Offhand shooting: the rifleman's primary skill

Guns Magazine, July, 2003 by Dave Anderson

Hitting a 6-inch target consistently at 100 yards is hard. Hitting a 2-inch target consistently at the same range isn't three times more difficult, it's about 100 times more difficult. And for big-game hunting purposes, the results don't justify the effort.

Where we went wrong in standing competition was reducing target size rather than cutting the time limit. For big game hunting, a 2-inch group at 100 yards is no better than a 6-inch group, but an adequately accurate shot delivered in 3 seconds is far better than one fired in 15 or 20 seconds. If we simply used a larger target and then declared the winner to be the shooter who used the least time, competition would have more practical value.

Why Learn To Shoot Offhand?

When shooters turned away from offhand shooting they did so with a vengeance. In a hunting context, shooting from the offhand position has come to be seen as disreputable, unsportsmanlike. For as long as I've been reading shooting articles, a common theme has been that shooting offhand at game is the mark of the novice, the once-a-year duffer afflicted with buck fever. The expert shooter is the one who uses a steadier position, finds a rest, or stalks closer.

This is good advice and well intentioned. Every hunter owes the game an instant, painless death from a properly placed bullet. You should always try and get closer. You should always try and assume the steadiest position possible, or find an expedient rest. We've heard this sound advice so often and for so long that we've come to believe shooting at game animals offhand under any circumstances is a sign of incompetence, inexperience, and ignorance, if not downright moral weakness.

Offhand shooting is difficult, and in terms of pure accuracy the results are never impressive. With the fabulous equipment we have available these days, the interest in accuracy over all else has become an obsession.

Because offhand shooting is difficult, because it's seen to be a sign of inexperience, it seems that currently few shooters even try it. At best, they'll fire a few shots at a gong or a rock in the backstop and then go back to the bench, agonizing over tenths of an inch difference in group size. And that, I believe, is a serious mistake.

Never First Choice

Let me be clear, I am not advocating shooting offhand at game animals by choice, There is nothing I like better when shooting at game than to see the reticle rock solid, knowing the bullet will go exactly where I want. It would suit me fine to never fire another offhand shot at a game animal. But the rifleman who can't -- or won't -- fire offhand, is like the driver who can't -- or won't -- fill his own gas tank. No matter how skilled you are at operating your vehicle, you're less than competent if you can't fill 'er up. Similarly, every hunter will benefit from offhand practice, even if he's never forced to use this skill in the field.

One reason is that offhand is (or should be) a very fast way to deliver the shot. Usually speed doesn't matter. Sometimes it does. In most hunting situations, if the hunter has done his job right, time isn't critical. If the game isn't aware you are present there is generally time to make preparations -- to slip into a shooting sling, extend a bipod, find a tree or rock -- to do whatever is needed to get steady. But if circumstances require a fast shot, offhand is the fastest method of all.