Shooting with Both Eyes Open

[jhj32883]

Thanks for the responses guys.

I know that I need to practice but was hoping to get some pointers and tips from guys that had already made the transition to both eyes.

So, any more pointers would be great.

I might tool around with sights as well.

I have ghost ring sights on my Remington 870 and I pick those up great with both eyes open.

Thanks,
Jay

[vliberatore]

I found that really focusing on the front sight post was the biggest thing that I didn't do at first. Let the target go out of focus in the background.

[11HE9]

Sorry about the stroke Good to hear you are recovering well.

I always shoot with both eyes open. I forget the drill, but there is a simple way to figure out which is your dominant eye... after that it's all practice.

[damon1272]

I would suggest learning to shoot with both eyes open with a shotgun then transfer back to a rifle. As the shotgun is a pointing weapon the need to aim is less critical but being able to pick up the bead is important for alignment. Practice shooting trap and then move on. That is what worked for me but it took a fair amount of practice. Now I can't go back to using one eye even when using a scope.

[deckhandmike]

Really look into a red dot. It is very easy to pick up quick and actually works better with both eyes open.

[boromokot]

im right handed and left eye dominant which gets confusing when switching between rifles and handguns. i took a cheap pair of safety glasses and sharpied the left lens in the center. I practice at home with these whenever i have down time, as opposed to wasting money, ammo and range time.

[dalriaden]

Buy a reflex optic. It's what they're designed for and why the military uses them.

[HondaMasterTech]

Hello All,

I recently suffered a stroke. While most of my function has come back, I am still unable to wink my left eye independently. As such, I would have to aim with both eyes open. Turns out, I'm horrible at it. Especially with my AK variants which we all know isn't the greatest sight system to begin with.

Lately, I've been putting masking tape over the left lens of my shooting glasses. But, this greatly inhibits my depth perception.

I was wondering if you guys had any suggestions on how to remedy this or on how to get acclimated to shooting with both eyes open faster.

Thanks,
Jay

install a red dot scope. The zero power scopes are intended to be used with both eyes open.

[Discogodfather]

It really depends which eye is dominant and how dominant that eye is. It varies greatly. People who have complete 1 eye dominance can shoot with both eyes open, if you are just slightly right or left eye dominant then its going to be very difficult to shoot with both eyes open.

The reason military and LEO is taught to shoot with both eyes open is to become more situation-ally aware. That means range finding, looking at whats happening around you, looking whats happening around your target.

Shooting with both eyes open does not help accuracy. In fact, it hinders it in most slight left or right eye dominant shooters. Check out the Olympic shooters, they all use a eye block of some kind. They do NOT close their other eye, they keep it open but blocked.

Closing your eye creates greater fatigue of the open eye, they have done studies on this phenomenon. Your vision fogs up faster, you have lower endurance, and the eye your using gets tired faster when your closing the other eye.

So, keep both eyes open and mask one, I practice military style in general but I do occasionally block one eye with a clip-on mask. Contrary to what some mention, it is NOT a good idea to use masking tape. If you again look at the professional Olympic glasses, they mostly use a translucent mask. The euros call it a guard, Americans a Blinder. This allows some light through but does not allow the non dominant eye to focus. The idea is to allow both eyes to get similar light, thus yielding similar pupil dilation. Having one ye completely dark and the other with light produces fatigue.

[64physhy]

For defensive/combat shooting, keeping both eyes open is preferred. It was hard for me to get used to, and I still squint my left eye, but don't close it completely. Or get an optic that's meant for use with both eyes open, like Eotech.

[KublaiGun]

Practice dry fire sight presentation. A few minutes everyday for a couple of weeks has helped me. Don't even need to pull a trigger, just presentation. Granted, I'm not contending with health issues, but it improved my shooting enough to be noticeable this past weekend. Also added a red dot. : )

[tnlrat37]

When we were first issued acogs we had to learn with both eyes open, it took a little to get used to but after awhile it becomes second nature. It's alot better for cqb, situational awareness, and keeping from getting tunnel vision. Not to mention if shooting from cover or behind something you will be sure your muzzle is clear of obstructions, being it is higher than the barrel. I watched one of those sniper shows on military channel and one LEO sniper said he fired twice at a guy and couldn't figure out why he didn't go down until he noticed he was hitting the wall in front of his position!! He finally got the guy with the 3rd shot but that could've been ugly. Sorry to hear about the stroke, good luck

[jhj32883]

Thanks for the advice and kind words guys.

Addressing, the RDS, I do have them attached to my AR variants.

However, my AK variants do not have them. Also, my handguns don't have any optics.

I kind of like the traditional look without optics on my AK variants so I guess it becomes a matter of practice. Have any of you used the modified AK sights from Rifle Dynamics? Saw a video of Jim Fuller talking about how his optometrist told him how to eye works and he developed his sights.

Any suggestions on handguns? I guess lasers could work for the range or whatever, but I was wondering if you guys had any suggestions as far as upgraded sights. I saw a custom Glock 20 from Aeto-Tek with ghost ring sights. Since it works so well on my 870 maybe this could work. Anyone have any experience? Anyone know if someone makes them for Xd's?

Jay