Sight picture - a useful feature for instructors

One of the first questions a new shooter asks is:

"What exactly am I supposed to be looking at?"

Well, we know the ultimate answer (to quote "The Blessed George") is: "the target. the target, and the target" and we know that once you have your mount perfected you should never focus on the rib or the foresight bead - but new shooters don't know that yet and they certainly won't have their mount perfected.

An instructor can explain what the sight picture should look like (ignoring lead for the moment) and there are plenty of diagrams to help:

However, the instructor cannot see the world through the eyes of the pupil - he can say:

"Your foresight bead should be just below the target and you should see a certain amount of the barrel rib."

For the pupil the problem is:

"How much is 'a certain amount'?"

DryFire solves the problem

The procedure for sight-picture practice with DryFire is very simple: The instructor selects the "Test plate" option from the "Setup" menu. DryFire displays a 3m x 3m test plate. The instructor selects the "Muzzle alignment" option, takes the pupil's shotgun, gets the right sight picture and takes a rifle-style shot directly at the target spot on the wall. DryFire remembers the point at which the instructor fired. The instructor selects the "Shoot" option. The pupil takes the gun and "fires" at the target spot on the wall. The screen displays the location of the pupil's shot. Any offset from the target indicates that the pupil is not using the correct sight picture. If the shot is high the pupil must get his head down on the stock, if it is low he must raise his head slightly. Once the pupil has the right sight picture, and can "hit" the target consistently, he can be left to practice until the sight picture becomes automatic.

Click on the image to see the pattern plate screen - the instructor fires first then the "Shoot" option is selected to see where the pupil is aiming.

The result is obvious. In one short period of concentrated practice the new shooter becomes totally familiar with the sight picture and this is one problem that can be forgotten down on the range. If the shooter lapses, and the head starts to come up, then a little more practice with DryFire will soon put it right.

Repetitive practice means that the new shooter can soon stop worrying about the sight picture - muscle memory takes over and he will mount the gun correctly every time. By now he is "pointing" the gun rather than "aiming" it and focus can be 100% on the leading edge of the target - the point represented by DryFire's laser spot as it moves across the wall.

Any instructor will tell you that this seemingly trivial exercise it is one of the critical factors in giving pupils confidence - they know what the image in front of them should look like - now all they have to master is target acquisition, swing and, most important, lead!

Gun fit

Obviously, the procedure above can help with gun fit but we do not recommend DryFire as a solution for gun fit.

Just as there is no substitute for a good instructor when learning to shoot, so there is no substitute for a professional gun fitter when making sure that your gun exactly fits you.

You will have paid a lot of money for a new gun - surely it is worth a little more to ensure that it fits you perfectly? A shooter with a badly fitted gun will never win competitions - he will reach a plateau of achievement and he will cease to progress. So, make the investment, see a professional gun fitter.

Other uses for the pattern plate

The test plate may be used to: Aligning the muzzle insert in your gun. This allows DryFire to take into account any slight difference between the muzzle insert and the alignment of your barrel. Teaching pupils the correct sight picture - see above. Displaying the shot spread when shooting from different distances. This is a very useful function because it will take into account all the variables that relate to the location of your shot and the spread of pellets at different ranges. You can select any gun configuration (including chokes) and any cartridge. The tighter your choke, the tighter the pattern. Lower velocity cartridges will produce a greater shot-fall as distance increases.

Click to see the result of firing at 10m and 30m. The "Auto" option will automatically show the result of firing at 10m, 20m, 30m, 40m, 50m and 60m.