Prone is the easiest position to hit from: a load-bearing body line, sling instead of muscle, the breathing pause and a clean trigger — your biathlon base.
The prone position is the most stable position in biathlon — which is why you start there. You lie flat on your stomach and your body forms a load-bearing line from the rifle across the shoulder and hip down to the foot. That line is what keeps the rifle steady, without you spending any strength on it [1].
"Anschlag", the German term, simply means your body and rifle position while shooting.
The numbers are on your side. Prone you hit far more reliably than standing [3] — even at World Cup level the top 10 miss on average around 0.6 shots more per standing stage [3]. Your pulse plays along too: in prone shooting the lowest heart rate is on average about 20 beats per minute lower than standing [6] — mid-race that feels like the difference between charging uphill and going for a walk.
The task stays tiny all the same: 50 metres distance, five metal targets, hit area 45 millimetres [2] — barely bigger than a two-euro coin. It is not strength that hits, it is position.
And the best part for beginners: how hard you skied beforehand changes your prone accuracy only minimally [5]. Standing is a completely different story. Prone works even while your engine is still roaring.
Your body does not point straight behind the rifle but slightly angled to the line of fire. That gives your ribcage room to breathe. The front elbow sits under the rifle, not beside it — only then does bone carry the load instead of muscle.
The goal is one continuous line: rifle – shoulder – hip – foot [1]. You may bend the rear leg slightly to take pressure off your abdomen. When the position is right, you can loosen your hands and the rifle stays on target anyway.
Take the position, close your eyes, breathe calmly twice, open your eyes. Has the sight drifted left or right? Then rotate your whole body a few degrees — never correct with your arms. Muscle shakes, bone does not.
Breathe fully in, fully out, then hold and fire in the natural respiratory pause of roughly 3 to 5 seconds [4]. Biathletes work with a "half-empty" lung — less tension in the chest, a lower centre of gravity [4]. A few full breaths also drop your pulse by 10 to 15 beats within seconds [6].
The index finger pulls through evenly until the shot breaks — it should almost surprise you [4]. Force the moment and you will jerk. The best shot feels as if it happened by itself.
Weapon safety in biathlon is not a bonus, it is the entry ticket. The rifle is carried and transported unloaded and on safe at all times, the muzzle always points in a controlled direction — upwards or downrange — and loading happens only on the shooting mat under supervision [7]. Shooting only takes place at supervised ranges [7].
For your start you will normally shoot an air rifle rather than smallbore — lower threshold, cheaper, and you learn exactly the same position [7].
This guide explains and motivates. It does not replace training with a club and a coach, and it is not an instruction for handling firearms unsupervised.
Practise the natural point of aim as a drill of its own, with no shot at all. Take the position, close your eyes, five breaths, open your eyes — and note where the sight has drifted. Then rotate your body and repeat until the sight sits on target by itself the moment your eyes open.
It costs no ammunition and no range fee, and it is the difference between "I am holding the rifle on target" and "the rifle is on target". Two minutes of this before every series change your hit rate more than any new equipment.
Flat on your stomach, slightly angled to the line of fire, front elbow under the rifle. What matters is the load-bearing line from rifle across shoulder and hip to the foot — it holds the weapon steady without effort [1]. You fire in the natural breathing pause with a progressive trigger pull [4].
You shoot at 50 metres at five metal targets. Prone the hit area is 45 millimetres, roughly the size of a two-euro coin [2]. In most competition formats every miss costs you a 150-metre penalty loop [2] — which is why every calm second pays off.
Because the position carries you instead of the other way round [1]. Physiology helps too: prone your lowest heart rate is on average around 20 beats lower [6], and previous skiing load affects prone accuracy only minimally [5]. Even the world's best shoot more reliably prone [3].
Only as long as your natural breathing pause carries you — roughly 3 to 5 seconds [4]. After that the eye gets restless and the position starts working against you. Coming off, taking two full breaths and restarting costs two seconds. A miss costs you a penalty loop [2].
The Standing Position: Why Standing Shooting Is So Much Harder — and How to Learn It