50 yards, offhand-sitting

[North Country Gal]

Offhand sitting? What's that? Well, our range was designed in the 1950s as an NRA rifle range, so we have an overhanging roof over the rifle stations. That makes a full standing position impossible at the rifle stations, so if I want to shoot at a full standing position, I have to use the pistol station. The problem, there, is that it gets heavy use and if I want to shoot at 50 yards, I have to drag a target stand out to 50 yards, which is not popular with the other shooters.

So, being the adapt and improvise person I am, when I want to shoot at 50 yards without a rest, I just use the rifle range and sit at the bench, shooting my handguns without any support. This offhand/sitting position is only slightly more stable than a full standing position, but it does allow me to practice the offhand position, my favorite.

Here's some samples of my work, this week, all shooting done at 50 yards, 6" bulls. I'll let the pics do most of the talking, but feel free to ask any questions you might have on the guns.

S&W Model 14-3, 38 Special, 1970 vintage.




S&W Model 617, 10 shot version, 22 LR, current production, UD 30 red dot




S&W Model 17-4, 22 LR, late 70s vintage, 8 3/8" barrel




And not to neglect my beloved 1911s
Dan Wesson A2 in 45 auto


The A2 has fixed sights and pulls a bit to the left at 50 yards, but rather than drift the rear sight, I just use some Kentucky windage.


That's it. Nothing fancy. Shoot. Adjust sights as needed. Shoot some more. Might have to bring a cushion to sit on with all this shooting.

[JEBar]

nicely done .... very consistent

[markiver54]

Yes NCG, your pics DO speak very well for themselves! Great job and thanks for sharing.

[PT7]

Offhand sitting? What's that? ... This offhand/sitting position is only slightly more stable than a full standing position, but it does allow me to practice the offhand position, my favorite.

Nothing fancy. Shoot. Adjust sights as needed. Shoot some more. Might have to bring a cushion to sit on with all this shooting.

Your two questions hit the switch and lit the light bulb tonight, NCG

Whenever I go to my nearby outdoor MO range, Parma Woods, the first thing I do, either at the pistol or rifle side, is move the wooden bench out of my way. When you said that an "offhand/sitting position is slightly more stable," that did it. I don't recall ever shooting my revolvers offhand while sitting. Sounds fun, and definitely will try this next PW range visit. Thanks!

PT7

[Pat]

Nice shooting

[North Country Gal]

Thanks, folks. Have to give those guns a lot of the credit for the shooting, though. The Dan Wesson and I are old friends, and the two vintage Smiths, especially the K38 Masterpiece (the 14-3) are just awesome. The K38 came with the wider target hammer and a target trigger, so I was going to try to find a vintage correct target grip, but Bill shoots this one so well - he actually likes the classic magna grip - that I'll leave it as is for now.

PT, our range is usually not crowded, so during the summer, I can use the rifle ranges to shoot in a full standing position by standing on the firing line at the access to post targets. No problem when we have a station to ourselves. This is the way I usually shoot and the targets I post most of the time are with this standing position.

With the upcoming hunting seasons, though, we usually have to share enough that I prefer not to be right on that firing line at the access. Just puts me too far forward with all those rifles being shot from the bench, either side of me. I just don't feel safe doing it, not to mention it's awfully loud (especially when there is a ported AR next to me). Do give it a try, though. I find that sitting, instead of standing, does reduce fatigue and I can shoot longer. You do need to shoot from a full standing position as part of your training, though. Your stance when standing is a big part of offhand shooting technique. This is doubly important for those of you who practice for self-defense work.

[North Country Gal]

One thing I should add about this week's shooting is that I terribly missed shooting our single action revolvers. Yeah, I know all the advantages of shooting double action revolvers and semi-autos. It was definitely a joy to shoot these guns, especially. I did miss shooting my single actions, though. Just felt like something was missing. Oh, well. Next range trip.

[BrokenolMarine]

Nice collection. I miss my model 14. I bought it from one of our veteran officers to use to get started in PPC, and it was fine for the local level. When I advanced to state level I needed a heavy barreled custom gun, and once I had it, I sold the fourteen to pay for loading supplies and match fees. Still had the four kids at home.

Nice shooting at fifty yards as well.

[North Country Gal]

Thanks. For sure, the 14 is no heavy barrel match gun. It's actually very light and trim. Even has a little bark to it with the 158 grain factory ammo I was using.

[BrokenolMarine]

Thanks. For sure, the 14 is no heavy barrel match gun. It's actually very light and trim. Even has a little bark to it with the 158 grain factory ammo I was using.

I agree, it was fine for the local level matches, called "A 600." They were a partial 60 round PPC course, only shot back to the 25 yard line. The full "1500" 150 round match was shot over the 50 yard course, and we shot standing from both the left and right of the barricade, sitting, and prone - all from fifty yards. All double action. The heavy barrel and six inch length of the custom guns allowed amazing groups from fifty yards.

[fortyshooter]

My favorite handgun shooting position for accuracy!

[North Country Gal]

Reminds me very much of the long range handgun position I used to use in the field, minus the chair, of course. My favorite field position was sitting, with my back braced against a tree, rock, gully wall, what have you, with my forearms braced against my knees.