The Power of the Index Finger
Posted On: 02-20-2024
Most probably do not think of how important the index finger is to our ability to shoot. Honestly it all starts with the index finger. Think about how often we point at something? Might be a deer along the side of the road, a great play in sports, or identifying someone in a crowd. Our mental picture is formed by what we point at, and we begin the process of forming an image in our mind. This differs somewhat from say pointing your finger to the sky and simply saying, “look at those clouds.” We would be more likely to draw someone near and then refine our pointed finger to exactly the cloud we want someone to look at. We all become conditioned to pointing at something as a way of identifying the person, place, or thing. I italicized the at because we are indeed conditioned to seeing the real object, processing its location, and putting into our brains.
Now, think about this idea. Take your finger and point at something say a fence post on a fence line but instead of walking towards the post you have your finger pointed at, instead try walking to a post several down the line while pointing at the first post. You mind does not like the idea and is confused so you struggle to walk a straight line. Not like putting your forehead on ball bat and rotating around then trying to walk, but still confusion reigns in your brain.
This is where we must start mentally preparing ourselves to see ahead of the target, convince our brain that our eyes are looking ahead of the target, and keeping that ornery brain from convincing us to look at the target and not the lead, or as Churchill once said, “Forward Allowance”. I hope you see where I am going with this. We are so entrenched in reminding our brains that we point at a tangible object instead of an imaginary place in space. Honestly, this is extremely difficult. I say it again, this is really, really hard.
Another way to look at this and understand we must look at the lead is through some math. For our shot stream to travel 40 yards it takes about 0.12 seconds. When I work with kids using the Garmin Xero S1 I note most often the time between pulling the trigger and hitting the target is about 0.62 seconds. So, the difference is how long it takes to acquire the target or for our eyes to find the target, get ahead of the target and for us to pull the trigger. In those 0.12 seconds the target has moved three feet, so give or take a 100th of second or so, we need to be three feet ahead of the target. Get that mental picture of the forward allowance or lead that is ahead of the target, not on the target.
To all who read this I hope you share it with your youth shooters. Help them to understand that lead is more than words. You must show them the rational for these words and then walk them through the process. Sooner or later, it will hit them and once it does their scores will quickly improve.
David R. Vaught, Ph.D.
Executive Director