Another speed question

[Shooting Bull]

Most of us have heard the cliche that you can only shoot as fast as you can see. For that reason I do spend a fair amount of time exercising my eyes using a Brock String. My problem comes when I’m on the clock. (Ain’t that the way it is for all of us?🙄)

 

You’re SUPPOSED to be able to see where on the target your sights are when the shot breaks, follow your front sight as it moves upwards in recoil, and remain focused on the sight as you bring it back down and move the gun to the next target. My problem is that, more often than I want, I lose focus on the front sight. Instead I find myself focusing on the targets. 
 

What drills do you use to train your eyes to stay focused on the front sights? Or do you follow the other theory of moving your eyes to the next target first and then focusing on the sights as the gun arrives on target? 

[Sarge]

I was taught when engaging multiple targets to pick my spot on the first target.  When the front sight breaks the target, the shot goes off.  When done engaging that target move visual point of focus to the next target.  When the front sight breaks the visual reference point, the shot breaks, etc.  The problem with keeping the eyes on the sights and swinging the gun, is that by the time the brain tells the finger to pull the trigger, the muzzle of the gun has already moved past the intended target, resulting in a miss.  

[Santa Fe River Stan,36999L]

1 hour ago, Shooting Bull said:

Most of us have heard the cliche that you can only shoot as fast as you can see. For that reason I do spend a fair amount of time exercising my eyes using a Brock String. My problem comes when I’m on the clock. (Ain’t that the way it is for all of us?🙄)

 

You’re SUPPOSED to be able to see where on the target your sights are when the shot breaks, follow your front sight as it moves upwards in recoil, and remain focused on the sight as you bring it back down and move the gun to the next target. My problem is that, more often than I want, I lose focus on the front sight. Instead I find myself focusing on the targets. 
 

What drills do you use to train your eyes to stay focused on the front sights? Or do you follow the other theory of moving your eyes to the next target first and then focusing on the sights as the gun arrives on target? 

Once the sight has returned to alignment as you describe, I snap my eye to the next target and pick up the sights as I am driving the gun to the next target.

 

Stan

[Lawdog]

Moving the eyes to the target before the gun.

 

Brian Enos wrote about it quite a bit in his book, "Practical Shooting Beyond Fundamentals."

 

He also has a blog where he discusses it.

[Widder, SASS #59054]

SB,

You've gone from wanting information on speed to asking about a little 'technical' help.

 

For meowndangself, I'd love to acquire a good shooting habit as Stan stated above.

 

And even better than that, guys like Bad River Marty can see out of BOTH eyes at the same time while

looking at 2 separate targets while shooting GF.   Its a rare gift some shooters have.

 

Hopefully, most of the information you get on this thread is from champions like Sante Fe River Stan, Deuce, Deadeye Dillard, etc.....

 

Any advice I might have would be considered advice from a 'wannabee' because my eyesight ain't so good....and sometimes

my eyesight ain't trustworthy either..... if you know what I mean.

 

..........Widder

 

[Straight Arrow Hombre]

I open up my good eye as wide as possible and try to see everything at once.  

[Doc Shapiro]

Honestly, at the speeds you're shooting, you're not likely to always have clear focus of the front sight.  How clear does that focus need to be to make the shot you want to make?  At the distances we use, and the size of the targets, not clear at all.

[M. T. BEERS]

As someone who's still fairly new to SASS—and who has very limited vision in my left eye from a car accident—I really appreciate discussions like this. They remind me that we all have challenges to overcome in this game, and that there's always something new to learn.

Case in point: I recently attended my first State Championship match, someone kindly reminded me during the practice round that there actually is a front sight on each of my firearms. That little nugget of wisdom turned out to be a genuine epiphany. After taking that advice to heart and concentrating on finding that front sight, my stage times dropped, I shot 11 of 12 stages clean, and the chatter in my head started to disappear. 

I come here to learn, and I'm thankful for those who freely share their knowledge. The experience, encouragement, and mentorship in this community are invaluable to newer shooters like me.

Thank you, @Shooting Bull, for a great post and also to the fellas that offered their comments.

