Not "your favorite in a perfect situation" but what one field shooting position have each of you used successfully the most? and on what game animal?

I believe this will be interesting because we don't all hunt the same way or the same terrain or even the same animals.

My answers:
Antelope: Prone.
Deer: Sitting or kneeling down resting gun on improvised rest.

Gregg,

My most used just happens to be my favorite, also. Seated (with T/C) resting gun between my knees and grip on my legs. With a revolver, forearms are rested on knees and when possible, the gun on a shooting stick. This position has taken a many'a whitetails and other game.

Kral, I have done that "sitting and resting on knees" a bunch myself!

It's funny how your geographical location dictates what styles and shooting positions you use. I've been handgun hunting for 20 years now and have never even fired at an animal from the prone position.

Sort of a modified kneeling. Left knee up w/right leg tucked under me. Left arm/elbow against inside of Left knee. That has been changing though. I hunt more wooded areas now & it's becoming more of an impovised rest against a tree.

Gregg, Sitting on the ground and try to have my back against a tree or big rock- leather rabbitt ear sandbag on the top of my knees with face of cylinder pushed into sand bag to protect knees and give a solid rest. I`ve gone through a few sandbags....

As someone who primarily still hunts most of the day, with short "sits" in particularly productive spots or at sun up/sundown, I cannot pick only one as I have had success with several at all of these times. I have taken deer while crouched, standing upright, sitting with elbows on knees, as well as one handed when suddenly forced to take a shot on deer moving to my extreme right (I'm a righty). I can't think of a time when I've taken a deer or bear (I've taken only one bear) while utilizing any sort of rest for the gun. I did prefer to take chucks and coyotes at what I consider long range on small farms around here (150 to 300 yards) utilizing a bipod on my rifle (.22 Hornet or .308 Winchester - Yes! I have shot chucks and yotes with the .308! Kills 'em D.R.T.!)
Though some sort of steadying technique is always prefered, one just doesn't get much time to utilize such up here in the close quarters hunting of eastern forests unless you are already sitting in or on stand. Most eastern still hunters have to make quick decisions on 1st - whether to shoot, and then if so, exactly how and where. I was once asked by a South Dakota pheasant hunter what the closest distance was that I ever took a whitetail. When I responded with "oh, I suppose 15 paces or so", his jaw dropped with disbelief. He next asked "what's it like to hunt deer up there in the thickets of New hampshire"? I looked around the farm we were standing on, a vast combination of wide open cut corn as far as the eye could see, dotted with sparse "clumps" of grouped trees and slewsways and replied - "ummm, picture hunting in a jungle where you can't really see more than 20 yards or so through most areas except where logging has been going on, or natural openings". He just shook his head and said that he couldn't really imagine that. He himself had never taken a deer in South Dakaota in much under 200 yards or so, and always used a bipod or a rest of some sort.
Different strokes!

Renster

'Braced' sitting with 'sticks' and kneeling with sticks. If I've got the time and something to lean back against, I use the 'braced' sitting. If not, I kneel. I always have my 'sticks' with me.

Deer: seated, shooting revolvers similarly to KRal... arms rested across the knees (treestand platform) or rail of treestand

Sandbag off a camera stand or back pack. I have become very dependent on a sand bag...

PRONE!

I've taken a few animals from the prone position, one antelope, one elk & maybe 5-6 deer, this was when I used single shots. Looking over the last 10 years or so using revolvers almost all have been either from the sitting/reclining position or offhand. My last 5 elk with revolvers were all from the sitting position, one off my shooting sticks, my last 3 whitetails were all offhand, not because I wanted to but they wouldn't cooperate, it was off hand or nothing. My moose was offhand, my last bear was half prone, I was kind of laying over a large boulder but almost standing at the same time, my lion was offhand (5 feet) one handed, holding onto the tree with the other hand. All the feral hogs & Javelina were off hand. Don't know if I've ever taken anything from a tree stand with a rifle or handgun. Alaskan game, 2 caribou & 3 bears, all offhand. In africa about 50/50 offhand & sitting, all handguns.
Badgers, all offhand, sometimes running, them & me!! You'd like my version of the River Dance when trying to keep a badger off me.
This fox was taken offhand, he walked past the pistol bay where I was practicing, as he started up one of the berms I gave him a 205 gr 40 caliber from the S&W for his troubles! Took out both front shoulders.




Dick

When using revolvers, I have been sitting the majority of the time.

Sixshot, Part of the devil's advocate side of me started this post to see how many of us used the actual off-hand position for hunting. GOOD FOR YOU. IMO, most of us don't have the confidence (or skill) needed to do this; me included for the most part.

Small game is a different story; I off-hand all the time, but big game I want to be more sure of my shot with a good rest. I have only shot 4 big game animals off-hand: a doe 'lope, a muley buck, my one and only hog at 5 feet, and a cow elk, as near as I can recall.

You obviously are a very talented man with a sixgun. I know this can only come with an appropriate amount of practice, which differs with each individual, but in any event, is A BUNCH!!!

I won't say who but I have some EXCELLENT video footage of a well-known and well-respected handgun hunter kill a bull elk off-hand with a revolver. Great shot!

To those of you that are so talented: Congratulations!

