Tripod Shooting Skills

The tripod is the essential tool to allow the precise delivery of fire from any rifle or carbine weapon system. It eliminates dependence on natural features or expedient objects to provide a firm front rifle rest in any setting. Positions of superior stability that are both rapid to assume and can be maintained for long periods of time are achievable by application of correct principles. The supplemental use of common deployment gear to further reduce wobble allows accuracy nearing that of prone.

Three tripod-supported positions form the basis for a skillset with which to work at three common heights above prone: seated, kneeling, and standing. Common to all are four basic principles.

1. Rifle positioned in the tripod to balance solid front support and control. 
2. Solid support for the firing elbow.
3. Rear support by filling in the voids between body surfaces.
4. Strain reduced by building all positions at the height where gravity eventually drives the body anyway.

There are many details to perfecting each position and making them rapidly accessible on demand, but there are some common basics.

• Place the tripod with one leg aimed at the target as one point of the triangle, with two legs extended back for the base. It’s the only way to keep the tripod from rocking off the ground when applying a load to the weapon.
• A sling is a versatile way to carry the tripod. If the tripod is carried inside or attached to a pack, the pack has to be removed first to retrieve it. Mission drives the gear train.
• Spiked feet work better in most every application except on a hard, non-grip surface like concrete.
• A ball head is versatile, but the setup that produces the least wobble is with the saddle directly connected to the tripod with no intermediate device.
• After prone, seated on the ground or in a chair (three-leg folding camp stools fit in a daypack) are the most stable positions and can be maintained the longest. A camp stool seated is my first choice because, with both elbows on knees, it is rock solid and I can stay there the longest.
• Learn to sling the daypack around the neck like a purse to improve rear rifle support, using it to fill the void between chest and firing arm.
• The best tripod height for a position can be achieved by opening the legs to different angles as well as by adjusting the length of the legs themselves. Mark a ring on the legs with a paint pen for a quick reference. Choose to extend the largest diameter legs first for best stability. I prefer lever locks over twist tension locks, but both can be fast and solid.
• The key to a rapid first shot is to build the position while looking over the turret, continually aligning everything to the target. Then, confirm on low power that the position allows natural visual access to the target without physical strain. Only then, zoom up as necessary. Don’t build the perfect position only to drop behind the optic, unable to acquire the target.
• Because the non-firing elbow is unsupported, placing that hand under the toe of the stock as you would prone is all but useless and often increases wobble. Instead, use the non-firing hand to grasp a tripod leg with or without a hasty wrap of the rifle sling, or settle the rifle into the saddle by pressing gently down on the optic mount.
• Chambering and all bolt manipulations are done with the face on the gun and with a sight picture on the target. The bolt remains up or the mechanical safety is engaged until the decision to fire. In sniper overwatch, teammates or the public are in front of your muzzle. An AD will have the gravest of all possible consequences.

The Forge Tactical Overwatch Exercise is an economical and efficient way to build and maintain tripod proficiency. It can be performed at any available distance, but the preferred distance is 100 yards. The ten-shot course of fire begins standing wearing all gear. Progressing from low to high, two-shots are made from each position—prone, ground-seated tripod, kneeling tripod, standing tripod, then finally standing sling-supported.

A half of a 3×5” card or a 2-3” paster in the center of an IPSC cardboard is a good target for this exercise. At 100 yards, all tripod-supported shots must fall within a 3-inch radius, the two standing sling-supported shots within the C-Zone. For closer distances, the target zones become proportionately smaller. With practice and experience, at 100 yards, students with precision rifles often keep the eight tripod shots within a 2-inch radius. Non-magnified RDS carbine operators are often able to achieve levels of accuracy very close to the MOA accuracy potential of the weapon.

Achieving accuracy standards is the measure of success, followed by demonstrating smooth and efficient transitions between the different positions. Reasonable time standards can be added, but are of lesser importance in comparison to achieving best accuracy on demand from each position.

A dry run of the exercise followed by the ten-shot course of fire performed on a weekly basis maintains those skills at readiness. Text by Doc Spears & Illustration by Charles “Chip” Lasky

About the Author: 

Doc Spears is a director and instructor at Forge Tactical. A former Special Forces 18D, he became a sniper in 1987 and has spent a lifetime teaching and perfecting precision riflecraft for all users. Forge Tactical specializes in procedural training and offers advanced courses in sniper overwatch and sniper/assaulter integration. They are the only courses of their kind for LE and DoD customers, conducted in cooperation with a city government to offer live-fire training in actual urban environments. Forge Tactical Night Precision Engagement teaches sniper skills in the no-light environment. Both were developed by Doc Spears and, like all Forge offerings, are taught with other Forge Tactical instructors from both military and LE special operations backgrounds.