Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Shooting Positions for Big Game

I don't want to derail this thread: https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/12390377/1 so I started a new one.

What shooting positions do you typically use when you hunt big game? I was thinking about this the other day. In my last 30 years of hunting, nearly all of which has been in thick brush in western Washington or Hawaii, I have taken ONE shot on any kind of game animal that was NOT from offhand. The exception was 120 yards across a coffee plantation, which I took from kneeling with a sling.

How does it stack up for you guys?


Okie John

95% prone from a pack or bipod....

Out west most of my animals have been taken while proned out with a few taken from the sitting position over the pack.

Hunting in the east, mostly offhand unless I am in a tree or blind.

Roughly: 60% offhand, 30% kneeling/sitting and 10% prone

Shooting off my knees ( while sitting) or offhand leaning against a tree account for the bulk of my shots. Since it is usually muddy and/or plain wet, prone is pretty rare in this corner of the swamp.

I haven't needed to take an offhand shot in many years. I've always been able to find a rest of some kind. I always carry 1 trekking pole which has many uses including as an improvised rest. With a little practice, you can use the pole against your leg or in many other ways to steady a rifle. One trick that works great is from a kneeling position. Hold the pole and the small end of a twig with the same hand. Pull away from the bush and lay the rifle over your wrist. The pole will control height and twig will keep it from swaying.
The pole is also a great hiking and balance aid for us older guys.

Okiejohn: 90% from prone or sitting with the aid of a Harris Bi-Pod for Big Game - along with some "rest over the daypack" prone shooting.
I can NOT remember the last time I took an offhand shot at a Big Game Animal of any type - its been a long time since I chased Blacktails in the brushy country of western Washington.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Probably 90% sitting position with a shooting sling. The rest, up close, have been off hand. E

Rough estimate:

50% offhand (even though I much prefer any type of rest)
25% braced against the side of a tree
15% sitting/using a knee (tree stands or knee on ground)
10% various other methods using a walking stick, over a downed tree, pack on top of a rock, shooting house, etc.

It would be tough to find prone shot opportunities in most of the places I hunt...

If possible, I try to shoot prone, including several times Africa with my .375 RUM. If the brush is too high for prone, I'll shoot from a sitting or kneeling position, and as a last resort from a standing position. From every position I'll also try to use a rest: a pack, a rock (with my left hand between it and the gun), shooting sticks, a tree limb next to the trunk, a buddy or guide's shoulder, or anything else that will help steady the gun. As a very last resort, I have offhand.

Easily 90% of my shots are either prone with a bipod/pack/rock to rest on, or sitting with a pack or tree to rest on or against.

I take very few off hand shots, but have taken some. The hood of the pickup has accounted for a few critters too...

What T said only my prone or bi pod, backpack rest is probably 98 percent.. The last animal I remember shooting off had was a Kudu about 1995!!

This^^^

I prefer to use the side rear-view mirror as a rest but can use the hood if the animal is on the other side of the road ; )

In the middle of the country, lots of time to line up shot.

Out west, heart usually pumping put of my chest, trying to get whatever rest I can.

Same for me.

Primarily offhand. Mostly still hunting in PA, OH. I often will lean against a tree if I can.

-Jake

Funny thing is, I'm about as far west as you can get and I'm rarely more than 500 feet ASL. A lot of times I can see the ocean from where I hunt. But I have hunted in Wyoming and Utah. Altitude will smoke you, and it never goes away.

I remember longer shots and having more time to shoot when I hunted in Oklahoma and Texas as a kid, but that was a long time ago.


Okie John

50% offhand

50% prone.

50% seated position off the mirror.





Travis

I shoot from one position only from driver side of my truck using window as a rest..

Almost all shots from shooting sticks, and a few (many years ago) off hand. Change of hunting locations and “not” walking the timber much anymore, dictates longer shots. memtb

Home in Iowa-25% offhand(hopefully with a tree to rest on), 50% sitting either in a stand or on the ground and 25% kneeling. Can't recall ever trying a prone shot on big game-the terrain I hunt just wouldn't allow it.
Hunting out west probably 75% prone (equally divided between off a pack and off a bipod. 25% sitting or kneeling-always with a pack, bipod or sticks.

Depends on the season.

Alpine-95% prone across pack. Average shot is 200yds I'd say

Rut-95% offhand . Most shots are less than 75 yards. Often moving at weird angles. (coming to a call) I love to hunt ridge tops and heavy timber. If I chose to hunt clearcuts like many, prone would be more likely.

I remember one offhand shot, a mule deer buck at about 25'.

