The Firing Line Forums

Go Back   The Firing Line Forums > The North Corral > Lock and Load: Live Fire Exercises

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old February 16, 2014, 12:50 AM   #1
Model12Win
Junior member
 
Join Date: October 20, 2012
Posts: 5,854
Both eyes open pistol shooting?

Hello friends! Well I've been shooting handguns for about 4 years now. I've always used a one eye closed technique when it comes to shooting, but recently I've heard that for defensive pistol shooting it might be a good idea to use two eyes instead of just one. I recall being taught it's best to shoot with your one dominant eye and to squeeze the other one shut, so this is news to me. If you think about it, it makes sense. I could see how having two open eyes would be better for situational awareness.

What are your thoughts on this? Do you like to shoot with both eyes open when shooting pistols? What are the pros of doing this? I've read many threads were people mention that they do this, but no threads about why it would be preferable over a one eye closed approach. What do you think?

Thanks for your time!
Model12Win is offline  
Old February 16, 2014, 06:20 AM   #2
1stmar
Senior Member
 
Join Date: March 21, 2012
Location: Connecticut
Posts: 2,378
Tried both eyes open, can't do it. defensive situation is different then target shooting. I'm not clearing my house with one eye open. More then likely I will be point shooting if it comes to that, two eyes open. If I have time or have to aim, I have already identified my target, it's instinctive to switch to one eye and very quick.
1stmar is offline  
Old February 16, 2014, 12:18 PM   #3
g.willikers
Senior Member
 
Join Date: September 28, 2008
Posts: 10,442
Two eyes are better than one, but only if it works for you.
If having them both open causes blurry or double vision, then there's no advantage.
Sometimes slightly squinting the non dominant eye works, too.
Use what ever method allows the best view of sights and target.
And it might change, depending on the available light and distance from eyes to sights.
__________________
Walt Kelly, alias Pogo, sez:
“Don't take life so serious, son, it ain't nohow permanent.”
g.willikers is offline  
Old February 16, 2014, 01:25 PM   #4
BigG
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 19, 1999
Location: Atlanta, GA
Posts: 4,334
Keep em both open -

Typically your master eye automatically overrides the other eye so keeping both eyes open just lets you stay situationally aware better.
__________________
o "The Earth is degenerating today. Bribery and corruption abound. Children no longer obey their parents, every man wants to write a book, and it is evident that the end of the world is fast approaching." Assyrian tablet, c. 2800 BC

o "In the beginning of a change, the patriot is a scarce man brave, hated, and scorned. When his cause succeeds, however, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot." Mark Twain

o "They have gun control in Cuba. They have universal health care in Cuba. So why do they want to come here?" Paul Harvey

o TODAY WE CARVE OUT OUR OWN OMENS! Leonidas, Thermopylae, 480 BC
BigG is offline  
Old February 16, 2014, 05:15 PM   #5
Hawg
Senior Member
 
Join Date: September 8, 2007
Location: Mississippi
Posts: 16,177
Quote:
Tried both eyes open, can't do it. defensive situation is different then target shooting. I'm not clearing my house with one eye open. More then likely I will be point shooting if it comes to that, two eyes open. If I have time or have to aim, I have already identified my target, it's instinctive to switch to one eye and very quick.
That's me. If I'm point shooting they're both open otherwise my left eye is closed.
Hawg is offline  
Old February 16, 2014, 06:07 PM   #6
foxytwo
Senior Member
 
Join Date: June 24, 2010
Posts: 234
I have always shot with both eyes open in competition, plinking and hunting. For me it is far faster to pick up the target.
foxytwo is offline  
Old February 17, 2014, 08:40 PM   #7
NCummins
Member
 
Join Date: February 9, 2014
Posts: 92
I even shoot both eyes open with a scope on a rifle. It makes finding your target easier.
NCummins is offline  
Old February 17, 2014, 11:19 PM   #8
SVTCobra306
Senior Member
 
Join Date: March 18, 2013
Posts: 434
I shoot everything both eyes open. Optic, irons, pistol, whatever. Both eyes open for handgun shooting is also taught via the NRA lesson plans they have us use for certified courses.
__________________
Former US Army Paratrooper (1/509th PIR and 2nd BCT 82nd ABN DIV)
2 time OIF Veteran
NRA Certified RSO/CRSO
NRA Certified Pistol Instructor
SVTCobra306 is offline  
Old February 18, 2014, 02:44 AM   #9
SHE3PDOG
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 27, 2013
Posts: 988
Learning to shoot with both eyes open can be frustrating, especially if you ever decide to try to learn how to do it with a scope, but it is very useful in certain situations. If you want to learn how to do it, just look through the sights like you normally would, then slowly open your other eye. Eventually, you'll be able to bring your gun up and acquire the sights with both eyes open. It doesn't take much practice, and it is very easy to practice at home while dry firing.
__________________
Semper Fi

Marine, NRA member, SAF Defender's Club member, and constitutionally protected keeper and bearer of firearms
SHE3PDOG is offline  
Old February 18, 2014, 04:42 PM   #10
fdf
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 27, 2013
Posts: 117
"If you want to learn how to do it, just look through the sights like you normally would, then slowly open your other eye. Eventually, you'll be able to bring your gun up and acquire the sights with both eyes open. It doesn't take much practice, and it is very easy to practice at home while dry firing."

