Hello, I was wondering if there are any black powder shooters out there who have tried the old Creedmoor shooting positions..Either on back or side?  Is this even allowed in modern long-range matches?  Thanks!

Bob Zimmerman used to use the back position. He used a big rubber band connected to the rifle and clenched in his teeth to steady his head and take pressure off his neck.  It worked well for Bob.  I tried it but couldnt get steady. Plus it killed my back. Bob is built like a spark plug.

I have a picture of Bob shooting in that position somewhere. 

                  Joe.

Some years back a customer came into my shop and a general discussion ensued about various topics.  He said he had tried to shoot in the style of the old time riflemen holding the butt of the rifle with his left hand behind his head.  He said he did OK, but nothing spectacular happened on the target.  He held a desk job so he was not used to contorting his body into those positions.  He recommended doing certain stretching exercises before attempting to shoot from those positions.  He remained persistent and went on to shoot very well in the BPCS matches forgoing the cross sticks and drawing the interest of the other shooters.  He was and is still a young man and has tailored workouts to enhance his shooting abilities with both rifles and pistols.  He refers to it as Pistol Pilates!  I did learn from the young man that a few minutes of stretching helps with control and focus.  Goes to show you that old dogs can learn new tricks.