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Your shooting stance is an important factor in your accuracy and efficiency. If you’re building a house you’re going to want to make sure it’s built on a solid foundation. The same concept applies to shooting. No matter how good your breath control, sight alignment, and other shooting skills are if your stance is not solid you will not be able to consistently place your shots where you want them to go.
Shooting stance refers to the positioning of your body and feet when shooting. There are many different types of shooting stances and they each have their advantages and disadvantages. Choosing the right stance will provide you with comfort when shooting in addition to improving your accuracy. One of the most common mistakes made by new shooters is shooting with an improper stance. Beginners tend to stand too narrowly and restrict themselves. If you’re wondering how to find the right shooting stance this article is for you.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A SHOOTING STANCE
The first thing to take note of when correcting for your best shooting stance is whether or not your legs are too narrow. Check out your toes while firing. If the tips of your shoes lift off the ground with each shot that might mean that your stance is too narrow. Try incrementally widening your stance until you find a placement which keeps your toes from lifting off the ground.
Another way to find the right shooting stance for you is to use the partner resistance test. Using your normal stance, extend your arms and place your hands together as if you were holding a pistol. Have someone push against your hands with their body weight. If you get pushed back by this pressure, your stance is too narrow and you’ll need to open it up. Your feet should be about shoulder-width apart but your weak-side leg might need to be extended out a bit. The key to this test is to ensure that you do not resist the force being applied by leaning forward against the pressure.
GRIP MATTERS
How you hold your weapon is also part of your shooting stance. When working on how to find the right shooting stance for you, keep your grip in mind. The grip that works well for someone else might not be equally effective for you. There are two main types of grip that are available to you, namely the “Thumbs Forward Grip” and the “Thumb Over Grip.” Each has its own advantages and disadvantages. Let’s take a look at them.
Thumbs Forward Grip
In the Thumbs Forward Grip, both the gun-hand thumb and support-hand thumb are pointing forward. When it comes to this grip, there is no one correct position for your thumbs to be in. Some shooters place their thumbs side by side and there is a little contact between them. Others put their gun-hand thumb over the top of their support-hand thumb. Others ease their gun-hand thumb over and slightly to the side of their support-hand thumb. The disadvantage of having both thumbs pointing forward is that there is not much locking your shooting hand and support hand together. Your thumbs, however, will provide a little steadying pressure on the support side of the gun which is good. The Thumbs Forward Grip is most effective for shooters with medium to large hands.
Thumb Over Grip
In the Thumb Over Grip, the gun hand thumb is placed inside the support hand thumb which then reaches over and contacts the gun thumb at the fingernail, bending the joint down and locking both hands together. The drawback of this type of grip is that it puts more tension on the muscle of the shooting hand and that means it requires more shooting hand effort to direct a gun to its target. The Thumb Over Grip is ideal for shooters with small hands.
TYPES OF SHOOTING STANCE
There are several factors that can impact your search for the best shooting stance.
Your grip, aim, breath control, hold control, trigger control, and follow-through will all play a part in finding your best shooting stance. Shooting stances are named after people and geometric patterns. The two main shooting stances are the Isosceles Stance and the Weaver Stance. Let’s start with those.
Weaver Stance
Introduced in the late 1950s, the Weaver Stance was named after Deputy Sheriff Jack Weaver. Until Weaver popularized this stance most shooters shot one-handed and from the hip. Jeff Cooper, who founded Gunsite Academy, was instrumental in popularizing the Weaver Stance. In fact, it is still a core component of the academy’s curriculum.
The Weaver Stance has two components. First, you grip the gun in your strong hand while pushing your shooting arm straight out with the elbow locked or almost locked out. The support arm then comes up and grips the gun with the elbow bent significantly and pointed down. Pushing with the strong hand, apply weak hand pressure to the gun to strengthen your grip.
For the second component blade your body slightly with the weak side forward and the feet shoulder-width apart. This will give you a stable platform and also allows for movement in a defensive situation.
Pros: The biggest advantage of the Weaver Stance is the push pull grip which is very effective in controlling recoil and it also aids weapon control.
Cons: The law enforcement community has noted that blading can expose unprotected portions of the body. For right-handed shooters this would expose their left armpit, which could be an entryway to the heart. Due to this blading problem, body armor is not completely effective in protecting vital organs while in this stance.