My last one was prone off my pack. I use shooting sticks a bunch.

I usually let the situation at hand dictate shooting position. I really like using my Primos Trigger Stix, because they are so adaptable to many different scenarios. I guess my favorite position is sitting and resting on the Stix, but on a recent deer hunt in Missouri, the endless thick trees in my hunt area provided handy, standing rests. Most of my pronghorns have been shot after crawling to the top of a ridge, flipping down the Harris Bipod, and shooting from prone.

Now that's a good question and deserved real attention.
I started hunting deer when I was a young boy with my dad. He let me shoot some of the deer he had tags for and so did my mom. I have been shooting deer and larger game now for 53 years. I started hunting game larger then deer when I was 17, so that's been 44 years. I can't count the number of game animals I have killed ------ and I probably could have said that when I was 30years old. I am now 61.
I have killed game with a lot of rifles and 11 different handguns that I can recall as I write this, as well as 3 different bows with wood arrows and one deer killed with an aluminum arrow.

An honest guess would be that about 60-65 percent of my game has been killed off-hand.
The other 40% is divided in categories of Standing-Rested (like a tree branch or rock) sitting, a few (probably 10) kneeling, and at least 40 prone or prone over a back-pack. I also remember killed 3 deer resting over an open door of a Toyota Land Cruiser.

I have shot only 1 deer in my life from prone, and one elk seated using a tripod and special head {the Gun Claw}. One elk offhand and one lion offhand (that with a bow). Dozens using a rest, such as a treestand or tree, or truck tailgate, and a few seated. Never shot anything offhand more than 32 yards away (bow).

It's normally too thick for prone shooting where I end up, but of course it's great when you can.

this is going to probably be geographically specific:

east: still hunting and/or stands, so mostly sitting or offhand. Use a tree when possible to steady. "long" shots are 50-75 yards.
west: prone, long is a different beast out west.

90% offhand or steadying the rifle against a tree.

I usually slow walk when hunting and drop to one knee for most shots, sitting is next most used position.

Can only remember 1 shot taken off=hand since I started in 1982.

Most have been kneeling (rare), sitting (common), prone over pack or with rifle-mounted bipod (fairly common), sitting with a bipod (a couple-three-four), sitting with a tripod (common).

In addition I'l use any solid object I can find to help steady my position. Rocks. Trees. Behind my back or as a rest.

99% our of a stand. 1% offhand

I'm usually in a climbing stand, so I put one foot on the front rail and us my knee as a brace. Or, I sit facing the tree and use the side of the tree as a brace. 90% of the time it's one or the other of these 2. Other 10% off hand.

I would say 80% sitting or kneeling and shooting off sticks and 20% prone off of a pack. I can't remember the last time I shot offhand while hunting.

I can

I remember when you used to shoot offhand matches, too.

Adding up what I remember, I come out to a real rough estimate of 30% standing or offhand, another 30% either sitting or kneeling, often using a hasty sling. 30% prone, which is with a sling, off a bipod, or pack. Another 10% of "other", such as shooting out of blinds.

Field expedient rests such as a rock or something are used when available, though a properly adjusted sling and some practice works about as well as anything.

So much depends on what and where a person hunts, and if a person gets around and hunts some different terrain and species without practicing different techniques, it's easy to get outside one's comfort zone.

Overspecialization breeds in weakness, as the old saying goes.

It depends on the circumstances, but I try to get a better position when I can. I probably shoot more game kneeling using a convenient tree/sapling as a rest than any other position, but the last deer I killed, just recently, was shot from prone. She was lying down with her head up looking towards me, with low cover obstructing her body from view and leaving only head and neck visible, down a clear cutline nearly 200 yards away, and I shot her under the chin into the top of the neck. Others recently included one offhand into the back of the neck as it galloped away, and another shot while I was standing braced against a tree at about 90 yards.

One position I used to use a bit, but don't much anymore, is sitting. I'd only really use it if I have plenty of time and can't go prone due to cover or terrain. Dropping to a low kneel (ie sitting on the side of my right foot) with a convenient tree to brace up against, is easier and faster to get into and usually steady enough.

Just went through my hunting log. I haven’t been recording the shooting position but I remember the last five years well enough.

So, 5 years, 13 big game animals. 1 offhand, 1 standing off a tripod, 11 prone off a bipod. I tend to hunt open areas with longer shot options, so that probably explains all the bipod/prone shots. My average shot distance has been 366 yards, with a long shot of 575 and a short of 87. The 87 yarder happens to be the offhand shot.

That said, I actually practice positional shooting a lot and am pretty comfortable with it. I just often have the option for bipod/prone due to the terrain I’m in.

