Which eye do you use?

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fatcat4620

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I was doing some draw-then-dryfire drills after the wife went to bed and started to do some offhand. I noticed that with the pistol in my left hand I was still using my right eye to line up the sights (and for the most part they were already on target with my right eye). Is this normal or do people change to their weak eye when drawing from weak side?
 
Wouldn't know as to your question, I know for me I use my left eye no matter what hand I am shooting with, I am right handed if that helps any,
 
I use my right eye, even though most times I shoot with both eyes open. My right eye takes over what is being seen by the left eye.

I guess that is why it is called DOMINANT!
:scrutiny:
 
I'm not dominant in one or the other. But my right eye has a bit of astigmatism which means I see the front sight more clearly with my left eye and shoot better using the left eye even though I draw and shoot right handed.

I don't switch eyes either. Left for strong or weak hand shooting and left for two handed.

I've toughed it out with rifles and shotguns with the right eye so far. But I really need to work on my left handed rifle shooting so I can use my sharper left eye. It just feels SOOOOO awkward though.
 
I try to use both eyes open but I just can't get the hang of it. I do switch eyes when shooting on the weak side. (right handed and right eye dominant)
 
I think it would take more work than it's worth to accommodate yourself to using that left eye. Assuming you just want to prepare for a bad situation in which you were required to use your non-dominant left hand to defend yourself, I think (1) your time would be better spent on other preparatory tasks. And (2) in that moment, your over-stressed brain would revert to its natural inclination to aim with its dominant eye despite your intentions.
 
Most, if not all, people have a dominant eye even if they've never realized it. I am left eye dominant but I'm right handed. I keep both eyes open when I shoot but the left eye is the one that takes over the sighting process naturally. I can force my right eye to be dominant by either closing my left eye or twisting my head to the left so the right eye is lining up the sights but if I'm facing the target head-on, it's my left eye that runs the show.
 
Is this normal or do people change to their weak eye when drawing from weak side?
I think most do not. However, when going around a barrier (in slice-the-pie, room-clearing mode) that's on their strong side, IMHO they should use the weak hand (and same-side eye, whether dom or not) to minimize their profile coming around the barrier.
 
It seems you got the attention of another left eye dominate person (right handed).

It's an advantage when pistol shooting (usually), but a disadvantage when rifle shooting. People have recommended that I shoot rifles left handed to take advantage of my dominate eye. My response is I'm better with my right eye, than my left hand.

Not that it matters to this thread, but most accomplished baseball hitters are cross-eye dominate. I feel like someone stuck a fork or a crayon in my right hand as a toddler. Every body part that I have two of, I favor my left, except for my hand.
 
I try to use both eyes open but I just can't get the hang of it.

Right with you on that one. I have tried over and over - gave up and went back to what works for me......right eye (right handed).
 
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I've heard it's a right-brained/left-eye and vice versa thing. At least it makes me feel special! I shoot skeet and am now doing better with both eyes than I was with a 3/4" square piece of tape over my left eyeglass lens to force my right eye to dominate and be aligned with the barrel. A few have told me I'd be better off at shotgun games with a LH gun. I think it's too late for that! I shoot rifles with my right eye open (only) and opposite for pistol. That may be why I have never been naturally comfortable in a weaver stance. I'm sure I could get there with more practice.
 
Right handed, left eye dominant. I aim with my left eye with a hand gun in either hand and I shoot a rifle 'left handed' (obviously, with my left eye :D.)
 
I don't know how many thousands of students passed through the gates of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center while I was there, but we saw many folks in every class who were cross-eye dominant, so I can say with confidence that it makes no difference at all when shooting a handgun. It does, however, when shooting a long gun.

Col. Jeff Cooper, who started Gunsite, told me one time that he was cross eye dominant, but when posing for photos pretended to be right eye dominant.

The problem is when one is neither left nor right eye dominant. Years ago, they taught folks to just close one eye, but...under great stress, especially when one is startled, it is not possible. For that reason when we encountered a student with that problem we issued a set of shooting glasses with a little Scotch tape on one lens of his/her shooting glasses.

If they were right handed, the tape would be on the left lens and if they were left handed it would be on the right lens. It doesn't take the brain long to "compensate" for blurred vision in one eye by making the other dominant. (It speeds up the process if the shooter wears the training glasses for short periods other than just at the range.)

Hope that helps,
-kent
 
Kent, just wanted to say, that's a really good post!

As I mentioned in my post, being cross eye dominate is a handicap with long guns. The advantage, if any, with pistol shooting is minimal.
 
I'm cross dominant, doesn't seem to hurt me any so far. Iron sights get tricky on longarms but with properly reliefed optics I'm fine.
 
The eye that I have open. A closed eye cannot be dominant. Even if your dominant eye coincides with your handedness, dominance can and will fluctuate because of stress and physical hindrances caused by colds, low energy levels, fatigue, etcetera.

I was a firearms instructor for a large PD (3,500+ sworn personnel) and at the time (circa early 80s) we most often suggested in cases of cross eye/hand dominance to switch the handedness to the same side as the dominant eye. Whether they switched or not we also recommended that they keep both eyes open to take advantage of depth perception, but at the moment of firing the handgun, shotgun or rifle to close the eye that was not aligned with the sights. Closing an eye in this manner can be a learned response even in stressful or startling situations. IIRC, it was Tillman that said that you don’t rise to the occasion, but revert to your level of training. The only question is, are you willing to put the time and effort in?

The suggestion made for putting tape over one’s glasses may be fine for competition shooting, but it is impractical for combat shooting. Also, with the tape method you lose the binocular vision needed for depth perception, i.e. - range estimation.
 
Right handed, left eye dominant. Normally I use left eye but sometimes switch, which ever is giving clearest sight picture
 
I am right eye dominate and right handed.
I would like to learn to shoot with both eyes open as I can see that being handy in self defense combat. But other than that its hard to change the only thing you know.

EDIT: Retest myself... I thought for some reason you tested by covering something with your thumb, wrong I forgot you make a triangle...
 
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