The Drill proceeds as follows:

• Stand in front of a plain wall, preferably white or another light neutral color.
• Present the pistol so that you’re in your natural stance with the muzzle of the gun approximately 2 inches from the wall
• Focus on the front sight as you dry fire

Since there is nothing else to focus on, you’re pretty much forced to focus on the front sight and sight alignment.

This should create the important subconscious link between the trigger pull and a crystal clear sight picture.

I’m not sure this is a replacement for dry fire with visualization, but it is probably a complement for it.

It is important to note that the call is simply visual awareness. Calling the shot tells you where the bullet went at the moment the shot broke and has nothing to do with where you wanted the shot to go.

This point is key.

Calling a shot is mentally identifying the exact location or orientation of the sight picture the moment the rifle fired.

— David Tubb

As described in the post on Mastering Fundamental #3, we are talking about a different state of mind.

Brian Enos describes it effectively in the following post on his forum:

It’s your will or intention that attempts to hit the “good part” of the target, but it’s your awareness of what is actually happening (in the moment) that calls the shot. They’re totally different mental states. Often, a poorly finished or executed shot results from leaving “too much attention” on trying (will) to hit the target in a particular place. During high-speed, coordinated activity it’s usually better to become an observer rather than a “tryer.”

First, we should clearly establish what we’d like to happen (in our mind before we shoot). Then, once the activity begins, it’s usually beneficial to turn our attention to simply witnessing what is actually happening, thereby allowing our body to manifest the training it has undergone.

I’ve noticed, from beginner to Master class, not knowing how to apply their mind in this manner (keeping the will and the witnessing separate) limits many competitors. This is what’s behind – “Trying to hit the target can be the greatest hindrance to doing so.” Once the activity begins, we’re usually better off to let our personal will go (trying to hit the target) by way of directing our attention to directly witness what is actually happening. You know, watch the magic unfold. Trying or thinking of any kind impedes awareness. When one is, the other isn’t.

When you get the hang of “calling,” you’ll see it has nothing to do with aiming.

Calling a shot using a pistol equipped with optics is significantly easier, since all you need to do is remember the position of the dot or cross-hairs on the target the moment the shot broke. With iron sights the principle is still the same, however you need to read the relationship between the sight alignment and sight picture at the moment of truth.

In order to train this skill, place an IPSC target downrange with either an X or a 2″ dot taped to the target. This target is simply a reference to help with remembering the position of the sights at the moment the shot broke and is not to be used for “aiming”.

• After establishing a hold on the target, trigger the shot with your attention on the sights.
• Try and remember the exact alignment of the sights and their position on the target.
• Using a spotting scope, check the difference between where the shot actually went and where you thought it went.

With practice you will be able to call the exact position of the shot.

It may be helpful to initially shoot the drill with the gun supported on sand bags, in order to take hold out of the picture.

Saul Kirsch wrote a great book called Perfect Practice that provides a number of drills to improve IPSC shooting in general. Drills 6-10 deal with Calling the Shot and are great practice.

It is important to note that the point of impact may vary from what the sights tell you because of distance. You need to know what the sight picture needs to look like at 50 yards to score an A and what it needs to look like at 10 yards to score an A. Practice the drill at various distances to get an accurate view of the point of impact based on point of aim.

Train by accepting your hold and developing the visual awareness to remember the position of your sights when the gun fires. The eyes are the lens and the brain is the film.

In summary, Calling the Shot is about knowing where the shot went, not where you wanted it to go.

Update (May 23, 2007): I’ve added part two of this post.

Update (May 30, 2007): I’ve added a post on followthrough that would be of interest in this context.

It’s important to understand the difference between Sight Alignment and Sight Picture since it is critical to understanding the post below.

The greatest obstacle in shooting a pistol accurately offhand is produced by the movement of the gun in the hand (wobble) combined with the movement of the wobble on the target (hold). These all too observable visual inputs distract us from what is important, the aforementioned third fundamental of shooting – releasing the shot without disturbing the gun’s hold.

This can help: imagine your pistol is in a machine-rest even though you are holding it offhand. Now imagine the target is moving (in the same pattern/manner as your hold). Now, ask yourself – what can you do?

