Vision Training

[Stubb]

Goal for today’s practice was to not let whatever was between my eyes and the target distract me from looking at a precise spot on the target: look through the barrel to where you know the target is, and don’t let the sights pull your eyes from it. Just pull the trigger straight back when the blurry sights look good enough for the shot difficulty.

The barrels here are about 15 yards from the targets, plates are 8" and the targets are standard IPSC ones. I'm looking through the barrel at the plate while waiting for the buzz. This eliminates the focal-depth change when leaning out from behind the barrel and puts in the plate being on or very near my fovea when I first see it. After hitting it, look through the barrel to the paper target target and begin moving the gun onto that point. Aiming is almost done once it comes into view. Similar process with the second barrel: come in looking at the paper with the sights ready to go, then pop the target once it's visible outside the barrel. Look at the plate immediately after firing the second shot and get the gun there so very little if any clean-up is necessary to hit it.

I'm expecting significant improvements to match results as this becomes ingrained in my subconscious.

 

[Hood886]

As an optometrist I find this very interesting. We did a bunch of sports vision training while in school. Isn't as financially practical if you don't have a bunch of students off setting your overhead. A lot of the stuff we did really improved hand eye coordination and can imagine that could be adjusted to really help shooting. Could most certainly make this a bit more complex as you get more comfortable with it.

 

[Stubb]

As an optometrist I find this very interesting. We did a bunch of sports vision training while in school. Isn't as financially practical if you don't have a bunch of students off setting your overhead. A lot of the stuff we did really improved hand eye coordination and can imagine that could be adjusted to really help shooting. Could most certainly make this a bit more complex as you get more comfortable with it.

I’ve been working on this in dry fire with a par-time drill. I’ll set up a couple of reduced-size targets in my basement, set a par time (5+ seconds), then move my visual focus between a series of targets, making sure that I get a sharp image of each aiming spot. Then I’ll repeat the process with the gun, getting the same sharp image of each aiming spot followed by a blurry front sight, and see if I can reach the same number of targets.

One of the main things I’m trying to train here is not letting the sights steal my visual focus.

What do you think would be a good ways to drill vision for practical shooting?

 

[Hood886]

I’ve been working on this in dry fire with a par-time drill. I’ll set up a couple of reduced-size targets in my basement, set a par time (5+ seconds), then move my visual focus between a series of targets, making sure that I get a sharp image of each aiming spot. Then I’ll repeat the process with the gun, getting the same sharp image of each aiming spot followed by a blurry front sight, and see if I can reach the same number of targets.

One of the main things I’m trying to train here is not letting the sights steal my visual focus.

What do you think would be a good ways to drill vision for practical shooting?

That's tough bc your training a skill that technology has corrected. Red dots have eliminated the issues of focal points and having a clear target and clear aiming point.

I'm no expert by any means. But the better muscle memory you have and natural point of aim the less you'll have to rely on your sights being crisp and clear to make accurate hits.

 

[Stubb]

That's tough bc your training a skill that technology has corrected. Red dots have eliminated the issues of focal points and having a clear target and clear aiming point.

For sure red dots put the sight (dot) at the same focal plane as the target, but they don't help with looking at a specific point on the target or getting sucked into the sights. On the latter, looking at the dot instead of the target is such a problem that people cover the windows of their dots.

 

[Just1more]

My wife went years ago to a Dr. in Atlantic for vision training to help with motion sickness. I was skeptical but it helped tremendously for her.

 

[User170512]

It took me a hot minute to know you were talking about a barrel and not the barrel.

 

[Wallace's]

Interesting approach. You showed me several tips at my first USPSA match. Between you and freedom guidance, it allowed me to be much more successful than going in blind.
That said, I kind of get were you are going based on something I do in a different hobby. If I am on a race track and there is a blind hill into a corner, I visually prepare myself for the turn so that I am already focused and looking at it as it becomes visible. This reduces that reactionary late braking zones or turn ins on some smaller tracks. So, I can see the benefit here and never even thought about applying that to a stage like you have mocked here.