doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Vision, Focus on the target.

ah believes in hoodoo...do any one else here?

btdtst: Thank you for your informative post. I think I may need to work on concentrating for more than one-half second. ;-))

Wyobirds: your comment about focusing in on the rivet is accurate.
FWIW, Phillies Hall of Fame 3B Mike Schmidt gave as his reason for abruptly retiring in the middle of the season that he could no longer read the signature on the ball while fielding, when he was taking it from his glove to throw to another infielder.

Eye Gym

Seems like you are all missing Churchill on the move mount shoot thing since he was the first to put that on paper - about a hundred yrs ago. So every few years someone else "discovers" the method and calls it their own.

Churchill was The Man and his own book will tell you just how it works.

The only thing new is the history you don't know - Will Rogers


have another day
Dr.WtS

This SI article from several years ago talks about how elite athletes use visual concentration o be successful - what shooters describe as building a mental database of lead pictures, which allow us to react to a target without having to consciously calculate lead.

SI

"muzzle awareness in every shot as Stan has described."

That describes what I meant.

Anyone read Roger Barlow's description, in Gun Digest I believe, about using the trick of imagining a bird with long bill to get the lead right?

Barlow was a prize winning cameraman, he knew a thing or two about visual tricks.

Perhaps others have my "problem", I came to shotgunning after long years of air rifle and pistol use, and I mean lots of use, as in millions of shots and formal match shooting. It is near impossible for me to "forget" the bead, my eye instinctively checks on it the moment the gun is mounted.

I'm sure someone out there has your problem since there is a plethora of problems when it comes to shotgunning. Do you pre-mount? I think most people who pre-mount check the bead initially. What you don't want to do is check it once the target has been launched. This is called checking the barrel. I know I do it sometimes and it usually results in a miss because it usually happens right at the shot. Either that is happening or my non-dominant eye (left) takes over. I'm not sure which?? It happens more when I'm fatigued. It may have more to do with concentration than anything?? Anyway, I feel your pain.

Anthony Matarese believes that hard visual concentration can diminish or eliminate shifting eye dominance. I have noticed that as my visual concentration skills have improved, I seem to have to deal with shifting eye dominance issues less often.

I think this gets to your point, Buzz. When you are fatigued and not concentrating intensely on the target, it is easier for eye dominance to shift.

Muzzle awareness is counterproductive for me. When I am shooting well, I feel like I am 100% "out with the target" and have no clear visual awareness of where the muzzles are. Muzzle awareness tends to bring me "back to the gun" which does not work well for me. I guess our brains all work differently - it is easier for some to pat their heads and rub their stomachs at the same time, and some can maintain muzzle awareness and still concentrate on the target.

Shotgunlover,
What kind of bead do you have on your guns? You definitely do NOT want any kind of fluorescent bead - these really draw your eye. If your gun fits well then I would either just put on a very small silver bead, such as a mid bead, on the end of the barrel. Or, you could try shooting with no bead on the end of the gun. This will make it less likely that your eyes will be drawn to your barrel. You also need to develop a strong pre shot routine. The last thing you should think about before calling for the bird is the leading edge of the bird. This should become your mantra. While all of your hard focus is on the bird your brain will be aware of your barrel in your peripheral vision. I started shooting 3 position .22 rifle. I still shoot a bit of rifle with scopes and aperture sights and pistol with red dots and open sites. You can do this. I like Lanny Basham's CDs on Mental Management. He discusses how to build a preshot routine. Good luck.
Regards,
Jeff