Rifle Marksmanship B Standing Position INSTRUCTION: Standing Position Model Steps in Building the Standing Position Shot Technique in Standing 7B.1 The Standing Position Your marksmanship instruction most likely began with firing in the supported position where you learned the fundamentals of firing an accurate shot. After practicing in the supported position, you should have a good understanding of proper sight alignment, breath control, trigger control and sight picture. You should also now know how to adjust the sights on your rifle so that your shot groups form in the center of the target. After practicing these fundamentals, you are ready to learn and start practicing in your first regular position, standing. The standing position is one of the three regular shooting positions that are practiced in JROTC marksmanship programs. It is the easiest position to learn, because a correct standing position is relatively simple. Standing is also the most difficult position to master because the center of gravity of the body-rifle system is higher and the use of a sling is not permitted so it takes a lot more practice to develop a high degree of stability in the standing position. Update: 21Aug10

Standing Position- Three Olympic Gold Medalists 7B.2 Model Standing Positions Model Positions. The standing positions used by three 2008 Olympic gold medalists are shown here to give you models to follow. Olympic Champions. The shooter on the left is Katerina Emmons of the Czech Republik, 2008 Olympic gold medalist in the women’s air rifle event. The shooter on the right is Abinav Bindra of India, 2008 Olympic gold medalist in the men’s air rifle event. The shooter in the lower center is Du Li of China, 2004 Olympic gold medalist in women’s air rifle and 2008 gold medalist in the women’s 50 meter three-position rifle event. Look for these position features when you study their standing positions: Body Turn: Where are the feet and bodies of the shooters facing in relationship to the target? Answer: They all turn their bodies 90 degrees from the target. Left Arm Location. How do the shooters use their left arms to support the rifle? Answer: Each of these champions rests the left arm and elbow on their sides, directly below the rifle. Head Position. How are the shooters holding their heads? Answer: All have their heads nearly erect with the butt-plates of their rifles placed high in their shoulders. Hand-Wrist Configuration. Note that the way they use their left hands are wrists to support the rifle are different. Slide 7B.5 will explain why different shooters use different hand-wrist configurations.

1 2 STANDING Steps in Building the Position: 1. Orient the Body--Turn 90 degrees from target 2. Shoulder the Rifle--Keep wrist straight--drop left arm on side 1 2 7B.3 Standing, Steps 1 and 2 After you are instructed to handle your air rifles on the firing line, the first step in getting into the standing position is to establish the position foundation by properly orienting your body in relation to the target, then you can bring the rifle up to your shoulder as you start to build the position. How you do these two steps is critical. Step 1--Turn Your Body 90 Degrees Away from the Target. To properly orient your body turn it 90 degrees away from the target so that your left side (right-handed shooter) is pointed at the target and you are faced 90 degrees away from it. Step 2--Shoulder the Rifle With Your Wrist Straight and Your Left Arm Resting on Your Side. When you grasp the rifle with your left hand to place it on your shoulder, sit it in the fork of your hand (between the thumb and hand) with the wrist straight. Next let your left arm rest on your side with your elbow directly under the rifle. For a majority of shooters, keeping the wrist straight is necessary to give the rifle sufficient height to align it with the target. The most important key in this step is letting your arm rest on your side (or hip).

3 4 STANDING Steps in Building the Position: 3. Position the Left Elbow on the side or hip directly under rifle 4. Position the Butt-Plate and Head--Rifle Butt Up-Head Up! 3 4 7B.4 Standing, Steps 3 and 4 With the rifle in position on your shoulder, there are two critical steps to be followed to get the position right. Step 3--Locate Your Left Elbow Directly Under the Rifle. To build the standing position correctly, the left elbow must be under the rifle, not off to the side. If you are having difficulty getting your left elbow under the rifle, work hard to do this. This is because in standing, the most stable position is one where there is a straight column of support for the rifle going down through the left forearm and hip. If the elbow is not on this line, stability is lost. Step 4--Locate the Butt-Plate Up in the Shoulder so the Head is Reasonably Erect. Having a good, nearly erect head position is a key to stability in every position. This is achieved by keeping the butt-plate up in the shoulder so that the head is tipped forward only slightly.

