There are two main principals in Rifle Silhouette shooting technique, how you are standing & how you hold the rifle. I recently purchased and Anschutz rifle and it had some guidelines on how to shoot. I believe Anschutz in the world leader in the manufacturing of Target rifles. Assuming they would have a clue, I used some of their suggestions to make some minor changes in the way I was standing. Ultimately it can be done in many ways what is most important is that it is comfortable for you. First I will try and describe the Anschutz way, and then on page 2, another way I have seen people use very successfully but it just does not work for me. And this is described for right handed position, I am sure if you are left handed, this is not the first time you have had to improvise ha ha!
One more thing, Do not think that you will be able to lock onto the target and hover there at will, that is not going to happen. The key is to practice and learn to steady yourself as best as possible. All you need to do then is pull the trigger while you ARE on target in the midst of your drifting around, simple right!
Stance
The feet are about shoulder width apart. Too wide or too close will cause a loss in stability. At shoulder width, your feet are directly under you with good support of your weight. The right foot is 90 degrees from the target, the left foot is slightly toward the target, about a third of the angle toward the target compared to your right foot.
From there your general body position is centered and as upright as possible. You should not be leaning over the rifle, into the rifle or around the rifle, Weight is centered over your feet. Stand upright as possible and bring the rifle to you as best you can. I lean my head slightly to the right to see through the scope, that is it. Anschutz actually suggests leaning the rifle to your eye, I am not doing that, and that might be for fixed distances, I am not sure.
Holding the rifle
Your left arm should be pulled back and resting against your body, this will keep your forward grip a bit steadier. The old hunting style a lot are familiar with works ok with a sling, but not freehand. As far as how the rifle is held in the hand, there are as many styles of that as people shooting. It needs to be something you are comfortable with, you need to hold it for as much as 30 seconds at a time for a 150 second period. I experimented with several over the first year and I am very satisfied with how I am holding it now. I lightly pinch the bottom of the stock between my thumb and my curled index finger. My wrist is upright and in line with my forearm.
I know this is a large picture slowing down some connections but it is a great picture to be able to see the bench on a pedestal that is made for Silhouette shooting, and the range itself. On the Bench, you can see the notch in the back side that extends a little through the bottom of the bench itself. This is to allow the rifle to rest there with the barrel through the front notch, the stock in the back notch. The notch extends to the bottom in the back to a couple of inches to allow a rifle but to be rested vertically. The rifle butt rests on the ground, and the barrel in the notch. The vertical way is what should be used when there are people down range setting targets. The bench also provides a place to place your clips or ammunition. Some have timers placed there that are set to let the shooter know exactly how much time is remaining.
You can see the smallbore Chicken stands to my left at 40 meters. I am shooting at the Pig stand 60 meters away directly above the Pig stand, you can see the high powered bank of Chickens 200 meters away. Just to the right of that at nearly the same elevation on the horizon, you can barely make out the Turkey banks at 385 meters On the left side of the smallbore banks you can see some wind gauges we have. They resemble a daisy flower rotating with one petal painted black so it is easier to judge the wind speed from a distance.
HOME ........... RANGE RULES ........... RIFLE RULES
CLASSIFICATIONS, SCORING & AWARDS .......... TECHNIQUES 1
TECHNIQUES 2 .......... TARGETS1 ..... TARGETS2
TESTING & MOUNTS .......... MY WIFE AND I ...... MY SHOOTING HISTORY
SILHOUETTE HISTORY .........SCOPE ADJUSTMENTS AND BALLISTICS
CLEANING ........ CUSTOM ENGRAVING