ihatepickles Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 I'd also add that clear packing tape that's clear but distorts the view is better than hazy scotch-tape for me. The scotch-tape gives me the spins and messes with my depth perception. Clear packing tape is just blurry enough that my non-dominant eye can't focus so it relaxes. I can still see depth and peripheral objects though. I've been really pleased with tape method now that I realized the difference between the types. I track the front sight much better in recoil now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike. Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 all good stuff, thanks guys Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfipilot Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 gonna try some of these techniques tonight! thx guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norther Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 (edited) This is pretty interesting stuff, everybody's got their own way of doing it. I'm right handed, right eye dominant, and have always shot both eyes open. Interestingly, I don't focus on the sights at all, because of the double image thing. Instead, I seem to focus on the target while looking through the sights. On harder shots (40 yards +) I do tend to close my left eye, but not always. It works for me. <<Later edit>> I was thinking about this post and had to go get a gun and look. Sure enough, I get the double sight image with both eyes open, but I guess I'm so used to it that I never notice. I just always use the clearer sights on the left. Easier to deal with double sights than double target. Maybe I need to practice more... Edited October 23, 2011 by six-gun shooter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xander Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 The lip balm works great for me now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg-NWO Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 I have never shot with both eyes open but I gave it a try last night during my dry fire practice session because it makes too much sense not to adjust to both eyes. At first I couldn't make any headway with getting any kind of decent sight picture... then I tried to tape on my non-dominate lense of my shooting glasses and voila... all of a sudden it was all working perfectly I can see how everything will be much easier when shooting a match now.... even some basic target transition drills I was doing were much easier once I started using my full periphery. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcracco Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 For me, shooting with both eyes open was about the only thing that came easily in this sport. Left hand / right eye and have always shot pistol (bullseye, metallic silhouette) with left eye closed. But with shooting fast and transitioning between targets keeping both eyes open made a lot of sense. After tweaking my contact prescription to use a fixed focus in right eye I am able to keep both eyes open. Definitely a better technique. Now I am working to prevent the timer from sucking my brain out of my head which is proving to be far more difficult. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigstick0000 Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 my grandson had the same problem when he started out. He could not grasp both eyes open. I had him shoot my cmore red dot open gun, dry fire about 50 times. Then I had him shoot the open with ammo. Fixed him right up quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KTKlaus Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 (edited) Been trying on a few years now and just picked up competitive shooting a little more than a year ago. I'm right eye and hand dominant and I wear corrective lenses (near sighted), however, my right eye is considerably weaker compared to my left. I first started out with the tape thing and want to get rid of it as it gives me a splitting headache and I lose a lot of my depth perception and field of view which is kind of crucial in the military for situation awareness so I'm trying to tailor the competitive shooting aspect with it. When I attempt without tape and attempt to focus on my front sight on a pistol, I receive a sight picture as if I am left eye dominate as I actually see the entire left side of the front sight blade and my shots are all over the place. When I squint the left eye (not entire closed) I get a "standard" sight picture and my shots are dead on. I don't doubt that some folks may be able to teach themselves to shoot with both eyes open, but I also believe that it will never happen for others.....Just remember that you can only shoot as fast as you can see.....By all means try to teach yourselve to shoot with both eyes open, but if it doesn't work...move on! There are alot of great shooters that can't either. I may just be one of those few? Edited January 1, 2012 by KTKlaus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lugnut Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 After rereading this post... I realize more and more that sometimes shooting with both eyes slows me down... not sure if I'm just being impatient... but when I shoot with both eyes slow fire- no problem. But when I shoot faster, I have a hard time focusing on the target then the sights, target then the sights. I find that focusing on the front sight takes longer with both eyes open for me. It's almost like there is too much visual distraction! I know there a bunch of shooters locally that haven't been able to do the both eye open thing. One is a top local Master.... So I'm really torn about this. Some professional instructors say no big deal- some say it is important to keep both eyes open. Fortunately I don't seem to have any issues with peripheral vision with even just one eye... and I can switch from one eye to both quickly when I need to in a stage- for example I use both eyes for reloading, just moving, etc. For me at least... I'm starting to wonder if there aren't more important things to "work on" than trying to shoot with both eyes open! