Eye Dominance Shooting Open

[Colvis]

I have read all 32 pages of the Open Gun Technical questions and haven't seen one topic on this covered so I'll ask...

Shooting Limited with an eye dominance (I put a Magic Dot over my right eye lense), how do I approach shooting an Open gun? I've heard from two other Open shooters that when shooting Open I don't look at the gun, I look at the targets. If I'm supposed to be doing that, won't that keep me from seeing double like I do with an iron sighted gun, therefore eliminating the need to use the Magic Dot???

[Loves2Shoot]

No tape needed for open.

I have no dominant eye, but only one eye picks up the dot so there is no problem.

[Rush]

i'm cross dominant... right handed, left eye dominant.

No magic tape... i just shoot with the dominant eye. it doesnt really affect the shooting at all. Think BE said something about it as he's cross dominant as well..

Good Shooting...

[R.Elliott]

You can try adjusting your mount slightly by modifying your degree of elbow flex to favor your dominant eye. If that doesn't solve your problem with seeing double, just partially or completely close down your non-dominant eye when shooting and you will look through the scope to the target automatically. Though not cross dominant, I have been having trouble with my visual inputs just recently (since passing the age of 45)and I've had to start closing down one eye or I see double. It seems to work just fine and my speed of target aquisition doen't suffer.

Good luck

[XRe]

You won't be able to see the dot with both eyes, regardless of whether you shoot w/ a dot focus or a target focus (and for almost anything you'll do, you'll want a target focus when shooting Open...).

I use a piece of Scotch tape on my glasses blocking my left eye when I shoot iron sights. With an Open gun, no tape required.

[Flyin40]

I shoot open and have to use the magic dot. I'm left handed/right eye dominant though sometimes they fight over which one is more dominant. With the dot the same thing happens as with iron sights. My eyes fight over which one is going to take over.

Try it without the magic dot and if that doesn't work just use it.

Flyin40

[tptplayer]

I shoot open and have to use the magic dot. I'm left handed/right eye dominant though sometimes they fight over which one is more dominant. With the dot the same thing happens as with iron sights. My eyes fight over which one is going to take over.

Try it without the magic dot and if that doesn't work just use it.

Flyin40

It was reassuring to see your post about this. I am also cross dominant and have the same problem. I have been using the "magic dot" with both iron sights and optical sights.

[srf]

Slight thread drift:

+1 on Flyin40 and tptplayer.

I thought I was the only one that experienced this. I gave up on magic dots because they were a big hassle for me with multiple shooting glasses for different conditions. With training, practice, and not giving up, I've made it work. I open my eyes when I can and close my 'new' nondominant left eye when I have to.

Edited July 24, 2006 by srf

[Big Guy]

For me it is just bad habits. I’m right-handed/left eye dominant. For closer targets no problem, I can shoot them with both eyes open. On longer targets, by some stupid reason, I tend close the non-dominant eye instinctively. I tried taking one of the contact lenses off, but while shooting I will be focused on trying to look through the non-dominant eye and loose focus on the targets.

[Will Abrahams]

could someone explain to me how you tell which eye you are dominant with?

also, when shooting with a red dot sight are you supposed to keep both eyes open, just one, or is it just preference?

[Matt Cheely]

Ocular Dominance

[Radical Precision Designs]

Now and then I like to play "devils abdicate" just to see what the "grass looks like from the neighbors side". I am right handed and right eye dominant by genetical make-up.

But this doesn't have to be so, if you put your mind "and body" into it. Intrigued???

Very often in USPSA/IPSC we shoot stages Strong Hand Only (SHO) and Weak Hand Only (WHO). By observing most shooters I have noticed that when doing WHO they will use their dominant eye, and sometimes cant their guns a little bit to try and compensate for what you could attribute to or call "body parallax" with the target. It is amazing to observe that when a "no shoot" target is put in either side or "impenetrable" zones are included, you can tell who is shooting SHO or WHO by the direction of "pull" from the shots.

Ok. Here is the drill that I have "pushed my senses" into adopting. For "training purposes" until you get it mastered: when shooting right handed (forget about SHO or WHO), close your left eye to force/preclude your choice of vision and body alignement with that eye, and make sure to keep your gun positioned vertical to the horizon. Practice until it feels natural enough. Now, switch the gun to your left hand and close your right eye, again to force/preclude your vision with that eye, and again make sure to maintain the gun vertical to the horizon, and establish the proper body alignement to that side. What you are doing is indeed "pretending" that you are "ambidextrous". Initially you will be a little bit wobbly on your normally weak side, but with practice you will overcome this "handicap" until you will notice the improvement in your forced performance. Everytime you have the oportunity by stage design to shoot SHO and WHO do it this "new" way, and you will see your scores and proficienacy improve. You can do this whether you are shooting iron sights OR open. In fact the biggest margin of error was observed in open shooters canting their guns when using "croos eyed stances", and also the biggest margin of improvement when this technique is used. The biggest visualization mind trick is to "pretend" to yourself that you just became handicaped/"temporarily impeded" on your strong side arrangement and must use the "remaining" senses/limbs to accomplish the same end result.

Have fun with it!!

Edited August 18, 2006 by Radical Precision Designs