Mastering Ready Positions High Ready vs Low Ready in Airsoft Combat

Introduction

This article is a discussion that compares the “low ready” weapon carry position to the “high ready” weapon carry position.

This topic have been subject to many opinions and it's something you'll often find discussed at great length within the tactical community. No doubt you have seen players on the field use either the high or low ready weapon carrying technique and you may often find yourself wondering why would you use one over the other. The first thing to note is that these aren't the only two stances or weapon holding techniques you can adopt and the traditional high and low ready carry technique has multiple variations, however this post it's going to focus on the basics and the more traditional two techniques.

I often find there is no right or wrong answer to which one you should use, it's down to you as an individual to make that call. The purpose of this article is not tell you which one to use or to advocate for one technique over the other in fact I use both all the time.

LOW READY

To assume the low ready position the player will typically hold a firing position with the rifle stock in their shoulder they will then simply drop the muzzle down at the site angle to allow for a clear view and observation over the top of the rifle. Demonstrated in the image below.

Rifle slightly aimed downwards allowing the operator clear view over the top.

HIGH READY

To assume the high ready position the player will raise the muzzle of the rifle approximately 45° and tuck the stock of the weapon under the firing side arm. Demonstrated in the image below.

Stock tucked under the firing arm, muzzle aimed up 45 degrees.

Immediately you can see the two different stances quite clearly have two different applications.

LOW READY

• Holding the rifle in a low ready position allows for unobstructed observations it gives you a clear view over the weapon system and you're able to freely scan without the rifle blocking your view this can be particularly important which one to look for the enemy players and especially in airsoft to ID if they're on your team or not.

  
  

• Because the stock remains in your shoulder and the weapon is essentially in a firing position but just relaxed it is very fast to raise the muzzle and engage your target and in my opinion it's much faster faster than high ready position.

  
  

• If you are taken by surprise you are naturally still pointing the rifle's muzzle towards the threat and for example if someone jumps around the corner, you can quickly engage and fire without necessarily having to change much of your body's position.

  
  

HIGH READY

• For me personally I find this a much more relaxed position and I am able to hold it for much longer period of time. This is obviously personal preference.

  
  

• The weapon is naturally already in your workspace allowing you to do reloads much quicker in this position.

  
  

• Situation dependent I would always use this position when approaching a threat that is above my head height for example walking up stairs as it allows the weapons muzzle to naturally point up to where the target may be.

  
  

• Some people find this position slightly more fatiguing, and it can be slower to get into a aimed shot firing position than low ready.

After all it is your choice

Summary

In conclusion both the classic high and low ready have their place and many people will favor one over the other or say one is better than the other. It falls upon you as a player to make that decision experiment with both and train with both because you will most definitely utilise both.

Keep a eye out for future posts where we will give you the run down on some training drills you can conduct at home to improve both your high and low ready reactions.

Train Hard Fight Easy. T .