Sorry - I'm late getting this TIP on line so forgive me if I don't have the exact, very recent issue of Sporting Clays magazine in front of me. There was an article regarding "hard (visual) focus on the target," by one of the regular contributing writers.
I read that article with special interest because - at Paragon - we wholeheartedly agree with the author and most of the article's contents. For a very long time - I was taught, and I taught - a hard visual focus on the bird. This 100% hard focus actually has its advantages in that we can visually slow the bird down considerably and that's a good thing. But - like most things - there are tradeoffs and too much of a good thing can be costly. So, years ago, I changed our teaching philosophy and methodology at Paragon.
Our visual "focus" moves and we decide where to put it. You can stare at the hood of your car in 5 O'clock traffic - but I wouldn't recommend it - everything in front of your car visually disappears. NOT good! Same thing applies when you stare at the bead on the end of your barrel when the target is in the air. What target? So we can move our focus anywhere from the bead all the way out to the target - and anywhere in-between.
A shooter can put 100% of his focus on the bird - seeing the "leading edge of the target" - and "trust" that the muzzle will be in the right place during the swing. This works - sometimes. At Paragon, we believe focus should not be on the barrel or the bird - but be between the barrel and bird. Visual focus should be slightly beyond the middle, considerably closer and definitely favoring the target - but not lose the end of our barrel in our PERIPHERAL vision. Our sight pictures during our swing should include some "muzzle awareness" to aid in guiding our muzzle with a much higher level of precision.
In sporting clays - those with the best sight pictures ultimately rule. Don't forget to keep your muzzle in your peripheral vision. Hope the warm weather has come your way - it's beautiful here in the Southeast.