[El Chapo]

On 7/27/2026 at 12:15 PM, Shooting Bull said:

You’re SUPPOSED to be able to see where on the target your sights are when the shot breaks, follow your front sight as it moves upwards in recoil, and remain focused on the sight as you bring it back down and move the gun to the next target. 

 

 

No you aren't.  Watching the sight return after the shot is gone will cost you .2-.4 seconds per target transition.  Once there is a recoil event, the bullet is gone.  Your eyes, then head, then gun, should be on their way to the next target as soon as the shot is gone.

[Shooting Bull]

On 7/28/2026 at 11:09 PM, M. T. BEERS said:

 

As someone who's still fairly new to SASS—and who has very limited vision in my left eye from a car accident—I really appreciate discussions like this. They remind me that we all have challenges to overcome in this game, and that there's always something new to learn.

Case in point: I recently attended my first State Championship match, someone kindly reminded me during the practice round that there actually is a front sight on each of my firearms. That little nugget of wisdom turned out to be a genuine epiphany. After taking that advice to heart and concentrating on finding that front sight, my stage times dropped, I shot 11 of 12 stages clean, and the chatter in my head started to disappear. 

I come here to learn, and I'm thankful for those who freely share their knowledge. The experience, encouragement, and mentorship in this community are invaluable to newer shooters like me.

Thank you, @Shooting Bull, for a great post and also to the fellas that offered their comments.

A lesson I learned back in my tactical competition days was the better I performed, the more fun I had. And the more I was willing to learn, the better I performed. It’s a wonderful circle. 🤠

[Shooting Bull]

On 7/29/2026 at 5:58 AM, El Chapo said:

 

No you aren't.  Watching the sight return after the shot is gone will cost you .2-.4 seconds per target transition.  Once there is a recoil event, the bullet is gone.  Your eyes, then head, then gun, should be on their way to the next target as soon as the shot is gone.

I agree and should have been more clear in my description. When I said stay focused on the front sight as you bring it back down I SHOULD have said, stay focused on the sight as you’re moving it to the next target.

 

While that’s a more accurate description of what I meant, it turns out it’s not what I should be doing. This thread has actually caused me to have an epiphany. As I was dry firing at home I started doing something I’ve never understood how to do before. I’m now finally able to break the shot, drive my eyes to the next target, and then break the next shot when the front sight comes onto the next target. 
 

As my father used to say, too soon old, too late smart.🤠

[Doc Shapiro]

2 hours ago, Shooting Bull said:

I agree and should have been more clear in my description. When I said stay focused on the front sight as you bring it back down I SHOULD have said, stay focused on the sight as you’re moving it to the next target.

 

While that’s a more accurate description of what I meant, it turns out it’s not what I should be doing. This thread has actually caused me to have an epiphany. As I was dry firing at home I started doing something I’ve never understood how to do before. I’m now finally able to break the shot, drive my eyes to the next target, and then break the next shot when the front sight comes onto the next target. 
 

As my father used to say, too soon old, too late smart.🤠

 

And this is what you should be doing.  Keep dry fire practicing it.  You'll see a difference in the next match.

[El Chapo]

On 8/1/2026 at 4:23 PM, Shooting Bull said:

I agree and should have been more clear in my description. When I said stay focused on the front sight as you bring it back down I SHOULD have said, stay focused on the sight as you’re moving it to the next target.

 

While that’s a more accurate description of what I meant, it turns out it’s not what I should be doing. This thread has actually caused me to have an epiphany. As I was dry firing at home I started doing something I’ve never understood how to do before. I’m now finally able to break the shot, drive my eyes to the next target, and then break the next shot when the front sight comes onto the next target. 
 

As my father used to say, too soon old, too late smart.🤠

 

I also hope everyone who is competing against me follows their front sight to the next target.  That costs you even more time than following the front sight back down after the bullet is gone, and would make it at least a little bit easier for me.

[Joe LaFives #5481]

" There is too much going on when you're shooting at high speed to concentrate on any one thing"  Brian Enos.  

Dry fire takes care of how you manipulate the firearms, how you transition from target to target and how you transition from one gun to another. 

Which is why dry firing is so important. 

You only have so much "change in your pocket" to spend on a stage.  If you're thinking about anything other than the order of targets and how you navigate the stage than you'll use up the coins.