Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
Reticle via the diopter ring.Reticle with the ocular adjustment on the rear bell of the scope, target with the parallax adjustment.
It depends....Sorry, what i meant is do you look at the reticle or the target when you press the trigger?
Thank you. Follow up questions . In your opinion what creates the smaller wobble zone? Maybe being too hyper focused creates tension, making the wobble zone larger?When dealing with optics, you are able to have the reticle and image on the same focal plane. So you don't need to concentrate one or the other like irons.
That's the short answer. The long answer is going to be dependent on things like how much time you have, is the target moving, etc etc.
But the overall idea is that since both are on the same focal plane, you just focus on fundamentals to make the smallest amount of wobble and break clean shots. Without the need to hyper focus on either target or reticle more than the other.
Of course when you have something like heavy mirage, then you're going to shift more focus to the reticle.
Thank you very helpfulIt depends....
If I am shooting a static target and trying real hard for a tight group, well stabilized, I look at the reticle.
If that target is moving, I tend to focus on the target and the lead I need to make a hit.
EDIT: But I am no top notch shooter...
Yes. i have always been taught this and have taught this as a pistol instructor, but there has been a lot of new research and things are moving more towards target focus (even with iron sights). I am new to precision rifle and am trying to learn if those principles transfer. I have found my wobble zone is mess when i am target focused but hasn’t necessarily translated to better shooting (i know a lot is simply me as shooter)When considering the “fundamentals of marksmanship”, that also includes Front Sight focus along with the others; NPA, breathing, etc. The front sight has been replaced by the reticle, but the fundamentals are still the same.
Ok, if precision rifle is going that route then follow the research. F-class/XTC/Benchrest are the old fudd sports I participate most of the time and they are all sticking with front sight/reticle focus since that question comes up a lot with new shooters. I do see that action pistol such as IDPA and USPSA are moving to a "Hard Target Focus" for faster times.but there has been a lot of new research and things are moving more towards target focus (even with iron sights).
I know when I'm after coyotes, if I don't get them first round, it's a rarity that I get them on the second round or third. Since I don't really care if I shoot them in the leg or brain them, I go ahead and take shots 2 and 3 if I can. But I remain focused on that dog and not the reticle. I will very very rarely shoot the first round at a moving dog. I have a friend who is just next level at shooting them on the move. I'm not that good. I watch with my finger on the trigger waiting for them to stop. They don't usually sit or stand in one spot for more than a second or two and I have only rarely had one stop after taking the first shot. Usually they are gone as fast as they can get gone. Suppressed doesn't seem to make any real difference, they are getting gone. I have hit them as they are doing 40 mph but I'd lay that more to luck than skill. Not my buddy, though, he does it often enough that I would say it is skill. I tease him that he can't hit them first round because they are too still.Definitely situational dependent. I'm absolutely focusing on quadrasecting paper bullseyes and steel silhouettes, and probably focus on the reticle more when target shooting. As said above, with both being on the same focal plane you aren't forced to put a clear object over a blurry one or vice versa.
Shooting at live stuff, I'm paying just as much attention to the animal, trying to anticipate any movement that might cause my round to be off...as well as observing the environmental factors. I definitely lose track of the reticle and remain on the animal during recoil.
Both in the same apparent focal with scope, thus superimpose the two while looking at bothSorry, what i meant is do you look at the reticle or the target when you press the trigger?
When considering the “fundamentals of marksmanship”, that also includes Front Sight focus along with the others; NPA, breathing, etc. The front sight has been replaced by the reticle, but the fundamentals are still the same.
Thank you. Follow up questions . In your opinion what creates the smaller wobble zone? Maybe being too hyper focused creates tension, making the wobble zone larger?
How about when you are zeroing your rifle and trying to make tight groups?
It's not an either/or question with irons in that context. Hard front sight focus with irons is still a thing in practical shooting when precision is more important than all out speed.I do see that action pistol such as IDPA and USPSA are moving to a "Hard Target Focus" for faster times.
Wow! You said a mouthful and it’s all good info!If you can hold 100% steady on a static target it likely doesn't mater, it's also probably a bit less of an issue with a scope because when properly adjusted both the retile and target should be in clear focus. Outside of that situation it depends, not just on the situation but your own mind. The mental aspect of shooting is probably one of the least focused on, but most important aspects, especially when it comes to accepting that everyone's brain is different, and a certain technique or training will not work for everyone. Doesn't matter if it's handgun, shotgun, rifle, archery etc. Your own brain and personality matter, you just can't train out personality all the time, you are often better to adjust your shooting style for what works for you. When we shot at the olympic training center in the 90's we spent way more time on the mental game than shooting, by far. That concept was foreign to most shooters at the time, still is. Many find shooting with less magnification less "stressful" the same is true for shooting at just big targets with no distinct aiming spot. The downside is both of those things reduce maximum possible precision. I say possible because they can also induce/magnify bad habits that will hurt precision.
We've all seen it, guy shoots at a huge target has big groups, puts a tiny orange dot up and the groups shrink up, aim small miss small. It's very common in archery, guys will shoot at an 8" paper plate and have 6" groups, but they put a 1" orange dot up and those groups shrink up to 3". It's one of the harder parts of 3D archery, you don't get a clear distinct aiming spot often but in reality you're trying to hit a 1" 12 ring that looks the same as everything around it. However a tiny aiming spot and too much magnification can get "stressful" for the brain trying to be too perfect and guys hammer the trigger, jerk the gun, tense up, stop breathing etc.
I've shot target focused with a handgun for decades, against all my instructors advice at close range, not one has ever complained about my groups. Only recently has it become talked about as a viable technique. At longer distances, or where precision is key, I'll switch to front site, but for 98% of the scenarios I encounter in courses, it's much faster, for me. That does not work for everyone, many can't switch after decades of doing it one way, some can't maintain accuracy etc. etc. I probably did it because I grew up shooting a shotgun instinctively and shot more rounds of 12ga before I was 15 than most do their entire lives and it was just more natural to see the handgun sights in my peripheral focus and focusing on the target, than focusing on the front sight.
Sight "wobble", doesn't matter if it's handgun, archery, rifle etc. can mess with your head, it seems to work against archers and offhand shooters the most. It's very difficult to train some people to not "hammer" a trigger when their sight picture is moving, we call it drive by shooting, I've seen other shooters that physically will freeze unable to pull the trigger. In some cases you simply can't remove the wobble and you have to accept it. Offhand shooters often "learn" their wobble pattern and try to predict it breaking the shot. Type B personality people rarely have issues with it, Type A tend to struggle. It can lead to flinching, punching, jerking, all kinds of bad things, just like recoil bothers some people more than others. Like most things one method of shooting won't work for everyone and neither will one method of training.
The subconscious can see, track, and make movement much faster than we consciously do, if the brain starts to get nervous and panic because there's too much wobble, all kinds of bad shooting habits can start to creep in. Some shooters struggle for years with them, I've seen shooters with amazing bench/prone fundamentals and when you put them in a position they have to deal with sight movement all those fundamentals go out the window. The same is true for some handgun shooters when they have to learn to shoot on the move.
Lots of ways to skin a cat, most top shooters in any discipline, don't do things exactly the same, they've all modified their techniques and training to maximize their performance.