Shoot SP: Could this eye dominance aid help you to shoot better?

I came about the Shoot SP aid by accident one day when coaching a new client. He approached me for some lessons as he was really struggling. The first thing I checked was eye dominance, then gun fit. He told me this had already been done. All well and good, but I said I would really like to check myself, especially after he said he was definitely right-eye dominant, off right shoulder. He wasn’t; he was left-eye dominant, which explained his inconsistent shooting. (Read more on eye dominance here.)

Shoot SP ‘thing’

This poor fellow had just forked out £600 for a set of glasses, so I was reluctant to stick a patch over his left eye. I mentioned that I had just read about this Shoot SP thing. I didn’t really know how it worked, although for £50 it was surely worth a punt. I sent him the link to Shoot SP to get one sorted. A couple of weeks later he called to say he had bought one and that it worked wonders. He was over the moon. Right, I thought, I best have a chat with Steven Randles, owner and inventor of the Shoot SP, and find out more about this.

I am 100% right-eye dominant – until I’m not. Age, hormones and who knows what affects my eyes, but every now and then my dominance slides to central vision, so I can see both the top of my rib and all down the left-hand side of the barrel, which I shouldn’t. I popped an SP on and, bingo, it really helped me.

The Shoot SP is an innovative way to deal with an eye-dominance issue as it tricks or ‘guides’ the brain to favour the correct eye over the rib. Basically, this means the shooter can have both eyes open and be confident that the eye over the rib is in control, even if the shooter has eye-dominance issues. It works by creating a unique picture or profile for the eye over the rib. Only this eye can see the said profile and this is enough to trigger the reaction for the brain to favour it, and the shooter will be able to shoot as if he/she never had an eye-dominance problem.

There are products to suit any type of shooting and gun

Never looked back

There are many eye-dominance products on the market – some work for some, others work for others. I have tested a couple of products related to this and was impressed when I tried the SP and what Steven told me about it. He is left-eye dominant, shoots off his right shoulder and was on the cusp of quitting due to eye issues until this solved his problem. I have never looked back since using it and it helped me to win the Essex Masters this year. This competition is a long day, with 200 targets, and the SP helped to keep my right eye doing what it should.

Shooters need no longer squint so are free to concentrate on technique

There’s an art to fitting the SP correctly. I have a test kit, and when clients struggle with eye dominance they can see how it works. If they are happy, I will fit a new one on their barrels. I place the SP where only the eye over the rib can see it. For right-handed shooters, the right eye must only see the SP; if the left eye can see it, then I haven’t placed it properly. Once placed correctly on the barrel, the eye over the rib should see the SP in the ‘hold’ position, and at this point the SP acts as the switch and the brain will favour the eye looking over the rib. How I train people to first use the SP is to get the gun in their shoulder, look over their barrel around the area of the SP, then look away, towards the trajectory of the target, call ‘pull’, remembering they should be looking at the clay, not the SP.

The Original SP was launched to target gun down and field shooters, had a tall profile to be seen between the profile of the barrels and was black to ensure it was subtle. I have never been keen on the dayglo beads to help eye dominance as I end up staring at them and not the clay. Steven was unsure if the ‘traditional’ sport of clay shooting would accept his innovation, but it has. The SP is used by many shooters from all over the world, shooters who have won championships with its help.

Fitted to the barrel of the gun, it works in peripheral vision

Focused products

New SPs have now been introduced so all shooters have products focused for their style of shooting and specific guns. Products include the SP Low, designed specifically for gun up or gun down shooters who use a semi-auto. The lower profile and longer base makes it more subtle on a single-barrelled shotgun, while increasing the bond, as placements can be more exposed on the single barrel. The new Sport Blue is a long-awaited upgrade, giving the shooter extra help to easily see the SP in darker backgrounds, while maintaining the effects of the original black SP in the sky, as it still creates a dark silhouette. Blue isn’t quite as subtle as black, but on testing it I can tell you that it works a treat.

The Shoot SP website helps you to choose the correct model, and the company also gives a 60-day guarantee and full technical support, should you need it.

I use the Shoot SP and I sell it because I have complete faith in the product. It works. You should definitely try one, as it’s a cracking bit of kit.