Thread: Standing shooting technique

I was having a read of this article. And it got me thinking about offhand technique.

I'm assuming when you take a standing shot there isn't enough time for a better position.
Are you leaning forward in a shotgun style stance, or leaning back in a target position?
Is it better to take just a little more time to check/steady your position?
Do you wait for the crosshairs to settle on the target, or drive them through the target?
Is a hasty sling worth while or too much of hindrance?
Do you have any pointers for these types of shot?

I’m usually leaning into the rifle, never back. And squeezing off the shot as the crosshairs move through the target. Don’t ususlly have time to use a sling.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Standing is often needed, to see over and through bush. Usually you first see the animal while youre standing up and vegatation will obscure it from lower down.
Its not a matter of speed / time. Its a matter of line of sight.
And you can do it while never looking away from the animal. Kneeling can also be got into while watching the animal.
Sitting, prone and most supported positions require you to turn andlook away then reacquire your target.

Originally Posted by Magnetite

Do you have any pointers for these types of shot?

Join a service rifle club, your positional shooting should improve...

Correctly fitting the rifle is the most important thing. Check and correct the LOP and weld so that if you can look at a target while your rifle is down, then close eyes, shoulder rifle and then with eyes open looking through the scope you should be looking at the target.
Get the fit right and then practice in the back yard, clicking off at things like knot holes in the fence, kids toy animals etc
Pulling the rifle fore-end back hard helps and leaning like MSL describes above.

Shooting off your mustering stick can work to

My standing shooting isnt helluva good so bear that in mind ...

I use the “erect position”, feet shoulder width apart withequal weight on both.
I can’t get my elbow don onto my hip or even ribs, my upper arm contacts about 2/3 of the way down, around the triceps.
I find i get better control if my left hand is well out down the foreend. For me, this rules out the lean back target position and is why I’ll never be a competitive silhouette shooter.

Using the two point sling doesn’t feel like it gives much support but in 5 shot stri gs i do get a couple more points and dont get somany really wild shots.

I find i get a lot of good shots if I bring the rifle up as close to the target as possible, bring the cross hair quickly onto the target and fire promptly. The occasional shot goes way out using this technique too. Holding a long time often gives a bad shot. Unlike other positions, the sequence of acquire target-wait till its still-gradually increase trigger pressure-surprisexbreak doesnt work well because for me the period of minimal movement is quite short onlyasecond or two so i have to beready to fire straight away when it does look good. This may be a short circuit reflex between my visual centres and the trigger muscles but it feels like im simultaneously telling my trunk and arms to bring the crosshair onto the target and hold it still plus telling my trigger hand to fire at the same moment. Its like using your left foot on the clutch at the same time your left hand moves the gear lever.

Rifle factors:
A light consistent trigger isagreat help because standing is a lot about release timing.
Too light a rifle is hard to hold still but too heavy (>4kg) is hard to hold up and Idont dowell.

When time or terrain doesn’t allow for a better position, I lean forward in stance, aim low on the target, then bring the crosshairs up and fire as I give a very slight pause on the shoulder. Seems to work, but not my preferred shot if it can be helped��

Yep, that's what I do. Starting low and moving up seems to work better for me