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

[will77]

On 10/8/2018 at 10:13 AM, boudreux said:

I was taught very early to keep both eyes open including shooting through a rifle scope. It is very awkward for me to shoot with one eye closed now. 

Same here Dad taught me to shoot both eyes open I wish I had some words of wisdom to help someone out, but it’s just natural for me ofter 32 years shooting that way. 

[Matrixx9]

On 3/12/2017 at 10:36 AM, Gooldylocks said:

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
 

I just aim quickly, and hit the target. It feels right.

 

[Jory45acp]

It would be interesting to see when they publish equipment data for Nationals in Front sight if they did a poll and asked how many use both eyes open vs 1 eye. Then break that data down again by class GM, M, A, etc. 

[JAustin]

One or or two. Simple doesn’t matter.

shooting very fast and accurate requires clean clear sharp focus on the front site through the entire recoil cycle, at which point your brain will recognize that the shot is complete and the front site is still in focus and lined up ready for another shot.

do what ever it takes to see the cycle clearly.

seeing the recoil cycle from beginning to end will propel you to higher classes even the highest.

[JimmyZip]

This is why I switch eyes on things like this. Left hand gets the left eye, right hand the right. Otherwise it feels weird. Much faster though right side, but I don’t fear it.

On 9/30/2018 at 3:56 AM, perttime said:

I had a weird situations with my eyes during a stage a couple of weeks ago.

There was a short stage where I had to hang from a rope to be able to see and shoot the targets, around a little wall, and change sides to get a couple of more targets (knots and no loop in the rope, unlike in the picture). After a couple of rounds strong hand I realized that I was aiming with the "wrong" eye. I got severely distracted and lost time sorting out my eyes. The same thing happened weak hand on the other side of the wall.

 

[DD78]

I've been shooting about 25 years, only 5 of which have been action shooting.  

 

For the first 20 years, I shot with one eye open.  Once I started shooting USPSA and 3 gun it became apparent that the one eye method was slowing me down so I started practicing both eyes.  

 

5 years later, and I still have issues with it, but each year it gets a little better.  The best way to train yourself is lots of dry fire, which is one thing I'm ashamed to admit that I almost never do.  

[Carbine_Philosophy]

About a year. I got a red dot in 2017, and once I learned how to shoot with that with both eyes open, I started to practice doing the same thing with my iron sight pistols. It takes plenty of dry fire practice and study of proper technique, but now it comes so naturally I don't even notice it anymore. I only shoot with one eye open if the target is substantially far away and I'm using irons. Otherwise, I just shoot both eyes open and let the irons and red dot do their job.

[Bigdeal929]

It took getting dot for me.  Made open sights, both eyes open much easier.

[Dr_Z]

When shooting iron with front sight focus, i cannot do both eyes if the targets are close to each other, too strong of double vision. Guess my right eye only has very slight dominance. 

 

But I do use both eyes when targets are within target focus range. When the targets require front sight focus and relatively far apart, I open both eyes during transition and close one for sight picture confirmation. 

[357magag]

I seemed to catch on after 2 range sessions.

[balmo]

Much harder for me keeping both eyes open shooting irons. Decided to switch to Limited for 2021 after 5 years of shooting optics. Lat match, I reverted to closing my non-dominant eye. I'll try to keep at it (eyes open) during dry fire, we will see.

[Packageman]

My front sight blurs when I use both eyes.  

Should I angle my head or squint left eye?

 

[mwc]

It took me several years.  But what ended up working for me in the end was that I pretty much shoot target focus most of the time and accept that the sights are blurry.  I took a little while to prove to myself that it was ok to do so.  I had "focus on the front sight" pounded into my head for years in the military and law enforcement.  

To be honest, I don't have a hard focus on the target or the sights, but I see them both when everything is working as it should.

[carolina_boy1990]

Like most people on here I grew up shooting. I formed a lot of bad habits along the way and I really wish I had resources like this to ask questions and learn. Learning to shoot with both eyes open has definitely been a challenge for me. I feel like im taking a few steps back so that it will help me become a better shooter in the long run. I feel like shooting with both eyes open lets me see more in the sense that I can transition to my next target faster. Just my .02

[j1b]

I don't remember it taking too terribly long. I would say the lifesaver (for me) was the trick Benos highlights in his book. Placing a piece of scotch tape, even a fairly small piece, over the non-dominant eye lens (or, if you are trying to switch dominant eyes then over the eye you don't want to be dominant) was instrumental.

