How do you aim?

[TransAmConvert]

I've been practicing getting a quick sight picture with both eyes open, and am finding it pretty challenging. I know everyone says to focus on the front sight, but when I do that I'm having trouble seeing which rear sight to use since the ghosted images are so close.
I've been having the best luck sort of diverging my eyes and focusing on a point a foot or so in front of the muzzle. Then its a matter of left gun, right target (I'm right eye dominant). The trouble is, even with this method, it is difficult to develop the sight picture quickly. It is easier if I squint the left eye slightly while getting the picture, and then once I have it I can open that eye fully, but I don't really like it and I feel it's a bandaid approach.

So, how do you sight with both eyes open quickly and effectively?

[whoshisface]

****EDITED****

I've played with this A LOT! I suggest getting some snap caps and working with them. Do all the safety things, like remove all ammunition from the room, double triple check and then make sure that you are only loading the snap caps dummy ammo. Check again and again, don't be a moron and shoot something because you left a load in the chamber or in the magazine etc..

Find a safe target about 7-14 feet or so away, outside wall something that would stop a bullet or otherwise safe, this is just in case you happen to have made the error of having a live round.

DO THIS IN A BRIGHTLY LIT ROOM both the sights and the target should be well illuminated, a light behind you illuminating the sights and a light illuminated the target! i would say at least enough to comfortably do work by. Two one hundred watt bulbs or better should do.

Point the gun to the side an object, MOVING FROM THE SIDE NOT UP OR DOWN (This is only to see what you are doing NOT for actual shooting and ditch this part after you understand it) focus squarely on the front site and only the front site. The rear site will be blurry but not too much.

The target will be double and blurry, should always be that way. If it ever comes into focus, stop an start again. pick one of the blurred picture target usually the side you're coming from or the dominate eye side. It really shouldn't matter, because any side you pick, that side has to be lined up with one of your eyes. You want to keep it that way and put the very focused front site right on it. freeze, don't move. Close one eye, are you pointing at the target now? No, close the other, still no (don't worry about being a minute bit off)? If its really off, then you didn't truly put it on one of the two blurry target pictures you have or you moved. If you didn't move, that means you're not truly focusing on the front site. Do it again and put the focused point on the other side, test again. Keep doing it! You should be eventually be able to use either eye, that's a great thing. When that happens you've learned how to do it. If you can move the gun site from both extreme right and left I.e. point it 4 feet to the right of the target(if it's safe) and move the gun over to the right side target (if its safe)close one eye then the other if one of them lines up you're good. Do it from the other side. Don't worry so much about the point being perfectly in between the rear site so much, work on that later.

My problem was that I would constantly shift my focus (dominate eye). The reason, I wasn't used to keeping the focus perfectly on the sight. I kept shifting back and forth. My shooting went from being in the crapper to at least 30% better now. That means I'm only 30% out of the crapper

Once you start to get used to truly focusing on the front site you'll start to develop a sense of which eye you're actually using at the time. Sometimes I know I'm using my left eye instead of my right and I instinctively pick the left target, however, most times I go right. This all depends on my stance and where I'm holding the gun in relationship to my center line.

Keep working on it, it is worth the effort, and it is free practice.

Once you get past that, start looking at the gun site only, back and front. Are you far/near sighted. If your far sighted and your Rx glasses aren't allowing you to get an idea of the back sight then get your eyes checked! If you don't wear glasses and it is still really blurry and your barrel is only 5 inches or less in length, you need an exam. To test bring the gun in really close, about 5 inches from the slide. Do you see both sites at the same time and independently easily? Can you focus only on the rear sites or front sites, if so that's another indicator that you might need glasses or your Rx checked. Sometimes far sightedness goes unnoticed until it effects you at substantial distance. You know newspaper held at arms length to read it. However with a gun you need to be able to site it at about 1 to 2 feet. Also check by seeing how close/far within arms length you can read newsprint.

