As the country’s most experienced professional shooting instructors, we can see patterns develop in different shooters that result in missing targets when the true cause for missing is disguised as something else.
Do you miss targets on a random basis? And are those targets you know you can hit? Have you ever run two or three stations and then for no reason just missed three of eight targets you know how to break? Have you ever found yourself having a less-than-stellar day on the course and you finally stop trying, and all of a sudden you shoot really well?
How about this one: have you ever been having a really good round and when you get to the last three stations, you just dump targets like a sandbagger? Have you ever wondered why your scores are stuck in the 70s, and regardless of what you do, you can’t get any better?
Is it a self-image problem or a mental problem?
Have you ever heard the phrase, “Apply more conscious focus to the target”? How do you do this? Do you have 15 to 20 percent more focus in your pocket that you just pull out when you need it so you can focus on the target with more focus?
Well, in order for you to give more attention to the target, you must give less attention to something else. And what would that something else be? Said another way, you cannot put more focus on the target than you have available to give. This means the less you have to think about other things you are doing, the more attention you have available for the target!
Our research indicates that muzzle awareness is the leading cause for missing targets at all levels except the very top level. At that level, it becomes more mental, or a lack of experience shooting at that level. This creates – you guessed it – muzzle awareness!
We see this most often in shooters who shoot gun up and have not put the time into learning how to move and mount the gun. The reason these shooters will never get out of the 70s or experience consistency at a high level is they have to look at the gun to know if it is mounted correctly and to know where it is pointed! Eventually, you must develop the ability to know where the gun is pointed without looking at it! This is why doing the gun mount drills at home every day is so important.
What you do with the gun must eventually become automatic. And you will achieve a level of perfection that is 95 percent perfect 100 percent of the time, and it happens without you thinking about it or looking at it.
What we see is that shooters have no clue what the shot is going to look like when they pull the trigger. They end up chasing the target with the muzzle trying to fix the shot at the end.
Here is what we see when they are getting ready to shoot the pair:
They are looking at the muzzle, then they load the gun and look back at the muzzle. They raise the muzzle up to the breakpoint looking at the muzzle. They look at the trap and then look back at the muzzle. They mount the gun in the breakpoint and look at the muzzle to make sure the gun is mounted correctly. Then they move the gun to the hold point looking at the front bead sight. They then look at the trap and back at the bead then look at the breakpoint and back at the bead. Then as their eyes begin to shift to the trap, they call “pull.”
And they wonder why they end up looking at the gun during the shot?
The amount of muzzle awareness in the shot will always be equal to or greater than the amount of muzzle awareness in the setup! Stop looking at the gun in the setup and you will break more targets instantly! We know it sounds too easy, but it does work!
