The Glorious 12th, that archaic celebration that marks the start of the grouse shooting season, is upon us. Whatever we think about it, the skill itself is of interest to neuroscientists. Marksmanship depends on exquisite coordination between eye and hand, and while left- or right-handedness is well established, it is less known that you have a dominant eye, too. Test this by looking at a small, distant object. Point at it then follow your finger with your eyes. Close one, then another. You’ll discover your finger only lines up with your dominant eye.
True marksmen use biofeedback (gaining control over normally involuntary functions) to keep their hand steady, learning to deliberately slow their heart through conscious will to reduce the variability in their shooting.
This technique involves wearing a heart-rate monitor over several weeks or months to monitor their pulse .
However, that’s not much help if, like me, you are left handed and right eyed. In this case you will never be a crack shot, something the grouse shooters of northern England and Scotland will be relieved to hear.
Dr Daniel Glaser is director of Science Gallery at King’s College London
