Shooting with one eye or both open

S

Stormtron

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Hey guys I've been trying to better myself at shooting my pistol. I'm left hand left eye dominate, so I tend to squint right eye when shoot, and shooting farther distances i find my self closing my eye completely. Now I'm a so so shot with a pistol, I've only been shooting pistols for a few months now. I tried shooting with both eyes open, becuase a lot of people have told me it's a better way to shoot but I instantly see double. The pistol I primarily use is a single action revolver with fixed iron sights. Amy suggestions? I'm not looking to the worlds top shot, just want to better my pistol skills and honing in my accuracy.
 
My thought...

I teach both systems:eek:

Depends on the task at hand. For close range/large targets (10yards and in) i like both eyes open and mostly target focused. Inside of 5 yards im 100% tgt focused, from 5-10yds i superimpose the sights on the tgt and "look thru the sights"

Once distance goes beyond 10yds OR the tgt is small but close (think headshot at 7yds) i close my non-dominant eye snd focus on the front sight.

Up close with a large tgt (center chest) i can afford to give up some precision to get more speed. As the tgt gets farther away or gets smaller i need to regain that precision. Proper use of the sights is the only way to GUARANTY hits at distance or on small tgts.
 
True that most advocate learning to keep both eyes open with defensive pistol and long gun shooting. It does provide for more awareness of other things going on around you. You have the fortune of having the same side dominance of eye and hand, which makes it easier. I am not so fortunate, though it's less important with pistol shooting.

One thing to try is to cover the central vision of your nondominant eye with a small piece of scotch tape and practice, practice, practice with both eyes open. After you become accustomed to aiming and shooting this way, then resume training with the tape removed. Your mileage may vary, but at least this helped me.
 
I'm left handed and dominate eye is right eye.
If I am shooting one handed, I pivot slightly to 2 o'clock then it's the dominate eye.
If I am shooting classic two handed it's both eyes but see double. Is that weird?
Doc
 
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Shooting handguns and shotguns I shoot with both eyes open all the time at all distances.
Shooting rifles I shoot mostly with one eye closed but at times I shoot with both eyes open, even with scopes.
 
I can see why people shoot rifles with one eye.

If you are cross-dominant, how are you supposed to shoot a rifle with both eyes open from your strong side!?! I guess that is why red dot and holographic sights are popular?
 
Cross dominance issues are more complex...so do specific reasearch on that issue / but you may have to block or close one eye to make it work.

In general for "Tactical shooting" with handguns ...and on moving targets with shotguns ( clays or live birds ) - its best to shoot with both eyes open ( like for right handers that are right eye dominant / or lefties that are left hand dominant)...because they won't have "eyes crossfiring"...and shooting with both eyes open gives you better depth perception and more awareness of peripheral issues or targets.

But shooting handguns or shotguns well...can be done with one eye closed...if you have to ( for guys that only have one eye, cross dominance issues, etc )...
 
Eyes

I shoot all of my firearms - pistols, rifles and shotguns - with both eyes open.

The pupils of the eyes dilate sympathetically - when I close one eye, the pupil of that eye dilates open....this dilation affects the open eye (the aiming eye) which also dilates open, which changes the focus of the eye (mainly depth of field).
The changes are small and may not be important if the shooting is close.
Pete
 
Neither. Use The Force.

Seriously, I shoot with both eyes open but normally block my left eye (which happens to be dominant) with tape on my shooting glasses. In addition to being right handed, I can only see pistol sights clearly at arm's length with my right eye.
 
I shoot everything with both eyes open.

If you are cross-dominant, how are you supposed to shoot a rifle with both eyes open from your strong side!?!
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You learn to shoot from the other side. It is easier to retrain the body than the mind.

When I read Chris Kyles book "American Sniper" he points out that he was on an average shot at best. He just barely passed sniper school. Part of his problems were having to be untaught bad habits such as trying to close one eye when shooting.
 
Stormtron said:
I tried shooting with both eyes open, becuase a lot of people have told me it's a better way to shoot but I instantly see double.
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You see double because you have both eyes open. The next step is to train your brain to ignore one of the two images while you aim using the other one.

You wrote that you are left-handed and left eye dominant. That's good -- no cross-dominance to worry about. Do a dry fire exercise -- pick an aiming point maybe 2o feet away -- or on the far side of the room, if it's less than 20 feet. Hold your firearm up in firing position, pointed generally at the aiming point. Focus your eyes on the aiming point.

You should now be seeing two guns. For you, the one you want to be concentrating on is the right-hand image ... you can verify that by squinting the right eye and seeing if the left gun image fades out.

Now shift your visual focus to the front sight of the right-hand image. The two images will seem to get a bit closer, but keep the right-hand image aligned on the target and ignore the left-hand image.

With practice, you'll learn to completely ignore the second image. That's really all there is to it, but it does take a bit of getting used to. Soon it will become automatic.
 
My instructors always wanted me to use both eyes when ever possible.And it's worked well over the years.
 
I am right-handed, but left eye dominant. No problem, I shoot a handgun with both eyes open - but, I adopt a stance with my right foot offset to the rear, my head turned slightly to the right - and the sights lined up with my left eye. Works for me. - though it may seem strange to others (probably looks strange). Both my eyes are open during all this....and I seem to have no problem with that.

However, for rifles I cannot use the same technique. I establish a good check weld, then CLOSE my left eye.....and sight through the right. Only way I can shoot a rifle. I have tried shooting leftie....no go. Just could not make it work.
 
It's usually not necessary to close the errant eye entirely to eliminate double vision.
Just squint enough to do that and still be able to see well with both eyes.
 
As a left hander with left eye dominance like the OP, I can identify with the struggle.

It took me quite awhile to shoot accurately with both eyes open. I had been shooting with my right eye closed for the longest time, so it was a hard habit to break.

Since breaking it though, I find I shoot much more accurately with handguns. Rifles are another story, at least for me. I am not to a point where I can focus with both eyes open on a rifle.

Just keep at it with your handgun and it will come to you.
 
Some of the best shooters in the world will partially close their weak eye when shooting. Even if everyone agrees that shooting with both eyes open is best, it's possible to be an excellent shooter without doing so.
I tried the "tape on the lens" trick for a couple of years, and it did nothing in the way of training my brain to favor the strong eye, etc.
I'm left hand/left eye dominant, but not enough that I can shoot with both eyes open an anything but close range, when I'm looking at the target.
I even have my left eye corrected specifically for iron handgun sights, so my weak eye has a relatively poor image of the sights, but it doesn't really help the left eye dominate like "should".
 
"...Depends on the task at hand..." Yep. Standing on your hind legs and shooting with one hand at bullseye targets isn't the same as running around shooting at steel plates etc.
"...I'm cross-dominant..." Same here. Left dominant right handed with a hand gun. Left with a long, myself. However, for one hand bullseye, you can move your back leg to move the sights over. Both open for running around.
"...I instantly see double..." Concentrate on the front sight. Assuming your vision is "normal".
"...can only see pistol sights clearly at arm's length with my right eye..." That's about your vision. You wearing glasses to read?
 
The shooting eye only for me. Don't recall what they taught us in BCT, being almost totally self taught I learned from books and magazines, I have found a secret is to close the non-shooting eye but gently so it doesn't take an effort and distract.
 
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