Do you feel you have the best control of your recoil when you’re shooting? You may be making one of the most common mistakes made by a shooter.
“Your shooting is a challenge, and taking on a challenge is a lot like riding a horse. If you're comfortable while you're doing it, you're probably doing it wrong,” said John McClain of Team Armscor.
Let’s break down why popular stances like Weaver might be slowing you down, what grip techniques actually work, and how you can shoot with greater control.
Understanding Recoil
Recoil is the backward force generated when a gun is fired. The energy released propels the bullet forward while simultaneously pushing the firearm backward. Managing this force is key to accuracy, control and follow-up shots. Without proper technique, recoil can slow down your shots and make shooting overall less controlled and effective.
Proper Stance: The Foundation of Recoil Control
Many shooters struggle with recoil because of poor grip and stance.
Some methods that were once popular, like the Weaver stance, actually work against you.
"The old-school generation will try and argue that by turning your body, you make yourself a smaller target," John said. "That makes sense if you're standing still, but in real-world scenarios, I’d rather be a fast and accurate adversary."
The Weaver stance requires the shooter to angle their body away from the target, with one arm fully extended and the other bent. While this may make the shooter a smaller target, it also creates an imbalance in recoil management.
"If 80% of the recoil force is absorbed by your extended arm, it’s going to twist your body to the side every time you shoot," John said. "Instead of just dealing with vertical recoil, now you have a horizontal movement to fight, which slows you down and throws off your accuracy."
Another stance to avoid is the teacup grip, where the support hand is placed under the grip like a saucer holding a teacup.
"Teacupping does absolutely nothing for recoil control," John said. "If you can’t hold a gun up, you need to lift weights, not shoot."
With the teacup grip, all of the recoil still goes into a singular arm, causing you to lose your target without the support of the other hand.
Instead, John recommends the Isosceles stance, which provides better balance and control.
In this stance, the shooter stands with their body square to the target with both arms mirroring each other directly in front of them.
"Both arms are straight with a little bend in the elbows to create shock absorbers, so the energy doesn't travel straight up into your body. It travels down, hits the elbows, then moves up into the shoulders—like how a car has shock absorbers," said John.
This stance distributes recoil evenly across both arms and shoulders, meaning there’s less deviation from the target and allowing for quicker target reacquisition and improved accuracy.
Let's continue to reduce recoil
Check out part two of our how to reduce recoil breakdown, where we cover grips, firearm selection, and more.