Isosceles Stance
Popularized in the mid-1980s by Brian Enos and Rob Leatham to win IPSC shoots, this stance was named as such because of the triangular shape of your arms when in the stance. In the Isosceles Stance, your arms are straight out in front of you with elbows slightly bent and gun gripped in your hands. The feet are placed shoulder-width apart and even with each other. This is a popular stance for shooting competitions because it not only allows upper body rotation but also absorbs recoil.
In the Isosceles Stance, you face your target squarely with your feet set shoulder-width apart. The toes facing the target are aligned. The knees are flexed at an angle and the shooter leans forward from the waist towards the target.
Pros: It gives shooters a comfortable and natural position for shooting. The positioning of the body will likewise have a positive effect on accuracy. It is a strong, simple stance that can be easily remembered under stress.
Cons: Although it provides side-to-side capability, one major problem with the Isosceles Stance is that it lacks front-to-rear balance due to the positioning of the feet.
Chapman or Modified Weaver Stance
The Chapman or Modified Weaver stance is similar to the Weaver Stance but has one important difference. In the Chapman Stance, you lock straight your dominant hand and arm. This can be helpful for combating the trembling that some experience when in the Weaver stance. With this stance, you can still benefit from the push/pull tension of the Weaver Stance for muzzle control. This stance lessens the risk of your weaker, non-dominant arm overpowering your straight dominant shooting arm which can happen when you are under stress.
It takes a bit more time to get into the Chapman stance than the Weaver. However the Chapman stance is more relaxed and requires less upper-body strength. The Chapman Stance is ideal for cross-eye dominant shooters as it allows shooters to quickly align their eyes with a quick movement of the head.
Power Isosceles Stance
The Power Isosceles Stance makes two slight adjustments to the Isosceles Stance. Here the gun-side foot is moved back 8 to 10 inches with the knees unlocked creating a slight degree of flex. It also offers a dramatic improvement in recoil control. In this stance, the elbows are locked and the gun is centered in the field of view. By dropping the strong-side foot several inches back, it offers more stability than the standard Isosceles.
Center Axis Relock (CAR) Stance
You might look at the name of this one and wonder if some astrophysicist came up with it. It was actually invented by Paul Castle, a law enforcement officer and trainer. In this stance, just like the Weaver, you assume an aggressive martial-arts type stance with the support-side foot placed well forward. It’s worth noting that the CAR stance utilizes the optimal focal distance of the eyes and maybe that’s why you might find it to be the right shooting stance for you. In a more traditional shooting stance, your extended arm will put your gun sights a couple of feet in front of your eyes. With the CAR, the firing hand is about half or maybe two-thirds of the way extended making the sight relatively close and the ideal focal range about 12-16 inches. The pistol is canted towards the support side which places the sight in front of your support-side eye. As a result, you do not not have to cock your wrist in an unnatural position when in this stance. Also, the wrist is aligned with the forearm for better recoil absorption.
TIPS FOR IMPROVING YOUR SHOOTING STANCE
When learning how to find the right shooting stance, it is worth noting that you should build your position from your feet up. Keep your feet about shoulder width apart if you’re a lefty. If you are right-handed, your left foot should be slightly forward and right foot slightly back. Perfecting your shooting stance will improve both your shooting accuracy and efficiency. Here are some tips to help you find the best shooting stance.
Think About Your Toes
Your toes can help you determine whether you are indexed or have a natural point of aim. If your torso and feet point towards what you are shooting, you’ve got the right idea. If not, you’ll be fighting your body when you’re shooting. Keep an eye on them toes!
Get a Grip
Preferred gun grip varies from one person to another. The bottom line is that you want to make sure that whatever grip you use you have enough gun control to keep your weapon from moving while firing and also to get your sights back on target immediately after firing. Some shooters grip their guns hard with their gun hand. Others put much more force in with their support hand. It all depends on what will give you the gun control you need to be an accurate, efficient, and safe shooter. Body type could play a major factor in what gun grip is best for you.
WHICH SHOOTING STANCE IS RIGHT FOR ME?
The key to finding the right shooting stance for you is to practice. Do some dry fire exercises with each stance and see what works. Remember to also try a partner resistance test. Try adjusting your feet. Try adjusting your grip. Keep working until you’ve got it down pat. Any tips for us? Feel free to leave them in the comments section!
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Finding the Right Shooting Stance: Which One Is for You?
