How Do You Hold Your "Stick?"

[Doc Safari]

How you hold your AR when firing off-hand is a matter of training and personal preference. Over the years I've tried several off-hand stances and I find I prefer to draw my arms inward toward my torso as close as possible. My elbows, to the extent practical, rest on my trunk. I draw my off hand to hold the carbine at the juncture of the forearm and the delta ring, sometimes placing my hand around the mag well (but out of the way of the ejection port since I shoot left-handed).

I just could never get the hang of the technique of holding your off-hand as far out on the handguard as possible.

I ended up deciding vertical foregrips and angled foregrips just get in the way of my preferred method of "coming in tight". I find scrunching everything up helps me hold steadier no matter what type of optic I'm using. The weapon wavers off target a lot less and I find I can do follow up shots a lot easier and with more precision.

Of course, you may do it entirely differently.

How do you hold your "stick"?

[Sry0fcr]

I have a stubby VFG about 3/5 of the way out on my 13" handguard, I grip there thumb over bore and use the grip to pull into my shoulder. As with most things, try a bunch, then do what works for you.

[TomMcC]

I have a small hand stop on my rifles and use the extended "C" clamp method. My arms are longish so that's what's comfortable for me. I use a target acquisition method I learned from Patrick Kelley. Instead of trying to throw the sight up right on the target and then struggle to keep the sight orbit steady, I start at the lower right (left handed) of the target and purposely drive the sight to the point on the target I want to shoot, while doing this I'm quickly ratcheting up the pressure on the trigger.

[Doc Safari]

I have a small hand stop on my rifles and use the extended "C" clamp method. My arms are longish so that's what's comfortable for me. I use a target acquisition method I learned from Patrick Kelley. Instead of trying to throw the sight up right on the target and then struggle to keep the sight orbit steady, I start at the lower right (left handed) of the target and purposely drive the sight to the point on the target I want to shoot, while doing this I'm quickly ratcheting up the pressure on the trigger.

Great response. This the kind of response I like to read. You not only gave a description of what you do, but who you learned it from, and why you do it.

[RKB Armory]

Good question, Doc Safari! This seems like there should be a definitive best way, but there isn't, that I know of.

I'm a 3/5 of the way out guy. My thumb is on the side, not over the bore. Elbows in. I'm not confident that my method is the best. I'm always open to instruction.

[Failure2Stop]

All depends on what I'm doing.
The way I grip the gun is different when I'm anticipating multiple moving close-range lethal threats than when I'm shooting at a stationary target at long range with no real time pressure.
The first requires as much recoil management as possible with the ability move rapidly and transition targets quickly.
The latter requires stability and predictable sight wobble.
Task drives technique.

[SBRSarge]

For fast shooting offhand, I’ve tried extending my arm all the way to the end of the handguard and using the C grip, but just can’t get comfortable with it. I understand the physics of it; grip way out to not fight the rifle’s leverage and drive the barrel where it needs to go for imstance, but I just can’t make it work for me.

I’ll try new grips/stances and evaluate them, but I always end up back in the first third of the handguard with my elbows tucked comfortably in. A few of my rifles have the angled foregrip which I like as much as anything to alleviate heat issues when doing lots of firing.


Now, for slow marksmanship shooting, I’ll stick my left elbow to my hip and use that arm almost like a monopod; palm under the rearmost portion of the handguard with the weight straight through the forearm to the elbow/hip. Add a slight twist and backwards lean and there I am locked in (kinda) solidly. I learned that in college at rifle team tryouts from the Army marksmanship unit and it kind of stuck.

[0311B50]

Very similar to what you describe, Doc Safari. Can’t really say why I started doing it that way. But, after 30 years, I still do because it just works for me.

I’m actually very annoyed that my department issued rifle has a vertical foregrip. It gets in the way.


The Founding Fathers would have been shooting decades ago.

[RHINOWSO]

All depends on what I'm doing...
...Task drives technique.

This 100%, like most things.

[Doc Safari]

All depends on what I'm doing.
The way I grip the gun is different when I'm anticipating multiple moving close-range lethal threats than when I'm shooting at a stationary target at long range with no real time pressure.
The first requires as much recoil management as possible with the ability move rapidly and transition targets quickly.
The latter requires stability and predictable sight wobble.
Task drives technique.

I have to concede you're right. My technique I described in my first post is great for shooting at distance. I had to think about what I do during my "in-home" practice drills. In that case my off hand is further forward in order to activate the weapon light. That's the only big difference.