Knowing this, it’s best to begin by shooting from a bench rest, or other supported position. Bag your pistol so that it’s rock solid. Aim into the backstop and then direct ALL your attention to building the pressure on the trigger until the gun fires. After you become comfortable with the feeling of firing the gun with all your attention on the trigger while simply watching the sights lift in recoil, place a target at 25 yards and repeat the above procedure with the following addition: Use this “order” to fire the shot:

1. Align your sights in the center of the target.
2. Shift all your attention to your previous feeling of your finger building pressure on the trigger until the shot breaks.

During #2, you are still looking at the sights; however, you are looking in a detached manner. Which means: Your concern is not in trying to shoot a particular spot; you are simply looking with the intention of remembering where the sights were aligned at the moment the shot fires.

Only after you’ve mastered “bench rest calling,” begin shooting offhand. Again, begin by shooting into the backstop with no intention of hitting anything in particular. This will allow you to focus all your attention on what is important – “releasing” the shot without disturbing the gun’s hold. Relax your attention into the gun, look at the sights without staring, and then shift all your attention to the previously mastered feeling of your finger on the trigger; with great determination and purpose, increase pressure on the trigger until the gun fires – “FEEL” the shot off. At the moment the gun lifts, recall the sight alignment, again, this is what you must see and remember. After mastering this, when you put a target behind your sights, you simply recall the “sight picture” – (sight alignment plus their relationship to the target).

Now to shoot a “good shot” (one that actually goes where you intended it), you must combine the feeling of releasing a perfect shot with the feeling of “willing the gun still” as you build pressure on the trigger. Eventually, with training, this becomes ONE FEELING.

The following text is extracted from a post on Calling the Shot, but it applies here

Once reading the sights is firmly ingrained, practice to preserve this most important of all fundamental while increasing your shooting speed by projecting your attention into your sights as you shoot. When you master this, everything else will vanish – even “you.”

Since Brian tends to choose his words very carefully, the choice of the words “into your sights” as opposed to “onto your sights” is an interesting one. Brian’s response in another post provides the subtle difference.

I am suggesting a different meaning when I said into vs onto. Into implies a “deeper” level of attention in which the “self” (the self in this case meaning – “someone” seeing “something”) dissolves, and only awareness remains.

This Zen approach to shooting reminded me of the following Quote:

When you do something, you should burn yourself completely, like a good bonfire, leaving no trace of yourself.

— Shunryu Suzuki Roshi

The removal of self from the equation removes or should remove ego from the equation. The removal of ego leads to the removal of conscious impulse to “control” what is happening.

First, we should clearly establish what we’d like to happen (in our mind before we shoot). Then, once the activity begins, it’s usually beneficial to turn our attention to simply witnessing what is actually happening, thereby allowing our body to manifest the training it has undergone.

Trying or thinking of any kind impedes awareness. When one is, the other isn’t.

The post is talking about 2 distinct states of mind that need to be developed and you should only be in 1 state at a given time. Being an “observer” as opposed to a “tryer” during the execution of a high speed activity is more conducive to success. Wow!

FEAR NOT, THE DOUBLE ACTION SHOT!
By Ernest Langdon

The traditional double action pistol, long feared by the competitive shooter, is quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with in some types of competitive pistol shooting. With the growing popularity of IDPA and the new Production Class in IPSC, the double action pistol is becoming a popular option for competitive shooters around the globe.

But, there has long been a stigma associated with the double action pistol. It has seen very little action in mainstream competition. When you ask shooters why they don’t shoot a double action in competition there are two main reasons that come up. First, it is too hard or too slow to shoot a double action first shot. Second, they don’t like having two different trigger pulls. Lets focus on the first reason for now, the dreaded double action first shot.

To develop speed and accuracy with the double action trigger we need to start with accuracy. The speed will mean nothing if you don’t hit the target. Start by shooting groups in double action only. Your group size and the location of the groups should be the same as your single action groups; that’s the goal anyway. Some shooters will find that with proper technique they can shoot a tighter group in double action than in single action.

The key to double action accuracy is keeping the trigger moving. Don’t try and stage the trigger to the point right before the hammer drops. This is a bad habit and will cause what is often called “Now Syndrome!!”. This is when the shooter stages or preps the trigger to the point right before it is going to break, then cleans up the sight picture so it is perfect and tries to make the shot break “NOW”. The “Now Syndrome” almost always causes the sights and the shot to move off the intended target. Keep the sights in your “aiming area” and keep the trigger moving. (Obviously, if the sights move way off or out of your aiming area, stop pulling the trigger.) Try and think of the trigger pull as a “trigger stroke”, and pull through with one smooth stroke of the trigger.