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe L Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 Tried the chap stick on the left lens today and was able to shoot the entire session both eyes open without strain. This is the first session I've been able to do this. I am shooting weak hand only, standing, 20-30 yards to a 7" plate target. Slow groups. My strong arm is in a sling. Very happy with the use of very thin application of the chap stick. Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkheard Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Right-handed, right eye dominant, +2.5 diopter reading correction for me. Been shooting with progressive lenses and I really have to crank my head back to get the front sight in focus. I'm past the double image thing and have had limited success with letting the sights be fuzzy. Last week, I took my wife to an indoor range for her first -ever- firearms experience. 2 guns, 50 rounds each. She took an .38 S&W 642 with CT grips and I opted for an XDM 5.25 in 9mm. I think she may be hooked. That's another story. Still using my progressives, the fibre optic front sight on the XDM was like magic. My 24/7 is just as accurate as the XDM, but I was putting groups together like I never have before. Based on that, I just ordered FO sights for my Taurus. I'm still contemplating putting a reading strip on the left side of the right lens, but I'll see what happens with the FO sights first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xander Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 After some thorough evaluation with myself and absorbing what BE said during his interview with Matt on his DVD. I finally found EUREKA on how I can shoot both eyes open with ease. Before I have this weird eye set up, I could hit 8" plates as far as 25m with both eyes open, but on paper at 10-15m I have to close my non-dom eye, coz I'm having double visions. What happens is that on steel plates I can pretty much see my perfect sight alignment in relation to the sight picture, I just need to see what's needed to be seen and just break the shot. So I also applied it on paper, for me it's more of the target rather than sights Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. B Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 I just started taping my left lens, but instead of taping the lens to that I cannot see at all or only peripherally, I "eyebrowed" the lens. I put a small sliver of tape at the top of the lens so that when I lean my head forward to line up the sights, my left eye is blocked from seeing the sights. It works so intrinsically I don't even notice it. I found this works great because I still have perfect vision to look for foot hazards and perfect depth perception for anything like grabbing a prop or getting a mag off a barrel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 I just started taping my left lens, but instead of taping the lens to that I cannot see at all or only peripherally, I "eyebrowed" the lens. I put a small sliver of tape at the top of the lens so that when I lean my head forward to line up the sights, my left eye is blocked from seeing the sights. It works so intrinsically I don't even notice it. I found this works great because I still have perfect vision to look for foot hazards and perfect depth perception for anything like grabbing a prop or getting a mag off a barrel. Yes... my goal was to have the tape positioned just low enough so when I'm in my shooting position, and close my aiming eye, I can't see above the slide with the taped eye. be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy kemlo Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 I can shoot my open .22 with both eyes open but I cant get close to both eyes open with iron sights. I tried the tape thing one eye and it worked instantly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a matt Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 (edited) i make myself shoot with both open at the range, but i keep going back to the one eye squint at a match. ill keep trying and get it one day Edited February 27, 2012 by a matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gohuskers Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 One little trick I learned from this forum was to turn my head 15-20 degrees in the direction of the weak eye (turn head left if right eye dominant) which moves your dominant eye ever so slightly closer to the front sight. Not sure if it will work for everyone but this (plus lots of dry fire) is what made it so much easier for me. While this may seem minor, I find that it helps a LOT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVIL HUNTER Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 Last week I started doing dry fire drills. I made the effort to also start shooting with both eyes open during my drills even if they were a bit slower. It seemed that i was progressing with both eyes open. I went to the range and was shocked that a week of dryfiring drills and working on shooting with both eyes helped in vision and over all shooting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norther Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 "Rob Leatham was really the first IPSC shooter who just flatly admitted that he didn't necessarly need a sight focus to shoot, and that in a lot of given scenarios he looked at the target..." page 74, BE's book. Not comparing myself to Leatham, but I do find it interesting the things I've been learning. I shoot with a target focus, with both eyes open (a holdover from wingshooting with a shotgun) and I've been doing a lot of dry firing lately. It's amazing how well I can track the sights without focusing on them. I did always have the fault of watching the bullet holes, but the dryfire has helped tremendously with sight tracking even though I maintain target focus. My speed has been increasing significantly, and I began keeping records of my accuracy--I've been averaging approximately 90% of the possible points for every match this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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