[BOOM-BOOM]

I was wondering how many of you out there aims they're weapon with both eyes open or do you close one, and is there a differance.

[CountGlockula]

Started out with one eye, then trained myself with both. Basically, one eye limits you, via tunnel vision.

In real life situations, I'd use both eyes to make sure I stop the threat.

[HM2PAC]

Do a search for open eye shooting. This topic has been covered quite a bit.

I will say this though, the more you dry-fire, the easier shooting with both eyes open and shooting with your non-dominant hand/eye will become.

If you are a duck hunter, this will translate into more dead ducks, and being faster than your hunting buddies when it gets competitive.

[flyby]

Its best to maintain situational awareness in an SD incident ..both open of course :eek: :what: :D

[Black Majik]

For target shooting I squint one eye. Outdoor shooting or anything on the move are both eyes open.

[VHinch]

I'm cross dominant, so it always felt more natural to me to have both eyes open.

[rainbowbob]

So far, the majority of the responders shoot both-eyes-open. I can see the adavantages...I just can't see my front sight without goin' cross-eyed unless I squint one eye.

How do you do it?

[HM2PAC]

How do you do it?

Lots and lots of dry-firing for me. I sit every night and dry fire while watching the news.

[BOOM-BOOM]

Quote:
How do you do it?

I use just one eye, I can't see my sights with both eyes open..

If I don't shut my left eye, its more like a point and shoot then an aim and shoot

[Conqueror]

Always both eyes open, at least with a handgun. It helps maintain your depth perception, increases your peripheral vision, and increases your speed. It also helps if/when you acquire suppressors. I don't need to buy tall sights for my quiet pistols, because shooting with both eyes open allows me to "look through" the can.

[Ala Dan]

I like too use both of my eyes from the open position; as it gives me
a clear view of my objective- and that is hitting the target/threat~! ;)

[possum]

i sleep with one eye open, shoot with both eyes open!:)

[SkiShoot]

I'm a new handgun shooter, and have to say I do better with both eyes open. I started out closing one eye, and got all types of weirdness as far as cloudy vision and fatigue and what not... all that seemed to go away w/ both eyes open. I feel more relaxed w/ both eyes open. Maybe it's just that I am improving and have attributed it to that--but I think it has something to do with it.

[malakas07]

i sleep with one eye open, shoot with both eyes open!

Haha:p

I've shot with only one eye for quite awhile. But I've been practicing with both eyes recently. I think I need to upgrade my sights to something
brighter to acquire my front sight faster.

[armedandsafe]

One-eye for bullseye shooting, both at all other times.

Pops

[Vern Humphrey]

Use both eyes.

As I grew older, I became far-sighted in my right (master) eye and near-sighted in my left. I had to retrain myself, since the sights were too fuzzy when I used the right eye for aiming.

I now shoot left-eyed, and the sights are needle-sharp -- and with the right eye, I see the target clearly. I can super-impose my sights on the target and shoot very well.

[DawgFvr]

When I point shoot I keep both eyes open...which is what I usually go to in a defensive situation. When I use my sights...I just can't help it...I automatically close my left eye. Hell...too many years as a rifleman.

[rainbowbob]

No...I mean HOW do you you shoot with both eyes open? What is the technique to learn to do so? Is it just something you are born with, like left or right-handedness - or what?

[Vern Humphrey]

You start by ignoring the non-master eye. Just concentrate on the sights not the target. The target should be a blur. As you progress, practice using the other eye to superimpose the image of the target.

[The Lone Haranguer]

You can always tell a new shooter by their non-aiming eye tightly scrunched shut and their aiming eye nearly bugged out of their head. ;) This is a habit that needs to be gotten out of, however. Because I have an astigmatism (but hate wearing glasses) I do partially close my non-aiming eye so I don't see two sets of sight pictures.

[SkiShoot]

LOL Lone Haraguer... was that you staring at my bugeye a few months ago? It took me a while to figure out "I shouldn't feel like this, what the heck is the matter?!?!" ...bingo... no more of that! :-)

[Sato Ord]

For me it depends on how I am shooting. If I want precise hits and really tight groups I use my dominant eye, other eye closed. Yeah it can cause tunnel vision, but when you're trying to do your best at the range nothing is shooting back.

If I am combat shooting I don't necessarily try and get a real sight picture at all, at least that's what people accuse me of. I aim in a sort of Kentucky windage that used to drive my weapons instructors nuts. However, since I can do this and put all the rounds in the kill zone, and even get head shots clean, they let me get away with it.

If I am facing one opponent I can run a drill on him fast enough that he'll have two to the body and one to the head before he gets off his first shot, so I guess I must be doing something right.

I also do what is now-a-days called zippering. We called it stitching when I was younger. Which is, both eyes open looking at the target, put one shot you know is low in the torso and then walk the rest up to the head actually using the each new hole as a reference for the next shot and not sighting precisely down the barrel.

If I didn't explain any of this to someone else's satisfaction, oh well, it works for me. I hit the target in the red consistently which ever style I use.

Shoot as many different ways as you can as often as you can so that you are versatile if you find yourself in a drastic situation.

[Sato Ord]

No...I mean HOW do you you shoot with both eyes open? What is the technique to learn to do so? Is it just something you are born with, like left or right-handedness - or what?

