Which eye do you use?

[cor_man257]

In basic training I was taught that while shooting right handed, you should use your right eye. While shooting left handed, you should use your left eye. I focus with one eye, but have both open in these scenerios.

Having been taught that way, it seems to be working for me. But I would say use whatever eye puts the round in the X.

 

[USBP1969]

No-Aalibi - The tape on the glasses is not for tactical use, but for training one eye to be dominant for tactical use.

I disagree with training an officer to close one eye in while shooting and that under stress he/she will perform as trained. It can work well if that stress is anticipated, but not if the officer is suddenly startled by an attacker.

BTW - we did have spare holsters for those who wanted try trading sides. This worked especially well when each student was issued a a red "dummy gun" to carry in their holster when not on the range that weighed about the same as their issue weapon.

 

[Cottage24]

Both Eyes Closed

 

[USBP1969]

Cottage24:

TAKE COVER!!

 

[PabloJ]

The good one I believe gun loonies call it master eye.

 

[gym]

Both, you should keep both eyes open, you may have an attacker other than the one you noticed, closing you eye, cuts off half your field of view.

 

[Loosedhorse]

Both Eyes Closed

Use the Force, Luke.

 

[1stmarine]

the idea is to train with both hands and both eyes and alternate as you do this to train in case of injury and don't know what hand and/or eye is going to be out of commission.
train as you fight.

 

[USBP1969]

1stmarine - Good thoughts.

We trained them to use strong supported by the weak as well as right hand only and left hand only.

We didn't train them for non-dominant eye use because if the dominant eye became unusable, the non-dominant would automatically take over the task of aiming.

-kent

 

[pendennis]

I'm right-eye dominant, but left handed. I, therefore, learned to shoot right handed. That was so long ago that it's all second nature now.

I tried, at one time, to shoot an M16 left handed. The first time I caught a piece of hot brass down my utility shirt, that ended that.

If you don't know what eye is dominant, here's an easy test: Take an empty paper towel core; hold it with two hands at waist level; raise it up to eye level. You will be able to see straight down the tube with your dominant eye.

We have several shooters at our club, who put translucen Scotch tape to the inside of their glasses when they're left handed-right eye dominant (or vice versa).

 

[Strykervet]

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.

If you weren't dominant in one eye, I doubt you could focus at all. There is a test you can try, kind of like where a movie director holds up his hands and looks through a rectangle formed by thumbs and forefingers... But here, you look with both eyes and get a picture, then close one eye and leave one open, then switch. Whichever open eye saw the rectangle the same way both eyes did is the dominant one, and the eye that saw the rectangle "move" is not.

If this doesn't work, I don't know, go see an optometrist. Unless you know which eye is dominant, you will never be able to know if you are shooting as good as you are. When I taught SDM's, they'd have to figure this out on day one and wear a patch on the "weak" eye if their dominant eye wasn't the same as their dominant hand, which is much more obvious.

You need to know which one is dominant to know you are shooting your best, and whether or not you need to switch eyes, which will feel very uncomfortable to say the least, in the beginning.