If none of this is the case then you're just experiencing normal blurriness of the rear site, don't bother with the rear dots, just try to put the in focused from site in between the light and level the black space! Practice practice practice.

Once you get it down, start pulling the trigger and keeping the focus on the front site through the trigger squeeze you'll start to notice how bad your grip and trigger pull is. If you practice like this often, you'll reduce (hopefully to an insignificant amount) your recoil anticipation. Practice it every day for 15 minutes a day and I guarantee that within two weeks you'll shoot substantially better.

One day I'll get good enough at that so I can start working on acquiring the target quicker, then from a draw, etc..

Summery: With the gun unloaded keep trying it and actually study what you're doing and figure out how to correct what you're doing wrong and then practice practice practice.

Good luck and I hope this helped.

[Karys]

I trained myself to shoot with both eyes open by shooting a .22 at the indoor range of a club I used to belong to. It took a long time and a lot of ammo. I could have saved myself some money if I would have started dry firing at home after the first couple of range sessions.

At first I had the same problem that you have. I had a hard time figuring out which target to aim at and I would have to squint the left eye to figure out which one was real.

The one thing I did that helped me the most was to put a piece of scotch tape over the left lens of my shooting glasses. The tape obscured what the left eye was seeing just enough so that I could concentrate on switching focus from the target to the front sight with my dominant eye. After a while, you'll be able to remove the tape and be able to pick up the target and the front sight easily with both eyes open.

I still have trouble at times when targets are close together, like when shooting a rack of plates or at bowling pins. In that situation, I go back to shooting with my non-dominant eye closed.

[TransAmConvert]

Thanks excel, that was really helpful. I guess the most important factor is more practice. My vision is very good so I don't think its a physical problem. More of a mental perception training thing. Good to know that I'm not the only one who has struggled with this.

[rwilson452]

One suggestion I heard is to practice the focus on the front site by aiming at a blank wall. bring the gun up and pick up the front sight. as there is no object to focus on beyond it your eye will automaticly go to the sights. Another method is to put a very small dot onthe wall then raise the gun until that dot is blanked out bythe gun your doninate eye should focus on the gun the other on the dot. then lower the gun until the front sight is on target. It's really a matter of a lot of practice to break old bad habits. I would thing if someone was standing where they can see your eyes you will look a little cross eyed when your do it wrong. Before you do all of this be absolutly sure you have he correct eye dominance.

I've been practicing getting a quick sight picture with both eyes open, and am finding it pretty challenging. I know everyone says to focus on the front sight, but when I do that I'm having trouble seeing which rear sight to use since the ghosted images are so close.
I've been having the best luck sort of diverging my eyes and focusing on a point a foot or so in front of the muzzle. Then its a matter of left gun, right target (I'm right eye dominant). The trouble is, even with this method, it is difficult to develop the sight picture quickly. It is easier if I squint the left eye slightly while getting the picture, and then once I have it I can open that eye fully, but I don't really like it and I feel it's a bandaid approach.

So, how do you sight with both eyes open quickly and effectively?

[IceFire]

I discovered in a shotgunning class that I HAVE to close one eye...I was seeing TWO of the clays and didn't know which one to aim for....seems the problem is that although I am generally left-eye dominant, I do occasionally shift dominance, and when I'm trying to get my sight picture, my eyes are fighting it out. The only way I can stop the eye wars is to close my right eye. Ssince I'm predominantly left-handed, this works for me. Probably wouldn't work for everyone, nor would I recommend it for everyone, but it's what I have to to to compensate.

[riy]

Any suggestions for my situation. I am trying the both eyes open and have problems even hitting the paper. Trouble is I am near sighted and wear 1 contact lens in my non dominent (left eye). My brain automatically chooses my left eye for reading etc, and right eye(dominent) for distance. Basically, when I look at my front sight, my left eye takes over, this of course see's at an angle as does everyones non-dominent (to create depth perception) and when my right eye aquires the target I am way off. Basically, it's like having a magnifying glass over my left eye but over time my brain has adjusted so I only notice it when I'm way off when shooting.

