I heard about shooting with both eyes open

R

Red Dog

New member
I want to know how that's done. I seen things referring to 'Front Sight' among others. How do you aim? What if you have a dominant eye?
 
I want to know how that's done.
Click to expand...

Don't close one eye.

I seen things referring to 'Front Sight' among others.
Click to expand...
This isn't relevant to shooting with both eyes open. It is relevant for aiming a gun with front and rear sights.

How do you aim?
Click to expand...

Just like you normally would. With that said, are you unfamiliar with how to aim guns?

What if you have a dominant eye?
Click to expand...

A dominant eye can make it a lot easier to shoot with both eyes open, especially if the dominant eye is the same as your dominant hand.
 
Double Naught Answered your Questions well. I might add Try walking or running with one eye closed. It is disorienting to say the least as well as inefcient. Shooting with two eyes open allows for better balance and orientation while holding the Firearm.
 
I, for one, do not do well shooting with both eyes open. When I focus on the front sight I see two targets that are about equally well defined. I know from experience to aim at the right one but I really do better by at least squinting my left eye.
 
If I'm shooting paper targets, I close my left eye. If I'm doing defensive drills, I keep both eyes open.
 
I learned to use both eyes initially by squinting my left eye.

Occasionally, I still have to do that to start a session.
 
guess turning 60 I had to add another move in sighting my weapon,now after shot I have to drop weapon down a little then raise back up to get correct sight,if I don`t everything is fuzzy and takes too long to get correct sight, I shoot with both eyes open
 
Shooting with two eyes open allows for better balance and orientation while holding the Firearm.
Click to expand...
It also adds for a better field of view. With one eye closed you are basically blind to one side. Therefor it's good to practice with both eyes open for defensive shooting. However, it is usually easier to score better on targets with only 1 eye open. So for me, for leagues it's one eye open, for other practice it's two eyes open.

How do you do it? It just takes practice and getting used to. One eye (your dominant one) will provide most of the focusing. With a little practice, you still see the sights and target clearly with your dominant eye while the other eye fills in depth and your field of view. Awkward at first but not bad with a little practice.

Hey Sport45, are you dominant in one eye or eye neutral (is that possible???)
 
Practice and program your mind

I learned to use both eyes initially by squinting my left eye.
Click to expand...
Simular to training a dog. Stay consistant, practice and let the mind program itself for what you want done. To a certain degree, you can tell a shooters dominant eye by obseving which one is squinting. With very little time, it wil be second nature. Regardless of what I'm shooting, I keep both eyes open even though, my left eye seems to always be squinting. I think this comes from my instinctive style of archery shooting. .... ;)


Be Safe !!!
 
Last edited:
both eyes open

i shoot both eyes open with rifles scoped or not shotguns and pistols , i was trying to think of a way to explain this to my wife, she's a squinter, i told her think about it honey ,you dont read a book with one eye open or drive your car squinting then after trying both eyes open she started playing a little tune on the steel with my 1911, my advise is just go to the range and try it.
 
Went to the range today to give it a shot.

1) What should be clear? Target, Sight both neither.
2) How should the sight picture look?


I hit the target in the general area that I was aiming sometimes. Just looking for some tips to begin muscle training.
 
I don't know if this is weird, I guess I never thought about it, but I always shoot with both eyes open. I aim with both eyes, I haven't been shooting for a long time either though.
 
The only way I can shoot at all is with both eyes open.

I'm right handed and right eye dominant, but I am monovision left eye corrected for distance. So I read with my right eye and see distance with the help of a contact in my left eye (going to get Lasik on my left eye this year). This can make shooting a bit of a challenge, but if I keep both eyes open I can sort of see the front sight and the target both.

For indoor range shooting I had a special pair of safety glasses made that corrects just my right eye, otherwise it's just too hard to see the target with the indoor lighting.
 
From a self defense or hunting perspective, having both eyes open is a real benefit. The eye not used for sighting is still able to catch movement even if you aren't concentrating on that eye's view. When you close the eye not being used for sighting, you are making a giant blind spot/blind side in your visual awareness which is already being reduced when sighting with the other eye.

I picked up the practice in the family store, using a loupe and dealing with customers. It is amazing what customers will try to do when they think you aren't looking and that your whole world field of view is concentrated down to a square half inch. One eye on the jewelry and one eye on the customer.

The doubling of the targets as noted above is a problem some have. Supposedly, it can be overcome with some simple training exercises, but I have never done them and don't know how well they do or do not work.
 
Hey Sport45, are you dominant in one eye or eye neutral (is that possible???)
Click to expand...

I don't know. But sitting here at the desk I can hold a pencil at arm's length and focus on the eraser "aiming" at the doorknob across the hall. I see two doorknobs and they both look about the same. The eraser is under the one on the right.
 
Shooting with both eyes open

Red Dog,

I trained myself to shoot with both eyes open over a period of a couple of weeks by dry practicing a little bit every day. I'm right-handed and right eye dominant. When I would focus on the front sight I'd see two images. The one I wanted to use was on the left. After a while my brain started to ignore the wrong one. It's still there, but now I have to intentionally try to see it.

I remember hearing of an experiment many years ago where a group of subjects were fitted with glasses that inverted the image they saw. After a period of adjustment (days or weeks, I don't know) they began to see the world right side up again. Their brains had made the correction. Of course when they took the glasses off at the end of the experiment they had to go through the same transition in reverse.

I suspect the ability to shoot with both eyes open will have to be relearned if it's not practiced with some regularity - use it or lose it.

-Stan-
 
I'm right handed and left dominant eye, I've always shot with both eye's open, with long guns I do use my right eye though.
 
I don't know. But sitting here at the desk I can hold a pencil at arm's length and focus on the eraser "aiming" at the doorknob across the hall. I see two doorknobs and they both look about the same. The eraser is under the one on the right.
Click to expand...

Sport45 : Your focus is on the pencil rather than the doorknob. Try playing with your focus until you see 2 pencils and one doorknob. One pencil will be more distinct than the other.
Right eye dominant: the left pencil will be most distinct, and aimed at the dorknob.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top