{"id":19475,"date":"2017-11-30T22:07:15","date_gmt":"2017-12-01T06:07:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dftcblog.r7usug8y-liquidwebsites.com\/?p=19475"},"modified":"2023-08-12T10:41:20","modified_gmt":"2023-08-12T17:41:20","slug":"avoiding-splatter-target-training-scars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dryfiretrainingcards.com\/blog\/avoiding-splatter-target-training-scars\/","title":{"rendered":"Avoiding Splatter Target Training Scars\u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Most shooters don\u2019t know that there\u2019s a right way and a wrong way to use splatter targets. As a result, most people use them incorrectly.<\/p>\n

Do it wrong and it\u2019s like riding the brakes on your car and it usually throws your shot off.<\/p>\n

Do it right and it\u2019s great training for your brain.<\/p>\n

The truth is, this particular training scar doesn\u2019t just happen with splatter targets. It happens with regular paper targets and especially with laser trainers.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s just REALLY easy to develop the scar with splatter targets.<\/p>\n

What is it?<\/p>\n

Think about shooting a splatter target.<\/p>\n

You line up your sights, press the trigger, the gun goes off, and what do you do?<\/p>\n

If you said, \u201clook to see where you hit,\u201d then you\u2019ve just described a training scar called the \u201cpeekaboo.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lasers and reactive targets are like a magnet to your eyes.\u00a0 They’re like a siren song, causing beautiful eyes everywhere to instinctively flock to the target like the salmon of Capistrano.\u00a0 (Yes…I did just insert a Dumb and Dumber quote that had value for firearms training. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

Let me describe the shooting sequences of 2 shooters using their sights (or dot) to aim\u2026<\/p>\n

Shooter 1\u2026the Peekaboo shooter<\/strong>
\n1. Sight picture
\n2. Trigger press
\n3. Gun goes bang!
\n4. Look downrange to see where the shot went
\n5. Sight picture
\n6. Trigger press<\/p>\n

Shooter 2\u2026the Alpha shooter<\/strong>
\n1. Sight picture
\n2. Trigger press
\n3. Gun goes bang! Know where your sights were pointed (and where your round hit) when the firing pin hit the primer.
\n4. Assess effect on target with peripheral vision without diverging focus or changing the focal length of the lens of the eye (focal accommodation)
\n5. Followup Sight picture
\n6. Trigger press OR shift focus downrange to verify where your round(s) hit.<\/p>\n

With a dot dot, some shooters look over the top of the frame of their red dot to see where they hit.<\/p>\n

The Alpha shooter took a moment to reacquire a sight picture before shifting focus to the target.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s why this matters.<\/p>\n

When you hit what you\u2019re aiming at, you get a hit of dopamine.<\/p>\n

The sooner you get this hit of dopamine after pressing the trigger, the more that gets released and the tighter the association is between the action and the reward, with the max being at about a 15-20ms delay.<\/p>\n

The brain\u2019s natural tendency is to want more dopamine, more often, with less delay between action and reward.<\/p>\n

This tendency sucks us into looking at our target as quickly as possible between shots. It\u2019s addictive. It\u2019s human nature. And it WILL sabotage your performance unless you take control of the process.<\/p>\n

Specifically, there\u2019s 2 problems with the peekaboo.<\/strong><\/p>\n

FIRST:<\/strong> In an attempt to see the target sooner, it\u2019s common to start raising your head and lowering your gun before the bullet leaves the muzzle. Perceived time distortion makes this hard to believe, but if you’re groups are stringing vertically, having someone recording you shoot a few rounds from the side with the camera on your phone can be eye opening.<\/p>\n

Seeing as how we’re coming up on hunting season, it\u2019s worth pointing out that this is an incredibly common phenomenon with both pistol and rifle shooting.<\/p>\n

Taking a moment to get a followup sight picture before or instead of looking downrange takes care of this.<\/p>\n

SECOND:<\/strong> When you go from a clear focus on your front sight to a clear focus downrange on your target and then back to your front sight, it\u2019s a fairly involved mental process and it takes time\u20142 seconds or more is common if you haven\u2019t done vision training.<\/p>\n

Two seconds is an eternity when you\u2019re shooting and, as a result, people usually half-ass it and throw a glance downrange, get impatient, and then get a blurry (flash) sight picture and send the next round without really knowing where it\u2019s going to go.<\/p>\n

You can get away with this if you\u2019re close and shooting at big targets, but it takes a high level of unsighted shooting skill to do this with precision at any appreciable distance. In addition, unsighted shooting is INCREDIBLY perishable if it’s not trained in a way that keeps the visual, balance, and body awareness systems calibrated and synchronized.<\/p>\n

So, what should you do?<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re going to practice using your front sight (and you should\u2026even if you do unsighted shooting), shoot like an Alpha shooter and get a followup sight picture before looking downrange, regardless of whether you\u2019re hunting, punching holes in paper, shooting steel or reactive targets, practicing with a laser, or shooting a splatter target.<\/p>\n

To the extent that you can, (it\u2019s a discipline) keep your eyes focused on your front sight and assess your target with your peripheral vision when you\u2019re practicing.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s one of the reasons why I like our high contrast splatter targets so much. Bright yellow on black is bright enough and big enough that you can keep your focus on the front sight and still assess your target at diagnostic distances of 6-15 feet.<\/p>\n

Why so close?<\/p>\n

The truth is, very few shooters can shoot a one hole group at 6 feet. Basic errors in fundamentals can throw off your shots at 6 feet by 1, 3, 6, or more inches. And when you miss at 6 feet, It could be the sights, but you can\u2019t blame the gun, the wind, or the ammo. If it\u2019s not the sights, there\u2019s a 99% chance that it\u2019s something the shooter is doing. (If it is the sights, it should still be a 1 hole group\u2026just not over the bullseye)<\/p>\n

Even great shooters find opportunities for improvement when they shoot groups at close distances.<\/p>\n

Shooting tight groups at close distances eliminates variables. It reduces the number of directions that you can point the blame finger.<\/p>\n

Some shooters don\u2019t like shooting tight groups at close distances for exactly that reason\u2014they don\u2019t want to be discouraged.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s one of the big reasons why I created the self-aiming splatter target.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The pattern on the target is a brain-trick that has the effect of sucking your groups to the bullseye…immediately.<\/p>\n

It’s not uncommon to see people go from shooting 6-10″ groups to shooting 1-2″ groups JUST by using this target.<\/p>\n

And, once you start driving nails from close range? Then you start stretching out the distance, speeding up, and adding movement, low light, stress, etc.<\/p>\n

As I like to say…work the equation from both ends.\u00a0 Keep pushing yourself to shoot your precision groups faster and further out and keep pushing yourself to shoot your fast groups tighter and tighter.<\/p>\n

Questions?\u00a0 Comments?\u00a0 Sound off by commenting below.<\/p>\n

Get your hands on the only self-aiming splatter targets by clicking >HERE<\/a><.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Most shooters don\u2019t know that there\u2019s a right way and a wrong way to use splatter targets. As a result, most people use them incorrectly. Do it wrong and it\u2019s like riding the brakes on your car and it usually throws your shot off. Do it right and it\u2019s great training for your brain. The … Continue Reading →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sfsi_plus_gutenberg_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_show_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_type":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_alignemt":"","sfsi_plus_gutenburg_max_per_row":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,51],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19475","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-brain-based-pistol-training","category-fixing-low-left-groups-flinch-etc"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t