Shoot both eyes open vs focus on front sight?

BigJimP said:
If you can - shoot with both eyes open.... / gives you better definition, better peripheral vision and better depth perception....and always focus on the front sight ( not the target ).
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BigJim said it best...better depth perception. Part of why we have 2 forward facing, convex curved eyeballs. V.s. perhaps just one large eyebAll. Or more realistic, flat lens eyes like fish (better low light vision)
Regarding open sights of any sorts I find it best both eyes open. I regularly practice with success of hitting 40 yard targets with handguns, including snubs.
 
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I've heard for many years that shooting with both eyes open is the "best" way to do it. It may very well be, but I simply cannot do it.
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I thought the same things but I kept working at it and I finally got the hang of it. I still have to concentrate to make sure I don't close one eye. It was a hard thing to learn but I feel it was worth it.
 
Shooting eye only for me, focus on front sight. People with a lot more experience than I have do it that way. And having learned to shoot by practicing Bullseye, I find closing the non-shooting eye comes naturally.
 
I will try shooting both eyes open on my next range trip but if I really focus both eyes on the front sight the target goes to double vision. I still don't get how it's so easy for some of you to have both eyes open and focus on the front sight. If I focus on the target I get double vision of the sights, but I can tell which one is correct. That seems like a better option to me.
 
I can point shoot with both eyes open but that's it. Once sights come into play one eye is closed. I can swap hands and close the other eye and still shoot pretty well but it takes a second to get focused.
 
Great pistol shooters will be shooting with both eyes open and the front sight focused.

There's a stage shooters pass through where they are able to watch the sights at the moment of trigger break and KNOW exactly where the hit is. They also watch the sights rise and fall back to the target. Once you can do that, accurate and fast shooting becomes much simpler.
 
I get double vision also when shooting with both eyes open and focusing on the front sight.

But I find if I squint just a little with my non-dominant eye, it immediately becomes clear which sight picture is correct. After that I can fully open my non-dominant eye and my brain tunes out the incorrect sight picture.

I am hoping with more practice I can skip the initial squint.
 
When shooting a shotgun it should always be with two eyes . A moving target is way easier to hit using both . Very few good shooters use only one eye .
 
I've heard the same, however I have an astigmatism that would give me a double target....not good! So since I am right eye dominant, I close my left eye for clarity of front sight and target. With a cross dominance student, I try placing a small piece of paper alternately between the safety glasses and one eye, and then the other to find which is the most comfortable to the shooter. Then determine which hand dominance is easiest for the shooter.
 
Yes astigmatism is a big deal for two eye shooting. You just have to go with one eye if you have an astigmatism.
 
Radny97 said:
Yes astigmatism is a big deal for two eye shooting. You just have to go with one eye if you have an astigmatism.
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Not necessarily. I have pretty bad astigmatism and have always shot with both eyes open.
 
Yes astigmatism is a big deal for two eye shooting. You just have to go with one eye if you have an astigmatism.
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No you don't. I've had an astigmatism for 30+ years and shot one eyed until a couple of years ago. I was determined to learn to shoot with both eyes open and after a lot of trying and hard work, I now shoot with both eyes open. My accuracy has improved which I consider pretty good for being 68 years old.

It's hard to change the way you aim but I now know it can be done. It's not a matter of trying a few times. It's working on it for months that makes it possible.
 
Here's an article out today by shooting sports USA that is all about this issue. It includes testimonials from many of the present sand past shooting champions in the US. Looks like the general preference is to occlude the non-dominate eye. Although there are a few who shoot both eyes open and a few who close one eye. I still believe, and this article seems to confirm, that shooting with both eyes open will not result in the greatest level of accuracy, but it is very effective for defensive situations.

http://www.ssusa.org/articles/2016/...CENSORED--CENSORED--CENSORED--CENSORED- =0316
 
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Not sure why the link won't work. Any one know how to make a link work?
If you insert utm _ campaign in the location where it says censored, with no spaces, it will work.
 
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