Marksmanship Tip #2: Understanding Parallel Error: Drunken Sailor Drill

Shooters move in only two main ways while executing a shot. One is parallel error and the other is angular error. While shooting the pistol, parallel error nags us, and angular error hides from us.

Parallel error is a natural movement of the gun that happens because shooters are alive. There is nothing you can do about your natural movement. Because of the visual angles of this natural wobble, the movement looks huge. It is not huge because it is largely parallel error from the gun to the target.

From your eye to the sight of your gun, you see an eye-to-sight angular error, not to be confused with a gun-to-target angular error. The eye-to-sight angular error makes your parallel error look very bad. The gun-to-target angular error makes your accuracy very bad.

Do not confuse the two. We are now talking about angular error of the eye to your gunsights. This angular error is what looks big, and it is. It magnifies with distance. But it’s not what is happening from the gun to the target.

The graphic above depicts your natural wobble that induces parallel error. Typically, with parallel error, one inch of movement at the gun means one inch of movement at the target, which is insignificant in most deadly force situations. But because there is angular error deviation from the eye to the sights, this huge-looking error destroys sight picture while still having your sights effectively aligned on target. The result is that it makes the shooter prioritize making the shot happen NOW when the sight picture looks perfect.

This slam on the trigger when the sight(s) looks just right alerts our subconscious that the recoil is coming. This alert can initiate a proactive flinch as the trigger starts moving faster and is often accompanied by a blink or stress-induced temporary blindness. This makes us not see for a moment, even when our eyes are open. Between this blindness and the recoil masking our flinch, we don’t see that we have just created angular error from the gun to the target with a bend of the wrist or other body part.

When a miss is observed, the assumption is often made that the trigger was not slammed at the right moment in the natural wobble or that what is needed is a tighter grip, a better stance, the other foot back, a better presentation, or your head turned to handicap your non-dominant eye... You get the picture.

Some very good shooters have a flinch, but they flinch in a way that results in parallel error. Their outcome at the target is not that bad, but they will never be as good as they could be until they use a True Vector gun.

If the issue of your natural wobble is not addressed by being ignored (ironically), it could develop into a nasty flinch and constant frustration. Since you cannot get a True Vector gun yet to correct this, try the following drill. 

Drunken Sailor Drill

From about 10 yards away, make sure you get that good front sight focus and good sight alignment, or, if using a dot sight, then see it on your target. Keeping wrists and arms locked out, purposely induce an insane wobble from the torso/shoulders, drunken sailor style. Starting always on the resistance (the wall), build pressure on that trigger while seeing a reasonable sight alignment occasionally, somewhere in the middle of that wobble. The rest of the time it will look horrible.

Done correctly, your mind will be so preoccupied with the movement you are inducing that your press on the trigger will become smooth. You will not be attempting to accelerate when it “looks good” because it never looks good. Make note of the feel of the trigger movement and the feeling of the recoil when the gun fires, and notice the difference as compared to your normal shooting.

With good execution, you will see that your hits are only slightly off. If you previously had a bad flinch, you will find that your group no longer prints the same as it did before. In other words, it will not appear in the pattern of how you usually miss. Your group will be larger than you might like, but on average it will be centered.

This drill will help you ignore wobble, practice a smooth press, and experience the feeling of a surprise shot. When the drunken sailor in you gets sober and you continue with the same smooth press, the benefits will be obvious.

Until T-Vector is available, these tips and drills should help you. Stay tuned for more.