HOW IMPORTANT IS BODY POSITION TO YOUR SHOOTING?
No matter what weapon you choose to shoot, a solid body position is essential to good shooting. The more solid the body position, the easier it is to hold the gun and control the trigger without disturbing the sight picture. Whether you’re shooting prone, kneeling, standing or any unconventional shooting position, you should have as much of your body directly behind the weapon as possible.
Easiest rule to remember is to have as many things pointing at the target as possible. This includes your toes, hips, shoulders and thumbs. In a perfect world, on a flat range with no one shooting back at you, this is easy to do and should be practiced. If you master it in a non-threatening situation like range practice, it then becomes habit so you will automatically be able to revert to the proper body position when you are in a defensive situation.
Ultimately, control of the weapon needs come from the upper body. Your lower body needs to be able to conform to the current tactical situation while the upper body drives the gun. Your lower body is doing everything it can to give your upper body the best platform from which to shoot.
Three Elements of Any Good Shooting Body Position
Bone Support
A good shooting body position employs bone support, not muscular support. A strong foundation is as necessary to shooting as a well-built house. Think about this: You’re using muscles to hold your weapon on target, you bring your focus back to the front sight and relax…your body is going to move to its natural point of aim and you’re not going to notice this subtle shift because you’re not focusing on the target.
Muscular Relaxation
Through training and natural point of aim, the shooter will achieve muscular relaxation. The shooter must learn to relax in various shooting positions. Undue strain or tension causes trembling, which is transmitted to the gun. When you’re shooting in a standing position, see if you can wiggle your toes. It’s the longest nerve in your body and if you’re relaxed enough to wiggle your toes…you’re relaxed.
Natural Point of Aim
Your natural point of aim (NPA) is where you’re “naturally” pointing when all your muscles are relaxed. This is critical to learn, especially if you want to shoot faster, because you will recoil towards your NPA and you will be forcing the sights back on target with each round fired.
To find your natural point of aim in any shooting position, once a target is established, close your eyes, take a deep breath and exhale. Next, concentrate on making your body completely relaxed. This will cause the gun to fall to your natural point of aim. Open your eyes and adjust your position by shifting your body until the gun points to the target at the exact point where the bullet is to strike. Do not make any adjustments using muscle. Even very minor adjustments must be made with the lower body.
In a standing position, stand up straight and relax your hips—they will be point towards your NPA. The easiest way to adjust where you’re aiming is by simply pointing your toes in or out.
Obviously, in a situation where you are under attack, you can’t do this. But if you practice it enough, your body will learn what a good shooting body position feels like, and you’ll naturally end up in a more advantageous position to deal with actual threats when you need to.