The wife is deadly from a sitting position, though is getting quicker and more comfortable off of shooting sticks. She’s taken an elk and a Bighorn from prone, and her most recent (now residing on the wall) Pronghorn....offhand! It was supposed to be mine....she was quicker out of the truck than me! It truly “sucks” to be the “designated driver”! memtb

Am most happy when I can take a good solid prone or sitting position with a stable rest. However am certainly prepared to take an offhand shot if needed. The sling has been a great help with this.

Looking back, I've actually taken a fair bit of game with offhand shots, typically in fast moving, fairly close range situations.

Guy

One of my shots this year was from atop a large downward sloping boulder, about the size of a dinner table. Was not really able to get prone because of the downslope angle so I lay on my left side. Had to use my pack to elevate the rifle above the willow and oakbrush.
Once I worked through new yoga position it ended OK.

Probably 80% prone off a pack or bipod, 10% sitting off the Harris and 10% off hand

I'm a still hunter for the most part....If I see them first, I use a convenient tree for a rest. Most of the time though, they see me first. A lot of offhand shooting.

When participating in drives, I am always one of the drivers so any shots I take are up close, personal and offhand.

I'd figure about 75% offhand, 20% from a rest of sorts and the other 5% kneeling or prone.

I don't think I have ever shot a big game animal offhand. Generally sitting off shooting sticks, and pretty often prone off a pack.

this is a very good question, i shooting stick for me while big game hunting, ever since i witness a bear attack. it was just the best and only way to get it done safely.

Sitting off sticks usually and off hand when I'm close.

I can remember 1 I shot prone. The rest were the best supported position I had available at the time. Quite a few off hand a few left handed offhand too if they got too close behind me to the right. I always plan to have a rest for support. Sometimes you have to take what you get though.

I am with you on this, for the shooting position depends on the terrain and things like trees and other, as well as the type of game hunted. For example, where I hunt moose I have never shot offhand since there are all kinds of trees and things I can support the rifle on. I also hunt from a stationary position on a rocky knob where I can use not only trees to support the rifle, but wooden tripods that I build and place in strategic locations. In this area I can only shoot while standing, but I also carry a tall bipod that I can use if the need arrives, but I have never used it. The most steady rifle aim for a longer shot is one where the rifle is supported at the front, just ahead of the trigger guard, and also around 3" from the recoil pad. A friend of mine shoots targets at long range while supporting his rifle at the front, and the stock with a bipod. He wins competitions that way.

I learned the shooting positions when in the military, and my favorite was the prone. But I doubt that I will have the chance to shoot that way where I hunt because of the tall brush and trees blocking the view.

Thursday I used an electric pole standing.

I use a rest of some type for 99% of my shots any more. Bi-pod, mirror sitting, tripod, tree, hood, box, standing. Prone off a pack if terrain will allow. We have some huge boulders on our property and used them as shooting rests also. I bet it has been 5-6 years since I took an initial shot off hand.

I don't have percentages but the vast majority of mine are braced in some way.

For the last several yrs I've been using Stoney Point shooting sticks (2 legs).
Before that I was in deer leases and shot from box stands.

I have shot some deer off hand but it's not my preference. I assure you I'm much better
off hand shooting moving (walking or running) deer. The fluid movement makes it more certain.
I'd say I'm only 50/50 at standing deer off hand.

Jerry

This year;
elk, sitting w/sticks 230 yds.
2 antelope, sitting w/sticks, 1167yds.; 1@ 120yds.
deer, prone @ 310 yds. over daypack.
4 shots fired!

Fascinating topic and thread. I am a bit surprised at how few shoot offhand, but then, like Okie John, I go east to hunt mule deer and waaay east to hunt antelope.

At least 50% of my shots lifetime have been offhand, probably more. When possible I prefer a brace: lean on a tree etc. A high percentage of my shots are under 50 yards, and a lot of those are offhand. As I age, I risk spooking game in order to get a more solid shot.

I've shot two antelope prone and can't think of another animal shot from a prone position. Can recall two shot from a sitting position, braced on my knees. In my haunts we can't see game when prone, and bipods are seldom right for the terrain and vegetation. Lately I have been carrying a wooden walking stick, similar to what writer Sam Fadala called a Moses Stick. Wood is quieter than metal or carbon sticks and I discard and pick up new ones frequently. It is infinitely adjustable to its full length. At least half of my shots have been braced by a stick in recent years.

When I call game, and I call every kind of critter that I hunt, I pick up a stick on the spot to use as a brace and trim it as needed to fit the terrain.

