Rifle off in biathlon: how to bring the rifle from the back into position, which IBU safety rules apply, and why safety comes before speed. With a plan.
The honest answer: "Rifle off" is the move with which you take the rifle off your back and bring it into position once you have arrived on the shooting mat. It is one of the few steps where the rule is clear: you may release the straps of the carrying harness only when you have reached the shooting lane and the mat from which you shoot. And before you leave the lane again, you must put the rifle back with both arms in the carrying harness [1].
There are further IBU safety rules: after the start you may only open the bolt or remove a magazine when standing on the shooting mat. Loading and unloading takes place with the muzzle pointing at the targets or upwards. When moving between lanes you unload the rifle first [1].
And here is the part almost nobody tells you up front: there is no study that compares the "rifle off" move. What is supported is the time pressure: the average shooting time of the ten best men in the 20-kilometre individual was 27.9 seconds at the 2017 World Championships, in 1997 it was still 33.5 seconds [2]. That is the time between entering and leaving the mat. And carrying the rifle costs speed: in a simulated competition with 20 biathletes, roller-ski speed with the rifle was lower than without, 5.49 versus 5.69 metres per second [3]. All moves below are coaching practice and carry no source number.
Realistically: this is an intermediate skill, but a skill where safety comes first. Speed comes only when the sequence sits securely.
Learn the key points: rifle in a case or cover bag when entering and leaving the stadium [1]. Carrying on the back or with the bolt open counts as safe [1]. On the mat first, then release the straps [1].
Milestone: You can restate the safety rules for the rifle in your own words.
Practise at first walking and standing, without time pressure: arrive on the mat, release the straps, take the rifle forward, hold the muzzle towards the targets. Both hands know what they do.
Milestone: Ten clean runs in which the muzzle always points at the targets.
Bring the rifle swiftly but in a controlled way into position without the muzzle pointing at you or others. The IBU forbids deliberately pointing the muzzle at yourself or others [1].
Milestone: In five runs in a row you are in position without correcting it.
Practise the sequence after a short load. Breathing is faster, hands are more restless. The sequence stays the same, only repetitions under load show where it wobbles.
Milestone: The sequence stays safe and even after load.
After shooting: unload the rifle (no round in chamber or magazine), put it back into the harness with both arms and only then leave the mat [1].
Milestone: You never leave the mat with a loaded rifle.
Make the sequence a fixed order of moves that you count inwardly: arrive, straps, take, muzzle, position. The order protects you under load from skipping a step. That is coaching practice. That shooting time is tight at the top is shown by 27.9 seconds for the ten best men in 2017 [2].
Only when you have reached the shooting lane and the mat from which you shoot. Before that you may not release the straps of the carrying harness [1].
When moving from one lane to another you must unload the rifle [1]. After the start you may only open the bolt on the shooting mat [1]. Carrying on the back or with the bolt open counts as safe [1].
The average shooting time of the ten best men in the 20-kilometre individual was 27.9 seconds at the 2017 World Championships [2]. For beginners there is no fixed value.
Yes, in a simulation with 20 biathletes roller-ski speed with the rifle was lower than without [3]. That is why you plan your pace before shooting.
Only without ammunition and as set by your club. Shooting belongs on the range with supervision.
Shooting Rhythm in Biathlon: Linking Breathing, Aiming and Shot Into a Fixed Sequence