Once you have your sights lined up, where should you put your focus?
3 Focus Points
When taking a marksman type shot, there are three different items that you will want to see simultaneously; front sight, rear sights, and target. The human eye can only focus sharply on one object, the others will be fuzzy. So where should you put your sharp focus when trying to take an extremely accurate shot?
Most people assume that it is the target. This is actually not correct. Your sharp focus should be on the front sight. Your rear sights should appear a little blurry and fuzzy, as should your target. But your front sight should be crystal clear.
How Can I Shoot At A Fuzzy Target?
You can still see your target, it just won't be in sharp focus. If you are using good marksmanship techniques, you typically are not focused on the bullseye with your eyes anyway. Instead, you should be focused on the outline of your target. Your brain will calculate the center of the target for you. The brain is much better at finding the center of a target than your eyes are. Take our Safe Gun Owner© series of online training to learn more about how this trick actually improves your marksmanship.
Much like the target, your rear sights will also appear blurry. This works because you don't need to clearly see your rear sights. You simply need to be able to see the "window" they create so that you can get your front sight lined up appropriately.
Why Focus On The Front Sight?
Think for a moment about the bullet traveling down the barrel of your firearm. Where is the last point of contact it has with the gun? The last point of contact is right at the exit of the muzzle. Where is the front sight located? Right on top of the muzzle.
So the principle is simple, wherever the front sight is pointed, that is the direction the bullet will begin traveling. Keeping your sharp focus on the front sight will help you to better guide your shots to deliver increased accuracy.