Focus: Sights or Target

[robertfrade]

I hadnt paid much attention to this until recently but what should my eyes be focusing on? I kinda feel as if when i focus on the target and the sights are slightly blurry I can move from target to target more smoothly and faster but when I focus on my sights and the target is a little blurry i feel more secure about my shots but movement from target to target seems more jerky or delayed somehow. Would yoh guys please share your thoughts on this?

Thanks

[Single Stack]

For me at 12 yards and closer I use target focus as my transitions are faster and I am still seeing just enough to ensure A's. Farther than 12 yards I switch to a front site focus.

When I am training hard and on top of my game (summer months) I can often increase my target focus distance but 15 yards has been about my max.

[robertfrade]

Makes sense but much easier said than done. I have enough trouble just remember the order i want to shoot my targets in. I usually go in with a good game plan but then the buzzer goes off and it becomes a free for all.

[grapemeister]

Don't make a conscious decision. See what you need to see in order to make an accurate shot. Practice makes perfect. Do a lot of transitions in practice from near to far, far to near, and in between. Eventually you'll learn what you need to see, no more, no less. There's nothing wrong with looking through the sights at a clear, non blurry target, if it works for you.

At one time I went a long with the school of thought that I had to see a crystal clear front sight on every shot. Over time I came to realize that it wasn't necessary and was actually a hindrance to my shooting. I realized that it was slow, and also allowed more chance of jerking the trigger as I was trying to chase or catch the perfect sight picture with a crystal clear front sight.

[rowdyb]

My focal plane is constantly moving. It is different and changing based on what I am doing, the target, my confidence of getting the hit I want.

As a generic example, waiting for the start it is at the target I want to shoot. BEEEP, as the gun is coming in front of my face the sights come into focus. Pulling the trigger focus still at sights. Time to transition as the sights are falling and focus goes to next target before the gun moves. Gun comes to eyes, focus back to sights and repeat. Time to move, eyes go to magwell opening, to spot on ground I want to be at to first target I want to shoot and then to sights. I think you get the idea.

Simple answer, the target's relationship to your current skill level tells you where your focus should be, if you ask me.

[QuickMick]

I use both focus types, but you have to train that. My rule is simple: 100% IPSC targets below 12m I use target focus, anything else sight focus. During stage walk through I may decide to shoot very close targets even not 100% targets with target focus, too. During training sessions I run an exercise with targets between 5 and 20m to get used to changing the focus (some also call that drill "changing gears"). Anyway, target focus allows faster target transitions, but limits precision. On the other side you may get into the bad habit of looking for the holes in the paper instead of calling your shots.

[Rangerdug]

My focal plane is constantly moving. It is different and changing based on what I am doing, the target, my confidence of getting the hit I want.

As a generic example, waiting for the start it is at the target I want to shoot. BEEEP, as the gun is coming in front of my face the sights come into focus. Pulling the trigger focus still at sights. Time to transition as the sights are falling and focus goes to next target before the gun moves. Gun comes to eyes, focus back to sights and repeat. Time to move, eyes go to magwell opening, to spot on ground I want to be at to first target I want to shoot and then to sights. I think you get the idea.

Simple answer, the target's relationship to your current skill level tells you where your focus should be, if you ask me.

I couldn't agree more

[inspector1999]

My focal plane is constantly moving. It is different and changing based on what I am doing, the target, my confidence of getting the hit I want.

As a generic example, waiting for the start it is at the target I want to shoot. BEEEP, as the gun is coming in front of my face the sights come into focus. Pulling the trigger focus still at sights. Time to transition as the sights are falling and focus goes to next target before the gun moves. Gun comes to eyes, focus back to sights and repeat. Time to move, eyes go to magwell opening, to spot on ground I want to be at to first target I want to shoot and then to sights. I think you get the idea.

Simple answer, the target's relationship to your current skill level tells you where your focus should be, if you ask me.

Well said. See what you need to see to make the shot with your skill. Practice to know what is it you need to see to make that shot. Train to make that faster.

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[US1]

I have to focus on the front sight - that's what allows me to call my shots.

As you get used to it, you will be able to shoot better faster - if you have to take head shots, you will not need to slow down as much to be more accurate.

That's what works for me.

[ecolyer325]

I tend to just let my eyes/mind make that decision for me. On close targets I am almost always target focused but as distances and scenarios change my focus will shift towards the front sight. For example when shooting partials or a target with no shoots around it my focus will naturally drift towards the sight because I trained myself to get the hits and my mind knows that I will need to be accurate to hit such a target, whereas if the target is close my mind knows to focus on the target and get the unfocused sight in the center. Practicing on close easy targets and transitioning to farther/harder targets and vice versa seemed to really help me.

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[CaptainOverkill]

For me it depends greatly on target difficulty. Open target at 5 yards? Focus on the target, see the center of the target over the top of the slide, shoot. Open target at 10 yards? See the target, let my eyes shift focus to the sights, but I feel like I shoot before I have a "hard focus" on the front sight. Partials, steel, anything at longer distance? I better get a good hard look at the sights.

[perttime]

Don't make a conscious decision. See what you need to see in order to make an accurate shot. Practice makes perfect. Do a lot of transitions in practice from near to far, far to near, and in between. Eventually you'll learn what you need to see, no more, no less. ..

In his book, Brian lists 5 types of focus that he found himself using, with iron sights. He says that he knows the types are there, but doesn't make a conscious decision. "See what you need to see".

1) Single VERY close target: no time to focus on anything. Total feel.

2) Focus on target, look through sights.

3) Find target, focus on it - shift focus to front sight once the gun gets there.

4) Front sight focus, watch the sight lift.

5) Trigger focus.

(That was roughly in the order of shot difficulty)

I think most of those can be applied to optical sights too.

[IHAVEGAS]

With either focus I have found that the worst way for me to aim, is to aim at what I want to hit, the A zone for example. Things get too blurred. I seem to shift from front sight to target focus - or vice versa depending on my conscious sense of the need to hurry or else the need to make better hits. My ability to call my shots is minimal.

If I instead aim at the center of the A zone rather than the A zone, it seems like my subconcious just handles the choice of focus and that I am a lot better at knowing where my shots are going. I'm sure that my time is worse, but my scores are significantly better.