Iris..

[dontshootcritters]

Hi guys..

Im very new to this a/p gig but muddling my way through things...this unassisted shooting lark is WAY harder than I anticipated thats for sure...so bucket loads of admiration to those who master it!!

Ive just ordered an iris to go over my shooting glasses lens to help with focusing on the centre/er of the target. I could have just stuck a sticker over it I guess but its nice to be able to adjust it for different light.

[Gwhite]

Do NOT fall into the trap of using the iris to make the target more in focus. The thing that is wobbling around is your front sight, not the target. If you can see the target clearly in focus, you will tend to look at that, and your scores will plummet.

You can still SEE the target without focusing on it, and even though it is blurry, you can consistent align your sights with it to an amazing degree of accuracy. The vast majority of good pistol shooters don't WANT the target in focus. The front sight is what matters.

[dontshootcritters]

Hi there..

Thank you for the feedback. I come from 30+ years of smallbore where we aim in the middle...not this damn area aiming nonsense!!..lol focusing on the foresight constantly has been a bit of a mission admittedly. Ill get there....hopefully.

Thanks again and kind regards from New Zealand.

[Tim S]

Hi there..

Thank you for the feedback. I come from 30+ years of smallbore where we aim in the middle...not this damn area aiming nonsense!!..lol focusing on the foresight constantly has been a bit of a mission admittedly. Ill get there....hopefully.

Thanks again and kind regards from New Zealand.

Smallbore uses area aiming too! You should also keep your eye on the foresight. The difference is that rearsight aperture makes the target clearer, and the whole thing thing is steadier.

[dontshootcritters]

Smallbore is not area aiming! Its centre aiming...totally different to air pistol.

[brent375hh]

I adjust my rear sight blade a little more open. Then I use a strip of light equal distance on both sides and the use that exact same spacing from the top of the front sight to the bottom of the bull.

Now it's no longer area aiming, it is dead nuts on, pin point aiming. But just like rifle you still have to accept some movement when you pull the trigger.

[Tim S]

Smallbore is not area aiming! Its centre aiming...totally different to air pistol.

A ring foresight gives an all-round aim, but your eye is still on the foresight and the gap around the target, not on the target itself. That sounds not unlike a sub 6o'clock hold. Now with telescopic sights you aim at a particular spot.

Then there's Rajmond Debevec shooting with a post foresight.

[JonPersson]

I adjust my rear sight blade a little more open. Then I use a strip of light equal distance on both sides and the use that exact same spacing from the top of the front sight to the bottom of the bull.

Now it's no longer area aiming, it is dead nuts on, pin point aiming. But just like rifle you still have to accept some movement when you pull the trigger.

Well, area aiming is more of a mental process where you, as you also say, accept that the pistol moves while pulling the trigger. Now your method of equal amounts of light is, as far as I’m concerned a way to get visual ques as to where this area is. Now, for some people those visual cues may be easier to get lower down in the white where there is less distraction. As long as you mental process is to let the gun move around at a place where you feel comfortable and don’t try to time the shot based on a perfect sight picture it is area aiming. Now this can be done in an area around the center of the black too, but personally I think area aiming is easier further down in the white.

But yeah, maybe it’s not area aiming….if you try to be dead nuts on…..well no matter what….we should all let the pistol move while pulling the trigger…..easier said than done sometimes

Basically two strategies exist:
1) sqeezing trigger + arm that moves = shot releases within an arc of movement. (Area aim)
2 Time your arc of movement and force the shot when sight picture is right.

I have not yet heard of any world class shooter who goes by the second one. The well known Mr. Skanaker always talked/wrote about letting the pistol settle in an area and pull until the shot goes of.(this area would be quite small for the best shooters) Well he did write about another technique that was lowering the gun with extreme steadiness and control and just when the sights pass the centre one pulls the trigger. (This was free pistol).
There was a possibility of really high scores with this method, but few seemed to be able to perform it well enough under match pressure.