Are you able to maintain a hard front sight focus when leading a moving target? Is it preferable to a target focus?
Are you able to maintain a hard front sight focus when leading a moving target? Is it preferable to a target focus?
How fast is this target moving and at what distance?
I am assuming that you are talking about pistols here, and unless the target is moving extremely fast or at very long distance, the need to lead the target isn't really there.
I'm going to assume leading=tracking for this discussion.
This strikes me as a "do you keep both eyes open" sort of question. Depends. Distance? Lighting conditions? Contrast? Difficulty of shot (ie, bigfoot meandering in an open field in a predictable direction/speed vs smurf darting between those giant mushroom houses)?
I can, with some level of confidence, say that I can briefly transition from target focus to sight focus long enough to break a shot then return to target focus to evaluate. I don't know how you could do something like a Texas star without a front sight focus, or at least how someone at my skill level could. That's pretty similar to how I would describe a police/defensive shooting as well. You need to be focused on the target long enough to get the information you need for the shoot/no-shoot decision, adjust your focus to make the shot (distance dependent, etc. etc.), then return to a target focus to repeat the shoot/no-shoot decision at some point, such as when you note the target is falling or some other large-scale indicator that change has occurred and re-evaluation is needed.
Sorta around sometimes for some of your shitty mod needs.
Also no and no. Which is a huge part of the reason I like red dots. I have a bad habit of threat focusing so with irons, I’m an average shot. Most people here would probably put me to shame with irons but the optic helps compensate the hell out of my skill.
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Last edited by Wake27; 04-16-2020 at 10:32 AM.
Like everyone else, the answer is "it depends."
For example, when shooting the Mover at Bianchi Cup, yes I can absolutely keep a hard front sight focus. The target is moving at a predictable rate of speed over a known distance, and since I want to actually do well at the event, I am living on that front sight.
However, if I'm shooting a fast runner at a USPSA match, my visual focus is going to be entirely dependent on the target's presentation relative to me. Big target up close going fast? Two eyes open, soft focus, send it. The same is true when I'm shooting at living things that are moving, my sight/target focus ratio is dependent on the shot I'm trying to make.
I'm 100% target focus, 100% of the time in USPSA production. I used to use a harder front sight focus on tighter shots or distant steel or plates, but found that I am just as accurate and faster with a target focus on these shots as well. I don't have any experience with bianchi movers and scoring, but for hanging shots on USPSA A zones, I have no problems shooting target focus.
I'm finding this increasingly interesting. The more dry fire I do with a SIRT the more I realize that I can hit A-zone sized targets out further than I would have originally anticipated using a target focus rather than sights-focused. I'm also finding that I can treat the trigger with contempt and still hit but that's for another thread.
Are you using anything at all as a visual reference or are you running purely off of an index that you've likely developed from a gabillion draws over the years?
Target focus doesn’t mean not using the sights.
Hwansik Kim has defined three confirmation types, and I think this is helpful in understanding this:
1. Index shooting, no vision confirmation
2. Flash sight picture and/or sight in motion
3. Stable sight picture
For most moving targets, with pistols, I look at the target and track it, or look where I know the target will be. That often pushes me to use confirmation type 1 or 2 when I would rather use 2 or 3. That’s why movers are a challenge.
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