I haven't had a chance to test it, but I don't think there's any focus* shift required. When the big circle becomes visible at the edge of the window, that's an obvious cue for a correction in the opposite direction. There's no need to look at the circle because it's not being used as an aiming point.Originally Posted by JCN
*are you using focus to mean focal depth, or where your eye is pointed?
“There is no growth in the comfort zone.”--Jocko Willink
"You can never have too many knives." --Joe Ambercrombie
I made a video for you and just saying what I’m noticing.
There’s more processing power mentally used for recognizing that the red streak at speed with recoil and transition isn’t actually the dot you’re looking for. When I see a dot in the window, my mind immediately starts calculating approach angle and velocity so I can predictively break the shot as I steer it to target.
I absolutely want clear, clean and unencumbered tracking data. The circle adds a processing step and a mental filter while I figure out that the initial calculation velocity isn’t faithful because it was chaff. My targeting systems hate it.
@Clusterfrack
There is a racing analogy here with the apex as the target.
You don’t stare at the apex the whole way into the target.
You glance and fix the apex spatially, but then you dart eyes back to track, back to apex, back to surroundings and back to apex as you approach in order to better calculate your speed, angle, yaw and pitch entering the apex at the right attitude, velocity and rotation. There is no correction at the apex because that wastes critical efficiency.
That’s what I do with target and red dot.
I look at target and then glance back to track red dot and target and dot and target… knowing the trajectory the dot is going to arrive because I’ve calculated it on the way in.
So I’m looking at the target and the dot appears while I’m looking at the target, but it was because I calculated it on the way in by picking up the dot early.
I don’t shift my eyes when they’re both in the field of the window.
Unless I’m wrong, this is all based around the circle, which by their design, shouldn’t be visible when the optic is used as designed. This goes back to using it outside of its intended purpose, while it’s functional, it may not be ideal. If you drop the mount back a little bit, it may help.
As for the crutch thing, Aaron Cowan said the same but I don’t agree so I wonder if there’s something that I’m missing. I see the circle as helping to get you to the proper sight picture and presumably, as you practice, you’ll find it faster and faster until you’re there and don’t need it anymore. I don’t know why someone would hold on to finding that circle first and then looking for the chevron so I don’t know how it would be a detriment.
Because the circle disappears with proper presentation, I look at it more like training wheels that retract like landing gear when riding a bike smoothly more than just permanent wheels in place.
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@JCN, thanks for making and posting that video.
I don’t have the ACSS on a pistol yet, and it seems unlikely that I will like it better than a SRO for USPSA. But I want to try it.
My visual feedback cycle is different than what you described.
On the draw or other mounting of the handgun, I don’t use the dot to adjust alignment of the gun until the very last moment, if needed. Sometimes I’ll miss my grip, and that will cause a misalignment, which I recognize by the dot not being centered. That’s easy to fix. Rarely, it will be misaligned enough to have the dot outside the window, and that is more difficult to fix, especially in situations like WHO in a weird position.
For shooting, I look at the spot on the target where I want the bullets to go. That spot remains in the center of my vision while the dot shows up, and I break the shots as appropriate.
What remains to be seen is whether fixing a misalignment is easier with the ACSS circle, and if the circle is distracting during the rest of the aiming and shooting process.
“There is no growth in the comfort zone.”--Jocko Willink
"You can never have too many knives." --Joe Ambercrombie
@Wake27
@Clusterfrack
It’s about how I use the dot in transitions and for a pistol in recoil management.
I don’t and won’t keep the dot in the center when transitioning. Same with recoil management. That’s where it’ll pull my vision away.
So use “as designed” means not using the center dot as I would normally. I’ll break the shot anytime dot is on target and it’s not always centered in the window because it doesn’t have to be.
Great demo. I do the exact same thing. What remains to be seen is if the big ACSS circle interferes or aids that.
Edit: note that unless the dot is outside the window, the big circle should not be visible.
@joshs, I edited your thread title to include the newer 509t2 ACSS. I hope you don't mind.
Last edited by Clusterfrack; 05-06-2022 at 06:54 PM.
“There is no growth in the comfort zone.”--Jocko Willink
"You can never have too many knives." --Joe Ambercrombie
I find the idea intriguing mainly from the aspect of finding the dot from "non-square-range" positions or a fumbled draw under duress.
I also wonder about the bottom of the ring showing up during recoil, as in, does it appear in the window under recoil? I could see that being a very distracting second red streak.
Interesting. I’m surprised so many of you guys notice such intricate details. I don’t even look at the reticle when competing or under even a minor level of stress. I only notice stuff like that when doing slow aimed fire.
And on transitions, I try to break away from the optic so I don’t get tunnel vision searching through my sights.
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Here’s a video I did with an AimCam for my teaching thread to demonstrate what I’m seeing in dry fire.
You can see that the dot is in the window through all the transitions.
That’s what it looks like for me and I don’t want any phantom streaks. Just give me the see dot and shoot dot.
Similarly, at full speed I’m still seeing the dot but processing speed has to be faster. When I see red, I go.
I don’t have time to guess and interpret what that red is.
Getting to the higher levels of USPSA means you can see more, faster.
This was my slowed for vision pace. I absolutely tracked the dot through recoil and transition.
Note the tighter cluster of hits on the upper partial. That was an extra 0.01-0.02 of vision compared to the splits on the open sides and bottom.
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