Gregg, went back & read my post & I said 2 caribou & 3 bears in Alaska, those were offhand but with a rifle in the 80's. Wanted to set that straight.
Also, both of my feral hogs with the knife were from the bend over & poke position!
Dick

I never thought about it before. Thinking back I'd say with single shots prone with a BR bipod would be the workhorse.

Revolvers are a little more varied but I usually rest my wrist on what ever is handy.

Either a shooting rail from a stand or standing up leaning into a tree.I practice sitting alot but have yet to score from that position.

For charlies I use a bipod and sand bag under the grip, or the little bench I made. When hunting charlies with revolvers it's usually freehand.

When revolver hunting I have taken 6 deer freehand, and the rest were sitting with elbows on the knees and the barrel unsupported, lightly rested on a rail, or shooting sticks.

The only standing off-hand kill I can remember at the moment was around 30 yards with a center-grip XP chambered in 7.82 Patriot. Doe whitetail was DRT.

Here is a bull elk I killed from the PRONE position off my backpack with my .375 JDJ, 205 paces. As you can see it is pretty much open plains; where the historians say the elk were originally from, just like the buffalo...


Yes that IS duct tape on my coveralls to keep them down and the snow out.

Raghorn Bull Elk...375 JDJ with 270 gr. Hornady Spire point at about 60 paces; I was sitting down leaning against a tree using my knees as a rest.

Who is that young man again?

Have to say that sitting and resting on knees or other has worked best for me on deer and elk, sometines the tree comes in handY!

Sitting using shooting sticks, bipod or tripod. One deer, four elk, one bison. I have used the same method with a Contender, Encore, and revolver.

Recoil

OK, the offhand comments (pun intended) are interesting. Now, for you offhand shooting hunters, what sort of sights do you have on your revolver or single shot?

I really want to be able to be proficient with an open-sighted handgun, whether it be a notch rear or a ghost ring rear. That means plenty of practice, but, especially in the South, a lot of deer one sees are running because of hunting pressure from dogs or from walking up on them. Using a scope is not conducive in that scenario.

When I began to think about handgun hunting, it was because of my own experience that the shots presented to me were all < 100 yds, and mostly less than 30 yds. Sounds like perfect open sight hunting to me, though I would consider a JPoint type as well.

Perhaps this would be better served in a new thread....let me know if you think so and I'll start one! Don't want to hijack this good thread.

Most used........leaning against trees in what I would call a modified freehand position. When possible I rest the forearm of my SP's on the trunk. If that does not work, then I'll lean against the tree with a my forearm, shoulder or back.

Over the years I have made a BUNCH of freehand kills on deer w/ SP's. Before I got into LR shooting, freehand was my most practiced position...every trip to the range included freehand shooting. I still take a .22LR SP to stay sharp but I do a lot more prone shooting now.

with a single shot on deer....i use semi-offhand hold with aid from the sling i carry with. left hand on forearm, sling over elbow with outward pressure, and apply pressure with right hand on grip. there should be a pic on this site on the "bragging board" under my screen name.

otherwise....i'll use whatever i can, when i can.

IF i use my revolver, which i havn't for a long time, i rest my left elbow against my chest/rib cage while shooting two handed. i do not shoot at full arms length.

I practice all the above. When I was shooting competition black powder, all the shooting was off hand with primitive firearms. Today, I practice shooting off hand at steal plates at 100 with my scoped handguns, but I would much rather have some sort of rest!

I prefer prone with a bipod, but this is probably the most common shooting position for coyotes--a soft-sided stadium seat covered with a burlap bag, and the attachments customized to fit tighter and an addtl. snap attached to the side straps for hands-free carrying around the waist. This is the most stable sitting position i've ever used from point blank to 1000 yds.

I prefer my sticks and use them all the time now, but in the past I would recline back and rest the butt of the revolver on my knee. If standing I will rest the back of my hand and forearm next to a tree. Its just hard to beat sticks, I wont hunt without them anymore.

Nothing wrong with the "stix" and the more you "mature" and the more the arthritis and bum knees materialize into reality, the more you will like having the stix along because they have a second maybe more important use as just plain good old walking stix. They come in very handy on a steep or slippery slope; you will be glad to have them.

Ive been known to kill a snake or two with my sticks. They work good for that as well as shooting.

I have a couple sets of stony point pole cat sticks in different lengths I use with my Contenders. I shoot off the stick about 95% of the time. Even in a tree stand and still hunting I have the gun resting on the sticks braced off my lap (tree stand) or the foot of the sticks (together) placed in a little pocket hanging off my belt while holding the pistol in my hand. I have the sticks attached to a barrel band sling swivel placed at the end of the barrel. I know it is not the best setup to attach a support to the barrel but it has not affected accuracy works great for me.

there is nothing better than this imo.....for deer type hunting anyway. you could use a lil more help for varmints.

http://www.handgunhunt.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=1831&ppuser=514

Gregg makes a good point that what work in one area won't work in another. This is my preferred method of steadying the gun when I lived & hunted in Virginia.


However, now that I'm in Texas finding trees like the one above is much more difficult. Even sitting can be a challenge depending on the amount of cactus unless you've got something to sit on.

Definately a deterrant to sitting!!!

Renster

I have been playing with this.
Can be used from kneeling, sitting up to standing.

Probably, sitting with handgun resting on either shooting stix or any improvised rest available at the time.
Steve