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BUY NOW
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Your shooting stance is an important factor in your accuracy and efficiency. If you’re building a house you’re going to want to make sure it’s built on a solid foundation. The same concept applies to shooting. No matter how good your breath control, sight alignment, and other shooting skills are if your stance is not solid you will not be able to consistently place your shots where you want them to go.
Shooting stance refers to the positioning of your body and feet when shooting. There are many different types of shooting stances and they each have their advantages and disadvantages. Choosing the right stance will provide you with comfort when shooting in addition to improving your accuracy. One of the most common mistakes made by new shooters is shooting with an improper stance. Beginners tend to stand too narrowly and restrict themselves. If you’re wondering how to find the right shooting stance this article is for you.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A SHOOTING STANCE
The first thing to take note of when correcting for your best shooting stance is whether or not your legs are too narrow. Check out your toes while firing. If the tips of your shoes lift off the ground with each shot that might mean that your stance is too narrow. Try incrementally widening your stance until you find a placement which keeps your toes from lifting off the ground.
Another way to find the right shooting stance for you is to use the partner resistance test. Using your normal stance, extend your arms and place your hands together as if you were holding a pistol. Have someone push against your hands with their body weight. If you get pushed back by this pressure, your stance is too narrow and you’ll need to open it up. Your feet should be about shoulder-width apart but your weak-side leg might need to be extended out a bit. The key to this test is to ensure that you do not resist the force being applied by leaning forward against the pressure.
GRIP MATTERS
How you hold your weapon is also part of your shooting stance. When working on how to find the right shooting stance for you, keep your grip in mind. The grip that works well for someone else might not be equally effective for you. There are two main types of grip that are available to you, namely the “Thumbs Forward Grip” and the “Thumb Over Grip.” Each has its own advantages and disadvantages. Let’s take a look at them.
Thumbs Forward Grip
In the Thumbs Forward Grip, both the gun-hand thumb and support-hand thumb are pointing forward. When it comes to this grip, there is no one correct position for your thumbs to be in. Some shooters place their thumbs side by side and there is a little contact between them. Others put their gun-hand thumb over the top of their support-hand thumb. Others ease their gun-hand thumb over and slightly to the side of their support-hand thumb. The disadvantage of having both thumbs pointing forward is that there is not much locking your shooting hand and support hand together. Your thumbs, however, will provide a little steadying pressure on the support side of the gun which is good. The Thumbs Forward Grip is most effective for shooters with medium to large hands.
Thumb Over Grip
In the Thumb Over Grip, the gun hand thumb is placed inside the support hand thumb which then reaches over and contacts the gun thumb at the fingernail, bending the joint down and locking both hands together. The drawback of this type of grip is that it puts more tension on the muscle of the shooting hand and that means it requires more shooting hand effort to direct a gun to its target. The Thumb Over Grip is ideal for shooters with small hands.
TYPES OF SHOOTING STANCE
There are several factors that can impact your search for the best shooting stance.
Your grip, aim, breath control, hold control, trigger control, and follow-through will all play a part in finding your best shooting stance. Shooting stances are named after people and geometric patterns. The two main shooting stances are the Isosceles Stance and the Weaver Stance. Let’s start with those.
Weaver Stance
Introduced in the late 1950s, the Weaver Stance was named after Deputy Sheriff Jack Weaver. Until Weaver popularized this stance most shooters shot one-handed and from the hip. Jeff Cooper, who founded Gunsite Academy, was instrumental in popularizing the Weaver Stance. In fact, it is still a core component of the academy’s curriculum.
The Weaver Stance has two components. First, you grip the gun in your strong hand while pushing your shooting arm straight out with the elbow locked or almost locked out. The support arm then comes up and grips the gun with the elbow bent significantly and pointed down. Pushing with the strong hand, apply weak hand pressure to the gun to strengthen your grip.
For the second component blade your body slightly with the weak side forward and the feet shoulder-width apart. This will give you a stable platform and also allows for movement in a defensive situation.
Pros: The biggest advantage of the Weaver Stance is the push pull grip which is very effective in controlling recoil and it also aids weapon control.
Cons: The law enforcement community has noted that blading can expose unprotected portions of the body. For right-handed shooters this would expose their left armpit, which could be an entryway to the heart. Due to this blading problem, body armor is not completely effective in protecting vital organs while in this stance.
