Shooting on the Move

When It’s Run-and-Gun 3-Gun, Taking Pistol Shots on the Move is the Name of the Game

Trip Mcingvale runs his pistol on the smoking-fast stages at Superstition Mountain. (Yamil Sued photo)

By Bryce M. Towsley (www.brycetowsley.com)

One skill that any 3-gun shooter will need to develop is the ability to shoot on the move, particularly with a handgun. There are times when it’s required in a match.  More importantly, shooting on the move will allow you to do two things at once, cover ground and shoot holes in the targets. That kind of multitasking can lower your stage times.  

But to paraphrase Ron White, “I may have the right to shoot on the move, but not the ability.”

I started shooting 3-gun after a decade of cowboy action shooting where if you wiggle a toe with a loaded gun in hand you are going to get a spanking and a visit from the territorial governor. I had learned to plant my feet like they were spiked to the ground when shooting, and I had a hard time learning to move and shoot.

I make it a point to practice the things that I am having trouble with, but I found when practicing that I couldn’t hit anything while walking anyway, because the sights were bouncing all over the target. So I called some top 3-gun shooters and got some help from the guys who do this well. Here is their advice, boiled down for this column. 

We humans tend to walk with our entire body. Our shoulders move back and forth, our arms swing in time to our steps and our head is bounces all over the place. This obviously won’t work if at the same time you are trying to poke holes in little targets with a pistol.

The upper body is controlling the gun. If it’s bouncing around like a bored kid on a sugar buzz, you don’t have a chance. So you need to remove the movement from the upper body and just walk with your legs and feet. Keep your torso still, bend your knees and hips and then walk with short baby steps, heel to toe. Put your heel on the ground and roll your foot down until the toe is on the ground. Keep rolling smoothly into the next step. Walking should be one fluid motion, not a series of jerky steps.

The key to removing movement from your shoulders and upper body is to bend your knees and hips. They become shock absorbers that help to isolate the upper body from the movement of your legs and feet. Your shoulders and arms should not be moving other than to control the gun. It really helped me too when one guy told me to “walk like I was on slippery ice.”

It takes some practice to develop the skills. But it’s worth the time spent as the ability to shoot on the move can shave valuable seconds off your score in any match.

Posted on 10/3/2011