Advanced Shooting Stances for Self Defense and Concealed Carry

Advanced Shooting Stances Instructable by Alien Gear Holsters

After a person learns the basic shooting stances, it's a good idea to add some advanced shooting stances into their training and marksmanship repertoire as well. While the basic stances certainly serve a person well, the truth is that one doesn't always shoot from those stances in the real world. As a result, being able to shoot from different stances can be a necessity.

Here are four advanced shooting stances to learn, which would make a good addition to your handgun training and practice regimen. Another benefit of learning to shoot from these positions is that each can be employed with long guns as well as handguns, so each and every position can equally be used with a rifle or shotgun as well as a pistol.

Shooting from kneeling position, such as one might do behind cover, has great tactical application as a person occupies a smaller space as when standing. Additionally, being lower to the ground confers benefits of a lower center of gravity, increasing the amount of recoil transmitted to the ground.

Just like when standing, a person can assume a kneeling Isosceles or a kneeling Weaver or Chapman stance.

A kneeling Weaver or Chapman stance puts the lead foot on the ground and the shooting hand-side knee on the ground. The shooter crouches with the shooting hand extended fully. For optimum balance, rest the support hand on the knee of the leading leg.

For a kneeling Isosceles, put both knees on the ground and lean back so your weight rests over your heels. Then lean forward and extend both arms outward. This stance will absorb recoil better than a standing Isosceles.

A seated shooting stance, just like with kneeling or standing, can be tailored to favor whichever shooting method a person wants to use, be it the Isosceles, Weaver or Chapman method. The only difference is how a person positions their legs.

Any seated position can be used for Isosceles shooting, whether a person is seated cross-legged, with their legs flat on the ground, or with their knees up.

If seated with one or both knees up, the support hand or shooting hand - or both - can be supported by the knees. If shooting with a Weaver or Chapman method, it's best to rest the elbow of the support arm on the knee of the non-shooting side.

The supine shooting position is shooting from the flat of your back. A person lays on their back, acquiring the target practically between the feet. The Weaver and Chapman shooting methods will not work well, practically forcing a person to use an Isosceles-like shooting hold.

That said, the supine position makes for some easy shooting, as far less recoil is absorbed by the shooter.

When shooting a long gun from this position - which is necessary for hunting certain fowl such as geese or sandhill cranes - supine shooting requires the shooting hand to be drawn in tight to the body with the support arm extended, which is naturally closer to a Chapman stance than a Weaver. This may require a slight angling of the body, but may not depending on the shooter. However, the bent arm of the Weaver and Chapman shooting styles is awkward in this position, which naturally inclines the handgun shooter toward the Isosceles method.

Prone shooting is just like supine shooting, except that the shooter is laying on their stomach rather than their back. Just like the supine position, the shooter lays down and is practically unable to use a Weaver-like or Chapman like hold on the weapon, unless they angle themselves to the target.

Just like the supine position, shooting a handgun via the Isosceles method will be the most natural. Using a Weaver or Chapman method can be done, but may be problematic. Also just like the supine position, use of a long gun may require angling the body to aim the firearm better.

Use of one or more of these stances should be part of concealed carry training at some point, as the fact is that not all shooting occurs in ideal conditions. Just like when training in other shooting positions, be sure to start slow and work up toward gaining proficiency. However, the person who can hit reliably from any position is that much better prepared for what may happen than the person who is not.

For more concealed carry advice take a look at the Alien Gear Holsters Concealed Carry Training Guide.