Do you concentrate on the target or the crosshair?

tpcollins

New member
Right, wrong, or indifferent, on scopes and pins on my compound I’ve always concentrated on the target and pick up the crosshair or pins in my peripheral vision (not sure that’s the correct terminology).

Is the opposite way any better or just the at one feels comfortable doing? Thanks.
 
Welcome to PM.

Shooting iron sights we are taught sight alignment is more important than aiming error because the angle increases the longer the distance from muzzle to target.

Therefore, best placement is dependent upon sharp sight picture; target can be a bit fuzzy or out of focus.

Handgun shooters are taught to focus on the front sight.

Not being a bow hunter, I would think focus would be on the pins based on above.

Hard to say what you focus on with a scope because optics are adjusted to focused on reticle and all you have to do is place the reticle on target properly as both appear on the same plane.

Regards,
hm

 
hm1996 hit it on the head as far as I'm concerned.

I had a hard time with sights on a bow, the peep on the string was too close for me to even discern the opening (have the same problem with receiver sights on a rifle, thank you old age). So for me I put a holographic sight on my bow and don't have to worry about aligning sights or even a consistent anchor point, just be able to see the reticle keep the bow vertical
 
I think I concentrate more on the cross-hairs than I do on the animal. I need to concentrate on squeezing the trigger more than anything.
 
I usually pick a spot on the animal with the cross hair, and I always see how far off my aim was, even on moving animals(did I leade them enough or stop my swing).
 
I shoot both eyes open, scope, open sights,peep(bow). 60 now so with the bow, target can get a little fuzzy past 30 yards, I tend to change focus to the target than and let the glow pin fuzz a little. Animal must be still past 30 with the bow to change focus. A good scope with a side focus and 12x + helps now, especially for load development. Running animals, crosshair in front, angle determines lead. Usually I put the vertical just in front of the nose on coyote and fox and keep the swing moving.
 
Originally Posted By: ackleymanI usually pick a spot on the animal with the cross hair, and I always see how far off my aim was, even on moving animals(did I leade them enough or stop my swing).

Same here. I don't focus on one any more than the other as far as I can tell. I just put the crosshairs on a specific spot and focus on squeezing the trigger so I'm not pulling it one way or the other. If I'm off I seem to shoot high more than anything which leads me to believe if I'm jerking the trigger back I'm lifting the muzzle slightly. Which can cause a slight miss. But a slight miss is still a miss and missing sucks.

I shoot off of a monopod most of the time so I really focus on making smooth shots and controlling my breathing more than anything. I can get the crosshairs on the target I just don't want a lot of extra movement. Coyotes aren't small so a little is ok there's margin for error but they're not huge animals by any means either. They're easier to miss than people realize.

 
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As an old friend of mine used to say, "One thing about them deer; there's a lot of air around every one of them."
lol.gif


Regards,
hm
 
when shooting NRA silhouette you quickly learn that focusing on the crosshairs will cause lots of grief. You need to pick a spot on the animal in question and when the crosshair arrives at that spot you release the trigger.
 
Both are important. If you concentrate on the cross hairs and not the target, it is most likey a miss. Same if you turn it around. In my experience, most people that miss their target whether it be an animal or paper cannot tell me exactly where their crosshair was on the target. You cannot look at one without looking at the other.
 
When shooting for groups like during load development, I focus first through the scope at the target down range but then I bring my focus back to the reticle more for a precise placement on that target background right before squeezing the shot off. When hunting, I really don't think about it too much unless I'm focusing on some small, relatively stationary target wayyyyyy out there... like a long distance ground-hog snipe.
 
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Originally Posted By: reb8600Both are important. If you concentrate on the cross hairs and not the target, it is most likey a miss. Same if you turn it around. In my experience, most people that miss their target whether it be an animal or paper cannot tell me exactly where their crosshair was on the target. You cannot look at one without looking at the other.

+1 With a scope its pretty hard to concentrate on one or the other as they appear on same plane. Different story w/iron sights, thus the difficulty older shooters have with iron sights.

Regards,
hm
 
Originally Posted By: reb8600Both are important. If you concentrate on the cross hairs and not the target, it is most likey a miss. Same if you turn it around. In my experience, most people that miss their target whether it be an animal or paper cannot tell me exactly where their crosshair was on the target. You cannot look at one without looking at the other.

