Both eyes open - sight focus

[22-rimfire]

I have always had an eye dominance issue with handguns, but never with rifles or shotguns. Basically what I notice with handguns relates to the distance between your eyes and the sights... a quick sight line up is always perfect with my dominant right eye. But if I hold the gun out for some time focusing on the sights, my brain gets mixed up as to which is dominant. I begin to see the sight with my left eye and the results is I am not properly lined up on the target..... I don't know, but I often close my left eye to deal with this simply because it is easier for me.

 

[Blackstone]

I'm using an air pistol with pure black front and rear sights. It makes it very difficult for me to focus on the front sight as I can't really distinguish it from the rear sights. Should I apply some colour to it?

 

[Pete D.]

Black

sights. Should I apply some colour to it?

No. Many air pistol shooters will apply "sight black" to their sights to make them blacker. If you cannot separate the front sight from the rear, you may want to try using a diopter that can be mounted on your regular or your shooting glasses.
The three most effective diopters are, in order of increasing cost: the Merit Optical disc - which is a little adjustable iris that mounts on your glasses with a small suction cup. Handy and effective. Another is the Gehmann's adjustable iris which is a flip up/down item like a flip up sunglasses. It adjust the same way as the Merit.
The third option is a set of fully adjustable shooting glasses - an adjustable frame that holds an occluder for the non-shooting eye, blinders for the sides and an adjustable iris that also adjusts on three axes.
What they all have in common is the iris which allows exact depth of field focus and will allow you to see the front sight clearly.

 

[9mmepiphany]

I'm using an air pistol with pure black front and rear sights. It makes it very difficult for me to focus on the front sight as I can't really distinguish it from the rear sights. Should I apply some colour to it?

I would not.

The easiest site to see on a dark target...because black grays out under light...are all black sights. We used to blacken, not darken, them with carbide smoke to make them stand out more against a black silhouette B-27 target.

The reason you add color to to the front sight is to make them faster to pickup, the color draws your eye, as you bring your sights into your line of vision...you still aligned the outline of the sights

 

[todd_g]

When I was in the Marine Corps they made us shoot with both open except when doing rifle and pistol quals, because of that it seems so natural to do.