Shooting a Handgun – Stance Matters


By  Eve Flanigan

A proper stance has you leaning into the gun, body square to the target and arms straight.

Too many YouTube videos show the effects of shooters’ insufficient support of high-recoil handguns. Unfortunately, most of those videos are of women whose mates or friends didn’t know or care enough to provide instruction on technique, and the result is a scared shooter at best or an injured one at worst.

Stance is the first of the seven fundamentals of marksmanship, and it’s one of the most misunderstood. There are schools and instructors that still teach the so-called Weaver stance or one of its many variants—shooting with the gun-side shoulder and hip angled away from the target, and the support-side elbow clearly bent. But today most instructors teach the isosceles stance, in which the shooter faces the target squarely or close to squarely, with both arms extended.

banner

Both stances work, but in your own efforts don’t sweat the small details and instead focus on this: Good stance capitalizes on posture and joints to minimize the effects of recoil.

With philosophy out of the way, here’s an overview of the most common stance problem I’ve come to expect among female shooters, especially new ones. While men also sometimes make this error, females tend to have worse outcomes in terms of hitting the target.

Here we will assume the new shooter is using the straightforward isosceles stance. As she raises the sights to be on target, she leans waaaaay back, as if to get the gun as far away from her face as possible. This bend in the spine will soon exhaust the shooter, but more immediately, when firing multiple shots, the bullet impacts will start edging north of what she intended as this backward leaning posture doesn’t permit recoil control. The gun pushes the shooter farther back and the gun higher with each shot.

Here is what you want. Feet should be at least hip-width apart. Small-framed shooters often feel better with even wider foot placement. If moving one foot a couple inches rearward feels better, go for it. Knees should be soft, neither bent nor locked. Shoulders almost directly above the toes, and keep arms straight with wrist joints locked to the extent that the individual’s body will allow.

Equally important, there should be a distinct bend in the hip, in the direction of the target. An interesting reaction most people (yes, men too) have when they’re told to bend forward, not backward from the hip, is softening their elbow and wrist joints when they move the upper body forward. This is incorrect and likely to cause malfunctions in semiauto pistols as well as exaggerated rise of the gun during recoil.

This forward-leaning stance looks aggressive. Women’s social conditioning can make them uncomfortable with it for that reason. My best advice is to put that thought aside or treat it like an acting role—anyone can pretend to be aggressive for a little while. Proper stance protects spinal health and takes any scariness out of shooting because it minimizes felt recoil and gives you maximum control over the gun for whatever is next, especially follow-up shots.

 



Source link

Articles You May Like

Early spring fish bite defies weather | News, Sports, Jobs
A New “School Carry” Bill Emerged in the Idaho Senate, but was Held in Committee – Idaho Dispatch
Supreme Court to hear three freedom of speech cases
Image of Biden supporters with gun seizure signs is doctored
In an usual and controversial move, the ACLU will defend the NRA in the Supreme Court this week

15 Comments

  1. 823552 200083Hmm is anyone else experiencing problems with the images on this blog loading? Im trying to uncover out if its a issue on my end or if it is the blog. Any responses would be greatly appreciated. 351327

  2. 584533 877562You might be websites successful individuals, it comes effortlessly, therefore you also earn you see, the jealousy of all of the ones lots of journeymen surrounding you could have challenges within this challenge. motor movers 644835

  3. 697912 300270I discovered your blog site website on google and appearance some of your early posts. Preserve up the excellent operate. I just extra increase Feed to my MSN News Reader. Seeking for toward reading far a lot more by you later on! 70511

  4. 431703 905860Im not certain exactly why but this internet web site is loading incredibly slow for me. Is anyone else having this concern or is it a problem on my finish? Ill check back later and see if the problem still exists. 663870

  5. An interesting discussion is orth comment. I thinkk that yyou shoud publish more about thiss
    topic, itt may nnot be a tahoo matter but
    typiczlly folks don’t discus suchh subjects. To the next!
    Kindd regards!!

  6. 338842 46550Oh my goodness! an incredible post dude. Thank you Nonetheless Im experiencing challenge with ur rss . Don know why Unable to subscribe to it. Is there anyone getting comparable rss drawback? Anybody who knows kindly respond. Thnkx 137884

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *