Defining “Stabilizing the Picture”

Here’s a definition of stabilizing the picture. At the end of the shot, as the bird and the gun come together, you hold onto the shot just a fraction after you mount so that you’re sure that the gun speed and the bird speed are the same.

If the gun is mounted too far in front to hit the bird and the eyes are looking at the bird behind the gun, as the bird approaches the gun and the gun begins to merge with the bird, as long as the bird is coming to the lead, as it comes to the gun and the gun begins to move with the bird, something magical happens and the subconscious takes care of the lead.

The subconscious takes care of the lead every single time, and you’re actually helping it by stabilizing that picture to make sure that gun and that bird are going exactly the same speed when you pull the trigger. And it’s not like you’re looking at the gap.

You can still have 95 percent of your focus and let it go to the front of that bird as you pull the trigger.

If you’re looking at the target as it comes to the gun and you know that it’s a stable picture, you have to be looking at the front side of the target anyway to know it’s stable. You can’t look at the backside of the target to know it’s stable.

This is where the 95/5 focus ratio comes from. As it comes together and you begin to see everything happen, you’ve still got 95 percent of your focus on that bird. But you’re giving the subconscious a specific time to do whatever adjustment it makes while you adjust the gun speed, and the more you do it, the better you get at it, Then the more precisely you can make it all come together in the exact breakpoint.

This is an excerpt from the March 2013 Coaching Hour podcast. You can listen to it and read a written transcript, along with more than 20 years of archived episodes with your Knowledge Vault membership.