Proper standing position pic

[megawatt]

Shooting is a hobby for me and I am always learning, hopefully this helps someone out.

Many firearms training facilities conduct 4 day shotgun classes and their students shoot over 600 shells during the class, with over half of the shells being 00B and slugs. The students can shoot this much because they are taught to properly shoot a shotgun and it starts with the proper standing position. If you think you need a limbsaver pad or if you can only fire a handful of shells before getting sore then you could benefit from some instruction from someone or somewhere.

I had the opportunity to take quick picture of someone in a good standing position for you to look at. Many of you know already know this but if your new to shotguns then here is a simple pic with some points below to use as a guide. If you shoot a 12 ga and find yourself stepping backwards due to the recoil then your lean is missing or needs some work. If you think shooting slugs hurts then you might need to work on the shoulder pocket and only putting the "toe" in there, not the entire recoil pad.

Start off with 4 points of contact (#1-4) between you and the shotgun.

1. Supporting hand on forestock, if you cant reach it then at a minimum you need to grab the two action bars to prevent the forestock from moving back and possibly pinching your hand/fingers when the gun is fired.

2. Firing hand staged on safety, index finger staged well away from trigger (never on the trigger guard) when off target. Finger on trigger when on target. (Pic was taken as safety was removed and just before finger moved to trigger since gun is "on target".

3. Cheek weld on comb of the stock.

4. Toe of stock in the shoulder pocket. The pocket is located under your ear, not the end of your shoulder.

5. Lean forward so your shoulders are forward of your ankles to help resist the recoil.

6. Push your hips back, behind you to counter the weight from leaning forward.

7. Feet shoulder width apart. Firing side foot is half a step behind other foot and both feet are bladed about 30 degrees from the firing line.

 

[ripjack13]

Great tip for the nOObs...and those who haven't been instructed. Thanx for the post!!

 

[nitesite]

Good opportunity to learn something from megawatts post. Thanks!

 

[Kadelic]

Thanks for the pointers. As a noob, I'm not sure exactly what you mean by the "toe" of the stock. I can't see the end of the stock in that photo, can you please clarify a little? Is it the upper part?

 

[MikeD]

Thanks for the pointers. As a noob, I'm not sure exactly what you mean by the "toe" of the stock. I can't see the end of the stock in that photo, can you please clarify a little? Is it the upper part?

In the pic below the toe would be the lower leftmost part of the stock. i.e bottom of the butt pad. The heal would be the top.

 

[Kadelic]

Cool. Thanks!

 

[oli700]

Not to be picky but it looks terrible to me just because he doesn’t have his knees flexed and is center of gravity looks real unstable, up on his tippy toes…looks like a good tail wind would make him stagger forward.
To me the “proper stance” was developed for movement in all directions, recoil management second…..he looks like he is all about the recoil management part….no offence meant, just looks bad to me.

 

[GunnyGene]

Not to be picky but it looks terrible to me just because he doesn’t have his knees flexed and is center of gravity looks real unstable, up on his tippy toes…looks like a good tail wind would make him stagger forward.
To me the “proper stance” was developed for movement in all directions, recoil management second…..he looks like he is all about the recoil management part….no offence meant, just looks bad to me.

I agree. It may be just the camera angle, but it looks overly exaggerated to me also.

 

[mingaa]

Not to be picky but it looks terrible to me just because he doesn’t have his knees flexed and is center of gravity looks real unstable, up on his tippy toes…looks like a good tail wind would make him stagger forward.
To me the “proper stance” was developed for movement in all directions, recoil management second…..he looks like he is all about the recoil management part….no offence meant, just looks bad to me.

I agree. It may be just the camera angle, but it looks overly exaggerated to me also.

DITTO - looks exaggerated probably to make the point clear. He's at the edge of unstable and if he shoots all day from that position he will have a VERY sore lower back in the A.M. - he's hanging a lot of weight off that vulnerable leverage point.

 

[GunnyGene]

Not to be picky but it looks terrible to me just because he doesn’t have his knees flexed and is center of gravity looks real unstable, up on his tippy toes…looks like a good tail wind would make him stagger forward.
To me the “proper stance” was developed for movement in all directions, recoil management second…..he looks like he is all about the recoil management part….no offence meant, just looks bad to me.

I agree. It may be just the camera angle, but it looks overly exaggerated to me also.

DITTO - looks exaggerated probably to make the point clear. He's at the edge of unstable and if he shoots all day from that position he will have a VERY sore lower back in the A.M. - he's hanging a lot of weight off that vulnerable leverage point.

I think Rob Haught shows the stance better:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gq74aiXn1b4[/youtube]

 

[WolfPak]

Also the butt of the stock should not be under the ear until the toe is in the shoulder pocket and the cheek is testing on the comb. First the butt is inserted into the pocket with the comb of the stock slightly above the shoulder, then the cheek brought to rest on the comb of the stock. When resting on the comb the neck should be slightly extended.

When mounted, the length of pull should be such that there are 2-3 finger widths between the tip of the nose and the second knuckle of the thumb of the trigger hand.

Sent from my LG-E970 using Tapatalk 2

 

[ripjack13]

Hmm..I wasn't aware there was a pic in the post. (My phone doesn't show em.)
Is that comfortable?

 

[Itsricmo]

Excellent post!! Definitely great information for new shooters!

I would find shooting in the stance pictured, awkward but I have found what works for me and it is awkward for others lol

 

[megawatt]

Shooting will never be a one size fits all type of sport. We can't even agree on 9 vs 45, revolver vs semi, pump vs semi auto and so on. I just found a pic and figured on some discussion and/or tips.

I would agree the knees need to be slightly bent and they do look straight in the pic.
As far as the lean,,,, depends on type of load (slug or buckshot) and length of shotgun.

But if your stepping back after the shot or if your toes even slightly rise off the ground, or your lower back tightens up to prevent you from stepping backwards then you need to lean forward more.