Eye dominance question

[hi-impact]

When shooting with both eyes open, is it possible for your dominant eye to switch to your non-dominant eye involuntarily or switch back and forth involuntarily?

If it's possible, it could be devastating if in a gun fight.

Thanks in advance.

 

[patmccoy]

Anything is "possible", but it is very unlikely if you are talking about handgun shooting. Rifle shooting (without a scope) can be different, as a blockage of the eye by the rear sight can cause problems for those few folks with little or no strong dominance in one eye.

 

[GunnyUSMC]

Over the years I have had several people tell me that they could not shoot with both eyes open.
I always ask if they have to close one eye to read. Most people have a strong dominant eye but never train to shoot with both eyes open. If your eyes are good, shoot with both eyes open. The more you do the easier it will get. You will develop muscle memory, which will make it much easier in a high stress situation.
Good training is the key.

 

[jmr40]

Never heard of that happening. I strongly believe that all shooting should be done with both eyes open, even when using optics on rifles. Shooting with both eyes open shouldn't be much of a problem with handguns since the sights are so far from the eyes and the gun is usually in the middle. I think most people who have trouble keeping both eyes open are simply shooting from the wrong side. If you're left eye dominate and shooting a long gun from the left side, both eyes open should be easy. If you are left eye dominate shooting from the right side it is almost impossible to see the sights without closing the left eye.

folks with little or no strong dominance in one eye.

I've never heard of this concept. Not saying it is incorrect, I've just never heard of anyone having a strong or weak dominance. In my experience you are either dominate in the left or right eye.

 

[Zaydok Allen]

While I was able to change my eye dominance with about 1.5 to 2 years of effort, I don't think a sudden change can happen. Mammalian binocular vision doesn't work that way even though neuroplasticity is a very real and measurable thing.

If it could happen very suddenly, a person would have a very, very rare condition, and I doubt, it is a problem for many. However with 7 billion examples, there may be a few out there.

 

[patmccoy]

In my experience you are either dominate in the left or right eye.

It may be just a matter of experience. In 49 years of instructing, and over 30 of coaching both rifle and pistol, I've found several who had no eye dominance. They could shoot equally well with either eye.

The most frustrating one was one who did well with either eye when shooting pistol, but later had great difficulty with a rifle having an aperture rear sight. When mounting the rifle the sight blockage caused the other eye to become dominant. We finally identified the problem by using a scoped rifle (which worked fine from either side), then using a blinder on the non-sighting eye. The final solution was to only use a scoped rifle.

Last year I read about a competitive shotgun shooter who resumed shooting after raising a family, only to find great difficulty with hitting targets. A quick check found that eye dominance had changed over the intervening years.

 

[Corpral_Agarn]

Interesting question, but I don't think that we would ever know if the eye dominance was the reason for a lost gun fight.

In my competition shooting, I have not (yet) had a problem with eye dominance getting mixed up.

In fact, under stress, I think my dominant eye gets more focused.

 

[Flechette]

I am left eye dominant and shoot rifle from my right shoulder (auto rifles for lefties can be dangerous),

I ended up getting a custom stock for my M1A so that I can sit my chin directly on the stock and see through the scope with my left eye.

Works great!

 

[Corpral_Agarn]

I am left eye dominant and shoot rifle from my right shoulder (auto rifles for lefties can be dangerous),

I ended up getting a custom stock for my M1A so that I can sit my chin directly on the stock and see through the scope with my left eye.

Works great!

Interesting.

Are you right handed then?

Why not just shoot left handed?

I am right handed and left eyed, I just shoot rifles/shotguns left handed.

 

[Flechette]

Interesting.

Are you right handed then?

Why not just shoot left handed?

I am right handed and left eyed, I just shoot rifles/shotguns left handed.

I am kind of messed up.

I write with my right hand but me left arm is stronger.

I shoot rifle right handed but am left eye dominant. I used to shoot competitively and built an eye shield onto the peep sight of my rifle so I had to use my right eye. Later I just made sure I can shoulder a rifle and use my left eye.

I can shoot right handed well with some handguns (autos) as the controls are typically designed for right handed people. For other guns it seems more natural to grab with my left hand and simply point and shoot. This is especially true with revolvers due to the ergonomics of their handles. Note: It is very convenient to use one's left hand in certain situations, like riding a motorcycle where your right hand has to stay on the throttle.

With an M2 I have to use two hands but cross them to grab each handle...

Ok, I lied on that last one...

 

[straightshooterjake]

I am left eye dominant and shoot rifle from my right shoulder (auto rifles for lefties can be dangerous),

I ended up getting a custom stock for my M1A so that I can sit my chin directly on the stock and see through the scope with my left eye.

Works great!