 

I don't shoot anything with one eye closed now. Ever. Not my hunting rifles, not my bow, not my pistols. Honestly can't imagine shooting any other way now.

 

J

[goalieMN]

Hugely L eye dominant, right handed.

 

I shoot rifles lefty, I shoot pistols righty and close my non-dominant eye.  

 

It's good to see some others close an eye, because a lot of trying tells me it isn't going to work for me.

[MILDOTS]

Rifle is shot left handed both eyes open limited pistol is shot right handed left eye closed shooting my open gun right hand both eyes open. The only problem I had was in 3 gun transitioning from rifle to open pistol some times it took me a while to find the dot.  I started competing in Bullseye and closing your dominate eye (left) was not a problem. It only became a problem when many years later I started uspsa and 3-gun there were no X rings but I was determined to find them. When I started action shooting I was slow but very accurate, now I’m slow and not accurate the story of my life.

[wrmiller]

I was taught at an early age to shoot 'traditional', i.e. using one eye open. I'm a lefty, and back then my right eye was my dominant eye. I shot rifle right handed and pistols left handed. When I had to qualify with a 45 in the Corps, a shooting instructor taught me to shoot a pistol with both eyes open, and to shoot right handed. Seemed very natural to me. Now I shoot pistols with either hand, and either eye, although I've trained my left eye to be my master eye now and use it almost exclusively as I have some damage to my right eye's cornea and it messes with my RMRs.

 

 

[Dranoel]

Was just doing dry fire draws to target and made an interesting discovery. I'm sure I'm not the first to discover this but it is making my transition from iron to optics, while anchored to index, a lot easier.

 

The main reason for the transition is that as I am getting older and my eyes are failing, iron sights are just harder to focus on. But an issue I have always had, as I do shoot with both eyes open, is the double image of the iron sight was sometimes distracting and it would take me a split second to acquire the correct set. What I am finding with the optics is that, while the frame is still a double image in my vision, the dot only appears to my right eye. 

With a slight adjustment to my grip making the optic the correct height, I am learning to ignore the double image of the frame and focus solely on the dot. I'm finding, with more practice, the dot is all I really see and since there is only the one in my right eye, I get it on target a lot faster. Also transitions are faster as I am not trying to determine which image is the correct one. One dot. One target. Easy index.

[MikeyScuba]

Never.  I always had an semi opaque patch over the top half of my left eye.

 

now I’m shooting the dot no patch and no issues with anything, then again I was always target focus with irons.

[ltdmstr]

Struggled with this for a very long time.  Like probably 15+ years of USPSA shooting (with a few breaks) before I was finally able to do it.  Before that, I'd use a piece of scotch tape over my weak eye lens.  I don't know for sure what did it, but I think the key was to not have so much of a hard focus on the front sight, but rather, to look through the sights to the target and just see the sights in that path, if that makes sense.  I really didn't think it was ever going to happen, and was pretty happy when it finally did.

[smfort]

Good information, I am thinking about trying to shoot with both eyes open.

[ShredderTactical]

Kind of surprising to me reading all the responses from higher level shooters who shoot with one eye closed.  Started out that way myself, but transitioned to both eyes open somewhere along the way just to maintain better perspective over the course of fire.  Also, it seems to me that shooting with both eyes open is more relaxing and requires less effort versus shifting vision back and forth between using one eye and two eyes while navigating the COF.  And...being relaxed as much as possible while shooting seems in line with one part of what it takes to shoot faster these days.

[Shady]

This was interesting to see different methods/opinions.  I wonder if the issue is still as relevant today, as red dots are becoming more common.  I also question two eyes open on shooting steel at 50 yards plus.  Anyone still thinking about this topic?  

[Nemesis Lead]

On 6/30/2022 at 12:20 PM, Shady said:

This was interesting to see different methods/opinions.  I wonder if the issue is still as relevant today, as red dots are becoming more common.  I also question two eyes open on shooting steel at 50 yards plus.  Anyone still thinking about this topic?  

I am the OP for this years old thread, lol.  I came in here and was stunned to see that it is still active and near the top of the forum list after all of these years!

 

I have since moved to CO and PCC and just shoot dots.  Shooting dots with both eyes open is easy since you are target focused.  

 

My own theory is that I am close to "equally eye dominant."  If I made a minor change in my head position, I would find my left eye "taking over" and I would be looking at the left side of the slide of my gun.  Squinting and/or putting a little tape over my left eye was a big help, but I just could not shoot matches like this.

 

I still do wish that I was able to learn both eyes open with iron sights.  I loved shooting Production (with one eye open).  It just was not in the cards for me.