It's kind of like those guys we used to have at the college lab who could observe through the microscope with one eye, while looking at their paper with the other so that they could write down their observations without looking up. Bloody showoffs.

It's a learned skill. Like anything else it just takes hours of practice time. When you first start doing it you can get a double image that makes most people give up before they hone the skill.

[coloradokevin]

I'm cross dominant, so it always felt more natural to me to have both eyes open.

Interesting you should say that... I'm also cross eye dominant (left eye dominant, right handed). For me, shooting both eyes open has always been very tough.

I have trained myself to do it at shorter practical distances (up to about ten yards), but much of that range is "point shooting" anyway.

In low light it can be tougher for me to work with both eyes open, and sometimes longer distances pose issues. I get by, obviously, and still shoot well... but I wish I had strong arm/eye on the same side of the body :)

[SaltH2OHokie]

Same here...cross-dominant horribly and have always been (my grand-dad told me real young that looking down the barrel with my left eye while shooting a rifle right handed would work fine with a .22, but anything larger and my face was going to be real upset.) Since then I've sorta been forced into shutting an eye, or if I'm shooting clays I'll put some tape over my left lens of the shooting glasses to obscure the vision enough to make my right eye sight down the barrel. Works fine for that, but I can't see training myself with hand-guns that way because that's not realistic...I don't wear glasses with a piece of scotch tape around all day every day...so I squint one eye, or practice left handed. Lefty ain't working out so hot since I've shot right handed for almost 16 years.

[flyby]

I'm Cross-dominant also..I turn my head a more towards the right to compensate ..but still keep both eyes open

[parisite]

I shoot with both eyes open. I'm right handed and right eye dominant.
My right eye has always been very dominant over my left and it has never caused me any problems.
I'm as much right eyed as right handed.

[nc76]

I have not been able to find any tips on how to learn to shoot a handgun with both eyes open. I have always closed one eye, and I am right handed/left eye dominant. However I may have had a revelation tonight. When trying to see the sights clearly with two eyes open I have always looked straight ahead. Tonight I realized if it turn my head to one direction or the other slightly I can somewhat focus either eye on the front sight. It still feels a little awkward, but with some acutal dry fire and range time I might can make this work.

Is this the method you guys use, or can some of you focus with you head straight down range?

[kamagong]

I shoot using both eyes. It's all a matter of practice. At first I couldn't do it, but a couple of weeks of dry fire practice at home and all of a sudden I discovered that I could easily acquire the target with both eyes open.

[flyby]

I have not been able to find any tips on how to learn to shoot a handgun with both eyes open. I have always closed one eye, and I am right handed/left eye dominant. However I may have had a revelation tonight. When trying to see the sights clearly with two eyes open I have always looked straight ahead. Tonight I realized if it turn my head to one direction or the other slightly I can somewhat focus either eye on the front sight. It still feels a little awkward, but with some acutal dry fire and range time I might can make this work.

Is this the method you guys use, or can some of you focus with you head straight do
hmm ..coulda sore i just said that in my above post :rolleyes: ..and um..yes instructors will tell you to do the same ;)

[Dksimon]

I am so used to my .22 that it is just point and shoot I dont even look down the iron sights. Therefore i keep both eyes open. but anything with a scope I have to clost my left eye otherwise I cant really concenrate on what I'm seeing through the scope.

[rainbowbob]

I may have had a revelation tonight. When trying to see the sights clearly with two eyes open I have always looked straight ahead. Tonight I realized if it turn my head to one direction or the other slightly I can somewhat focus either eye on the front sight.

I tried it...it works! The primary difference is that I was seeing the front sight with with the eye closest to it. That's my non-dominant left eye - when I shoot right-handed. That'll be a real switcheroo. But turning my head eliminated the double picture. Cool! I'm gonna practice this now that I know the secret.

[nc76]

Flyby.......missed that one......I guess I was too happy about figuring out I may can do it afterall.

[Ske1etor]

I also started out with just my right eye open. I have since trained myself to shoot with both eyes open.

I also trained myself to not blink when I fire. I did this by just forcing my eyes WIDE open while shooting and after a while that particular "flinch" goes away! I still blink when others shoot but not when I am shooting.

[rainbowbob]

IT WORKS! IT REALLY WORKS!!!

NC76 and Flyby:

Thanks to you guys, I was able to try out the "turn your head" method at the range today.

At 7 yards I was able to place ALL 20 shots in a tight group in COM.

I shoot right-handed with my .38 snubby. I tried 5 rounds with my non-dominant (left) eye by turning my head slightly to the right. Bingo!

Then I tried 15 rounds with my right eye by turning my head slightly to the left. Bango!

I never imagined it would be so easy! Training myself to do this automatically will be more difficult because I am so used to closing my left eye. But my groups were as good or better with both eyes open.

Very cool...thanks guys!

[DWARREN123]

I close both eyes and pray for rain!:what:
I use one eye mostly but practice point shooting with both open.

[dagger dog]

When I could SEE, that was 30 years ago, I shot with both eyes open pistol, revolver any fire arm.
Now that I have TRI-FOCALS, and could really use QUAD-FOCALS, it's really hard to get the sight picture needed for precision, guess I will need to go to an aperture, that fits the eyeglass frame to be able to get that crisp sight picture.

In sd it's not a problem I use the two eyes open shoot middle of mass all day , but paper punching for score, I have to close that non-dominate eye and really squint to get that lousy score!