I have a substantial library on pistol shooting. Early reading and documentation showed a preference for using one eye and most of the early 2700 match shooters used one eye, then it changed to using both eyes. Reason was that the closed eye suffered from lack of oxygen from being closed and caused stress to the closed eye.

Basically, do what works for you, I start with one closed in matches and decide if have enough light to see the bull , need more light, open the other eye.
fdf is offline  
Old February 23, 2014, 07:05 PM   #11
SIGSHR
Senior Member
 
Join Date: September 13, 2005
Posts: 4,700
Tried it, too many years of shooting with one eye closed made it too uncomfortable and unnatural feeling.
SIGSHR is offline  
Old February 23, 2014, 11:53 PM   #12
iraiam
Senior Member
 
Join Date: September 6, 2012
Location: Lakewood, CO
Posts: 1,057
I shoot with both eyes open, but I have to work up to it every time. It's like my brain forgets it's training. I am right handed, but left eye dominant. When I shoot right handed and leave both eyes open I have trouble bringing in the sights.

I also have this problem with scopes, if I shoulder a scoped rifle with both eyes open, I just won't see through the scope until I close my left eye, then I can open my left again and maintain the scope picture as well.

After having these issues for several minutes (maybe as long as 30 minutes) I seem to become used to it, and I can shoot with both eyes open for extended sessions without any problems. rifle, pistol, and scoped rifle.

When I finish and come back the next day, or the next week or whatever. I will have to work up to being able to shoot with both eyes open again. It kind of annoys me that I have to re-train every single time, this has been happening for many years.

Maybe I'm a freak of nature.
__________________
NRA Lifetime Member Since 1999

"I ask, sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people except for a few public officials." George Mason
iraiam is offline  
Old February 24, 2014, 12:52 AM   #13
skizzums
Senior Member
 
Join Date: July 1, 2013
Location: Douglasville, Ga
Posts: 4,615
i am right-handed and left eye dominant

when i hold out the gun with eyes on the target, i see two guns, the gun on the right is how my left eye sees it, the picture doesnt change if i close my right eye, i didnt learn to shoot with one eye closed so i dont even think about it
__________________
My head is bloody, but unbowed
skizzums is offline  
Old February 24, 2014, 08:59 AM   #14
Sure Shot Mc Gee
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 2, 2012
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 3,876
Both eye's always open no matter what I'm aiming across or thru. Just a preference learned while bird hunting as a youngster. And prompted to do when in the Service.
Sure Shot Mc Gee is offline  
Old February 24, 2014, 04:53 PM   #15
Angelo Demuerte
Member
 
Join Date: February 5, 2009
Posts: 31
Both eyes open for both handguns and long guns.
Angelo Demuerte is offline  
Old February 25, 2014, 04:31 PM   #16
Chris_B
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 9, 2007
Posts: 3,101
I've tried this and while I can see both images and tell which one is correct I end up concentrating on the target not the target in the sights, and lose my sight picture as a result.
Chris_B is offline  
Old February 26, 2014, 06:16 AM   #17
darkgael
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 9, 2006
Location: Homes in Brooklyn, NY and in Pennsylvania.
Posts: 5,473
Eyes

One solution to double imaging, since you are wearing shooting glasses anyway, is to get a clip on occluder which blocks the line of sight from one eye.

I shoot with both eyes open - all guns, all types of sights.
The reason for this has already been mentioned in passing....our vision in the aiming eye is more acute if both eyes are open.
Evidently the pupils of the eyes dilate sympathetically. So, when one eye is closed, the pupil of the aiming eye reacts to that to a degree.
Pete
__________________
“Auto racing, bull fighting, and mountain climbing are the only real sports ... all others are games.” Ernest Hemingway ...
NRA Life Member
darkgael is offline  
Old February 26, 2014, 01:59 PM   #18
mrdaputer
Senior Member
 
Join Date: December 14, 2013
Posts: 493
I try to shoot with both eyes open sometimes it helps if I just blink the left eye once or twice.
mrdaputer is offline  
Old February 28, 2014, 11:44 AM   #19
kraigwy
Senior Member
 
Join Date: June 16, 2008
Location: Wyoming
Posts: 11,061
For what its worth, there are a lot of people out there that don't know if they shoot with both eyes open or not.