I am jumping in with the other guys. Many scopes today offer focus options so that you can get your crosshair and target pretty much in focus at the same time. Like Reb said, you focus too much on one and chances are you're going to miss. It is a little different than iron sights.

It is also critical that you mount your gun the same way each and every time. You zero your scope based off of the way you are looking through it. Might not seem like you could look through a scope crooked, but you can. That is often why a gun zeroed for one shooter doesn't work well for another. So I find that if you get a consistent weld, you'll get a consistent sight picture and you'll put down more fur.

Lastly, no matter what you focus on, there is nothing that beats practice, practice, practice. I know that it is tough for folks in these chaotic times to get to the range and justify burning powder when supplies are lean. But if you're not practicing, you're going to miss a LOT more. Practice the way you are going to hunt. I have found my POI shifts from bags on a bench to my tripod to my sticks. Mainly it's the way you are mounting the gun and looking through the scope. Granted, it might not be a lot f shift, but if you didn't know, it could result in a miss or worse, a bad hit.
 
Originally Posted By: SnowmanMoOriginally Posted By: reb8600Both are important. If you concentrate on the cross hairs and not the target, it is most likey a miss. Same if you turn it around. In my experience, most people that miss their target whether it be an animal or paper cannot tell me exactly where their crosshair was on the target. You cannot look at one without looking at the other.

I am jumping in with the other guys. Many scopes today offer focus options so that you can get your crosshair and target pretty much in focus at the same time. Like Reb said, you focus too much on one and chances are you're going to miss. It is a little different than iron sights.

It is also critical that you mount your gun the same way each and every time. You zero your scope based off of the way you are looking through it. Might not seem like you could look through a scope crooked, but you can. That is often why a gun zeroed for one shooter doesn't work well for another. So I find that if you get a consistent weld, you'll get a consistent sight picture and you'll put down more fur.

Lastly, no matter what you focus on, there is nothing that beats practice, practice, practice. I know that it is tough for folks in these chaotic times to get to the range and justify burning powder when supplies are lean. But if you're not practicing, you're going to miss a LOT more. Practice the way you are going to hunt. I have found my POI shifts from bags on a bench to my tripod to my sticks. Mainly it's the way you are mounting the gun and looking through the scope. Granted, it might not be a lot f shift, but if you didn't know, it could result in a miss or worse, a bad hit.

Perfect advice from Snowman and others. My mind is focusing on the target before the shot. I just insure that the crosshairs are on target as I squeeze the trigger. Practice is absolutely critical. If you can't make it to the range, "dry fire" drills can be beneficial. While predator and big game hunting I regularly practice "dry fire" or live fire at random targets. Field practice is very beneficial for increasing your speed of setting up for the shot and improving your accuracy. Inexperienced hunters have difficulty on quickly setting up AND making an accurate shot. Inexperienced shooters may be quick OR accurate but they won't be both.
 
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Originally Posted By: Jim ByersFor me, I'm focused on the spot I want to hit.. the cross hairs seem to just find it.. aiming is more sub conscious I think...

Lots of good tips in this thread.

Jason and others have pointed out the importance of practice and dry firing. David Tubb takes it one step farther in his book, Highpower Rifle By G. David Tubb, recommending "visualization".

Visualization does not even involve the use of a firearm. Before you dismiss it, try it; precision shooting is 99% mental, IMO. Sitting at your desk or in your chair during some down time, simply "visualize what it takes to make a perfect shot". In David's case this was in regards to bullseye targets, but the same can be done on coyotes (or other game). It works on bullseye, helped me make the cut to high master. I have applied visualization to predators when watching the many predator hunting videos, and I believe it is even more effective in that, as Jim stated, " the cross hairs seem to just find it.. aiming is more sub conscious I think..." as Jim points out above.

The moving critters on various videos help you decide upon the necessary POA more quickly on critters at the many natural angles you will encounter in the field in a timely manner, making target acquisition much faster.

Regards,
hm
 
I concentrate on the target and when I see the cross hairs drifting almost on the point of impact I want I send it.
 
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