The shooting fundamentals consist of Stance, Grip, Sight, Breathing, Trigger Pull, and Technical Follow-Through. When each of these six processes is executed perfectly, there are no shots that miss the target. However, in the real world, people often compromise these fundamentals due to combat stress or a lack of mastery in each of them. In this text, I’ve compiled a list of the 7 most common stance mistakes that I observe shooters making. I hope it helps you avoid them and perform better in life-threatening situations.
(1) Pointing the Feet Outward
Pointing your feet outward is probably one of the most common mistakes I see people making. When you point your feet outward instead of towards your enemy, it enlarges your silhouette, making you more exposed to your enemies.
(2) Using the Isosceles Stance for Combat
While the isosceles stance is effective and yields good results in sport shooting, it’s not the best choice for combat situations. This stance severely hampers the use of barricades.
(3) Combining the Isosceles Stance with Outward-Facing Feet (come on, guys!)
Believe it or not, there are individuals who shoot this way. Often, it’s a result of obesity, which forces their legs to spread apart. However, it’s crucial not to shoot in this manner. If you’re overweight, please consider losing weight.
(4) Positioning the Shoulders Too Far Back
When your center of gravity remains behind you, it becomes much harder to maintain a good shooting cadence, especially with larger calibers. Anyone who deserves being shot once, deserves to be shot twice.
(5) Lateral Flexing of the Body
When establishing your shooting stance, it’s essential to keep your body as natural as possible. While some adjustments may be needed due to the terrain or circumstances, like using a barricade, if you find yourself shooting this way under regular conditions, something is amiss.
(6) Searching for the Firearm with Your Head
Novice shooters often present their firearms in front of them and then, with their heads, attempt to locate the sights. This is not the correct approach. The firearm should be presented directly in front of your dominant eye, while your head remains perfectly aligned with your spine.
(7) Using a Different Stance for Each Platform
If you can use a stance that works effectively across various platforms, what advantage is there in having to train in three different ways? You might think, “Well, I don’t need to be so aggressive when shooting a small-caliber pistol.” But what’s the worst that could result from having the best possible stance?
Don’t curse me yet
By now, you might be thinking, “Geez, Lucas, is everything wrong in your view? What on earth is right then?”
Don’t despair, young Padawan. Don’t curse me just yet. We’ll delve deeper into the topic of combat stance fundamentals in future posts.
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Until next time!
