to each his own. ive used sand bags for 50 years and never had a problem. ive seen guys use them sighting rifles at the range and still seen them flinch because of the noise. as someone else said there was one who didnt sit at the bench and still couldnt sight the gun in. ive sighted in rifles from 243 all the way to 300 mag off sandbags. it also lets you get used to the recoil.