Keep your focus on the sights

Its a thought that I see repeated all over the air pistol forums; Keep your focus on the sights. I have found that it is completely true. If you can keep your focus on the front sight and keep the front sight perfectly aligned in the rear sight..... and keep that entire setting in the correct aim spot while pulling the trigger... you'll get a 10.

There is a catch though, that I discovered today, to knaw at the unwary shooter. What if you have focused everything, and the shot feels right, but still isn't grouping well. This was happening to me today at my home range. First thing I did was boost the light on the target to a 75W lamp. This is plenty bright resting the lamp 4 feet from the target. I sighted again, and heres the catch; How I ever thought that I was focused on the front sight before is beyond me. Now it was sharp enough to cut, and the shots started pulling closer together.

A while later when I went back for a second practise, to try out the new found lighting conditions, I found the second catch. Eye fatigue, and relaxation. The first shot was nice and sharp, and so was each succesive shot (so I thought.) I soon realized that I was just a little too comfortable. My brain wasn't telling me what was happening because it was gradual, but I worked out that while I was still looking at the front sight, and the front sight was looking good, I wasn't Focused on it anymore. My comfort zone was also telling me that my arm was nice and straight, with a locked elbow, and strong wrist. Along with the eyes, my arm had gradually lost it's edge, like a camera view that is a minute twist off the focal point.

A Deep breath later, and some rapid blinking also, and I focused. I locked that arm damn hard. Hard enough that I knew it, the same way I was gripping the pistol tight with the primary 2 fingers. Hard-Tight, but not painful tight. I raised that vice-clamp up to shooting position, and did the same workover on my eyes. I didn't just look and see the front sight, I tried to push my eye ball into it. Straight away I got a 10 when my brain pulled the trigger for me.

This is where I normally start to fade, feeling that everything was setup for a group of 5. Not so. This time I did that ritual, and told my brain vocally (in my head vocally :) Lock Arm! Lock Wrist! Raise! Lock EyeBall! Hold! Fire! Like a drillmaster it worked a treat and the shots pulled off in a very tidy group.

Summary. When those top shooters out there say you need to focus on the sights, they were not kidding. What they didn't mention, and its really hard to describe without a litany like what I just wrote is the following; FOCUS on everything about that shot and don't focus on anything else. Repeat 60 times.