What do you focus on when making your shot

I look through my scope at the target. This method keeps both in focus and allows both eyes to remain open 

I also open both eyes so as to stay as relaxed as possible. I try not to focus on the center dot/cross hair of the scope and keep my gaze a bit wider, perhaps the size of the KZ or slightly bigger. When the movement of the cross hairs from the heart beat settles down within the KZ and seems to be about as steady as it's going to get, I break the shot. Just before breaking the shot though, I move my attention down to the tan tien (lower belly). This helps me stay grounded and less likely to pull/jump the shot when I break it. 

Chas

I never even think about it, other than making sure my bubble level is centered.

Stare at the reticle is common advice of shooting coaches.

I envision the sight picture before I look through the scope. I pre plan what the shot should look like. Then mount the gun and look through the scope. When I have in the scope what I wanted to see, then I focus on trigger break and follow through.

A properly focused and adjusted scope will have the reticle and the target both in focus at the same time. 

As already stated, for a specific distance the reticle and target in a scope should both be focused with respect to vision. As far as what you concentrate on, since the reticle tends to be moving more than the target you should focus on it.

For open sights, focus your eye and attention on the front sight.

"Do you focus on the target or the reticle when making your shot?" Yes, I do.

But to be more specific, after deciding where my point-of-impact should fall (how much to hold-over or under), I find the tiniest spot correctly located on the paddle or face-plate to aim at, and concentrate on shooting that (typically) pin-head sized aim-point while breaking the trigger as perfectly as possible.

In other words, a huge part of my success comes from the adage, "aim small; miss small". Works (very well) for me. 

 

I am a novice... reading all this is really cool... I understand about 5% of it... I'll experiment with bits and pieces and read it again in a few weeks hoping it will make a lot more sense then

With both eyes open you should be able to trick your brain into a picture in picture image(I imagine the guys who invented PIP were shooters). It's not going to be easy to achieve immediately, but worth working on when you need a break from practicing the other aspects of shooting. 

Aim small - Miss small always works for me. I focus on the reticle and let my eyes "melt" that reticle image into the target. The rest is simply trigger control and keeping my thumb (with it's pulse) away from having any influence on the shot. Make it as natural as possible without overthinking what I am doing.