STANDING Steps in Building the Position: 5. Select a left hand-wrist configuration that raises the sights to target level Lowest 7B.5 Standing, Step 5 With the feet, left elbow and head in proper locations, the final step in building the standing position is to select a left hand and wrist configuration that raises the rifle’s sights to target level. The challenge here is to select a hand-wrist configuration that is just long enough to fill the distance between where the elbow rests on your left side and the bottom of the rifle so that a solid brace or support is established for the rifle (see illustration on upper right). The key to this step is to understand that there is no one right answer for everyone. Shooters with proportionately longer arms and shorter bodies will need a lower hand-wrist position (hand positions on left). Shooters with proportionately shorter arms and longer bodies will need a higher hand-wrist position (hand positions on right). Step 5--Select the Hand-Wrist Configuration that is Best for You. While holding the rifle in position on your shoulder, try to relax your left arm onto your side and see whether the sights point comfortably at the target, below the target or above the target. Try the different hand-wrist configurations until you find the one that most comfortably holds your rifle sights at target level. In the most comfortable standing position, you will probably be leaning slightly back and to the right to counter-balance the weight of the rifle. Highest

6a 6b STANDING Steps in Building the Position: 6. Relax and Balance the Position--straight line support from feet thru hip & elbow to rifle 6a 6b 7B.6 Standing, Step 6 After you select the hand-wrist configuration that is right for you, go ahead and do some holding exercises while aiming at the target. Step 6a--Relax the Support Arm and Shoulder. Each time you lift the rifle up into position, try to let your left arm and shoulder relax down onto your side so that you are using bone support in your left arm to hold up the rifle and are not using any muscle effort in your arm or shoulder to hold up the rifle. Step 6b--Balance Your Position Over Your Feet. Balance is a key to stability in any position. If you built your position correctly, there should be a solid, straight-line column of support from the rifle down through your forearm, elbow and hip. All you have to do now is balance that column of support over your feet so that the weight of the body-rifle system is balanced over the feet.

Shot Technique in Standing Start above bulls-eye, Exhale & stop breathing, take up trigger slack Center the front sight movement over the bulls-eye 7B.7 Shot Technique in Standing After trying to relax and balance your position, you are ready to do some dry firing in standing. As a new shooter, you will quickly see that the ring in your front sight is moving quite a bit in relation to the bulls-eye. If you were to put a laser pointer on your barrel that is aligned with where the barrel is pointing, these movements would trace an area of movement on the target. Target shooters call this area of movement their “hold.” For new shooters, this area of movement or hold will be quite large. For highly trained shooters, this area of movement or hold will be much smaller, but even the greatest shooters in the world will not hold the first sight ring perfectly still. The question then is what do you do with this front sight movement. Center the Movement--Squeeze the Trigger! The best method for dealing with these hold movements is to center them over the target and to squeeze the trigger while the hold movements are centered. The worst way to deal with front sight movements is to try to snatch or grab the trigger as the front sight ring goes flying by the target. Instead, just relax and balance your position, center your front sight movements over the bulls-eye and squeeze the trigger as long as your hold movements are centered. Bring the Rifle Down onto the Target From Above. The best way to settle the standing position onto the target is to bring the sights down onto the target from above. Be sure to approach the target from the same direction for every shot. Holds Improve with Practice. As a new shooter, you should know that your hold or area of movement will gradually become smaller as you practice and improve your standing position. Squeeze the trigger while the front sight movement is centered

Trigger Control in Standing 7B.8 Trigger Control in Standing This chart is another way to emphasize the principle that was just covered, that to get the best scores in standing you must center the movements of your front sight over the bulls-eye and squeeze or press the trigger while those hold movements are centered. This chart stresses how this should be done in a three-phase system. Start Up Actions: Bring the rifles and sights down onto the target from above. As you settle onto the bulls-eye, exhale and stop breathing, place your index finger on the trigger, take up the trigger slack and apply some initial pressure on the trigger. Center the Hold Movements. In the second phase, focus on your front sight and sight picture as you try to center the hold movements over the bulls-eye. Trigger Release. With the hold movements centered, add pressure to the trigger until the rifle fires. Keep focused on the sight picture until after the shot is out of the barrel--this is follow through, a part of shot technique that is essential to accurate firing. Center the front sight ring movements over the bull’s-eye

Range Firing Exercises Standing Position, with blank target Dry firing or aiming exercise Live fire, 5-shot groups Standing Position, with bull’s-eye target Live fire, 10-shot series 7B.9 Range Firing Exercises in Standing When you begin to practice the standing position, you should go through a series of practice exercises that begin with dry firing or aiming exercises followed by live firing on a blank target. After shooting a few 5-shot groups on blank targets, switch to a bulls-eye target. Each time you prepare to fire on a bulls-eye target, always begin with several dry fire or aiming exercise repetitions. Then continue with 5-shot and 10-shot live fire exercises. We should emphasize again that, once you have built a sound position, becoming a good standing position shooter is almost entirely a matter of practice. Dry fire or aiming exercise repetitions before each live fire series can double the number of practice repetitions you will get.