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How long did it take you to learn to shoot with both eyes open?


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This question is for those who once shot with one eye open and now shoot with 2 eyes open.

 

How long did it take you to fully make the transition?  

 

I have shot with one eye open for 6 years and made M class in Production.  I have plateaued a bit and want to try shooting with both eyes open.

 

I am asking how long it takes because I am shooting Area 1 in 20 days.

 

I plan to go all in on dry fire and live fire to make the transition, but wonder how long it took you guys to do this?  How long did it take for your "2 eye game" to equal your "1 eye game?"

 

 

 

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You aren't plateauing because of shooting with only one eye open. Unless you're busy face shooting people, shooting with both eyes open isn't that big of a deal.

 

You also aren't going to make any significant changes in 20 days. My general rule of thumb is that it takes about a year to make a significant change in your mechanics.

Edited by Jake Di Vita
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i never ever could shoot as good with two eyes as with one. so i stopped. with iron sights at least. with the dot in CO i shoot both eyes just fine for 80% of the shots and have to squint on a few.

 

if you're shooting M in Prod at A1 then i totally want you to shoot the match both eyes open, hahahaha. (i don't think you can make the change in 20 days)

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I've always shot both eyes open, but never made it past C with iron sights :(

 

Shooting both eyes open just seems very natural to me - I can't imagine

running around with one eye closed   .....

 

But, like everybody says, if you are a cyclops, it's going to take a while to

develop binocular vision.    :) 

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when you're running both eyes are open. my left eye narrows and opens as needed. more sight focus needed, more left eye squint. less/none needed then no eye squint.

 

when i first started shooting carry optics i switched to both eyes open easily. i then thought i'd take that to irons. initially it seemed like i could do it. after a few weeks of trying i couldn't get things to my satisfaction with my eyes at 45 years old. i tried. tape and all that other stuff is just a fake squint, so why do it?

 

doing the tests for binocular vision i am not too hot at it and i also do not have very strong dominance in my right eye. so i squint. as someone once really pounded into me in conversation, is shooting with two eyes open the reason why other people finish better than me? if it isn't the primary reason then don't devote my attention to it. find the biggest reason and put my effort into killing that.

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So, I personally feel it's imperative to shoot with both eyes open. Not everyone agrees, but I think any movements or unnatural facial expressions are to be avoided just like in all the other aspects of what we do.  Like Hi-Power Jack said "I can't imagine running around with one eye closed."   

I hope that some people help you out by posting how long it took them and maybe some pointers.  I don't really have any except to just, stick it on your goal list (at the very top) and work on it above any other goal.  Keep those eyes open.  If you are into some serious aiming don't worry if an eye closes, or partially closes.  Just keep keeping both eyes open whenever you can.   

 

With respect to the M Class plateau you spoke about.  Keep in mind that you are entering into a class where the separation between classes is smaller than any others.  What I mean is, that to get where you want to go you only need to improve your game by a few seconds and a few points.  Nothing you do from here on will be a major change.  It's all little stuff.

 

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39 minutes ago, Glock26Toter said:

I think any movements or unnatural facial expressions are to be avoided

 

Why? How do you think this will make his competitive shooting better? More to the point, how do you think closing one eye costs him match points? I highly doubt he's running around the stage with only one eye open the entire time. It likely just happens when he starts to aim. You're saying to put this at the top of his priority list, I think that should be reserved for things that will give him the highest return on match points. I don't think shooting with both eyes open will ever be more valuable than the brick and mortar skills of uspsa.

 

40 minutes ago, Glock26Toter said:

Nothing you do from here on will be a major change

 

I've completely reworked my grip and stance multiple times after making GM. Year long rebuilds.

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I'm gonna agree with Jake here, shooting one eye vs squinting vs two eyes... it doesn't matter. Shoot whichever way gets you the best hits the fastest.

Jake and I have disagreed on the merits of closing an eye to shoot dot focused on certain targets in the past and will probably continue to do so, but yet again... it doesn't really matter! He shoots target focused dot blurry on even the toughest shots, I suck my focus back to the dot on really tough shots. Neither is wrong, neither is "the right answer." Whatever works for you, keep doing it.

Well, there might be one wrong answer. Don't try to change 20 days before a major. That is absolutely the wrong answer.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

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I am gathering that this change will take longer than 20 days.  Back to one eye for now.  The good news is that in the limited training I have done with both eyes open / target focus......I can really see the potential for positive change.

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I spent several years learning to shoot with both eyes open. But in the end I didn't feel I shot any better that way. So I went back to the tape. One eye, as long as it is always open while you are shooting, is all you need.

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After trying for a full year, I tried tape and eventually switched to chap stick lightly smeared on the off-eye's half of the glasses.

 

Im very very close to neutral eye dominance, so I'd run into an instance or two per match where I lost the sights and had to squint.

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19 hours ago, MemphisMechanic said:

After trying for a full year, I tried tape and eventually switched to chap stick lightly smeared on the off-eye's half of the glasses.

 

Im very very close to neutral eye dominance, so I'd run into an instance or two per match where I lost the sights and had to squint.

i had pretty  much the same experience, where either eye is happy to be dominant. i shot both eyes open for at least a year, but occasionally my left eye would take over without me noticing, resulting in a bizarre miss. Now I use a  little square of tape on my glasses.

 

I can still shoot both eyes open without the tape just fine... most of the time.... just not as fast.

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Last spring, I thought I'd give both eyes open a try (20 years after starting in IPSC).  Dry fired maybe 5 times, felt good, felt fast.  Went to practice at the range with a buddy, Not good, poor accuracy and slow; buddy was kicking my butt, we're normally pretty even.  Went to a match a few days later, halfway through (after tanking a few stages) went back to 1 eye.  Managed to salvage some points to finish .2% ahead of my buddy. 

 

For me anyway, it would take a lot of work, a lot of time (that I'm not willing to sacrifice) and I'm not sure how big a difference it would make.  I think I'll try again in another 20 years when I'm retired and have more time.

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My Dad taught me to shoot with both eyes open so I have never shot the other way with iron sights. I feel that this saved my life more than once during my government financed vacation in SE Asia. I close one eye when using a magnifying scope, but shoot with both eyes when using a red dot. I think either way is effective if given enough practice.

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I am one of the freaks that shoots right handed but is left eye dominant.  And my dominance is very weak.  Meaning I could almost use either eye as the dominant.

I have tried numerous times to train to shoot with both eyes open.  I tried tons of dry and live fire.  I tried the piece of tape over my right eye so I didn't have to close it during shooting.   But I always end up falling back to just closing my right eye during shooting.

 

I would love to be able to shoot with both eyes open but I just don't think its worth the time and effort to develop.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Haha. You guys are worried about shooting with both eyes open and here I am struggling to keep from closing both between shots. 

 

I shot my first gun about a year ago and bought my first pistol 2 months ago. I'm really interested in participating in USPSA. Notice I didn't say competing? LOL. Looks like fun and that's my motivation. I will worry about it being more than fun if my skills progress. 

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