Head Position

[awadhnavab]

How does head position affect the point of impact?.....I mean if your sights are aligned perfectly and in the aiming area when the trigger releases, would head posture affect the shot placement? And why?

[David Levene]

If your head has moved (other than in line with the sights) it means that something else must also have changed if the sights are still aligned.

[alb]

How does head position affect the point of impact?.....I mean if your sights are aligned perfectly and in the aiming area when the trigger releases, would head posture affect the shot placement? And why?

If your sights are perfectly aligned and in the aiming area when the trigger breaks, it will be a good shot.

Head position, as well as other aspects of your stance, affect your stability, i.e., your arc of movement and speed of movement, by changing your balance and your natural point of aim. Poor stability makes it much more difficult to break the shot exactly where you want it.

Regards,

Al B.

[funtoz]

[Fred]

I was about to post a similar answer, when I reread the original question. Awadhnavab actually does not say anything about head movement; he asks only about head posture. The question appears to be whether different head positions will produce different results, all other things being equal. I too would be interested in answers about that question, which presumably would involve issues of vision and balance.

FredB

[AAlex]

if your sights are aligned perfectly and in the aiming area when the trigger releases, would head posture affect the shot placement?

If your sights are aligned perfectly and in the aiming area, and the trigger release is good, nothing else can affect the shot placement, even if you are standing on one foot and juggling balls with your other hand.

And why?

If your sights are aligned and in the aiming area, it means that the pistol is pointed at the target, regardless of how you hold your head.

[Mike S-J]

As an adjunct - if your head is in a position that requires a lot of muscle tension to keep it there, then that will affect your ability to hit tens. Stance, in its broadest sense, includes head position: you should be aiming for (excuse the pun) a comfortable and stable head position that can be maintained easily over the duration of a match. When I started shooting I made the mistake of adopting a blade-like stance and consequently having to stretch my neck round. Not very sustainable. I now have a more open stance, and a much more relaxed head position.

[JamesH]

If your sights are aligned perfectly and in the aiming area, and the trigger release is good, nothing else can affect the shot placement, even if you are standing on one foot and juggling balls with your other hand.

Actually not quite true.
If you are shooting air then probably so, however as recoil increases how your body responds to recoil affects where the shot goes.

If you lean forward or back it changes the point of impact, moving your head left or right and realigning the sights will subtly change your posture and cause the shot to go left or right, either due to recoil or muscle tension imbalance.

For CF pistol consistency of posture, grip etc is very important.

[2650 Plus]

My head positition and why. Eyes and ears level .Ears ,being part of the bodies balance mechanism seem to do their job best when the head is kept straight and both ears level. The eyes are also part of the balance mechanism working best when they can see a visible horizon. It also helps if thet are level and both being used. Most pf us [shooters] try to do our thing with both eyes open so as to avoid imbalance strain in the muscles that control vision direction and focus. Setting the head position so you look straight out of your eyes is also beneficial for much of the same reasons . I recognize that this may not be responsive to the specific question asked but none of the posts seemed to be tying togeather very well. Good Shooting Bill Horton

[2650 Plus]

I forgot to mention glasses.so heres my two cents worth on that. If you are not wearing glasses you are placing your eyes in terrible jeipardy. glasses are an absolute necessity when shooting and please dont let anyone disuade you from wearing them . I had shooting glasses made so that the exact center of the grind coinsided with my line of vision when I looked at my sights. This is supposed to be the most optically perfect point on the glasses lens and applies to the aiming eye only. By using these glasses I was almost forced to keep my head in the same position for each shot. I could screw it up but I had to force myself to make the error. Is there anything about head position and why we do it this way that I have left out or described wrong?? I hope not but ...... Good Shooting Bill Horton