It is not a secret that there has been a record number of people entering the firearms world. While many factors are driving it, the result is millions of new gun owners who have now joined the family. One of the challenges that many new and existing gun owners face is training. While on the surface things may seem simple, a quick trip to the range can prove otherwise. An area where I see the most interesting variations focuses on how to hold a rifle.

Learning How to Hold a Rifle for Big Improvement

The internet is awash with memes and videos of “professionals” holding and shooting rifles in some very curious and honestly wrong ways. Because I am personally excited to have so many new people become gun owners, I thought it would be helpful if we looked at just the basics of holding a rifle. Not only will this help you run the gun better, but it will also save you from becoming a meme.

Points of Contact

The rifle is one of the easiest weapons to shoot accurately. The biggest reason for that is because we have four points of contact. That translates into greater control. The first point of contact is the grip. Here we want to have a firm but not crushing grip. Holding too tightly will affect our ability to smoothly press the trigger and lead to accuracy issues.

Get a high grip on the pistol grip for how to hold a rifle.

Our second point of contact is the handguard. With your support side hand reach out and get a comfortable grip on the handguard. I encourage shooters to reach out as far as they comfortably can as it provides more control. You can try different versions of grips, but ultimately they need to be stable, comfortable, and sustainable. There are a few grips out there that have a very high “cool” factor but are difficult to sustain over any real period of time.

Reach out for a comfortable grip on the forend when learning how to hold a rifle.

Our third point of contact is the buttstock. Now the standard AR-15-style rifle has minimal recoil, so there is no need to bury it into the deep pocket of the shoulder. I teach placing the bottom of the butt pad on the inner edge of the deltoid near the pectoral muscle. You will also feel the butt pad against the clavicle. We want the stock fairly high because when we raise the gun, we want it to come as close to our natural line of sight as possible. We do not want to have to crank our heads down to see the optic or sights.

The buttstock should ride high in the shoulder pocket.

Cheek Placement

Our last point of contact is our cheek on the stock. As you raise the rifle you want to get a good cheek weld on the stock. This takes practice because you want it to be in the same place each time. The cheek placement should naturally put you in line with your optic or sights.

A good, consistent cheek weld is critical on how to hold a rifle.

How to Hold a Rifle: Final Shots

One last tip I will throw in is the piece that brings it all together. Once you have all four points on the gun and it is raised to the target, we need to add one last stabilization technique. I want you to use your hand on the handguard to drive the rifle back into your shoulder firmly. The firmer this is, the more stable the gun will be when fired. In fact, if you have good control over your four points of contact and drive the gun into your shoulder, it should barely move at all when fired. Give it a try and make any small changes you need to get the best grip possible. Good luck and keep training!