One eye closed when shooting?

[cdislicker]

Does anyone else close one eye when shooting?

I find that I can't get both my left and right eyes to focus properly on the sights when shooting. The only way I seem to get reasonable accuracy is by closing the weak side eye while aiming.

I was wondering if this was "normal". If it isn't, does anyone know of any techniques that can correct this problem?

 

[Smoke]

SOme people can shoot with both eyes open, some can't.

Some people can learn to do it; some can't.

I am aggresively learning to do it but not having a lot of success.
My B.I.L. is an Opthamologist and hass told me that people whose dominant eye is grossly dominant will have and easier time than those whose are not as "one eyed" as the others.

I shoot equally well with either hand and either eye. (long guns)
I have a very slight left eye dominance (right handed)

It's getting better but progress is slow.

Smoke

 

[Standing Wolf]

Keeping both eyes open generally enhances accuracy for most shooters: balancing the tension between the eyes seems to improve concentration and reduce muscle fatigue.

Unfortunately, as I've aged, keeping my weak eye open adversely affects accuracy. I now keep my weak eye about half-open. I've tried assorted masks, but they haven't helped.

 

[Black_Talon]

I started shoting with only one eye open and shot that way for 25 years. Just a few years ago I made a conscious effort to learn to keep both eyes open. It was difficult at first, but now I'm used to it.

 

[Ala Dan]

I seem to shoot better with both eyes open;
as it doesn't seem to be as nearly much stress
placed on the domiant eye.

Best Wishes,
Ala Dan, N.R.A. Life Member

 

[cdislicker]

I'll have to learn to keep both eyes open, *especially* at intermediate pistol distances.

25yds ... left hand left eye is marginally more accurate.
40-50% inside the 5-ring RH
45-55% inside the 5-ring LH

7yds ... right hand right eye is much much more accurate.
80-85% inside the 9-ring RH
50-55% inside the 9-ring LH

I've only been a shooter since late-january, and don't want to develop any bad habits I'll later have to un-learn.

Edit: The above results were obtained with a Beretta 84FS over a grand total of 4 range trips and 400 rounds.

 

[Devonai]

I don't know anybody who shoots with both eyes open, or at least anyone whose performance doesn't decrease drastically if they do.

I know it can be done well, but I don't have the time or finances to teach myself to do it, especially for the speeds required for self-defense. I'd be better off with point shooting, which I also think is severely flawed.

 

[Autolite]

I have to close one eye ...

I am 'cross dominant'. I am right handed with my left eye being stronger than my right eye. I close my right eye when shooting pistols and visa-versa when shooting long guns ...

 

[cdislicker]

Autolite,

Have you shot longguns left hand/left eye with any success?

 

[GigaBuist]

I keep 'em both open.

I'm a weird case -- my left eye (I'm right handed) is so weak is practically useless except for periphial vision. I'm 20/60 in the left eye WITH glasses. It's just plain useless. If I loose my right eye I'm going to be practically friggen blind.

Not only does it allow me to shoot w/ both eyes open -- I can turn one eye "in" and keep the other straight. This does mean I have zero depth perception (in the normal sense) so I can't catch a ball for crap compares to most.

I seem to remember a story from elementary school (I was like 7 or 8 I guess) about a kid's grandfather qualifying for some special marks in the military for accuracy w/ both eyes open. One eye was a glass eye though.

 

[Autolite]

cdislicker ...

Nope. Never wanted to try shooting left handed. My long guns are all made for right handed shooters so I prefer to just train my weak right eye to aim and keep shooting right handed. I figure it's easier to aim with my weak eye than to learn to shoot with my left hand ...

 

[Delmar]

I'm left handed and right eye dominant, so the trigger works better for me right handed. I seem to have more control that way. Back when I was a kid, there usually wasn't a lot of sports equipment for lefties as they have now. Until I got a baseball mitt for left handers, I caught with my left, shucked the glove, and threw with my left. Shot right handed and still do. Funny, at the IDPA matches they say to switch to your weak hand for some portions of the match. Doesn't bother me near as much as it does the "righties".

