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How To Shoot With Both Eyes Open

Talyn

Talyn

SAINT
Founding Member
Humans are bilaterally symmetrical. We have two sides and two eyes. This gives us the advantage of binocular vision. As the most important predator on earth, this gives us depth perception and the ability to judge range.

Closing one eye to shoot is very common and I do it for long-range pistol shots, but for most of our handgun shooting we should have both eyes open. With certain rifle sights, we may fire accurately with both eyes open as well.

How To Shoot With Both Eyes Open

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When I was a boy I learned to shoot handguns from an old fella that had ridden with Villa in the Mexican Revolution. Both eyes open, shoot for center mass and shoot until they are no longer a threat. He also said to give them one to the head before you pass by so you don't have to watch your back. Years later I took a combat handgun course, about the only thing I got from that was rapid reload of semi autos. He was a man's man.
 
Good article and certainly helpful for the new generation of shooting sports enthusists.

I wear contact lenses, L eye is used for distance and the R lens is for reading. This avoids reading glasses.
However, I‘m Right handed and shoot R-handed, but I’m L eye dominant.
For distance target shooting, yes, I’ll just shut L eye.
Combat style drills, I keep both eyes openwould tilt my head ever slightly giving the R eye the advantage. This can be done for distance too, but if I’m shooting lazy-slow for tightest group possible bragging rights…I shut the L eye anyway mostly to eliminate distractions, bright light, etc.

Once you develop a routine of shutting one eye shooting, it can become habit and maybe a bad habit too.
The reasoning I was taught is that if SHTF, you don’t want to give up the benefit of peripheral vision needed to identify additional threats outside of the natural tunnel vision that occurs with high stress fight or flight situations.
 
Right eye dominant & my right eye is still the better one even after cataract surgery.

I do both depending on the platform.

Handguns, shotguns & AR-type both eyes open but focus using the right eye.

Long-range platforms I partially close the left eye.
 
I have done this for years. I was taught years ago by a shooting instructor that in an active shooter scenario, that once the body goes into fight or flight and the adrenaline starts pumping you can't close just one eye. Thus, he advocated practicing with both eyes open.
 
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