At first, shoot at a close target that is fairly large, maybe seven or ten yards and try for a group. As your groups get smaller, move the target back. Don’t be afraid to shoot groups at fifty yards or more. It can’t hurt.

Once you’re confident with your ability to make an accurate double action shot, pick up the pace. Start working on the time it takes to “pull through” the double action trigger stroke. Remember, speed means nothing if you miss the target.

The next step is to start working back to the holster. That’s right, work back to the holster, not from the holster. The next thing to work on is the presentation of the pistol to the target. Start from what is normally called the ready position. This is the point in the draw there the hands come together, just off center to the strong side at the upper part of your abdomen. At this point the pistol should be pointed at the target and the trigger finger is still off the trigger. From this point forward is where you start to gain speed with the double action first shot. From this ready position, every effort should be made to drive the pistol directly to the target. Imagine there is a laser coming out of the barrel and try and put that laser on the target and keep it there until that first shot breaks. (If you have a laser available it can be a great training tool).

As the pistol starts to move forward you should be able to pick up the position of the muzzle in your peripheral vision. As soon as you can see that the muzzle is on target, start pulling the trigger. This is where the speed of the first shot comes from. As the pistol goes out, the trigger comes back. Now it becomes a timing issue. As the pistol goes forward and comes up to your line of sight, you are trying to pull the trigger so that the hammer falls just as you clean up the sight picture. The last one to two inches of the presentation the sights should be almost perfect so if the shot breaks a little early you’re still going to hit the target. This is really no different than what most top shooters do with a single action pistol. They prep the trigger on the way out to the target and try and break the shot just as they clean up the sight picture.

With practice you will find that you can be very aggressive on close targets. Because you can have a lot of deviation in your sight alignment on close targets, you can break the shot very early in the draw stroke with all the accuracy that you need.

Once you feel comfortable with working from the ready position you can start working from the holster. Just like the double action trigger pull, think of the draw as a smooth stroke. Now all you have to do is combine the “draw stroke” with the “trigger stroke” and you will be nailing sub one-second draws in no time.

Once you master the double action first shot you will find you can shoot the traditional double action pistol with a great deal of speed and accuracy. It’s up to you, so get out there and start shooting.

A pdf version of the quoted article is available here.

Since no one can hold a gun perfectly motionless, all guns will move when held unsupported.

The area the front sight describes on the target as it moves is called the wobble zone. More experienced shooters may have a smaller wobble zone, however all shooters will have a wobble zone.

Most people have ability to shoot a group significantly smaller than their wobble zone.

Most new shooters (including me initially) tend to use a technique commonly referred to as the “now” impulse where they yank at the trigger at the instant the sights appear to be aligned on the target. This generally causes issues with the third fundamental.

In order to address the “now” impulse Randy Lee taught me the following technique that has served me well.

Fact: The gun will wobble across the target.

Assumption: You have a good sight alignment (Please refer to the post on sight alignment vs. sight picture) for details.

The key to this technique is to not attempt to control this wobble – Let the gun move.

• As the sight picture starts to look acceptable, add a little bit of pressure to the trigger.
• When the natural movement of the gun makes the sight picture un-acceptable, keep the pressure on the trigger where it is. Do not remove the pressure from the trigger.
• When the sight picture looks acceptable again, increase the pressure slightly and repeat the process until the gun fires

The discharge of the gun should come as a complete surprise.

It generally takes me 4-5 oscillations before the gun fires.

Hope this works for you as well.

Update (April 21, 2007): I just read an article by Dave Sayler that provides a clear explanation for why this works. This explanation of the conscious mind living in the recent past, ties in well with what Bruce Gray talks about in his article Dry Fire Secrets of the Pros.

What you need is trigger control at speed, an immediate, smooth and subconscious controlled release of the shot upon the appearance of the correct, acceptable sight picture on your target.

This is what makes dryfire with visualization so critical. I thought it was a speed thing. As is always the case with Bruce, there is a ton lurking below the surface of what he says.