Anyone got any ideas for something in could lay in the back of my truck to act as a shooting platform for shooing prone ? Was thinking of a piece of ply wood cut to fit in the bed with two adjustable legs coming off the bottom kinda like struts. Each leg would have to by adjustable though because of uneven ground. Got a few ideas bouncing around but want to see if anyone has tried something similar

I prefer to lay on the ground. But I shoot in a hay field and this time of year the grass starts to get tall enough to cause issues.

So I just put my tailgate down and lay down in the bed... But I usually have to bend my knees and stick my feet up in the air. Not ideal, but it does allow me to shoot.

Biggest issue is I have a ribbed bed liner. Makes it tough to keep things steady and control cant.

Mike

I had a welding fabricator company in ND make me a shooting table 6 feet high that fits in a receiver hitch. Bass boat fishing chair that turned with table 360 degrees. You need out riggers to keep it stable but it worked. Sorry I don’t have picture of mine but there is some examples on the Internet. Mine rusted away in 10 years because I did not keep it sheltered. Get it powdered coated. MD

I just shoot off the ground from a shooting mat. I keep the grass mowed on my range so have no issues with that. If I'm somewhere else and need elevation I shoot off a trailer. A 105 duce and half trailer works great especially with tarp and bows to keep the sun off. Plenty high with it in most fields also. And they are or at least used to be cheap.

Walmart folding table works and folds flat not perfect but works.

I have seen people use small trailers before

as I understand it if you lay int he grass in many southern places the Chigger find you , hence the wanting to get up a bit

down sides to shooting from the truck bed
when the wind blows a bit you feel it and see it in your optic , if you have some one with and they lean in the truck you feel it

an angled up place to lay is very nice great when you can find a nice piece of ground at the right angle I would make it so that it fit between the wheel wells and was higher at one end , your going to have to play with how much higher.

a 2x10 higher would be were I would expect it to be comfortable but you may find higher yet and with a 2x4 cleat at the foot end for a ledge this way you slide down to the ledge and have a ledge at the high end also to put a sand bag on

if higher than a 2x10 is ideal you might go as far as putting a cleat on the underside to set over the tailgate in the up position

here is the platform hill country rifle uses for 4200 yard shots notice they set it on sand bags to damper the people walking near the shooter

another idea getting back on the ground is a heavy canvas tarp that you spray with permethrin a few times a year , lay that down to keep the chiggers and other insects off and put your shooting mat on top it also would be big enough to keep your brass on the canvas

Pretty sure that's just called a mattress

Not legal here. No loaded firearms, except handguns, in or on a motor vehicle. Don't even lean it against the vehicle. I think a trailer would be okay as long as it's not attached to the motor vehicle.

Having not lived with those type of restrictions my hole life and gotten it's to thinking they were normal there is no way I could live in your state.

Problem with shooting from or off of a truck is that any amount of wind will cause the truck to move with the wind. You need a stable platform.

It's ok, they're talking about America where free men live.



It sounds like you're dealing with a length issue Wolfdog? I've got 3 ideas:

1) get a real truck with an 8 ft bed

2) build or buy a full-extension slide out drawer like work vans (and some trucks) use.

3) build a deck with adjustable drop legs like you described.

4) Maybe use a hitch-mounted support like this to support your deck?

So what do you want to shoot from a truck bed?

Make sure it is legal. My buddy was rabbit hunting and trying to catch his dogs at truck on side of road. Leined his gun against truck to grab the dogs. Game Warden drove up and wrote a ticket for loaded gun in vechile.

I keep at least 3 loaded guns in the truck at all times, lol. A handgun, a shotgun, and an AR. All loaded and ready to get down to business. And I’m pretty sure there’s a .22 rifle under the back seat. Can’t imagine not being able to have a loaded weapon in the truck or on the person.

Same here in Pa. The Game Commission pinched a guy a couple years ago here for hunting out of his extended bucket in a field on a bucket truck.

I would prefer to but due to gras height and dips in the land it's very hard to shoot 100yd in a safe direction from prone where I'm at. I need to have at least 3' of elevation usually

5"1 actually I just wanna be able to streach out and be comfortable. Even with my bed cleaning out I still usually end up with my feet kicked up