Moving Targets

[austinkroe]

I have a problem shooting movers and swingers that I have not found a solution to by doing a search.

Here it is:

When I shoot movers, swingers, out and backs, and droppers I cannot for the life of me seem to get my focus back to my sights after finding the target. It is like my eyes are attracted to the “shiny-factor” of having the target move. When I do happen to get my focus to my sights I lose all sight of the target and then I just lose all of my focus. This results in me dumping rounds at the target until I see a couple of holes in the right place.

I want to be able to call my shots on these targets by seeing the sights. I know I should practice more but the only time I have access to any type of moving target is in a match. I don’t feel that the match atmosphere is very conducive to my learning process because I only get one try at the mover and I don’t think I get very good feedback from shooting them once a month.

Is there anything I can do to get my focus in the right place? I know the theory of shooting movers but all the theory goes out the window when I lose my focus. Are there any tricks anyone has for this type of problem?

I feel so stupid when I think, “ooh, look at the pretty moving target,” in the middle of a course of fire.

Thanks,

Austin

[Steve Anderson]

With irons, I like to get a sight picture where I know the swinger is going to pause, then wait for it to appear there as fuzzy brown in the sight picture. I'm not a great iron sight shooter right now, but that works for me. Other iron sight specialists may have better advice...

SA

[Jake Di Vita]

For most targets I usually use the method Steve described.

However if the swinger is within about 10 yards I'll normally either look over the slide and look through the sights.

[38superman]

It sounds like you're coming unhinged because your attention is drifting back and forth between the gun and the target.

Try keeping your focus on the front sight.

Pick the spot where you want to pick up the mover, set your sight picture and double tap as the mover passes onto your front sight.

Works for me.

Tls

Edited April 4, 2006 by tlshores

[benos]

Learning to keep your eyes focused properly to shoot moving targets accurately requires quite a bit of practice.

For stationary targets, we:

a. Find the target, then

b. See the sights on the target

... and then it's fairly easy to keep our focus on the front sight until the shot fires. The difference between shooting stationary targets and shooting moving targets is that the target is moving between steps a and b, above. So by the time we have a nice sight picture, it's not pointed at the target. And since we tend to do "one thing at a time," in the beginning, moving targets can be tricky because we must learn to peripherally keep track of where the target is while we are finding/confirming sight alignment. Which is why quite a bit of practice is key. If you just shoot moving targets in matches, your success will be limited by your experience and the difficulty of the targets.

I think I was lucky in this area because of many years of practice for the Bianchi Cup Moving target event. I practiced the Mover so much I didn't notice how my eyes learned to keep a razor sharp sight picture while following the target perfectly. Then, after not shooting the Mover for some years, I realized, after my first few runs on the Mover, that tracking the target with a sight focus was not a "natural thing." But after shooting the Mover for some more runs, I was able to analyze how my vision adapted to the circumstances of the moving target. And I don't I "learned" how to shoot moving targets by following any sort of visual plan (as described in the paragraph before this one). I was just something I learned, due to the difficulty of shooting the Bianchi Mover. With iron sights, you cannot keep your focus on the target and shoot a good score. You have to be focused right on the sight alignment when the shot breaks. So in a way the demands of the course "taught me" how to shoot it. Needing to focus on the sights/call the shots was the most important thing. So that's where the majority of my attention would be. Then unconsciously, I learned to keep enough peripheral awareness of the moving target so that the sights would stay aligned with it. Which again, I think would be difficult to do without a sufficient amount of practice dedicated to shooting moving targets.

be

[John Kane]

I'm still working on this myself and have found Matt Burkett's online dry fire website to help a lot. http://www.burkettvideo.com/ then click on "online dryfire drills" on the left column. There's a swinger in there that you can set the speed on. It's not the real thing but better than seeing them only in matches.

[EricW]

Austin,

I'm in the same boat with you, so don't feel bad. My solution was to build a full-on swinger so I could practice live and dryfire on the real deal. I'm one of those "gotta do it fer real to get it down" people.

E

Edited April 20, 2006 by EricW

[austinkroe]

Thanks for all of your help guys. The Burkett site is a real help.

I think the idea of needing to track the mover with my peripheral vision is one that is going to require a great deal of work.

EricW, could you tell me how you constructed a swinger. I too would like to have one but the cost of buying one is currently prohbitive for me.

Again, thanks for all of your help.

[EricW]

Austin,

I welded up the real deal. Cost me about $75 between hardware and steel. Steve Anderson (www.andersonshooting.com) made his own out of wood, I believe. Maybe he'll see this and post a picture of what he came up with.

The advantage of building a full-tilt swinging target is that it oscillates a LOT longer than the alternatives, making practice more productive.

E

[geezer-lock]

Austin,

I welded up the real deal. Cost me about $75 between hardware and steel. Steve Anderson (www.andersonshooting.com) made his own out of wood, I believe. Maybe he'll see this and post a picture of what he came up with.

The advantage of building a full-tilt swinging target is that it oscillates a LOT longer than the alternatives, making practice more productive.

E

So...how about a picture of what YOU came up with?

David C

[2alpha]

In my old age I have decided to use total target focus even with irons and let my body set and excellent LOL trigger control take care of hits on target. Try it you will be surprised. Used the FORCE