By Ron, Founder of Tactical Fitness Austin
Last updated: July 2026
TL;DR
A real problem hands you the position: a car door, a low wall, uneven ground. If you’ve only fired standing on flat concrete, everything you know about your shooting is untested. Here’s how positions actually work.
Watch any public range for an hour.
Everyone is standing. Square to the target, flat concrete, bench at elbow height.
Nobody kneels. Nobody gets behind anything. Nobody shoots from a position they didn’t choose.
A real problem hands you the position: a car door, a low wall, uneven ground, a shot you have to take from behind something. If the only position you’ve ever fired from is standing on a flat range, everything you know about your shooting is untested.
And here’s what surprises people the first time they drop to a knee: their group falls apart. Not because kneeling is hard, but because it’s a skill they assumed they h and never built.
Why it matters
Position selection isn’t one skill, it’s a decision. Distance and what’s in front of you dictate the position, and the wrong choice costs you either stability or mobility when you can’t spare it. I demo this on the Tavor because that’s my platform. Every principle below runs the same on any rifle you own.
How positional shooting actually works
1. Close and fast: unsupported kneeling. Get small, get into position quick, shoot. Don’t brace on the barricade, don’t push your muzzle past it. Around vehicles and close cover you stay back and stay mobile, because the threat is close and the presentation is big.
2. Distance and precision: supported. Brace the rifle on the object, and if you can get a pack or anything soft underneath, better. Need height on a vertical surface? Make an L with your support hand and rest the rifle on your thumb. Works on a tree branch, a doorframe, a tripod.
3. Bone under the rifle, always. The stable kneel isn’t about muscle. It’s structure. Standard infantry kneel: rear knee down, sit onto your heel, roughly 90 degrees between your legs, support running from the ground up through your back. Then tricep on top of the knee, not the point of your elbow on the kneecap. Bone-on-round-bone rolls; that’s the wobble everyone fights and nobody diagnoses.
4. Your body picks the details. Taller shooters often favor one side because it keeps them upright instead of folded over. Tricep in front of the kneecap or elbow behind it depends on your height and build. There is no universal answer. You test both sides and keep what’s stable.
5. More contact means breathing shows up. Once your body is loaded against the rifle, your breath moves the muzzle. Supported positions demand breath control that standing never asked of you.
Why most shooters never train this
Most ranges are benches and concrete. Kneeling isn’t even allowed, let alone prone or working a barricade. And standing feels competent, so nobody volunteers to look like a beginner again. Which is exactly what the first session of positional work does to everyone, including good shooters.
This is what private training is for.
On our private outdoor range there’s no bench and no rules against getting on the ground. An ex-special-forces instructor runs you through the positions, fits them to your body instead of a textbook’s, and puts you on a timer moving between them. One session replaces months of guessing at what stable is supposed to feel like.
Train hard,
Ron
Founder, Tactical Fitness Austin
P.S. Run my positional drill this week, dry: one dry press standing, drop to kneeling for one, down to prone for one, back up to kneeling, finish standing. Rifle verified clear, full mount and sight picture at each stop before the press. I run it live at 100 meters scored on hits, not rounds. Dry at home, your score is how much the sights wobble at each stage. If kneeling is your shakiest stop, reread number 3.
Book a private lesson at Tactical Fitness Austin →
Frequently asked questions
Why does my group fall apart when I shoot from kneeling?
Because kneeling is a skill most shooters assume they have and never built. A stable kneel comes from structure, not muscle: rear knee down, weight settled onto the heel, support running from the ground up through your back. The most common error is putting the point of the elbow on the kneecap. Bone on round bone rolls, and that wobble is what everyone fights and nobody diagnoses.
What is the difference between supported and unsupported shooting positions?
Distance decides it. Close and fast calls for unsupported kneeling: get small, get into position quickly, and stay back off the cover so you keep your mobility and don't push a muzzle past it. Distance and precision call for support: brace the rifle on the object, with something soft underneath if you have it. The wrong choice costs you either stability or mobility exactly when you can't spare it.
Where can you practice shooting from kneeling, prone, and behind cover?
Rarely at a public range. Most are benches and flat concrete where kneeling is prohibited, and prone or barricade work is out of the question. Positional shooting also has no universal answer. Which side works and where your elbow sits depend on your height and build, so it has to be fit to you. Tactical Fitness Austin coaches positions on a private outdoor range with no bench and no ground restrictions.