60% from a shooting house or tree stand with a rail
20% kneeling
20% off a mono pod

Mostly from a rail of some sort in a stand, be it a box blind, tripod, or ladder. Some minor amount of offhand when a situation presents itself, and some sitting on the ground with my back against a tree.

Necessity is the mother of invention, and for me that mostly applies to some creative finding or spur of the moment construction of a secure rest. My ever present pack frame has served in most instances.

I try not to shoot off hand. Most of my shots have been between 100 yards and 300 yards. I prefer to use some kind of rest and most of the time I can find something. Occasionally it's only my trekking pole. But that's better than shooting off hand.

I can shoot reliably well in the sitting position specially when it's down hill.

KC
'

Two deer in the past two weeks split my stats:
1. 30 yards while I was standing and steadying the rifle on a wooden walking stick I'd picked up. My front hand was lightly gripping the stick and rifle fore-end. The deer was standing still.
2. 40 yards offhand while standing, at a walking deer with a be-quick-or-don't-get-the-shot.

The first deer dropped on the spot with a high shoulder shot as it angled slightly toward me. Mule deer doe. The second deer went 28 yards with a broken low shoulder plus heart and one lung taken out. I wobbled and hit two inches lower than intended. Whitetail buck.

Still running 50-50 on offhand shots. vs rest/steady braced shots.

Most of the deer I've taken in the past 10 years have been shot off a sandbag placed onto a 2X6 shooting rail while sitting in a folding chair.

The new tower blind I built is considerably more primitive-- just a 1X3 top rail with pipe insulation covering the top surface. I'm still figuring out how to get the swivel recliner hoisted in.

Almost 100% offhand and almost always 100 yards or less.

Interesting thread. I'm surprised the low volume of offhand shooting. It looks like a geography thing. If you don't shoot offhand in the east, your not getting many deer or bears - at least in the states I've hunted in. I think it's also a bit hunting style specific. I do alot of still hunting so shot opportunities appear quick and don't last long. My favorite shooting position is seated. Shot an 8 pt Monday from a stand but was sitting. Dead deer. I've shot several elk from seated in the past couple years. Probably shot the other half offhand in the timber. Shot most of my turkeys from seated. Typing this out, I didn't realize how many animals I've shot from seated.

Of the 20 something moose I've killed, only three were taken using a rest- one at 100 yards sitting on my backpack, braced knees, one (running) at 150 yards using a walking stick between two forked willows from a sitting, stand position, and the last one (standing) at 30 yards using the snow machine windscreen as a rest. ( Hey, if it's there, use it!) All the rest moose were from standing offhand positions, at ranges to 200 yards, several with a sling-wrap around the arm. But moose are a big target.

All 6 sheep, one goat, about half of a dozen black bear, one elk, one whitetail, and all but maybe 6 close-range animals of @75 caribou have been taken out to 400+ yards, using some sort of rest - windscreen, handlebars, seat, prone, or sitting, knee-braced. Only mule deer ever taken was off-hand at about 15 yards.

So, roughly 80% of the time, I have used a rest. Of those only a few - maybe 7, have been from prone, due to terrain features. Probably 15- 20 % sitting, the rest (75%?) using a machine part, or field- improvised rest using walking stick, rock, tree, etc.

Dunno about there, but shooting from or across a road is illegal in Alaska. "Off the drivable surface" is definition of what qualifies as legal.

A lot of it definitely depends on geography and hunting style. I also think that vegetation and distance matter. You can definitely hunt in thick brush almost anywhere in the US. If you still-hunt there, then you have to shoot offhand more than if you hunt open country. I’d bet that most of our shots are a lot closer, too. I think my average shot on game in the last 25 years has been between 30 and 60 yards. I know that my longest three shots in that time have been an estimated 90 yards (blacktail deer), a ranged 110 yards (Roosevelt elk), and an estimated 120 yards (feral bull).

I also think that most of us who expect and train for offhand shots don’t consider it our first choice. We’d all much rather get a rest of some sort, or at least sit down and get more stable.


Okie John

He might be jerking our chains. Or he might get to hunt one of those huge stretches of land where everything you can see from horizon to horizon (and for miles beyond that in all directions) belongs to one person and shooting from the road isn't an issue.


Okie John

Well said.

When I was stationed in Kodiak it was very different from what I do now. Out there it was 95% prone over a backpack or using an alder limb for support. Here it's 90% using the edge of the shooting window or stand rail. I try my best to avoid an unsupported off-hand. I am not good at it and don't practice as much as I should . If I can use a tree or limb for support I will. A sling supported off hand is much better than a straight up off hand.

