1911 guy
Member
Ideal conditions for the elbow.
Ideally, your left arm will be looped up in a sling and pulled tight under the rifle. How tight? Lots of competitive shooters have pulled the sling swivels loose from the rifle stock. Yep, that tight. That's why they wear padded shooting jackets. You and I won't normally need that, just loop up snug.
Whether you use a sling or not, keep the elbow under the rifle. With quite a few rifles, I actually rest my elbow on my ribcage when I can't use a sling (muzzleloader or High Power offhand position).
When you do have a "field expedient" rest to use, keep your actual elbow off of it. Rest the back side of your upper arm, if possible. For the same reason you put your elbows outside your knees when shooting from sitting position, it minimizes wobble instead of amplifying it.
Ideally, your left arm will be looped up in a sling and pulled tight under the rifle. How tight? Lots of competitive shooters have pulled the sling swivels loose from the rifle stock. Yep, that tight. That's why they wear padded shooting jackets. You and I won't normally need that, just loop up snug.
Whether you use a sling or not, keep the elbow under the rifle. With quite a few rifles, I actually rest my elbow on my ribcage when I can't use a sling (muzzleloader or High Power offhand position).
When you do have a "field expedient" rest to use, keep your actual elbow off of it. Rest the back side of your upper arm, if possible. For the same reason you put your elbows outside your knees when shooting from sitting position, it minimizes wobble instead of amplifying it.