Would you be willing to post a picture of this stock or a picture of you holding this rifle? I can't quite picture this setup and I am very curious what it looks like.

 

[straightshooterjake]

It may be just a matter of experience. In 49 years of instructing, and over 30 of coaching both rifle and pistol, I've found several who had no eye dominance. They could shoot equally well with either eye.
....

Last year I read about a competitive shotgun shooter who resumed shooting after raising a family, only to find great difficulty with hitting targets. A quick check found that eye dominance had changed over the intervening years.

I agree with patmccoy on this one. I have come to believe that eye dominance is more of a continuum than we were historically taught. Just like a few people are really ambidextrous between hands, some people have minimal preference between eyes. I suspect these people still have some dominance, but it may not be noticeable.

Unfortunately, this does not always cause people to shoot equally well with each eye, sometimes it causes them to have difficulties on both sides. This situation can be helped with training, but strategies designed for people with strong eye dominance may not be helpful.

There was a long and informative thread about this issue on another forum recently. I think it was on thefiringline, but I'm not sure. If I can find it, I'll post a link. I prefer not to link to other forums, but this thread was valuable read for anyone who is interested in this subject.

 

[RecoilRob]

Since the OP mentioned 'gun fight'...my thoughts will be toward that end and not 'Target Shooting'. In an actual stressful situation, the normal reaction of most humans is that your eyes will be focused on the threat, and trying to then change your focus to the front sight as most instructions dictate just won't happen. So to better prepare for an actual fight it's good to find a way of shooting that will actually work in such a situation.

Both eyes open absolutely should be used if for nothing else but the additional field of vision it gives you for better situational awareness. Then I believe your shooting posture and position play a critical role in allowing you to use the sights even while focusing on the target. If you set up so your pistol is straight with your wrist and forearm, then look down your arm (Strong Weaver)...whichever sight picture you find closest to aligning with the target (or the one on the left for a RH shooter) is the one to use.

Depending on how far away the threat might be then depends on whether any attempt should be made to actually find the sights at all. Up close...point shooting is good enough. Farther away...just find the front sight and combined with your strong shooting position you'll hit just fine. Farther out you'll need to find the rear sight too and combine it with the front sight to make good hits, but in a self-defense situation this is starting to get far enough away that legitimate SD (unless the other party is actually shooting at you) is becoming muddy in the eyes of the Law. Perhaps avoidance would be the better play when the distance is far enough that you actually need sight coordination to hit?

Anyway....back when I started shooting over 40 years ago I decided to only shoot with both eyes open and focusing on the target to better prepare for that dark day I might need to use that skill. Have taken multiple pistol courses over the years and each time have been told I'm doing it wrong...but funny enough I seem to do it wrong pretty decently so am not going to change. If you are actually trying to practice for that deadly encounter...try finding a way to find enough front sight while focusing on the threat and you'll be better prepared.

 

[Flechette]

Would you be willing to post a picture of this stock or a picture of you holding this rifle? I can't quite picture this setup and I am very curious what it looks like.

Unfortunately I am on a business trip and cannot take a picture of it. However I think that I can give you a good idea.

Here is an M1a with a standard stock:

Note that the comb doesn't quite get lower than the bottom of the foregrip.

Here is a pistol grip version:

Note how the comb doesn't get much lower than the *top* of the foregrip.

I have a custom pistol grip stock where the comb drops at a steeper angle aft of the gun's receiver. This, combined with some see-through scope mounts that put the scope a little higher, allows me to put my chin on top of the comb and look through the scope with my left eye.

Another option I looked at instead of a custom stock was an Archangel stock.

Imagine removing the cheek riser altogether. Unfortunately, the resulting comb would still be level with the bottom of the foregrip, just like a standard stock.

The stock I have isn't as "tacticool". Just imagine a pistol grip stock with a bit more of an angle than this one:

Or this one with the cheek riser removed and a steeper angle.

You can see how I could put my chin on the top of the stock and see through the scope with my left eye.

Yes, the lower butt increases muzzle rise when firing but this weapon is not designed for full auto (or at least they gave up on it).

The see-through scope is higher and makes for increased parallax, but that can be dealt with by good range finding and/or a double intersection bullet trajectory.

My opinion is that a weapon with good ergonomics is more comfortable to shoot and thus lends itself to better real-world accuracy.

 

[Varminterror]

Your eye dominance is a pre-disposed favoritism of your brain for the image from one eye or the other.

It is possible, in fact incredibly easy, to change which eye your brain uses as the primary image. You do it hundreds of times per day, without even realizing it. If you ever find yourself focused out of the wrong eye, simply refocusing your eyes will bring it back to your default dominant eye.

You will NEVER be stuck in a gunfight focusing with the wrong eye.