I’m a terrible shot from the kneeling position. There are several reasons for this but the foremost is that it’s the position I practice the least from. I also have bad knees and chicken legs so when I shoot from the kneeling position I’m in pain and sort of top heavy. I don’t like being either. When hunting I won’t shoot from the kneeling unsupported position because I’m just not confident with it; experience teaches things to those who pay attention.
The last time I tried a shot from the unsupported kneeling position was in 2013. I was hunting just north of the Orange River in South Africa and the PH and I were readying our gear for a morning hunt. In fact, we were still standing beside the truck when he alerted me to a springbuck walking our way. We jumped behind a thorny bush and my only option for a shot was standing or kneeling, unsupported. I chose the latter and missed the antelope at less than 50 yards!
Kneeling Supported
Shooting from the kneeling supported position is another thing altogether. A little support goes a long way towards alleviating unsteadiness. It won’t do anything for bad knees. Just last week I was hunting elk with Jeff Klein outside of Ennis Montana. Jeff runs an outfitting business on the fabulous Jumping Horse Ranch. We were testing a new holographic sight from EOTech along with their prototype 5X magnifier and fortunately for us, the Jumping Horse Ranch is where the elk come to live after the rut.
The problem was that they were gathered up in a herd of about 250 and they were out in the middle of a large pasture about the size of a major city in West Virginia. We’d located a nice bull but could get no closer than 300 yards. However, there was a cattle gate with a rugged arch built at each side and we managed to sneak into the corner of the fence at the brace. I’m not sure I’ve ever had a better rest while hunting from any position. The sight worked just fine and now Drema is cleaning out the freezer to make room for 250 pounds of elk wild protein.
The reason the sight worked so well and the reason we may need to buy another freezer was because I had the time and was able to obtain a proper supported kneeling position. It’s a position that many hunters do not understand and others get wrong because they execute it incorrectly. To start with, when you are shooting from a supported kneeling position you kneel on your support side as opposed to your strong side knee. This puts your strong side knee up so that you can rest your strong side elbow on it. There is no reason to rest your support side arm on anything because the forend of the rifle is already supported on something, be it a rock, a log, shooting sticks or maybe a fence.
They next thing you should do is engage your shooting sling. (You have a shooting sling don’t you?) From the kneeling supported position you can use a sling that engages your support or shooting arm. I’ve found that using a sling on your strong side works much better when shooting from the supported kneeling position. Sling the arm that’s providing the rifle the most support.
Natural Point of Aim
Finally, if you have time, you should check your natural point of aim. Don’t know that that is? Your natural point of aim is kind of a misnomer, what you are really checking is that you rifle is pointed in the direction your body wants it to be pointed. Otherwise, you may pull the shot. To check this, get on target, relax your muscle tension and close your eyes for a couple seconds. If your reticle (sight) is off target when you open your eyes you need to reposition your body.
If your sight is pointed to the left, move your body to the left – with the rifle pivoting on the support – and repeat the check again. Obviously, animals may not stand around while you do this little dance. In the case of my elk, the herd had no idea we were there, we were well concealed and we had time. This is probably the exception as opposed to the rule so the solution is to practice getting into the supported kneeling position before you ever go hunting. You can even do this practice while dry firing. The goal is to train your body to fall behind the rifle in your natural point of aim.
I avoid the kneeling position when I can but sometimes the hunt dictates otherwise. On the elk I could not go prone or shoot from the seated position due to intervening obstacles and the curvature of the Earth. And, standing and trying to shoot even with a support was not an option at that kind of range, especially with a stiff crosswind at my position. A lot of things went right on that hunt. We had the wind to our favor and we had time. The bull stepped out away from other elk and he stopped when Jeff whistled. However, without the solid rest and the proper application of the supported kneeling position, he would be headed to another pasture instead of my freezer.
How Good is Good Enough
How good should you be able to shoot from the kneeling position? At 100 yards you should be able to put all your shots inside a paper plate when shooting unsupported. With support, and while applying your natural point of aim, you should be able to hit a snuff can every time at 100 yards.
Practice at home, without ammo and with a – for damn sure – unloaded rifle. Work on getting into the supported kneeling position and check your natural point of aim before every trigger press. Five minutes of practice like this every day for a week you’ll see that you come closer and closer to establishing your natural point of aim as soon as you assume the position.
There are better positions to shoot from but sometimes you might need to kneel to kill.
