TargetTalk

A few of my friends are using the lower horizontal edge of the 10M pistol target to align their sights for the shot. I tried this yesterday and was quite surprised with the good group it produced ! It just felt a bit like cheating in my mind. All my books suggest a sub six hold , not a sub zero one.

Is this done by anyone else? Your thoughts? Is it a temporary bump in skill that is worth pursuing. You still need to work on the left /right alignment but the vertical is taken care of with this method.
Thanks
Mark

My opinion:

Shooting to lower edge takes focus away from the sights. AP shooting is 95% aligning only the front and the rear sight and pulling the trigger. The front sight doesn't have to be on the exact aiming point on the target to get ten.

Many times when you make a change like this, you will see a momentary improvement because it forces you to concentrate on the fundamentals while you get used to doing something different.

The reason a 6:00 hold isn't recommended is that it increases the tendency to look at the target and not the sights. Holding at the bottom of the paper will have the same issue. A sub-6 hold is often referred to as an "area hold", because you are not trying to aim at a precise spot on the target. It helps you to accept your hold (however good or poor it may be), and to focus on sight alignment and trigger squeeze, which is where all the 10's are hiding...

Great explanations.
Thanks

"where all the tens are hiding"

Brilliant!

As long as you have a space between you front sight and target, you might think you are @ 6, in reality, you are still sub-6.

True @6 o'clock hold, your front sight would be merging into target.

You are still sub-6, albeit a very high, fine sub-6. But you are still sub-6.

A high sub-6 is where most tens are hiding.

Check out: http://www.targettalk.org/viewtopic.php ... 59#p268959

I am definitely sub sub 6! My best shots have come from about the 3 ring. Good link to the sight picture thread, I have read it before and was a good refresh.

I've used a proportional hold (the post that's linked just a few above this one), in free pistol for while with moderate success. I do find if more sensitive to lighting than some of the other options. Changes in the direction of the light can make the gap between the base of the target and the top of the front sight appear smaller or larger, causing vertical changes. If you are a hard holder this is less of an issues, and you can correct for it during your sighters without too much difficulty.