Bit of progress report in a rust-away stylee, since someone mentioned it was interesting to hear about other player's epiphanies. My ACM was not rusty, plane control not-so-bad, just (still) keep departing a bit more than I should in a higher-speed turning fight, just practice I think. Shooting was absolute toilet. So bad that I even put a gunsight back in, but it didn't seem to help either. Then on a given day I got rid of the gunsight again and blam! shooting seemed to come right back.
What I think I've done over the years is develop a strange technique. My focussed attention when shooting is on the opponent's flightpath and my periphiral attention an awareness of where the boresight is. As I say, never been able to do any real shooting and only watched a lot of Hickock45 videos for technique. I know the pistol-shooting state of the art is to focuss on the frontsight and have peripheral focus on the target and rear sight but for me in AH this way round doesn't work. I'm wondering if what I'm doing is closer to clay pigeon / skeet shooting? Again no experience, knowledge or training in that. Any input welcomed.
Also Kinpin reminded me in game of the difference between tracking shots and 'strafing a point in space' (ambush shot he calls it). Subtle differences but the latter seems to require only one aiming moment and increases density of shot by a lot!
