you win. Then they are interested.

Quote from: airplanejoe on September 25, 2015, 08:50:06 PM
You folks are probably right; I keep hearing the same from shooters at my club.

My question would now be: what is the threshold when you are so distressed that you stop thinking about the basics of making the shot and instead focus on how uncomfortable you are?

aj

You get used to it, or not. It really depends on what you want to do. If you shoot with hp shooters get one of them to help you with your jacket setup. I'm thinking that it is too big. But a forum isn't the best way to troubleshoot problems like that.

My personal experience is based solely on my experiences with the Mcron/usmc style jackets. These are not made to be stiff. They aid in recoil, have elbow pads and have a pad to keep the loop sling from sliding down.  These are made to aid in prone shooting. The high power jackets aid in standing and are made to be much stiffer. Sorry for the confusion on my part.

Thanks for the advice, guys. jmdavis is correct when he posted that "a forum is not the place to troubleshoot problems like that". This thread took a life of its own. In the posting that gave birth to this discussion I only asked how to make a canvas jacket softer. Off it went in several directions. Interesting to say the least.  But I really appreciate all comments.
aj