Gun Digest – Volume 43 Issue 4 April 2026 – Gun Digest

Part of that is acquiring the target with your eyes. Often, when shooters use sights/ optics on a firearm they will get tunnel vision. By using a technique called “soft focus,” you can prevent getting tunnel vision. Soft focus allows you to survey a large area by simply using your eyes, which uses the techniques of not using a detailed focus and instead using a wide focused peripheral gaze. Once a potential target is detected, you switch to an intense detail focus and assess the target: Is the target a threat or not a threat?

All the while, you are merging your muscle memory to mount your shotgun to the point your eyes are looking. Said another way, you do not look down the sights: The barrel will always be in your peripheral vision, but don’t use it to aim, which is called the sight picture. As you build repetition with After you have these three foundational skills down, you just need to practice while coordinating them together until they become second nature.

Imagine increasing your field of vision with the goal of a faster reaction time. If you need to take in a greater field of vi- sion, gun down is a tool to keep in your arsenal. that sight picture by shooting clays, every time you hit a clay you should re- play the hit in your mind, getting used to what the picture looked like.

Due to the size of the target and speeds, it will take a bit. Once you start hitting them, larger and slower targets will seem like child’s play. Many people in sports refer to flow as “the zone.” In psychology, it’s called “the flow.” The term the flow was first used by a psychologist named Mihaly Csikzent- mihalyi. Flow is what takes over when instinctive shooting takes place. Many misunderstand the flow as the state you must be in. To be in a state of flow for long periods of time is difficult.

RecoilTV is a 2A friendly streaming platform created to entertain and inform you on the latest guns and gear associated with the fi rearms lifestyle. AVAILABLE ON THE PREMIER AUTHORITY FOR FIREARMS NEWS AND MEDIA THE WAY YOU WANT AND DESERVE. Honest. Relevant. Unfiltered. P R E S E N T E D B Y DEPARTMENTS 6 First Shot 8 Know Your Cartridge COLUMNS 12 Defensive Handgunning RICHARD MANN 16 Drawing Conclusions ALEX OOLEY 20 Hardware Talk PATRICK SWEENEY 22 Modern Gunnery NATE GERHART 26 Guns & Gear GDTM EDITORS FEATURES 28 Act Like You’ve Been There: When it comes to defending your home, you must train like you intend to fi ght.

RICHARD MANN 34 Instinctive Shooting For Tactical Defense: Learning to shoot sporting clays to become a better defensive shooter. ABE ELIAS 40 Musings on Home Security: Things to consider when building a home defense gun. JOSH WAYNER 62 Inside Baseball: Springfi eld Armory’s Echelon is more than just another polymer blaster. PATRICK SWEENEY 70 Stock Your Glock (Or Canik, Or PDP): S-Pro: Recover Tactical’s latest carbine conversion.

DAVE MERRILL 78 Stress Response: The science behind a home defense encounter and what happens to your brain and body. KRISTOPHER HASENAUER THE BEST GUN LIST IN PRINT 47 Show & Auction Listings 52 The Gun Digest Marketplace TABLE OF CONTENTS CONTENTS APRIL 2026 | VOLUME 43 ISSUE 04 Gun Digest the Magazine (ISSN 1938-5943) is published monthly by Caribou Media dba Gun Digest Media, LLC.

Corporate Headquarters is 5583 W. Waterford Ln., Suite D, Appleton, WI 54913. Periodicals postage paid at Appleton, WI 54913 and at additional mailing offi ces. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Gun Digest Magazine PO Box 182, Williamsport, PA 17703. Copyright © 2026 Gun Digest Media. GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE and its logo are registered trademarks. Other names and logos referred to or displayed in editorial or advertising content may be trademarked or copyrighted. The publisher and advertisers are not liable for typographical errors that may appear in prices or descriptions in advertisements.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

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