Isosceles Stance
Popularized in the mid-1980s by Brian Enos and Rob Leatham to win IPSC shoots, this stance was named as such because of the triangular shape of your arms when in the stance. In the Isosceles Stance, your arms are straight out in front of you with elbows slightly bent and gun gripped in your hands. The feet are placed shoulder-width apart and even with each other. This is a popular stance for shooting competitions because it not only allows upper body rotation but also absorbs recoil.
In the Isosceles Stance, you face your target squarely with your feet set shoulder-width apart. The toes facing the target are aligned. The knees are flexed at an angle and the shooter leans forward from the waist towards the target.
Pros: It gives shooters a comfortable and natural position for shooting. The positioning of the body will likewise have a positive effect on accuracy. It is a strong, simple stance that can be easily remembered under stress.
Cons: Although it provides side-to-side capability, one major problem with the Isosceles Stance is that it lacks front-to-rear balance due to the positioning of the feet.
Chapman or Modified Weaver Stance
The Chapman or Modified Weaver stance is similar to the Weaver Stance but has one important difference. In the Chapman Stance, you lock straight your dominant hand and arm. This can be helpful for combating the trembling that some experience when in the Weaver stance. With this stance, you can still benefit from the push/pull tension of the Weaver Stance for muzzle control. This stance lessens the risk of your weaker, non-dominant arm overpowering your straight dominant shooting arm which can happen when you are under stress.
It takes a bit more time to get into the Chapman stance than the Weaver. However the Chapman stance is more relaxed and requires less upper-body strength. The Chapman Stance is ideal for cross-eye dominant shooters as it allows shooters to quickly align their eyes with a quick movement of the head.
Power Isosceles Stance
The Power Isosceles Stance makes two slight adjustments to the Isosceles Stance. Here the gun-side foot is moved back 8 to 10 inches with the knees unlocked creating a slight degree of flex. It also offers a dramatic improvement in recoil control. In this stance, the elbows are locked and the gun is centered in the field of view. By dropping the strong-side foot several inches back, it offers more stability than the standard Isosceles.
Center Axis Relock (CAR) Stance
You might look at the name of this one and wonder if some astrophysicist came up with it. It was actually invented by Paul Castle, a law enforcement officer and trainer. In this stance, just like the Weaver, you assume an aggressive martial-arts type stance with the support-side foot placed well forward. It’s worth noting that the CAR stance utilizes the optimal focal distance of the eyes and maybe that’s why you might find it to be the right shooting stance for you. In a more traditional shooting stance, your extended arm will put your gun sights a couple of feet in front of your eyes. With the CAR, the firing hand is about half or maybe two-thirds of the way extended making the sight relatively close and the ideal focal range about 12-16 inches. The pistol is canted towards the support side which places the sight in front of your support-side eye. As a result, you do not not have to cock your wrist in an unnatural position when in this stance. Also, the wrist is aligned with the forearm for better recoil absorption.
TIPS FOR IMPROVING YOUR SHOOTING STANCE
When learning how to find the right shooting stance, it is worth noting that you should build your position from your feet up. Keep your feet about shoulder width apart if you’re a lefty. If you are right-handed, your left foot should be slightly forward and right foot slightly back. Perfecting your shooting stance will improve both your shooting accuracy and efficiency. Here are some tips to help you find the best shooting stance.
Think About Your Toes
Your toes can help you determine whether you are indexed or have a natural point of aim. If your torso and feet point towards what you are shooting, you’ve got the right idea. If not, you’ll be fighting your body when you’re shooting. Keep an eye on them toes!
Get a Grip
Preferred gun grip varies from one person to another. The bottom line is that you want to make sure that whatever grip you use you have enough gun control to keep your weapon from moving while firing and also to get your sights back on target immediately after firing. Some shooters grip their guns hard with their gun hand. Others put much more force in with their support hand. It all depends on what will give you the gun control you need to be an accurate, efficient, and safe shooter. Body type could play a major factor in what gun grip is best for you.
WHICH SHOOTING STANCE IS RIGHT FOR ME?
The key to finding the right shooting stance for you is to practice. Do some dry fire exercises with each stance and see what works. Remember to also try a partner resistance test. Try adjusting your feet. Try adjusting your grip. Keep working until you’ve got it down pat. Any tips for us? Feel free to leave them in the comments section!