Vehicle Hood as a Brace

Using a vehicle hood as a brace can be a great idea, especially if we are shooting with bystanders present, shooting at an extreme distance, or needing to make a very precise shot. If you find yourself in the middle of a public shooting and you have a rifle in your vehicle, the flat surface of the hood and even the surface above the wheel make a great place to get a solid stabilizing brace against the vehicle and still get the majority of our body behind an object that will stop bullets.

Proper Positioning

Shooter B.J. demonstrates this. He uses his hand to create a vertical offset so the muzzle is off the surface of the hood, which is important because the surface of many modern vehicles is curved — higher in the middle and lower on the sides — meaning if the muzzle is not offset, the rounds fired may skip off the hood.

B.J. also engages the magazine with the side of the vehicle. In the old days, using the magazine as any sort of monopod was absolutely forbidden. With today’s magazines, this is not an issue. If you’re using 1970s vintage aluminum magazines, you may not want to do this. But it’s a better idea to train to a modern gear standard.

Even More Stability

This is achieved by bracing the body against the side of the vehicle. This eliminates movement from breathing and allows an extreme level of precision, as B.J. illustrates by making a very precise shot. For scenario-based shooting drills such as this, after taking a shot, move back away from the vehicle to be safe from incoming rounds skipping off the vehicle hood, and scan your environment.

Personal Defense Network offers related videos about shooting from vehicles.