At first glance, fluorescent beads seem like a good idea for shotgun owners who like wing and clays targets. The beads are bright like gummy candies and in theory should improve your aim. And there's the rub, because you don't aim a shotgun, you point it.
Aiming is for stationary targets used in rifle and handgun sports that use a single projectile (bullet). Pointing, meanwhile, is optimized with shotgun shells that can spew out hundreds of tiny pellets at objects moving some 40 miles per hour or more. Try aiming your rifle at a fast-moving target, and there's a near 100-percent probability you'll miss.
The best rifle and handgun shots will tell you to shoot with both eyes open, but practically speaking, most enthusiasts close one eye and — either looking through a scope or at the front bead — patiently concentrate on the downrange object. In those instances, if you're aligning the barrel with the stationary target, a fluorescent front bead can be helpful in establishing that critical target/gun relationship.
But the shotgun sports present entirely different challenges. To hit a moving target involves binocular vision (both eyes open) that coordinates peripheral vision with the singular picture of your dominant eye. Combined, your eyes send a signal to the brain when to pull the trigger. For this neural miracle to succeed, you need to completely focus on the target — not the bead on the gun.
Let's say you're shooting a clay target. You're swinging the gun toward the target break point, but at the last second you glance down at the front bead to check the target/barrel relationship. In that critical moment when you've moved your eyes away from the target to the gun, your shotgun has actually stopped swinging. Suddenly, you're behind the target, dramatically increasing the odds of a miss.
"Looking at the gun" as it's called is a common mistake among wing and clays shooters. It can be difficult to diagnose and therefore correct. So in an effort to find the target, many shotgunners will replace their standard white or metal bead with an after-market fluorescent bead — hoping the brighter substitution will help them see the target better. In fact, just the opposite often occurs.
The reason most shotguns are equipped with neutral-colored beads is because you're not supposed to look at them while you're shooting. If you have a sporting gun that has both a front bead and center bead on the rib, they serve the purpose of helping you align the shotgun perpendicularly in your shoulder pocket before calling for the target.
Silver, brass and white beads are generally standard on wing and clays shotguns. Their neutral finishes don't distract the shooter from completely focusing on the target during the gun swing.
Bird guns generally have a single front bead you can refer to for a split second in your peripheral vision as you swing toward the unpredictable prey. The bead (or gun barrel) should never crowd your target sight picture.
Regardless, once the target is in play, it requires your complete focus. So what happens when you add a fluorescent bead into the mix? It can completely distract you from the target. The bright eye candy subconsciously draws your eyes toward it while the target gets away.
Some people will swear their shotgunning has improved with the addition of a fluorescent bead. Good for them! Personally, I think fluorescent beads are a gimmick that ultimately prove counterproductive. In fact, some of the best shotgun instructors actually remove the beads to help students fully concentrate on the targets.
You may see some shotgunning celebrities endorse fluorescent beads, but let's face it: Once you get into that stratosphere of proficiency, the type of bead doesn't make a lick of difference in the outcome.
The tube-shaped fluorescent beads at left have interchangeable colors. The idea is that if one color doesn’t suite you, another one will. The fluorescent bead in the middle is a screw-in replacement for the standard silver, brass and white beads. The clip-on bead at right is an alternative to the fluorescent screw-in bead. You remove the standard factory bead, and this clip-on covers the original hole.
If you find yourself consistently missing targets because you're behind them, forget the bead and ratchet up your focus and concentration on the target. Remember, breaking targets with a shotgun requires "forward allowance" so the target itself will fly into the stream of pellets after you trigger the shot.
More than aiming, that process is an act of faith — the belief that you've placed the shotgun far enough ahead of the target without actually checking the gun barrel during the swing. By drawing your eyes to the gun, fluorescent beads break that bond of faith between you, the shotgun and the target.
Just as an aside, if you're having problems seeing the target, you may want to experiment with different shooting glasses. Some models have a top lens bar or wide side stems that can interfere with your target picture. Perhaps the best shooting glasses have interchangeable colored lenses you can swap according to light conditions and background colors that ultimately help emphasize the contrast between the target and its environment for optimal focus.
