Shooting with both eyes open

[sloughfoot]

I am cross eye dominant. For target, or fast moving competition shooting, it is best to let light into both eyes.

To close the dominant eye causes the open eye to dilate in response to the closed eye. This tires the eye and causes errors, especially with the long range rifle.

I squint the dominant eye so that light still enters the eye, but I don't focus on the front sight with the wrong eye.

A piece of tape over the dominant eye does the same thing, but is only good on the competition field. If I have to grab a rifle or pistol and use it in the same manner that I do on the competition field, I may not have my shooting glasses handy. Squinting works anytime and everywhere.

 

[WyldeShot]

Thank you to everyone! I will continue to train with both eyes open. I'm planning on trying to tilt the gun a little to see how that goes. I practice shooting left handed but I don't want to totally switch. I will continue to practice.

 

[rhino]

I am right handed but left eye dominate. I basically shoot like crap when I shoot with both eyes open, there's no consistency. If I close my left eye I am dead on. I have been practicing shooting with both eyes open but I am not getting any better and my target acquisition is slow. I also dry practice. Other than reducing the field of view, what other downsides are there to shooting with 1 eye closed? I would like to shoot with both eyes open so are there any suggestions?

Here are some of my thoughts on this subject.

First, too much emphasis is places on worry over eye dominance. You need to learn to shoot with both hands, whether it's for defense or for sport or for both. With one of theither hand, whichever eye you're using primarily will be on the opposite side.

Shooting with both eyes open is probably best and a good long term goal. However, in my opinion this practice is nowhere near as important as actually hitting your target. Regardless of whether you have eye dominance issues or not, you need to put the bullets where you want them to go as quickly as possible. If you need to squint or close one eye to get this done, then you have your answer. Over time, you may learn that you don't need to squint as much, if at all.

When you are shooting with the hand opposite the eye you're using, you have several choices with handguns. The simplest is just to move the pistol during your presentation just a little toward that side. That's all it takes. Another simple option is to turn your head just enough so that you're using the eye you need to us (this also allows you to keep both eyes open and remain more relaxed). Squinting or closing an eye is a legitimate option if you have to do it to get the hits, but keep in mind that the more relaxed you are, the faster you will ultimately be.

I do not have a strongly dominant eye (which makes it tough for me to use binoculars or binocular microscopes). I am right-handed, but my vision in my left eye is signicantly better than my right. Because of that, I chose to learn to shoot using my left eye primarily. When I first started, the turn of my head was more noticable. Now you can still see it, but I've also moved the gun to a location more aligned with my left eye, so I don't turn my head as much. The head turn is to make it just hard enough for my right eye to see the sights that my left eye takes over. Ordinarily, if I keep my head pointed straigh forward, my eyes take turns on the front sight, which isn't a good situation (it's worse when I'm tired).

 

[Hemingway]

I've seen guys put a piece of scotch tape over the lens of their left eye (when right handed and left eye dominant). It forces you to sort of train the right eye to be the focus.

I'm not sure if this will re-wire the brain long-term or not, but it'll at least allow you to have the field of view and other things. just not the focus of the left eye.

I'm not cross eye dominant but I'll share my experience with finally learning to shoot with both eyes open.

I started shooting seriously in 1995 and was taught to shoot both eyes open. I could NEVER do it. Neither eye seemed to win out over the other. I would end up sometimes using my right eye and then sometimes my left and my scores were terrible. So, I just gave up and kept my left eye closed.

Now, in 2011, I started shooting trap for the first time. After a lesson, the shooting instructor put one of those magic dots on my left lens. It was just enough to shut down my left eye's attempt to focus and I could immediately shoot with both eyes open.

Unexpectedly, when I don't use glasses with tape or a dot on them, my left eye seems to be trained now to let my right eye take over and even shooting pistols at 25 yards, I'm still finally keeping both eyes open and it's not even a struggle. Closing my left eye gives me no advantage now since my right eye has become so dominant.

I have heard it from trainers I respect greatly that under stress, you WILL shoot with both eyes open; your body won't allow you to shut one of your eyes so you better learn to shoot that way. I've never shot at anyone so I can't say firsthand but those that have gone through it have told me that as well.

Anyway, that's my experience. Hope it helps.

 

[abnk]

Shooting with both eyes open is probably best and a good long term goal. However, in my opinion this practice is nowhere near as important as actually hitting your target. Regardless of whether you have eye dominance issues or not, you need to put the bullets where you want them to go as quickly as possible. If you need to squint or close one eye to get this done, then you have your answer.

This is worth repeating.

