offhand stance?

[Guest]

My question is what is the advantages and disadvantages of a wide stance verses a a narrow stance in offhand? What do you shoot with? I have observed many good shooters using both.

thanks

[Jay V]

My question is what is the advantages and disadvantages of a wide stance verses a a narrow stance in offhand? What do you shoot with? I have observed many good shooters using both.

thanks

I'm not the expert here, but I can give you some basic guidelines -

A lot of your position will depend on your height and the proportions of your body. A tall shooter will need to point down to the target, where a shorter shooter may struggle to tip the rifle up high enough to get on target.

The very wide stance is usually used by smaller women that need to tip the rifle up to get on target. In addition to the wide stance they usually push the hip forward significantly, tipping the body back, and position the supporting elbow on the hip bone. This doesn't work well for most men and boys.

A stance with the feet closer together helps the taller shooter to bring the rifle down to get the correct aim point.

Other factors like buttplate position, supporting hand position on the fore-end, and type of position used for the supporting hand (fist, open palm, etc), also factor in.

Each shooter needs to find the stance that works for them and their equipment. The Ways Of The Rifle book from Pilkington ($50) has a huge amount of detailed info and photos covering all aspects of 3P and air rifle shooting. It's worth the cost for advanced shooters and coaches in my opinion.


Jay V
IL

[ghillieman]

Im 5'9" with a 48" chest and a 32" waist so I have to have a wide position. I also rest my elbow on my hip just as Jay V explained. I tried using a close position but my tricep rests on my ribcage and the expansion from my heart beating sends the rifle dancing. You just have to experiment and be honest with yourself. The ways of the rifle is an excellent book, I have it and it helps a lot, definately worth the money.