I just got done listening to the latest Xray Alpha IG live and the topic was splits but it also covered target focused shooting. Jared Reston was a guest and he spoke about a shooting where he engaged the suspect with a string of fire and during the string the suspect dropped out of view and the final rounds of the string impacted where the suspect was but since the suspect dropped they were misses. According to Jared this had a significant impact on his training resulting in his promotion of controlled rate of fire at about .25 second splits to allow enough time to prevent overshooting.
Chris Palmer (Phoenix PD instructor and former SWAT) brought up the concept that the overshooting is likely tied to being dot/sight focused. Chris added that when a real target focus is employed, the visual cue of the target moving out of view would have been the stop signal (a stop signal that can be reliably counted on no matter how fast the splits) and that a proper employment of a real target focus is the right solution to the phenomena that Reston (and of course thousands of other classically trained shooters) have experienced.
I had never heard the benefit of target focus for defensive shooting being put in this exact way and it was very thought provoking.
One big question that is the crux of this concept that I have explored in my own training is what is "real target focus." Practicing transitions with a red dot pistol and playing with varying focal depths, dot occlusion, different brightness levels etc. to push my performance has resulted in a few ideas I am curious if others have shared:
Maintaining a perfect target focus focal depth on a small spot on the target is hard. It is especially hard to maintain that target focal depth just as the dot arrives at the target and through the confirmation process.
Dot occlusion does not equal target focus. Dot occlusion promotes looking at the target instead of tunneling vision through the sight(s) but the final element of focal depth is not perfect with just dot occlusion.
A bright dot challenges the ability to keep your focal depth on the target. A bright dot can be a useful way to challenge your vision and progressively improve your target focal depth discipline.
A solid consistent index that you can trust is a necessary precursor to fully exploring the target focused concept.