Henry Rifle Forums

This has probably been discussed in part before but would like to know.
I just got through watching, again, " American Sniper ", for those who may not know, an Eastwood film.
Anyway, in the movie, Chris Kyle shoots with both eyes open and took out the insurgent sniper with over a one mile shot!
The insurgent, medal winning sniper, who was also supposed to be one of the best, shot with left eye closed.
What is the advantage, if there is one, of shooting one way or the other?
How do you shoot and why? I never really thought about this very much. just find myself, naturally closing my left eye. I am a right hand shooter.

Mark I can shoot a little with both open, but most times I close one eye.
I mostly shoot right handed, but I can do pretty good left.
A few years ago I had a cataract in the right eye, and had to shoot lefthanded for a while.

RP

Vaquero wrote: ↑

Fri Nov 01, 2019 11:02 pm

Mark I can shoot a little with both open, but most times I close one eye.
I mostly shoot right handed, but I can do pretty good left.
A few years ago I had a cataract in the right eye, and had to shoot lefthanded for a while.

RP

Thanks Randy, was just wondering if one way is technically better than the other. Hopefully, more responses, if they come will shed some light on this issue.
BTW kudos to you for being able to switch to left handed for a time. Hard for me to even imagine that!

shooting trap, I keep both eyes open .... since my rifles and revolver have scope or red dots, left eye closed, right eye open

Hey I had to learn or not hunt.
And since the corrective surgery while hunting from a tree stand,
it came in handy once.
A deer came up on my right and couldn't get turned around without fear of spooking it.
So I just shot it lefthanded.
I have probably shot better than a half a dozen left handed in my time.

RP

I shoot with my left eye closed. Was the way I was trained as a kid, reinforced in the Corps.

I just thought it strange that both snipers, shot differently for long range. Guess it might simply be personal preference.
When I bought my last scope, (Weaver 1-3 x 20), some on the reviews said, " and I can shoot with both eyes open "...I dunno, guess I just need to try it.

I was taught that keeping both eyes open helped you move to the next target easily. I've never been able to shoot well with both eyes open.

I'm right-handed, but left eye dominant, so if I want to hit the target, I have to (and do) shoot with my left eye closed.

markiver54 wrote: ↑

Fri Nov 01, 2019 10:54 pm

This has probably been discussed in part before but would like to know.
I just got through watching, again, " American Sniper ", for those who may not know, an Eastwood film.
Anyway, in the movie, Chris Kyle shoots with both eyes open and took out the insurgent sniper with over a one mile shot!
The insurgent, medal winning sniper, who was also supposed to be one of the best, shot with left eye closed.
What is the advantage, if there is one, of shooting one way or the other?
How do you shoot and why? I never really thought about this very much. just find myself, naturally closing my left eye. I am a right hand shooter.

I shoot my compound bow much better with both eyes open, (in fact substantially better) I close one eye, aim, and then before the shot I open the other eye.
I have tried both ways with rifle, and I'm not sure that there is an improvement for me one way over the other. But, bow hunting, definitely.

Most people have difficulty with parallax with both eyes open. Some, like Kyle, have trained their brain to overcome that. That said, whether you keep both open or not often depends on the situation. Defensive pistol, it's advisable to keep both open and train for short range point and shoot (instinctive), and not waste time trying to acquire a "preferred" sight picture or stance.

Another one with one eye closed and its the left one.

BigAl52 wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 02, 2019 10:30 am

Another one with one eye closed and its the left one.

Well I hope ya shootin with the right then.

RP

I shoot both ways, but I was taught to close one eye and it feels more natural to me.

Thanks for the responses. It is sounding like a personal preference issue and what works best for an individual, given the circumstance.
Interesting though, that Marine said the were taught one eye closed in the Corps.
All responses have made sense to me. Maybe there is no right or wrong on this one?

I use both, but to shoot with both eyes open requires just the right setup as far as sights. I can do it with red dots, though the red dot needs to be placed at just the right distance from the eye and, surprisingly, I can do it with some scope setups, usually low power setups, with scout scope rigs working the best. Unfortunately, have never been able to do it with iron sights.

Yes, there are advantages to keeping both eyes open. Closing one eye and keeping the other open can and will produce eye fatigue over extended shooting sessions because you are working the muscles of the two eyes, differently. That's why a lot of target shooters who do close one eye wear a patch over their non-shooting eye. It allows them to keep that eye open while shooting and thereby reduce eye fatigue.

I also find that my follow through technique is better with both eyes open. It allows me to concentrate and focus more on the sight picture all the way though the shot. When I can do it, there is a noticeable difference.

That said, I don't force myself to use one method or the other. If the gun and sight combo won't allow me to comfortably keep both eyes open, I just close one eye and get on with my shooting. When I do close one eye, however, I am careful to do it as relaxed as I can, rather than scrunch it shut.

As for right or wrong, keeping both eyes open is generally regarded as correct in wing-shooting for the sake of depth of field. It's one type of shooting that puts those of us who are cross-eyed dominant at a disadvantage. For me, very hard to do without seeing a double image of the barrel.

For rifles and handguns, yes, most of us use what works.

Thank you NCG. Definitely wanted your input on this one.
you mentioned the ability with two eyes using low power scopes. That would explain the reviews I read on the Weaver I mentioned. It sits atop my BBS 357, which I might try this afternoon.
The eye patch sounds like a good idea as well!. I have noticed many times, after squinting for a while, my left eye gets blurry upon opening it back up between shots. Guess that would be the fatigue issue. Thanks again NCG, Yours, and all other responses have been an eye opener. Truly, no pun intended.

You're very welcome, Mark.

.
I was taught one-eye as well. I've tried both open, but the brain has some difficulty putting a sight picture together.