Body and rifle positioning for prone shooting
by Kelly Bachand
[Editor: If you have been watching the Top Shot All-Stars TV series this season you’ve noticed that our Buddy Kelly Bachand has been “kicking a** and taking names”. On last week’s episode Kelly was the only shooter to place multiple rimfire rounds through the center of a CD without touching the plastic. Most of the other Aall-stars in this challenge couldn’t send even one shot through the CD without breaking plastic. Shooting offhand, Kelly went three-for-three. That’s impressive. Though you know him best from Top Shot, Kelly is one of America’s leading young long-range prone shooters. Bachand has been a Top Five finisher in many major matches, and he has won the Canadian Open Target Rifle Championship, shooting his Barnard-actioned Palma Rifle.]
In this article, I’ll share what works for me in the prone shooting game. However, I recognize that every shooter/rifle combination is unique. So, the best way to find out what will really work best is by practicing and putting some rounds down range. But hopefully you’ll find some suggestions in this story that prove helpful.
The Rifle, Sling, Arms, and Hands
I keep my sling high on the pulse pad of my Creedmoor Sports shooting jacket which turns out to be at the top of my bicep muscle. The sling is tight enough that, with my forward hand against the hand stop and the stock firmly in my shoulder, the rifle is fully supported without any noticeable muscle use. As my coaches have recommended, placing my forward elbow as close to directly under the rifle as possible often yields a more stable position. My trigger hand does not support the rifle but rather grips it without disturbing its aim. If the rifle can be held level and stable with just the forward hand and sling, then one knows a good prone position has been found.
Head, Torso, Hips, and Legs
As with shooting off hand, when shooting prone, I find it best to keep my head as close to perfectly vertical as possible. While swaying is not a typical problem in the prone position, if a vertical head position grants me more stability, I will work to have one. My torso in particular bends in a way that may be uncomfortable for other prone shooters. My left hip and some of the left side of my stomach touch the ground but the majority of my chest and diaphragm are off the ground while I shoot prone. By minimizing the contact my stomach and chest have with the ground I can also minimize the effect my breathing has on my hold. (Also breathing is much easier when each breath isn’t lifting one’s torso weight). Below my waist my left leg extends almost perfectly straight out and sometimes falls asleep while shooting. My right leg is cocked and my right knee is brought up almost even with my right hip. This is what allows me to get so much of my torso off the ground.
The Finished Product
In the prone shooting game we shoot at distances from 300 to 1000 yards using iron sights (and sometimes scopes). When I have a good prone position, and my breathing is correct, there are a few seconds right before I take a shot when I feel as if my rifle is being supported on a bench. This sort of stability is only needed for the few seconds it takes to squeeze the trigger. It can, however, very consistently produce sub-minute groups with iron sights from the prone position at any range from 100-1000 yards.
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Tags: high power, kelly bachand, Palma, Position Shooting, Prone, Sling
Wow! That’s a really narrow position. I only shoot ISSF smallbore, and my left leg is much farther to the left and my right leg is bent at about 45 degrees. It looks to me like he’s in danger of rolling over onto his left side the longer he stays in position. Maybe this isn’t such an issue in fullbore as it is in smallbore where we can be stuck in prone for up to 75 minutes at a time. Everyone is different, of course, but I wonder if this position helps manage recoil better?
Kelly’s bend in his back is not too bad, and his position is obviously working for him. However it is something we revisit from time to time in our practices. The problem with the lumbar bend is not one of stability, but the load your lumbar discs are taking. When you’re shooting with a 223 or 6mm, it is not a big deal, but when you’re shooting a Palma rifle I’d like to see a straight line from the elbow through the hips to left ankle (RH shooter). Another thing we often see is a lumbar bend with younger shooters that are trying to shoot a rifle with too long a length of pull
As someone who has been through multiple neck and back surgeries to repair blown discs, I cringe when I look at a prone position with a big kink in the lumbar area.
Kelly,
The more I read about you and your shooting, the more I realize how much we have in common!
My position is also relatively high off the ground, elevating my torso and achieving all the benefits you mentioned (reduced pulse & breathing effects).
It wasn’t always like that, I used to be more comfortable in a lower position. But those lower positions seem to be less maintainable; things loosen up and slip more over the 20-25 shots than if everything stays ‘high-and-tight’.
Also, by reducing your torso’s contact with the ground, you minimize your sensitivity to irregularities on the ground (bumps and divots on the firing point).
Thanks for a well written description of your prone position.
-Bryan
If I may make a few comments….I haven’t ever been in position for 75 minutes at a time, the most was maybe 45 minutes, but I have never felt as if I were in danger of rolling onto my side. I am particularly skinny and my left hip bone actually almost digs itself into my shooting mat and helps to keep me pretty well planted. I feel as though my position manages the recoil pretty efficiently as I have never been sore from recoil and the rifle usually finds it way right back to the target after the small jump when the round goes off. Every shooter and rifle combination is unique, but if good bone support is used in conjunction with a properly placed sling a steady prone position can be had by anyone willing to experiment and accept recommendations from fellow shooters.
Thanks Bryan, I am glad to have some of my thoughts confirmed by one of the sports better competitors. I will say though that moderately high position pictured is a relatively new one I began using just in April after asking for a few tips from another great shooter while in Sacramento. What I have found is that it is best to assume there is always something I can make better in my position or my shooting in general and, believing that, I seek advice from other shooters and welcome their input whether it immediately helps or not.
I’m not completely certain why I have the tendency to put such a bend in my torso, but I do try periodically to eliminate it and inevitably it re-appears after a short period. It’s likely in the future I will need to pay it more attention, but the current flexibility of my body allows for a little “wiggle room.”
I was commenting based on my own experience and not to be critical. I always get a kick out of walking behind the line and checking other shooters’ prone positions. For every “textbook” position there’ll be at least two or three who seem to be breaking all the “rules.” But if it works for them — and more often than not it does — then frankly there’s nothing “wrong” with it, is there? I think it’s cool that it works for you, ’cause I know it would kill me.
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