I've learned to look at practical shooting positions in the same way I look at tying knots:

A good knot is one that is easy to tie, does what you need it to, and is easy to untie.

A good shooting position is one that is easy to get into, is stable, and is easy to get out of.

With training, you can start the long and never-ending road of mastering positions.

The combat kneeling is probably my favorite, and one of the most challenging for me to get good at.

At first glance, you'll think these studs are just doing your everyday kneeling position.  Look again at the details:

* Base support from the trail leg
* Elbow position in relation to the knee
* Leaning forward





You can take this and make it even lower by wedging the magazine and pistol grip over your knee, if you are flexible enough.

Once you build this position up well, then sling into it, you can be surprisingly stable.  Kneeling is inherently one of the most unstable positions when gotten into haphazardly.  If you break it down and build up the foundation with that trail leg, lean into it, no elbow on your patella, but distal triceps just above the elbow forward of the patella, with your hips driving the Natural Point Of Aim, or get even lower with the magazine knee wedge, you can really make this position work for you in ways that will make kneeling fun and doable.

Well broken down. Once you achieve a natural point of aim it's pretty easy to learn how to make minor adjustments to move that NPOA in very precise ways. Once you get off the belly and work with position shooting a whole new world of self satisfaction can open itself up to you.

Thanks OP.

excellent! Mind blown
Gonna practice this

Some legacy techniques taught by .mil instructors come from the days of bolt action rifles -- and the teachers don't know why.

Techniques developed for 7 to 8-pound 30-round 5.56 autoloaders can trigger an Immediate Argument Drill just by looking at them -- and the antagonists don't know why.

If it's stoopid but it works it ain't stoopid.

Firepower is about bullets hitting and killing targets.

What level of precision can a well trained rifleman expect from these kneeling positions?
Reminds me that there needs to be more Kneeling entries in here: http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_5/1744566_Fudds_VS_Tacticool_Duds______Take_the_SHTF_Challenge_.html
I'm more of an Offhand/Sitting shooter. So far to me, Kneeling takes the worst of the other positions without much benefit. However, I will devote more time to it to try and improve that.
Taken from the last 100yd HP match:






My worst 10 shot group was 9 MOA with most going into the 6 MOA bull. The others were 8-8.5 MOA.

Aye.




 
 

traditional olympic style kneeling sucks and is pretty much worthless unless you have a giant target, though traditional HP/CMP sitting works pretty well with a good sling and the right rifle.

there are at least 2 better ways that actually work and are still technically kneeling* and  i can think of maybe 4 better seated** positions.  

in HP sitting, probably my best and worst sitting strings in a year would be like 100-7x to 97-4x.   that's 10 rounds standing to sitting in 60 seconds with a mag change at 200 yards with irons.  x=3" 10=6" so 1.5-3MOA

With my bolt gun, if I have plenty of time to get my NPOA, I can hold 2 MOA pretty easy kneeling and i'd bet 1 MOA sitting.   But pressed for time in PRS matches, I usually get 3 or 4 out of 5 hits on 3 MOA plates at 300-400 yards in 60-90 seconds.

I haven't tried shooting the kneeling in the OP but unless I'm missing something, it looks like it would have significant wobble left/right and up/down but my guess is you'd manage recoil pretty well for fast follow up shots.  my guess is I'd be doing very well to hold 4 MOA from that position, but who knows?

* at least one knee is on the ground and your butt isn't
** your butt is on the ground

Sit on the back of your heel or do mountain climbers till you puke.


I can understand trying something different but with the hind end hanging in the air there is no solid base. I would bet trying to move to another shooting position in that low modified kneeling position would be slower as well.

My knee doesn't bend that far.

I need to find a class that teaches position shooting and take it.  

For the life of me I cannot make elbow in front of knee work for me.  Support arm wobbles all over the place like balancing a ball on a log.
Elbow behind the knee I can work with.

was shooting steel with the boy scouts with a pretty heavy AR (11 pounds).  They were proned with bipod aiming at a 4" square target about 150 yards.  Took the rifle after one of hte kids had an issue and hit from kneeling without a sling.  Kneeling is a very nifty position when done properly.  I was coached by a 0369 who transferred to the army.

There are two very different kneeling positions, however  The deliberate set up sitting on your heel with your non-dominant leg tucked up tight with tricep over the knee as described by LRRP or with mag over the knee



There is also the Rhodie style rapid engagement kneeling.  The two are conflated but they are both very different and both very useful and both should be trained and practiced