They are concentrating on fundamentals and not their eyeballs

I've noticed this a lot the last 30 years or so.

Just last week in one of my classes I had one lady was shooting if what I considered a near perfect standing position. I had everyone in the class stand back and watch her shoot. No movement what so ever, she didn't even blink when the hammer fell.

About 15 minutes later the one vs. two eyes were the best. Then the lady I mentioned said she always shot with one close. The other girls looked at her like she was nuts. I told her she did indeed shoot with both eyes open, she didn't believe me until the other girls told her she did have both eyes open.

--------------------------------------------------------

Closing one eye is like plugging up one ear, it screws up your equilibrium. In defense situations it doesn't matter, chances are you are under three yards and you'll be point shooting anyway.

If target shooting, if you have difficult with your sight alignment with both eyes, then take something and block off the lens of your shooting glasses, for the non dominant eye so it doesn't distract you.

This works also for rifle shooting for someone who is left eye dominant and shoot the rifle right handed. Blacked out the left lens so you have to use your right or non dominant eye.
__________________
Kraig Stuart
CPT USAR Ret
USAMU Sniper School
Distinguished Rifle Badge 1071
kraigwy is offline  
Old February 28, 2014, 04:50 PM   #20
BobCat45
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 18, 2004
Location: East Bernard, TX
Posts: 511
Iv'e been staying out of this thread since there are so many people here who shoot better than I do, but just want to reinforce something kraigwy just said; blanking one eye but keeping both open delays eye strain and helps focus.
I use one of these http://champchoice.com/store/Main.as...ns&item=CC100W and, even though I can not see through the translucent plastic, when it feels to me like both my eyes are focused on the front sight, the shot is a 10 or X.

A strip of tape on the lens works too, especially to just try out the technique.
BobCat45 is offline  
Old March 2, 2014, 10:45 PM   #21
JohnKSa
Staff
 
Join Date: February 12, 2001
Location: DFW Area
Posts: 24,929
If you do block the lens, do it with something translucent instead of something that completely blocks the light to your eye.

Your pupils work together, so if you completely block the light to one eye, it causes both pupils to dilate somewhat.

Thinking of your eye as a camera, we know that when you increase the aperture size (pupil size), it reduces the depth of focus. That is, it means that it requires more careful focus to get objects at differing distances into proper focus.

Since shooting with iron sights requires getting multiple objects at different distances into reasonable focus, increasing the aperture size is undesirable. Ideally you want your pupil to be at the minimum size possible that still allows you to get enough light into your eye to allow you to see the sights and target.

When I choose to block one eye, I use a properly positioned strip of scotch tape on the lens of my shooting glasses.
__________________
Do you know about the TEXAS State Rifle Association?
JohnKSa is offline  
Old March 3, 2014, 02:05 AM   #22
colbad
Senior Member
 
Join Date: December 3, 2012
Posts: 506
I am a two eyed shotgun shooter but can only do it CQB for rifle or HG. Defiantly gives you more field of vision with two eyes. Need to be able to both see and hit the threat. For me that means closing one eye to lock on my sights one I am out past the 15 yard line. If you can shoot two eyes open no question in my mind that is best.
colbad is offline  
Old March 3, 2014, 11:22 AM   #23
Hal
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 9, 1998
Location: Ohio USA
Posts: 8,563
I was born nearly blind in one eye.....

I do believe I keep both open though when I shoot a handgun.

I know I close my blind eye when I shoot a rifle or shotgun.
I have no idea why?
Hal is offline  
Old March 3, 2014, 04:41 PM   #24
NateKirk
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 28, 2013
Location: Detroit
Posts: 435
I was always told to shoot both eyes open for everything
__________________
“Peace is that brief glorious moment in history when everybody stands around reloading".”

― --Thomas Jefferson
NateKirk is offline  
Old March 3, 2014, 05:10 PM   #25
Dragline45
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 30, 2010
Posts: 3,513
I physically cant shoot with both eyes open besides point shooting. A friend of mine who was new to shooting naturally shoots with two eyes open, he actually had no idea that most people shoot with their dominant eye.
Dragline45 is offline  
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 11:33 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This site and contents, including all posts, Copyright © 1998-2021 S.W.A.T. Magazine
Copyright Complaints: Please direct DMCA Takedown Notices to the registered agent: thefiringline.com
Page generated in 0.12198 seconds with 10 queries