Supported Shooting

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blarby

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For lack of a better place to put this......


Is wrong to favor supported shooting ?

That spare tree limb on a hunt ?

A good solid oak fence when target shooting for accuracy ?


A nice kneeling, knee supported arm for varmints and such ?


Whats wrong with having a good solid foundation ?

(except when you cant have one ? )
 
I think anyone who does not use some sort of support if they have the option to do so is foolish. I only shoot unsupported off hand if there are no other options
 
Ain't nothing wrong with using support if you have it. There is something wrong with not learning how to shoot well without it, though.
 
The man himself (Col. Jeff Cooper) was very direct in his thoughts that it should be used however shooting sticks wre cumbersome and annoying. His reasoning behind this was whenever he needed it there was always a branch or fencepost to use and the sticks were inconvienint to carry. Unless of course you had a guide to carry them for you.
 
In the case of hunting the more support the better. I use any item available to steady up for the shot. To do anything less seems a bit unethical to me.
If there is no rest available I greatly reduce the range at which I will take the shot. Either by stalking in closer or sneaking over to a place with a rest.
Only you can judge your comfort zone off hand and unsupported.
Good Shooting.
 
*phew*

Glad i'm not crazy ! At leat in this respect.

Please keep going- both in "support", and your favorite supports !
 
maybe when squirrel hunting? also, tough when hunting doves, quail, grouse, etc. certain pistol and rifle competitions won't allow supported fire.

other than that, i agree with you.

murf
 
If support is available, heck yes, but putting a few on target unsupported always feels good!
Don't forget self defense shooting, if you carry you owe it to yourself to be practiced and competent.
 
I was taught in hunters education to always prefer prone to sitting or kneeling if I had the time and opportunity,
that I should always prefer kneeling or sitting to standing with a rest,
and that I should always prefer standing with a rest to shooting offhand.
I feel that I have an obligation to make as clean and humane a shot as possible if I am hunting a living animal. The first deer I took I shot offhand, the only deer so far that I didn't hit where I wanted. Blew off a leg and spilled her guts, so she died unpleasantly. Never Again. Shooting offhand for bragging rights or to prove I can is inhumane if there is a rest available.
A few years ago I found out that the hood of a pickup does not make a suitable rest if you've got a rock chip in your windshield. I've got a really neat looking large circular crack now.
 
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I only use opportunistic supports. Tree branches, logs, rocks and the like. I am not the kind of hunter who buys a support to carry around with me. I have used the occasional attached bipod (tripod for military) for long range shots.
 
Offhand shooting is important because a rest of some sort isn't always available. But to have a rest of some kind handy and not use is (or even a better position like kneeling or even prone) foolish. You owe it to the game you are hunting to make the best shot and quickest kill you can.
 
To deny oneself the use of a support when it's available and will not interfere with making the shot falls into the category of macho-dumb.

It would be like changing a tire and having a stuck lug nut, knowing there's a cheater bar a few feet away but struggling with the factory wrench because cheater bars are for sissies.
 
I would starve if I had to hunt my own food ;) but I know enough to always take adavantage of any support you can get, even if from your own body (prone, sitting, kneeling, etc.) Outside of open country where the game is charging you, very thick brush where an animal could jump out and be gone at any moment, and a few others where you have to shoot quickly, there are few situations where unsupported (aka offhand) shooting is effective or appropriate. If you don't believe this position is unsteady, look through a scope at a small target.
 
I favor target shooting over hunting. Nothing against hunting. Been there done it, now I just rather shoot paper/objects. While I like 3P & practice it I really think you should be able to use what ever advantage you can get in hunting or combat. The 3 gun guys do. Being able to recognize you have a bad or unstable position before the shot can make a difference. A lot of skills compliment each other.
 
Target shooting is different. There, the conditions are controlled, there is usually no time pressure (depending on the game being played), the distance to the target is known, and not using a rest increases the challenge. But hunting and defense against humans has none of those things, so you want all the advantages you can get, if available. Moreover, you don't see target shooters using their off hand on the far forward part of the rifle's forearm with no support at all, like this:

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Instead, you see something like this:

silhouette4.jpg


There is at least a modicum of support in this position. And even this shooter is taking advantage of it.
 
THis was an interesting read! as I spent most of the afternoon at the range and shot half my targets offhand and the rest were off a "rest."
It wasnt a real rest, it was actually the top of the tripod that I had been using for the chrono.
It was interesting to see the difference. Offhand groups were 4 inches at 20 yards and the "rested" shots were under two inch groups.
YES, as most have replied, if there is a rest use it, and also shoot with out a rest to keep the skills honed.

Happy trails to all
 
In the real world if support is there, and you can use it, do so.

When sighting in it might make sense to use a fixed support.

What I don't like is how many people use it as a crutch (quite literally) and simply aren't capable of shooting accurately unless they rest their rifle on something solid. I believe people ought to be capable of shooting accurately without an artificial support structure. Buuut if you aren't ever going to do any shooting other than off the bench at the range...it doesn't even matter.
 
OP, I'm curious, is there someone making a case against supported shooting? If you're shooting targets it is good to go unsupported to learn how to, but in the case of hunting it's common sense you want to use whatever means available to improve the chances of a quick kill instead of a painful one.
 
Support

Is wrong to favor supported shooting ?
Click to expand...

I am curious. The implication in that question is that some one is critical of shooting with a support. I haven't noticed that type of criticism.
Pete
 
If someone criticised me (or anyone else) for using an available support, I would probably just shake my head and dismiss them as a village idiot.Why wouldn't you take every advantage available? This isn't dumb. It's just plain stupid.
 
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