I will see if I can find the second article.
Thanks.
Charlie,
I did a search for the second article but nothing came up. Any chance you can post it here?

 

Yeah. I'll take a photo

 

 

Les Greevy's article

 

Thank you so much for sharing!

 

Yes, thank you very much!

 

Thank you ....

 

Thanks so, so much,
Randy

 

Ever since I started shooting ATA style of trap shooting, I have been told that there is no Absolutes in Trapshooting. Lenses colors, 7-1\2 VS 8s, 32 vs 34 , top single vs bottom, high rib vs low rib, etc,etc,etc. Charlie posts a really nice, well written article about Visual Lock being the only Absolute and it gets very little conversation. That kinda surprises me. Lester

 

I’ve read the eye lock article about 4 times. Although ATA-centric, I think it translates across all shotgun disciplines. Simple and straightforward article that even beginners can understand and as they progress will appreciate even more.
V/r
Maxey

 

I am not sure how the eye lock article meshes with Leo Harrison's technique of seeing targets leave the house. Did Leo start his move slowly as soon as the target left the house? If not, what was his purpose for seeing the targets as early as possible? I assume that he initially soft-focused, and then only hard-focused right before he pulled the trigger. This is what Paul Giambrone, the great skeet shooter, recommends. I suspect that moving when the target leaves the house is not the problem. Leaving too fast is. (This is why I miss targets.) My thoughts are just thoughts, not facts. Always curious about what others think.

Randy

 

My buddy, Randy Ross, assisted Leo in some of his clinics. Randy said Leo would ask him where shot string was at times when watching a student to determine where a student was missing. Randy told me that he, Randy, never saw a streak, he had acquired the target as soon as it cleared the house. I have Leo's videos, he picks the target up asap, and as I recollect, he looked in a "hoollahoop area" just above the trap house for target acquisition. Hopefully, this verisimilitude is helpful.

 

I have never focused on a tree limb or a leaf in the distance.(some clubs that could be a half a mile away)
I soft focus in the area where the target must appear The way Leo taught his clinic. He said he wanted you to get a good as look at the Target you could.

 

appear

My buddy, Randy Ross, assisted Leo in some of his clinics. Randy said Leo would ask him where shot string was at times when watching a student to determine where a student was missing. Randy told me that he, Randy, never saw a streak, he had acquired the target as soon as it cleared the house. I have Leo's videos, he picks the target up asap, and as I recollect, he looked in a "hoollahoop area" just above the trap house for target acquisition. Hopefully, this verisimilitude is helpful.
[/QUOTE

 

Yes sir Randy Ross helped out at the three Leo clinics I attended.
Randy actually shot quicker than Leo, Leo even asked Randy to shoot a few targets after the clinic to show off a little bit on his speed.(Leo shot them a little closer to the top of the Apex and rarely misses!)
I also see a clear Target as soon as it leaves the house. People tell me I shoot very quick but it doesn't feel out of control or like I am trying to shoot quick.
It just feels my natural timing and the targets are less affected by the wind.
I had the pleasure of shooting on Leo's squad quite a few times when he attended the Great lakes Grand in Michigan years ago. He told me, 'if you're going to shoot that quick you might want to put another spacer under your comb."
I guess everyone sees them different, and visual acuity differs from person to person.

 

Many years ago I saved an article from Shotgun Sports magazine about Soft Focus. It was written by Bill Henery which was a pen name for the late Don Zutz. I thought that article was easier to understand than the Visual Lock article. My Quiet Eye period occurs before I mount the gun as I don't see a point to having the gun on my shoulder for a long period of time.

 

Here is the PDF. Thanks to the OP.

 

Anybody else got a favorite article they would like to share?

 

I don't know about an article, but I have a book called "trap shooting is a game of opposites". I think it is the best book on trap shooting I have read to date.

 

One issue I am having - I am relatively new to trap shooting - is I shoot Leo's way: I hold at the top of the trap house, and I try to soft focus just above the house and see the targets leave. Often, however, my eyes are drawn to the distance and I end up focusing fairly far away. When I do that I don't shoot as well. So, I am trying to find a way that helps me soft focus just above the house.

Randy

 

Leo held his gun a couple feet or so off the top of the house almost horizontal and looked under his barrel where the targets must appear. He soft focused in a circle where the targets must appear with the bottom of the circle on the trap house.
He referred to the circle as a clock face with 6:00 on the house

 

Another nice article from Clay Target, April 2022, by John D. Shima " More Vision Less Precision ", p. 40-44.

 

How does one soft focus on an empty space? I'm not sure I get the concept at all.

 

Your eyes will get used to it with practice. It's a soft gaze in a particular area then once you see the target you lock on with a hard focus and your eyes will tell you when to pull the trigger. Your eyes will learn to pick up the target within that circle where they must appear.

 

The Holy Grail of the Clay Target Championship of North America sounds like quite the adventure! I'm new here, but I totally get your quest for improvement. Thanks for sharing your favorite articles - "Quiet Eye" by Les Greevy and "Visual Lock is the Only Absolute" by Joseph Loitz. Btw, have you already checked out the articles Lifestyle to the MAX? Just a suggestion to update the thread.

 

The Holy Grail of the Clay Target Championship of North America sounds like quite the adventure! I'm new here, but I totally get your quest for improvement. Thanks for sharing your favorite articles - "Quiet Eye" by Les Greevy and "Visual Lock is the Only Absolute" by Joseph Loitz. Btw, have you already checked out the articles Lifestyle to the MAX? Just a suggestion to update the thread.

No, never heard of these.

 

I just read "The Quiet Eye" by Les Greevy. I liked it very much and will read it again tonight.

 

I cannot find the other by Joseph Loitz ?

 

Is this Les Greevy the lawyer from PA that runs a bunker trap ? if it is he is well known in the olympic shooting game.