monocular vs. binocular vision

[visigoth4]

Question guys. I've been going back and forth with a buddy. I have taken classes and showed that the proper way of aligning your sight for shooting pistols is to close your Dominate eye. He claims that its best to keep both eyes open. i can see this being useful in close quarters or defensive shooting purpores but inters of lining and focusing on your front site it seems to me that using 1 eye is the way to go. Am I wrong or are is this an argument where it depends on the person

 

[Another_David]

I have taken classes and showed that the proper way of aligning your sight for shooting pistols is to close your Dominate eye

not familiar with that technique

No doubt there are various techniques and opinions on this subject. In my opinion it does depend on the person's physical and cognitive abilities but the best technique is to have two eyes open. A young healthy adult with some practice should be able to learn how to shoot with both eyes open with the brain using the one dominant eye to focus on the front sight. What the other eye sees is largely ignored unless you switch back to normal vision. It takes practice and as you get older it can becomes more difficult to do. There are various ways to practice like putting a piece of tape over you weak eyeglass lens to block the view. But most people find it more comfortable to use two eyes open since the one-eye squint can cause muscle strain.

 

[visigoth4]

Sorry meant I close my non dominate. Ya no way I can do 2 eyes. Just tried to dry fire and can't see the front site with both eyes.

 

[whatluck]

Both eyes open. You need to be able to see the threat.

 

[visigoth4]

I guess it depends. If I'm planning on shooting IDPA and need my shots to count...I'm thinking 1 eye open. 2 eyes I agree is for more of a defensive purpose close range.

 

[highlander]

This is hard to explain so bear with me I am left eye dominant but right handed.
When I shoot rifle I shoot left handed but when I shoot rifle I keep both eyes open.
Over the years I "trained " my right eye to disconnect without closing it. I shoot pistol right hand right eye and do the same. It just comes automatically and I can't explain it any better than that. I see a lot of people shoot rifle going into all kinds of contortions trying to close one eye and I'm thinking to myself "what are they doing?"

 

[GunGrey]

I find the nondom eye closed is easier for me with a firearm. But when I shoot a bow its easier for me with both eyes open. I say shoot which ever way is more comfortable.

 

[Bill Nance]

Visigoth: I have heard both eyes and one eye and I generally suggest both eyes open if you can manage it. If this simply can't be done than you may have no choice but to close one eye. But you are losing all your peripheral vision on one side when you do that. You talked about "training" your right eye to disconnect. That's the method I teach as well, using scotch tape on shooting glasses so the eye you don't want to be dominant can't focus to the front. Eventually it does it on it's own without the need for the tape.

But there is IMO no one, 'right" answer on this. Different methods are necessary for different shooters. If you can "disconnect" your right eye anyway, I see no advantage in closing it.

 

[TBalls]

But there is IMO no one, 'right" answer on this. Different methods are necessary for different shooters. If you can "disconnect" your right eye anyway, I see no advantage in closing it.

I definitely agree with you there. From personal experience I can say that corrective lenses can make a big difference too. My vision is not awful, but I do wear glasses. With my glasses on, I have a VERY hard time keeping both eyes open. With them off my natural vision is such that I can comfortably shoot with both open (since I can easily focus @ arm's length), but at any distance the target is so blurry that I have a hard time acquiring a good sight picture. I suspect that additional focused training could help, but for now one eye w/glasses seems to work the best.

As for "defensive purposes", I would agree that both eyes is better to preserve peripheral vision. However, my understanding has always been that defensive situations typically do not afford the opportunity for proper sight alignment (i.e. instinctive). So while both open is better for seeing the periphery defensively, it may be apples & oranges compared to a target/range/competition context. I am far from an expert, so someone please correct me if I am off base.

 

[one-eyed Jack]

I don't have the choice! Jack.

 

[M1911]

Both eyes open if you can manage it. I still end up having to squint my non-dominant eye, more so at longer ranges.

 

[atmay]

If I have the time to line up a good shot (ie benchrest rifle, tree rat sitting still, etc), I close my non-dominant eye. It helps me focus on the sights properly immensley.

Run-n-gun type stuff, I always keep both eyes open.

 

[Supermoto]

i squint one eye when I'm shooting, open it when I do everything else. Do what every works for you

 

[wahsben]

IMO one eye for target/precision shooting, both eyes for cqb,action shooting.

 

[Keystone]

I find that, if I keep my non-dom eye closed for too long, it gets fatigued. I try and keep both eyes open unless I'm trying to squeeze off the odd more-accurate shot

 

[Darkwood Arms]

i squint one eye when I'm shooting, open it when I do everything else. Do what every works for you

I too use this method. One only needs a fraction of a second to perform this action and I find it gives me, by far, the best sight picture.

It is possible to shoot at a master class level doing this. Just look at some of Supermoto's videos.

 

[DaveB]

What ever works for you. It depends for me. For longe range rifle, pistol bullseye and shotgun I am a one eye shooter. I have tried to shoot trap and skeet with two eyes and fail miserably. I average at 23 out of 25 so I will stick with one eye. BUT on sporting clays it moves so fast I instinctively shoot two eyes open. Now for defensive pistol this is where you have to experiment with range and techniques. At 0-10 yards I keep both eyes open and make critical hits on a human size chest target (say 10") very quickly. However for a more precise shot I have to go slow down and go to one eye. With and AR and optics within 25 yards both eyes are open and one eye beyond.

Take some defensive shooting classes to learn more techniques, practice and hone your skills and you will be surprised at what your capable of or what your limitations are.

 

[RKBA Personal Safety]

With a handgun, train your self to focus on the front sight with both eyes open. That's all you have to do. Rear sight is fuzzy, target is fuzzy. We can only focus at one distance at a time. Two eyes open has enhanced my accuracy, and obviously it enhances peripheral vision and depth perception.

Rifles are still a work in process for me. I am cross eye dominant and this causes a problem for me. I have always taped over my shooting glasses on the dominant side. I am working on closing my dominant eye before orienting my body towards the target, aligning the sights, and getting my sight picture with my non-dominant eye. Jury is still out on that.