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Elbows out or Elbows in

  • Elbows Close to the chest

    Votes: 38 82.6%
  • Elbow out, Parallel to the ground

    Votes: 8 17.4%

  • Total voters
    46
I voted elbows in, close to the chest, but I did that thinking about pistol shooting. When shooting rifle or shotgun, I have my elbows more out. Right elbow almost parallel to the ground and left elbow at about 45 degrees. I shoot right handed.
 
I voted elbows in....

Some random guy at the range one day was telling me about lowering my arms/elbows to approx the width of my shoulders...about how it is more compact, controlled, less of a target and uses less energy...it made sense at the time and works well for med...so with that elbows close to the chest...
 
i see so many videos and people at ranges who put the shooting elbow out. for me it is not comfortable. I try to keep everything on my body close in. I find it easier to support and more stable.

can anyone explain the benefit of shooting elbow out? I just don't see an advantage to it over keeping your elbow in.
 
right now I shhot with both elbows pretty much in close. See if that continues after my lesson.

BTW, I'm with Cougfan on the shot gun thing.
Cougfan, I'm guessing you've spent some time at Hillsboro Trap and Skeet club??
 
Elbows close to the chest, when I get bored i like to put my chest rig on with 10 clips full of 20 rnds of .308 and carry my socom 16 around the house, swinging around corners and such, and having my eblows as close to my chest as possible makes it easier to swing this mass of steel around corners.
 
Rifles and shotguns: Elbows tucked in, chest and shoulders squared with target. Line of the bore right in the pit between pectoral and shoulder joint. feet about shoulder width apart, knees slightly bent, head low and good cheek weld.

Word of advice: If you watch military men/women fire a rifle, they offer have their head high and the bore line ABOVE the shoulder. This is improper form, but is more comfortable to do while wearing armor and kit. Try to avoid this technique if possible.

With this stance, there is almost NO muzzle rise on ARs or shotguns.

Pistol: Arms tucked, gun thrust out in front, shoulders squared towards target. Elbows slightly bent.
 
right now I shhot with both elbows pretty much in close. See if that continues after my lesson.

BTW, I'm with Cougfan on the shot gun thing.
Cougfan, I'm guessing you've spent some time at Hillsboro Trap and Skeet club??

I've been there a few times. Nice facility and reasonably priced. I've also shot at Tri-County quite a bit when I was a member there. Actually looking into getting into more clays shooting this next year. I had a hiatus with some cataract surgery and other health issues, but am interested in getting back into the game.

PM me if you'd like to bust some clays some time. :s0155:
 
what i've learned is if you're doing distance shooting standing, chicken wing is the proper way to create a stable pocket for the rifle butt.

its only tacti-cool to keep elbows in.

i only chicken wing when standing and using a deliberate sling.
 
Crosse, I have a little experiment for you to partake in next time you're at a range with a friend/loved one. All firearm safety rules apply.


Test 1: Stand with the "chicken wing" stance and have your partner try and move you. Keep sights on target and WATCH the movement of your POA.

Test 2: Same test with elbows tucked, shoulders rolled forward, knees bent, chest squared with target.

As far as chicken-winging forming a better pocket... Well, that's pretty false. Your shoulder rotating that high de-stabilizes the platform. Elbows tucked is ALMOST a shoulders "natural" resting position. You can hold a elbows-tucked position for much longer without fatigue. Try it.

Tacti-cool is NOT a factor in how some of us shoot, buy items, or outfit ourselves.
 
Crosse, I have a little experiment for you to partake in next time you're at a range with a friend/loved one. All firearm safety rules apply.


Test 1: Stand with the "chicken wing" stance and have your partner try and move you. Keep sights on target and WATCH the movement of your POA.

Test 2: Same test with elbows tucked, shoulders rolled forward, knees bent, chest squared with target.

As far as chicken-winging forming a better pocket... Well, that's pretty false. Your shoulder rotating that high de-stabilizes the platform. Elbows tucked is ALMOST a shoulders "natural" resting position. You can hold a elbows-tucked position for much longer without fatigue. Try it.

Tacti-cool is NOT a factor in how some of us shoot, buy items, or outfit ourselves.
are you using a sling to shoot selftest?

one thing I can tell you, the chicken wing "stance" is one that I have only used briefly after rifle marksmanship training. however using this method has improved my standing shooting immensely. the use of the chicken wing with this squared against the target allows me to use my sling properly.

as you can see, its whatever floats your boat. good example of high level competition shooters doing both ways.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URRudJO6CHc
but the elbow in way seems a little funky to me.

and yes, having my left elbow tucked in tightly against my rib cage does help rest the weight of the rifle on my body vs using muscles to maintain it in shooting position.
 
I'm assuming our needs/wants are different, here.

Of course, it always comes down to personal preference. My first and foremost concern when firing a "fighting" weapon is to ingrain sound "tactical" training at all times. I don't, and have never, loaded a single round into my AR and fired it, waited 30 seconds, and repeated. My only reason for owning an AR (besides the fun factor, of course) is to have a tool for self-defense.

I do find, however, that I use the same stance when firing a shotgun. It is more comfortable than other methods, for me.

And to answer your question, yes, I use slings. Single, two-point, and even a three point occasionally.
 
My first and foremost concern when firing a "fighting" weapon is to ingrain sound "tactical" training at all times. I don't, and have never, loaded a single round into my AR and fired it, waited 30 seconds, and repeated. My only reason for owning an AR (besides the fun factor, of course) is to have a tool for self-defense.
I assume the OP was asking about distance shooting b/c the chicken wing method is pretty limited to stationary long distance shooting and use with a sling. I doubt he was asking about cqb drilling. But maybe he's talking about pistol shooting?

but I would like to say, the chicken wing method is a "combat" oriented method. There's a few guys who are known to be pretty good shots using that method in combat.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/432351/USMC-MCRP-301A-Rifle-Marksmanship
 

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