Even with both eyes open, your tunnel vision will narrow down on the threat so is it really high on the list of priorities to have both eyes open when you aim and press the trigger?

 

[bmbutch]

I also struggled with both eyes open @ first, mostly cured mine with lots of dry fire practice. Kept focusing on front sight, and improved my trigger control @ same time. Was kind of cool, when I noticed it was just natural all of a sudden.

 

[Mike.B]

A subject I actually have experience with, holy crap. I am neutral when it comes to eye dominance and also ambidextrous. When my drill sergeants put me through BRM I was taught to shoot both ways, boy did it come in handy too. My M-16's bolt fractured the day before qualification and I had to shoot a buddies left hand setup.
Now to the point, with both eyes open you get your full field view and your target acquisition increases dramatically. With the pop-up targets we had, I had twice as long to settle my aim than the guys with one eye closed. As others here have mentioned don't close your other eye, squinting will be enough. Hemingway also gave a good suggestion, his "magic dots" could help you learn to focus better.

 

[thindman]

Here's a good way to help train yourself to have both eyes open...get your video camera out and go to a sporting event and follow all the action with one eye in the viewfinder, not on the LCD screen, and the other eye open and looking at your surroundings. I'm no firearms expert obviously, but I worked in TV news for a few years and still am a videographer and this has helped me to learn to shoot guns with both eyes open. When you get clipped with a stray football or a foul ball, you learn really quick to shoot with both eyes. Just two cents.

 

[rhino]

This is worth repeating.

Even with both eyes open, your tunnel vision will narrow down on the threat so is it really high on the list of priorities to have both eyes open when you aim and press the trigger?

Indeed! We could have a new conversation just on the perceived amount of peripheral vision that most people believe they have vs. what they really have, and then what happens to that limited field of vision under extreme stress.

 

[Hookeye]

I shoot everything both eyes open, scoped guns, bows with string peeps, handguns..........just always did.

Unfortunately 2 of my kids are right handed and left eye dominant. Patch is the only way to get them to shoot decent.

 

[Hookeye]

BTW, I have Brown's Syndrome..........so my left eye barely turns left.

I can't do those merged image picture things (like when getting driver's license). My right eye goes super dominate, but back when younger I could turn my left on or off in fine focus.

Older, lesser vision, weaker eyes, can't do it anymore.

Still shoot both open though.

 

[IN_Sheepdog]

I have read some articles about competition shooters and trainers actually rotating the gun 15-45 degrees towards their dominate eye.

GANGSTA !!!!!

seriously tho... I do have an IDPA friend that tried this and it seems to work out ok and allows him to keep them both open while still using the Dominant eye..

Oh My God.. He turned the gun sideways...KILLSHOT... THat's a KILLSHOT !!http://www.facebook.com/pages/Oh-My...HOTthats-a-Killshot/110959505608000?sk=photos

 

[jgreiner]

I am right handed but left eye dominate. I basically shoot like crap when I shoot with both eyes open, there's no consistency. If I close my left eye I am dead on. I have been practicing shooting with both eyes open but I am not getting any better and my target acquisition is slow. I also dry practice. Other than reducing the field of view, what other downsides are there to shooting with 1 eye closed? I would like to shoot with both eyes open so are there any suggestions?

I am left handed, but right eye dominate. I have been shooting the last few months with both eyes open, and yes, I shot like crap at first....but it seems to be coming around. I am back to shooting as well as I do with one eye now. I do like having both open for field of view in a crisis situation.

 

[Faine]

RL

Right H, Left E here, found out when I was very young and tried many things. First, I tried shooting lefty, I was very accurate but it was so awkward that I couldn't maintain longer than one shot. So we gave up on that and tried the rotation bit, same basic issue there, just awkward for me. In the end I had to trian my right eye to dominance. Now I can shoot either hand with either eye or both open without issue. I'd highly recommend getting a solid footing with your training then work on training your right eye. For me we simply did excercises where I closed my left and work on focusing at different distances with the right eye. It didn't take too long and I was all set.

Good Luck whatever you choose.

 

[EOD Guy]

I'm no pro but I do know it is always best to train for realworld scenarios (aka, train the way you'll fight) and some conditioning is required...consider it muscle memory for the eyes.

My $.02 and what helped me shoot with both eyes open? Lots of practice drawing/aiming and I tend to"point" my eye at the front sight by turning my head 10-15degrees. This makes that eye feel more dominant...not sure how you'll fare if you're cross dominant. If you get used to it, you'll love it...no more squinting fatigue and you'll see a lot more.

BTW, don't completely forget about shooting lefty...you never know when it may come in handy.