Mr. Winters et. al.

Before 2012 most of my hunting was on deer leases so...standing hunting.

Since 2012 I'm not using ANY stands nor feeders. I have sole hunting privileges on private family land.
I either stalk OR still hunt and many times it's a combination of both.

I've made a couple or so off hand running shots but most are OFF shooting sticks.
My older Stoney Points are 2 legged and each has 3 segments. They adjust from sitting to standing. They're too tall for
prone, which I have very few opportunities.

I have had ample time to use the sticks when hunting even in cover.
More than a few Xs I've still hunted up on deer that didn't know I was in the State.

This year alone I shot 2 deer in the neck off the sticks.
1 was @ 135-140 yds. The other was 175-180 yds. I use my LRF after the shot.
Sometimes I can't be exact but just close on the distance.

I'd never attempt those shots off hand. Both were 1 shot DRT (drop right there).

I don't go hunting w/o my Stoney Points.

Jerry

Like most that have posted above I prefer a rest whenever possible. I have shot unsupported offhand out to 225 yards, kneeling without sticks to 315 yards,at the other end I have shot seated at 8 yards I have used trees, rocks, packs crossed sticks and whatever else for supports whenever possible. I am a big fan of the 3 piece two leg stony point sticks.

When i was guiding in the barren lands of the NWT I encouraged my clients not to lean their rifles over the rock but to have a close personal relationship with the rock as well. The less opportunity for the body to move the better.

All this being said one must judge your limits from day to day as many thing affect ones ability to make a shot.

Have a great day all.

GRF

Most shots are taken sitting on my butt resting on my knees (to get over brush) or prone laying across my pack if the brush allows. That is for shots in the 100-400 yard range. Under that I have taken quite a few off hand. I always try to get a rest but it does not always happen. I shoot quite a few Jackrabbits each winter, those are always from a standing position, usually offhand or with aid of a shooting stick. Good practice for when it really counts.

The position I choose is whatever position points the muzzle of the rifle at the deers vitals. I've found that when I do this and pull the trigger at the same time, the deer falls down usually leaking fluid,

What Varmint Guy said.. Except I never hunted Blacktails, but shot some eastern whitetails off hand years ago..

I quit hunting from tree stands years ago. My preferred position is standing with shooting sticks or from a higher tree limb. Next would be from a sitting position, again with shooting sticks or a lower tree limb. My only problem with the sitting position is that I have to get up and make it to my downed game to field dress or quarter it. I'm absolutely sure that the prone position would be the best and most accurate position to take large game but, I'm an old hunter and by the time I pull the trigger, get up and make it to my game, I'd probably be arrested and charged for wanton waste.

Necessity is the mother of invention. A ton of variety here. Pretty much big sky country with no jump shooting. If in range at first sighting my first thought is finding some sort of rest. If a stalk is involved, it's to a spot where I can arrange some kind of shooting platform. Shrubs, trees, stumps, pack frames, rocks, snow, bipod, a partners shoulder or back, and even a lawn chair.

Truck Hood !

Offhand, kneeling w/sticks, sitting w/sticks, standing with a tree rest, off backpack rest, rest on back of ATV. Those are the last 2 seasons' rests for me. Hunting partner rested off knees while sitting and shot standing w/sticks as well.

25 years and closing in on 200 whitetails, I would very roughly estimate the following:

Prone - 1%
Sitting in a box stand propped on window - 5%
Sitting in a treestand free handed - 10%
Sitting in a treestand propped - 30%
Sitting on ground propped on shooting sticks or small tree or knees - 30%
Standing freehanded - 5%
Standing propped on tree, fence, atv, etc. - 4%
Archery - 15%

This pretty much mirrors my percentages but with a few prone thrown in but surely not in my home state.

Over 60 whitetails in Missouri between rifle, pistol and muzzleloader. Can't think of more than 3 or 4 shot from prone. Probably around 25 offhand, the rest with some sort of rest, be it a bog pod, forked stick or leaning against a tree.

I have shot 8 antelope, only one being offhand at 100 yds. Shot one from kneeling with the bog pod at 100 yds, the rest from prone, mostly off a bipod, farthest at 500 yds, closest at 250 yds.

Out of five elk, 2 were offhand at 100 yds or less, one sitting resting on a rock pile at 589 yds, one standing resting on oak brush at 320 yds and one kneeling with bog pod at 450 yds.

2 mule deer offhand at less than 100 yds, one prone from 250 yds.

2 bears offhand at 80-90 yds, one kneeling with a rest from 75 yds.