 

[cdislicker]

GigaBuist,
You're not such a wierd case. My left eye is 20/20 corrected. My right eye is 20/100 corrected. I am, however, strongly right-eye dominant out to about 15-20 yards (inside this distance, my left eye is just staring blankly off to space)

Autolite,
I was just curious. The only time I ever shot a long gun, it was a right handed bolt action. I fired and worked the action left handed. Holding it right handed just didn't feel right.

 

[680x0]

I'm righthanded with very slight right eye dominance. I've only been shooting for about 2 months, but I've found a pretty fast and accurate way to get a propper sight picture with both eyes open.

I mostly practice at defense distances and speeds and if I want to crank em out fast, with my right hand I align the barrel (not the sights) with my right eye (with both eyes open) and use it to quickly aim the gun without using the sights. This works great for very quick one-hand shots in the 10 yard range. I use a similar method for sighted shots, except I line up the sights and look "through the gun" focusing on the target. I then reverse and focus on the front sight only and can then get a good in-focus sight picture without getting that nasty double-image that I get when trying to focus going from near-field to the sight. People's eyes and brains are of course quite different, but I've found for me the only way to keep both eyes open and still get a sight picture is again; bring up the sights, focus on target while looking "through" sights, then bring the front sight into focus. I hope that makes some sense

 

[esheato]

I'm left handed and left eye dominant and I shoot everything with both eyes open.

From rifle to pistol to shotgun, both eyes are always open.

A squint occurs from time to time when shooting through a scope.

Heck, I can shoot skeet right handed if I have to. Although I have to start with a mounted gun. Last time I tried it I shot a 19. Not half bad.

esheato....

 

[BluesBear]

For 30+ years I shot handguns with both eyes open.
I am cross eye dominant.
The last few years I have had to switch to bifocals. I wear contact lenses 99% of the time. One is for distance one is for close. The problem is that the right eye is now my long distance eye and my left is my close up eye. I now have to close or at least squint my left eye. If I don't my left eye tries too hard to see what the right eye dies and the sights and target get on different planes.

Nothing like shooting a nice one hole group at 15 yards, except that it's 8" to the left.

I still point shoot with both eyes open. But for any sort of target work I have to "fade out" my left eye.

 

[Mulliga]

My right eye is very dominant and is stronger (less near-sighted) than my left eye. I have no problem using sights with both eyes open. That said, I think too much is made of using both eyes - if you have to close or squint the other eye to hit your target, do it.

 

[tcsd1236]

I usually close the off eye. Instructors will say that you should learn to shoot with both eyes open to increase your periphreal vision, but its something I just have never done well.

 

[Diggler]

I shoot with both eyes open during the daytime BUT...

I just got a Springfield Black Stainless 1911 with tritium night sights and tried it in the dark/very low light. For me, I couldn't do it with both eyes open... there is no 'dominant' image for me, I see six dots instead of three and can't discriminate between which front sight goes with which rear dots.

 

[VNgo]

I'm ambidextrous and right eye dominant, so I keep both eyes open when shooting from the right side but close my right eye when shooting from the left side.

 

[Larry Ashcraft]

I have spent most of my life shooting a shotgun, although I shoot a lot of rifles and handguns now.

I haven't been able to master both eyes open with a handgun yet, however, a few years ago I noticed I was shooting a shotgun with both eyes open.

Just a matter of experience I guess. I do shoot a shotgun better with both eyes open, and I'm 54 years old and wear trifocals.

 

[Country Boy]

I'm right handed and right eye dominant. For the past few years, I've been shooting both eyes open. I mostly shoot handguns, but I do keep my scoped deer rifle sighted in. Even when shooting with a scope, both eyes are open, although the "off" eye is slightly closed. Shooting with both eyes open was easy for me to learn, and I appreciate the fact that I wouldn't be cutting off some peripherial vision in a defensive situation.

 

[timbo]

Perhaps I'm an oddball, but I just took to shooting with both eyes open naturally. I find it too distracting to try to close one eye.

 

[Zach S]

I shoot with both eyes open, I'm cross-dominate (left eye, right hand). To answer an earlier question, all long arms get fired from the left shoulder.

Tried to fire my thompson from the right shoulder today, and realized that the reason my left eye is dominate is because my vison in my right eye really sucks. Never that noticed until I looked at that front sight...