Knees please

Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome.

- Booker T. Washington -

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That's a picture of me in a competition event I entered a little while ago. It was a practical long range event which focused on recreating real-world scenarios forcing the shooter to apply strategy, speed, skill and accuracy to complete each stage.

It wasn't the type of event novice shooters were generally inclined to enter due to the quality of entrants however it was open to all and no matter the skill-level everyone had an opportunity to take some of the $40,000 of prizes on offer. I finished at the tail end of the top ten and whilst I was disappointed at the time in hindsight, and considering the quality of my competitors, eighth out of seventy or so was probably respectable.

I was a sponsored shooter at the time and felt the need to perform well so put a lot of energy and time into preparation over the couple of months leading up to the event: Load development to make sure the ammunition I made for the event were as close to perfect as possible, equipment was checked and re-checked and I prepared mentally and physically ready for a weekend of extreme focus. But some of the preparation was done years in advance.

There's a lot to learn with long range shooting much of which I've written about previously. It's just not something one can do without training and understanding; guessing isn't going to get the job done. It all gets more complex when obstacles and barricades are introduced as shooting in awkward and uncomfortable positions makes accuracy harder to obtain. Add in urgency and time-pressure, and one has a very difficult scenario to work around and that's where the challenge lies.

I'm trained to work around these elements and to deliver repeatable results down range at great distance and still spend a little time each week keeping my skills sharp.

I was chatting with a chap today about positional shooting and he complained about the fact he never knew what position to take initially and ended up settling-in then realising he was in the wrong position and would have to move. That's a big problem in the field when time matters and finding the right position quickly is something a decent long range shooter will learn very early on.

I gave him some tips and thought I'd share some here. Essentially I'll explain how I size up a barricade or obstacle to determine how I'll shoot from it, before I get to it so I can assume the position quickly and confidently. It's really very simple.

In this case I'll talk about four very basic positions: Prone, low-knees, high-knees and a wide standing stance. There are many more but these will do for a start. Keep in mind these work for me but I'm not suggesting these are the only positions that work.

So, how do I size up the obstacle? I basically work out the height of the obstacle in relation to my body and that determines what stance or position I'll assume based on previous experimentation. It works like this.

Mid-thigh to hip/waist high barricade or obstacle: I'll assume a standing stance with legs spread wide to either side for additional stability, rest the rifle on the obstacle and lean down and forward to it. If the barricade is a little higher or lower I lean more or simply open or close my standing stance gain or lose height as needed.

Just below knee to mid-thigh high barricade or obstacle: Here I use a position on my knees with them apart for stability again, and resting also on my feet so four points of contact with the ground. I straighten or hunch my back, or move slightly forward or back and lean for less or more height and if required may bring the knees together for an extra couple inches of height to get the best shooting position. You can see this position pictured above.

Below knee to mid-shin high barricade or obstacle: This is where I adopt the low-knees position which is where I'm basically folded down upon myself with my butt low to the ground. I hate this position these days as my knees protest although back in the day it was quite comfortable. A lifetime of abusing my knees has taken its toll now though.

Mid-shin and below high barricade or obstacle or flat ground: This is an easy one and for me the most accurate as I can assume a prone position. If you don't know, prone is laying flat on one's stomach, legs spread very wide, feet turned outwards and laying straight behind the rifle to manage the recoil better, not canted off to one side like in the movies - Only wankers do that. (Well, in truth it can be done if there' not enough room to lie straight, but it won't help to manage the recoil when in the offset position.) Of course sometimes I'd have to be a little higher or lower and I'd simple adjust by propping up on my elbows as needed.

For months and months I was walking around the place sizing things up, like everything, and working out what position I would use; I mean for the four above and others. When at the range I'd practice and at home also for that matter. I'd size up tyres, car hoods and trunks, chairs, benches, barrels and drums, low walls, ledges and windows, toy boxes, cardboard boxes, chairs at the food court, shelves at the supermarket and anything else that I could stick into the memory-bank for later; I never knew when I might rely on that information. The effort paid off when I needed it and it stuck in mind too because I still do it, the practice I mean.

I've never been much of a competition or range shooter; I mean I've not really had much interest in it preferring to shoot in the field and in practical situations. Having said that with the introduction of a few practical long-range shooting events around the country I began to get more involved and travelled from State to State to compete. I always ran into the same shooters who competed on the circuit and built a good rapport with some telling lies around the campfire about the past and present. We'd swap ideas also, but that didn't happen too much as we knew we'd be competing the next day or at the next event.

I rarely spoke about positional shooting and how I approached it...I listened though. What I never did was apply something I heard without extensive experimentation; what works for one may not for others. I'd take things away and trial them and if it worked would train and eventually implement the technique. That's what I told the chap today; don't go away and try this in competition without extensive practice. He'll probably not listen and bugger it all up though.

Anyway, that's a few short words on positional shooting and what works for me in the very basic situations above. As I said, there are many ways to do this, many shooting positions and requirements, and this method is just my own. Shooting in various positions, scenarios and under duress, especially at long range, is something that takes years of training, practice and a great deal of understanding...I've shared only a very small part. Thanks for skimming.