Barrel Awareness is an Evolving Process

Speed match is critical. Without it, the picture is not real. But with speed match, it becomes real afterwards.

Anything you're aware of in your sharp vision arrives at the motor center in five milliseconds. It takes 300 milliseconds for anything in your periphery to arrive in the motor center. When you've matched the speed long enough to know that you've matched the speed, that takes longer than 300 milliseconds. Therefore, whatever you're perceiving becomes real because of the speed match.

That's why it's so critical.

We don't want to get too involved with the picture, though. When the speed match occurs, the picture becomes real because it has been longer than the 300 milliseconds.

In the beginning, the post-shot routine of vividly replaying the shot to burn in the sight picture isn’t necessarily about lead, but left of the barrel or across the barrel. In other words, it’s about accepting the barrel in the periphery without your brain directing your sharp vision to it.

We're all hardwired to see movement in our periphery and our brain directs our sharp vision to the movement. We're all hardwired to look at the barrel - every one of us. Regardless of dominance, or any other eye anomaly you may have heard of, nobody comes out of the womb being able to look at the target and register an object in the periphery with what you're looking at. It just doesn't happen.

Awareness of the barrel in the periphery is an evolution. We've been witnessing it in helping shooters of all levels overcome it by encouraging them. It'll get better - just give it time.

This is an adapted excerpt from the December 2024 Coaching Hour podcast. You can hear it in full - along with more than 20 years of archives in audio and written form - with your Knowledge Vault membership.