Looking for shooting mat advice

[DeoreDX]

One thing that my Appleseed earlier in the year taught me was that my folded moving blanket that I'll use as a shooting mat on our local gravel range or in the woods is unsuitable for the hard concrete at the Talladega CMP.  One day on the concrete left me with sore spots in my knee and on my ribs where I was resting on the hard concrete.  I had a elbow pad i tried but when I tried to use it my groups opened up significantly.  I'm guessing somewhere there is a fine line between comfort on concrete and a stable firing position.

I see the Midway shooting mats are really popular.  Do the roll up Pro series style offer enough padding for comfort on concrete?  They also have some folding mats that are 1.5" thick.  They sure do look comfortable but will I have the problem of stability like I had with my elbow pads?  Curious to hear some first hand experience on what worked for you guys.

[308LIBERTY]

Honestly, my favorite thing to use as a shooting mat is an anti fatigue mat that comes in puzzle piece squares. Full price for a 4 piece set at Harbor Freight is only 8.99 and, with sale or coupon, you can get it for 7 bucks or less. Take the 4th piece, cut in half, then use it to fill out the right side. (I actually bought a few sets so each complete mat consists of 3 pieces and 3 half pieces. If you buy 3 sets, you end up with 2 complete shooting mats, with extra pieces leftover as replacements if you mess one up. Here's a link:

https://www.harborfreight.com/4-piece-anti-fatigue-foam-mat-set-94635.html

[2 clicks low]

You see a lot of Midway mats because they work well and are on sale for 1/2 price about every 3 months.

A mat that is 1 1/2 thick may be too squishy. You want protection from the cement not soft padding.

2cl

[Maximum Ordinate]

One thing that my Appleseed earlier in the year taught me was that my folded moving blanket that I'll use as a shooting mat on our local gravel range or in the woods is unsuitable for the hard concrete at the Talladega CMP.  One day on the concrete left me with sore spots in my knee and on my ribs where I was resting on the hard concrete.  I had a elbow pad i tried but when I tried to use it my groups opened up significantly.  I'm guessing somewhere there is a fine line between comfort on concrete and a stable firing position.

I see the Midway shooting mats are really popular.  Do the roll up Pro series style offer enough padding for comfort on concrete?  They also have some folding mats that are 1.5" thick.  They sure do look comfortable but will I have the problem of stability like I had with my elbow pads?  Curious to hear some first hand experience on what worked for you guys.

I like the Midway mats.  For use on concrete, I lay an old towel beneath the mat for my elbows.  The towel rolls up nicely in the mat for carrying.

v/r
MO

[Guntuckian]

Shooting mats work well on concrete.  I personally like the medium thickness mats on concrete.  The "Pro" series mats by Midway are what I find work best on concrete.  I have thinner mats that are fine on dirt or grass/dirt, grass/dirt/gravel.  I personally don't like the really thick shooting mats.

I find elbow pads that are hard "roll" too easily.  I also recommend long sleeve shirts to prevent elbow rash from rubbing elbows raw, or, even better, the USMC style cotton shooting jacket, temperature permitting, when using shooting mats. But, if it's 95 degree plus, shooting jackets are usually too hot.  The fishing style sun blocking shirts will prevent raw elbows and reduce pulse effects in these temperature extremes when shooting on mats.

In colder weather, shooting jackets work well on mats.

--gb

[Nashville Stage]

The Midway Pro series mat is the one I use (https://www.midwayusa.com/product/939101910/midwayusa-pro-series-competition-shooting-mat), and it works well for me on concrete. Granted, everyone's tolerance for hard surfaces will be a little different.

For your elbow: A tip that I learned at a recent KD was to plant my elbow on the mat, then push forward so that the skin was taught and the point of contact shifted to the wider, rear part of the elbow instead of the bony tip. It seemed to help.

Another tip: The 36" wide mats are really nice compared to the 24" mats when laying in prone with your knee out to the side.

[maxwell]

As others have said, the Midway Pro mats are fine on concrete. I have several Midway mats, and I have a Creedmoor for myself, since it's more waterproof on the bottom and less slick on the top. Unfortunately, I got the Creedmoor with extra padding, and wish I'd gone with their standard padding. It's nice on concrete when you're in position for a long time, but it's too squishy.

[Monkey]

For a cheaper option, you may consider the camping mats in the outdoor section of Walmart.  About a half inch think and provide comfort for joints while in the prone position.

I think around $12 or something like that.

[Texas T]

Monkey, you beat me to the punch. I keep a rolled-up Walmart camping pad in with my gear as an extra, and also use it for demo, during an event. It's also available for use as a loaner, in case a shooter forgot to bring one. I used it this evening when sighting in my scope, as I hadn't brought my regular mat to the weekend event. Works great, stores easily when rolled up, and is very light. You can just throw it in the car on top of everything else and not even worry about it. I have a binder strap that I put around it to keep it rolled up.

[Guardian]

I find I'm a little bigger than most mats when I get in position. I don't think I'm THAT big, either, at 6-ft and 250 lbs. I really like the Voodoo Tactical Advanced Padded Shooting Mat https://www.voodootactical.net/voodoo-tactical-advanced-padded-shooting-mat.html.  It isn't cheap, but it's likely to be the last one you buy (unless the rest of your shooting family sees it). Note that they have a narrower mat as well.

I've used this mat at Talladega. I also wear a USMC style shooting jacket. My wife does the same. Neither of us wished for more padding, but we both also understand you are going to be a bit sore no matter what after two days of up and down on concrete. The shooting jackets keep our elbows from getting rubbed raw on the traction portion of the mat.

I've also got Creedmoor mats I bought for three nieces and my mother has one as well. If you are narrow enough or don't mind part of you hanging off the mat, they are not bad mats.

[Mrs. Smith]

Threeo'eight had the right idea for a good budget option,  but I personally don't care for the puzzle piece squares.  Those are what I got first, and they separate pretty easy on me.  Right next to those at harbor freight there's  a rolled version,  $9.99, that only takes a little while to relax enough to lay flat.  Nice and squishy! They are a bit narrower than the squares, though,  so keep that in mind when choosing.

[navybowhunter]

If on a budget cannot beat the pricing on the Midway mats.

The cons to a Midway mat:  the wider one is bulky. 

That is all I have to complain about on the Midway.

I use a Creedmoor Sports mat.  They offer a padded foam option, or no padded foam.

I went padded foam.  Takes a bit of getting used to as it can affect NPOA.  But I have learned to make mine work with the padding.

Significant pricing difference between a Midway mat and Creedmoor mat.

If your not shooting NRA High Power XTC matches, a Midway mat would likely be your best bet.

R/
Chris

[hogfamily]

I got my Midway mat on eBay. $25. including shipping to AK. It was in new condition other that trunk wear on the outside. It belonged to a Miami SWAT PD officer.

[DeoreDX]

Thank for all the feedback.  Bought my dad and myself the Midway Pro series mats to try out.  Figured we could use our moving blankets underneath if we need more padding.

[Laredo]

You cant go wrong with those.

I have Midway mats as well and they work fine on concrete.  As 2clicks said - they go on sale every few months.  I actually bought mine as 'Factory Seconds'... still have yet to find what is wrong with them... 

[5akman]

I've shot 4 Appleseeds and use two layers of Walmart foam camping/sleeping pads. About 10.00 -15.00 each. I also use soccer knee pads for my support arm elbow, really makes hours in the prone position comfortable.