Where to focus on the draw?

[galt11]

I am getting back to shooting after a bit of a break and am trying to concentrate on rebuilding skills in the correct ways. One question I keep coming back to is where should you be looking or concentrating on when you are performing the draw. Should you be looking at the first target you are going to shoot at first and bring the sights to your eye level or should you look down at the sights as the gun is coming out of the holster to get sight alignment quicker and then move that whole "unit" to the target? This is assuming you have your body aligned with the target you intend to shoot at first. Thanks for any help.

Adam

[DougCarden]

Adam, take this for what it is worth.......

When I set up on a target for Steel...whether it be Steel Challenge or Plates, etc....I focus in on the first plate. For an IPSC target it is the center of whatever target I have. What that does is allow my subconscious to draw the gun and bring it up to the plate where my eyes are. By dry-firing I have trained myself to do the draw, so I try to focus on the target so I can go on autopilot for the draw......I hope that makes sense. That allows me time to "wait" to pull the trigger until I see the front sight where it needs to be, depending on the distance to the target.

I hope this works as I am leaving for the Handgunner in a couple of days.....

Good luck,

DougC

[HSMITH]

I am looking right at the spot the first bullet will land. When it is going right: I am not thinking about anything, I am not doing anything but just looking at that spot. I react to the first instant of the beep and the sights come up on that spot with the trigger prepped, I take the last pound out and it shoots. When things are not going well: I am looking right at the spot the first bullet should land, thinking about the beep and breathing and what comes after the first shot and where I am going to reload and where the first spot to stop is going to be and where all the targets are and and and you get the idea.

Dryfire the draw until the gun reads your mind, it will come out of the holster and line up all by itself if you put the work in.

[Crusher]

Find spot, shoot spot.......................................heel spot, sit spot...oh sorry tangent drift.

[G-ManBart]

If you don't have Brian's book...it's worth getting. There are several parts that would apply to your question, but I think there's a lot more to your question than that.

I think that separating the draw to the first target, as a skill unto itself, is limiting. It doesn't really matter whether you're drawing the gun to a target or coming into a shooting box and bringing the gun to a target or making a wide transition from one target to another. In each case you've got to see the target first....then work on getting the gun/sights to your eyes as efficiently as possible. See the target, find the sights, shoot the target and once you've gotten pretty good you'll find the sights are right there and you won't really have to "find" them.

If you want to break down the draw, you're working on natural point of aim and being able to look at a target, index your body on it, draw and find that the sights are aligned with it right away. That's one reason why the best shooters are so fast. They can look at a target, draw and shoot as soon as the gun is fully mounted (and even a little before if the target is close and there aren't no-shoots/hard cover making the shot really tight.

Take all of that a step further and you start deciding whether you want to index on the first target, or maybe the hardest target you'll shoot from that position.

[askomiko]

I look at the center of the first target, and focus where the front sight will be, so that the target is a bit fuzzy.

[JThompson]

I shoot the dot, so I look at the spot I want to shoot on the target and keep my focus there. When the dot comes into that spot I hold it there and break the shot.

JT

[Mick]

This focal point depends on the start position.

Holstered facing targets? Sure, look at the target you will shoot first.

Gun on ?????(whatever, in whatever) look at the gun or whatever it is in.

There is a classifier with your hands straight up and NOT the "French Army Start Position" (surrender) where you look down at the gun to find it quicker.

Facing uprange? Look at your feet or where you will step or even the targets placement in your mind.