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I started my grandsons shooting from the bench, but they were only 5 years old and couldn't hold a rifle. They now love to shoot offhand, being 10 and 11, but it took some coaxing. I feel sorry for those who never work at shooting offhand. They'll never know what they're missing.
Some folks never make the transition to offhand. I started shooting when I was 10 and never saw a bench until in my late teens. I wore out 3 BB guns and a .22 rifle before I was 18. I then hunted woodchucks with a .30/06 for about 7 years and did pretty well. We never shot one from a rest under 100 yards and my longest chuck kill offhand was a head-only visible shot at 200 yards. The best game shot was a head shot on a flying crow offhand at 100 yards with a .22-250. Lucky, certainly luck played a role, but that's the only time I've ever tried it. (It was in a very safe location/direction.)
However, I still love to shoot rimfire benchrest, perhaps the easiest shooting sport to attempt, but the hardest one to win.
Picher
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