Shooting With Both Eyes Open ?

[tpfishnfool]

Always been a dominant eye only shooter. Any feedback on both eyes open with handguns and long guns ?

[steelheadmike]

Both eyes open, always. Pistol, irons, scoped rifle, shotgun. If it goes bang, both eyes open.

[Synergy]

Grew up shooting Weaver and about 3-4 years ago moved to isosceles and both eyes open. Its is about practice and changing years of muscle memory. Sometime in a rapid sight acquisition I use one eye to focus my front sight post then switch to both eyes open.

It is all about practice and more practice.

[lastinline]

Both eyes open. Have shot Weaver for years, as I was taught at API back in the day. Having both eyes open, with all weapon types, allows me to pick up movement, light, environment from peripheral.

[Steve_In_29]

I was taught one eye open during my time in the Marines but now I do both eyes open for quick target acquisition and situational awareness and only switch to one eye open for times I am trying for extreme accuracy.

[Mossy Man]

i do both eyes for pistols, one eye for rifles, unless ghost ring or red dot

[SkyHawk]

It depends on if you are cross eye dominant or not. In the case of pistols, if you are cross eye dominant and shooting with both eyes open, you need to line up the pistol more in front of your dominant eye instead of dominant shoulder.

I became cross eye dominant over the years, it happens to some people as they age. I have read you can retrain your eyes to change dominance. But in my case, I shoot most guns one eye (dominant eye) closed now, and for sure all long guns are one eye closed. My only other choice is to switch hands/shoulders - and that ain't happenin'.

I will take snap shots or point shots with two eyes open if I need to but it is mostly instinctive shooting based on muscle memory or I intentionally favor the pistol to my left or even cant it left. But whenever I can I use one eye, my weak eye on my strong side. I do very well at sporting clays and such so it works for me. With red dots on my ARs I can go two eyes open because the dot is always on the target.

If you have not tested your eye dominance in a long time, do it - it may surprise you. And before you settle on either technique, you first need to know which eye is dominant.

Start here for more info on cross eye dominance https://www.google.com/search?q=shoo...s+eye+dominant

[Motosurgeon]

There is no discipline which involves using your eyes where only using one provides any advantage. That just gives away half of the visual information that would go to the brain.. Not ideal in 99% of these activities. Keep both eyes open.

[static808]

general shooting with handguns, shotguns and rifles with red dots are both eyes open. slowfire bullseye-type handgun shooting and magnified optics rifle-work are dominant eye only.

[ERdept]

You ABSOLUTELY must shoot with both eyes open.


All combat training is with both eyes open.

This open up your peripheral vision and also is the only way to get depth perception.


Humans have binocular vision for a reason….

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3VgmSJLJ5s

[itsmekevin]

For long distance accuracy, one eye. For everything else, both eyes open.

[level5bear]

What if you have little to no binocular vision to start with? My right eye cant even read the big "E" off the top of the chart, so everything coming from that side is just vague shapes and colors.

Still both eyes open?

[penguinofsleep]

Accuracy or long distance, any firearm with significantly magnification over 5-6x - 1 eye (weak eye)
Red dots or lower powered optics = 2 eyes.
Haven't shot trap/skeet recently to know how that'd go. Shooting at targets with a shotgun I've noticed myself doing both 1 or 2 eyes.
Pistols - have only recently started learning both eyes open. sometimes only open my 2nd (strong) eye half way which helps me a lot vs both eyes. While I believe the advantages 2 eyes offers in theory, I have not noticed many of them playing out yet.

[ldsnet]

Both eyes open! Practice it! On the range I found I was closing my non-dominant eye (pistol or rifle), but when I went through a stress training scenario (where you WILL shoot), I found, under stress I had both eyes open through the first mag (only 4 rounds) reloaded, and I felt my non-dominant eye close for the next 3 rounds.

On post analysis, all 7 rounds fired were on the target with 5 in the high center mass.

[SkyHawk]

Bad guy comes in. You close one eye? Nope.
Practice up close and gradually work out and away.

Bad guy comes in and has your wife close to him like a shield - you have a sneak shot on him. You shoot two eyes open? Nope.



I don't think OP was asking about ISIS parachuting in to the school grounds. When SHTF is another story completely and anyone would do what the situation dictated without running to the kybd to ask the Calguns commandos first.

OP you should be proficient at both, and cognizant of which eye is dominant. Any any trainer worth his salt will tell you that you need to be able to shoot well with one eye open BEFORE you move to learning both eyes open.