Thanks

[paulownian]

Both eyes open, like the police and military do; and I don't focus on the front sight. If we did that, we wouldn't be able to see what the evil doers are doing, such as going for a handgun, or knife. Sorry, but my training says "2 eyes on the bad guys I stays alives".

[MiniDevil]

Both eyes open, like the police and military do; and I don't focus on the front sight. If we did that, we wouldn't be able to see what the evil doers are doing, such as going for a handgun, or knife. Sorry, but my training says "2 eyes on the bad guys I stays alives".

Do you use the sights at all? Im interested in your technique.

[paulownian]

Yes, you use the sights, but only after you have acquired your target, and only left and right to align the sights. Here, read this from some of my goverment training:

Firing techniques include the use of hand-and-eye coordination, flash sight picture, quick-fire point shooting, and quick-fire sighting.

Hand-and-Eye Coordination. Hand-and-eye coordination is not a natural, instinctive ability for all soldiers. It is usually a learned skill obtained by practicing the use of a flash sight picture (see paragraph b below). The more a soldier practices raising the weapon to eye level and obtaining a flash sight picture, the more natural the relationship between soldier, sights, and target becomes. Eventually, proficiency elevates to a point so that the soldier can accurately engage targets in the dark. Each soldier must be aware of this trait and learn how to use it best. Poorly coordinated soldiers can achieve proficiency through close supervision from their trainers. Everyone has the ability to point at an object. Since pointing the forefinger at an object and extending the weapon toward a target are much the same, the combination of the two are natural. Making the soldier aware of this ability and teaching him how to apply it results in success when engaging enemy targets in combat.

The eyes focus instinctively on the center of any object observed. After the object is sighted, the firer aligns his sights on the center of mass, focuses on the front sight, and applies proper trigger squeeze. Most crippling or killing hits result from maintaining the focus on the center of mass. The eyes must remain fixed on some part of the target throughout firing.
When a soldier points, he instinctively points at the feature on the object on which his eyes are focused. An impulse from the brain causes the arm and hand to stop when the finger reaches the proper position. When the eyes are shifted to a new object or feature, the finger, hand, and arm also shift to this point. It is this inherent trait that can be used by the soldier to engage targets rapidly and accurately. This instinct is called hand-and-eye coordination.

Flash Sight Picture. Usually, when engaging an enemy at pistol range, the firer has little time to ensure a correct sight picture. The quick-kill (or natural point of aim) method does not always ensure a first-round hit. A compromise between a correct sight picture and the quick-kill method is known as a flash sight picture. As the soldier raises the weapon to eye level, his point of focus switches from the enemy to the front sight, ensuring that the front and rear sights are in proper alignment left and right, but not necessarily up and down. Pressure is applied to the trigger as the front sight is being acquired, and the hammer falls as the flash sight picture is confirmed. Initially, this method should be practiced slowly, with speed gained as proficiency increases.

Quick-Fire Point Shooting. This is for engaging an enemy at less than 5 yards and is also useful for night firing. Using a two-hand grip, the firer brings the weapon up close to the body until it reaches chin level. He then thrusts it forward until both arms are straight. The arms and body form a triangle, which can be aimed as a unit. In thrusting the weapon forward, the firer can imagine that there is a box between him and the enemy, and he is thrusting the weapon into the box. The trigger is smoothly squeezed to the rear as the elbows straighten.

Quick-Fire Sighting. This technique is for engaging an enemy at 5 to 10 yards away and only when there is no time available to get a full picture. The firing position is the same as for quick-fire point shooting. The sights are aligned left and right to save time, but not up and down. The firer must determine in practice what the sight picture will look like and where the front sight must be aimed to hit the enemy in the chest.

So, as you see, you do use the sights, you just don't concentrate on them.