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part-time shooter
03-11-2011, 02:03 PM
Given the number of and level of the shooters and instructors here I figured this would be the best place to ask two questions I have but can't seem to find an answer for.

1 - When the shot breaks and the gun recoils, the trigger stays fully back, the gun comes back down into another sight picture - do you ever check your shot placement or do you want to keep a constant focus on your front site? why? I always try to swap focus to the target for a split second to check my shot placement but then I'll loose my front site for a sec. I'm thinking this is a bad habit from bullseye shooting I need to break, correct?

2 - I can't seem to track the front site in recoil and I'm picking it up/tracking it in my peripheral vision first and bringing it back into alignment as the pistol comes back to the target during recovery, the site isn't moving very far but it's sure moving very fast, is tracking the front site meant to mean a razor sharp focus on the site or is what I describe closer? I'm sort of just following the blur from the front dot and bringing it back down as the gun comes back to target. I know where the front site is all the time but I may not have it as my centered focus. Good, bad, or dead wrong?

3 - During the press out your trigger finger is on the trigger or on the frame? I have mine on the trigger as I can see both my sights and target and I know I'm going to shoot or I wouldn't be driving my gun towards the target, is this correct or should I still have my finger off the trigger until full extension? I can think of many reasons to have it on the trigger in such a circumstance but I've been wrong many times before.

As always thank you for your insight.

jar
03-11-2011, 02:08 PM
1 - When the shot breaks and the gun recoils, the trigger stays fully back, the gun comes back down into another sight picture - do you ever check your shot placement or do you want to keep a constant focus on your front site? why? I always try to swap focus to the target for a split second to check my shot placement but then I'll loose my front site for a sec. I'm thinking this is a bad habit from bullseye shooting I need to break, correct?

Correct. If you're focused on the front sight when the shot breaks and the sight lifts in recoil, you already know where the shot went. All looking at the target does is slow you down.



2 - I can't seem to track the front site in recoil and I'm picking it up/tracking it in my peripheral vision first and bringing it back into alignment as the pistol comes back to the target during recovery, the site isn't moving very far but it's sure moving very fast, is tracking the front site meant to mean a razor sharp focus on the site or is what I describe closer? I'm sort of just following the blur from the front dot and bringing it back down as the gun comes back to target. I know where the front site is all the time but I may not have it as my centered focus. Good, bad, or dead wrong?

As long as the sight lifts and returns to the same place, it doesn't matter than you lose it for a bit. I can track it the whole time with 22s, but not with centerfires.



3 - During the press out your trigger finger is on the trigger or on the frame? I have mine on the trigger as I can see both my sights and target and I know I'm going to shoot or I wouldn't be driving my gun towards the target, is this correct or should I still have my finger off the trigger until full extension? I can think of many reasons to have it on the trigger in such a circumstance but I've been wrong many times before.


On the trigger. As soon as I pick up the sight visually, my finger goes to the trigger and starts taking up the slack. You want to break the shot just as you reach the appropriate level of extension.

John Ralston
03-11-2011, 03:10 PM
1 - When the shot breaks and the gun recoils, the trigger stays fully back, the gun comes back down into another sight picture - do you ever check your shot placement or do you want to keep a constant focus on your front site? why? I always try to swap focus to the target for a split second to check my shot placement but then I'll loose my front site for a sec. I'm thinking this is a bad habit from bullseye shooting I need to break, correct?

Never look for the holes...

You can practice tracking the front sight by shooting at the backstop. Just focus on the front sight and fire a nice slow cadence, watching only the front sight. If I haven't don't that drill for some time, by the 4th shot I am usually seeing the front sight travel up and back into the notch with complete clarity. By the end of a mag I barely have to think about it, even if the cadence is quite fast. It took a lot of rounds to get to that point, but it is a worthwhile drill for aquiring that skill.

ToddG
03-11-2011, 08:27 PM
1 -- Eye sprinting (going from sight to target to sight trying to see where you hit) is very bad for both speed and accuracy. The front sight's lift should be the only feedback you need -- ideally! -- to verify shot placement.

2 -- Complete honest to goodness sight tracking takes a ton of time and practice. You can achieve 90% of its benefit simply by seeing the sight lift and then seeing it come back down into the rear notch.

3 -- A proper press out involves the shot breaking at the moment you reach full extension. By definition, you need to be pulling the trigger before then.

part-time shooter
03-11-2011, 09:58 PM
What's the best/fastest way to break eye sprinting? I do this almost every shot and it's eating my shot to shot speed it would seem.

Also one quick question about resetting the trigger, I'm bad about resetting the trigger as the gun recovers from recoil so it's ready to fire the split second it returns to the target. I don't reset it once it's back on target. From what I've read I'm doing it wrong, should the trigger always be on the trigger stop when the gun recovers to the target? I'm usually at the end of the take up on the trigger by the time my gun fully recovers.

Thanks again.

John Ralston
03-11-2011, 10:12 PM
It sounds like you are doing the trigger reset correctly - if you can be totally reset before the sights are back on target, your follow ups will be that much quicker. If you keep the trigger pinned back, you will have all that work to do before you can pull the trigger again.

Wheeler
03-12-2011, 09:00 PM
What's the best/fastest way to break eye sprinting? I do this almost every shot and it's eating my shot to shot speed it would seem.

Also one quick question about resetting the trigger, I'm bad about resetting the trigger as the gun recovers from recoil so it's ready to fire the split second it returns to the target. I don't reset it once it's back on target. From what I've read I'm doing it wrong, should the trigger always be on the trigger stop when the gun recovers to the target? I'm usually at the end of the take up on the trigger by the time my gun fully recovers.

Thanks again.

I've always considered that to be "riding the trigger" not a bad thing while shooting but, I've had that backfire on me a time or two while shooting and moving over rough ground. In short, I took a bad step, sort of rolled my ankle, and put a round in the dirt.

While I don't think it's a "bad" thing, it is something to be aware of.

Wheeler

dravz
03-18-2011, 07:53 AM
1 -- Eye sprinting (going from sight to target to sight trying to see where you hit) is very bad for both speed and accuracy. The front sight's lift should be the only feedback you need -- ideally! -- to verify shot placement.

Right. At a certain skill level you'll be able to call your shots on target without sprinting your eyes down there to check. You'll know based on where your sights were when the shot went off. Just takes practice. :cool: But that's why you don't need to look for your hole after every shot.

part-time shooter
03-18-2011, 11:58 AM
I've always considered that to be "riding the trigger" not a bad thing while shooting but, I've had that backfire on me a time or two while shooting and moving over rough ground. In short, I took a bad step, sort of rolled my ankle, and put a round in the dirt.

While I don't think it's a "bad" thing, it is something to be aware of.

Wheeler

I'll only reset and keep my finger on the trigger while I'm stable, once I start to move, if I'm moving aggressively, in any direction I'll have my finger off the trigger. That's unless I'm having to engage the target on the move in which case my sights are on the target where it's "safe" to discharge a round.