Prone

NOTE: Make sure that the firearm is always pointed in a safe direction down range and that your finger is outside of the trigger guard when you are getting into the prone position.

There are two prone positions commonly employed in IPSC. They are the Chapman rollover and the military prone positions.

To use the rollover prone position, you need to draw your firearm and bring the weak foot forward, keeping the strong foot in position. As you step forward, you bend your knees until the strong knee comes into contact with the ground. With the firearm in your strong hand and in front of your body, lower yourself down and forward using your weak hand to break your fall as though you were doing a one handed push-up. As you fall to the ground, push your strong hand straight out in front so that when you land, you are on your strong side. The fall should not be broken by dropping onto your strong elbow.

As you drop onto your side, hook the weak foot instep into the back of your strong knee and using it as a lever, you can prop yourself up on your strong side. This will allow you to breath easier as you will not be laying flat on your diaphragm. The weak hand now joins the strong hand and the head comes to rest on the bicep of the strong arm. You are now in position to shoot once the safety is taken off.

An alternative to hooking the weak foot over the knee is to leave the foot in position where you stepped forward when you were standing. Simply leave the weak knee bent and you can still use its leverage to roll yourself onto your side.

To get into the military prone position, you draw the firearm into the strong hand as you step forward with the weak foot, then bend at the waist until you touch the ground with your weak hand. Then punch the firearm forward in front of you and kick your legs out straight behind you. Spread your legs as you kick back and use your toes to land on, your body prone, as if doing a one handed push-up. Drop straight onto your stomach and bring the weak hand up to form your grip on the firearm. Take the safety off and you are ready to shoot.