Question about one vs two eyes open during low light/no light shooting....

[BaiHu]

When I recently took a class, I noticed that I wanted to close my non-dominant/left eye in order to bring a sharper picture to my sights. I forced them to stay open, but at times the instinct would override.

Ordinarily, I would use 2 eyes open, but I can't figure out if this is a 'normal' response or just my crummy painted on glow-dots that HK's come with.

Any feedback would be great.

Thanks.

[Sin-ster]

What were you seeing, specifically, that made your body want to shut down the left eye?

I ask because in super low/no light conditions, I've actually had my non-dominant eye take over when dealing with a 3-dot set up. (It happened once with my standard flat black rear/single dot post arrangement that I run on my hard use guns.)

Personally speaking, I can't stand anything but a flat black rear. Although not as pronounced during the day, the clutter does not lend itself to crisp and speedy sight tracking for me. There is a long standing suggestion about blacking out your rear dots if you're having trouble with accuracy, and as far as I'm concerned, it exists for a very good reason!

In failing or non-existant light conditions, you don't get the added benefit of extra points of reference for your sight alignment. In essence, you're dealing with little more than floating, glowing dots. In my experience, the "ghost image" coming from your left eye (that you're wholly unaware of in strong light) is sharpened and pronounced, to the point where your brain may have trouble figuring out which "set of dots" to work with.

Then again, I may be an anomaly. The first time I tried to shoot an RDS-fit rifle from my support side, I had to close my dominant eye to even pick up the reticle. Now, it's always there with both eyes open-- leading me to believe the line that distinguishes my dominant eye from my non-dominant one is actually pretty thin.

[BaiHu]

What were you seeing, specifically, that made your body want to shut down the left eye?

It was a focus problem. At times, there was such a lack of focus and almost a drunken double vision with both eyes open that I had to shut my left eye.

FWIW, I have blacked out half of my rear sights in order to distinguish front from rear, but at times it was so fuzzy that my left rear dot was completely invisible to me and that was when instinct took over and my left eye closed and then I could see all 3 dots.

[Ed L]

What were you seeing, specifically, that made your body want to shut down the left eye?

I ask because in super low/no light conditions, I've actually had my non-dominant eye take over when dealing with a 3-dot set up. (It happened once with my standard flat black rear/single dot post arrangement that I run on my hard use guns.)

I employ three dot tritium sights, am right eye dominant, and have experienced the exact same thing! I was used to closing my left ey/non-dominant eye when shooting but am having to get in the habit of keeping it open because in low light I can see the night sights clearly with both eyes open but if I close my left eye they become a blur and almost not viewable.

[TCinVA]

If you're seeing an indecipherable mess and closing one eye helps you clean that up visually to the point where you can actually aim intelligently, then by all means close one eye.

No two people see the world exactly alike.

[barstoolguru]

back in the day of sailing the open seas; sailors and pirates used to wear an eye patch (we see it on TV all the time) this wasn't because they had only one eye but to keep the one eye used to dark so when it was time to navigate the stars they could see them better at night so there is some benefit to closing one eye. The patch was always worn over the dominant eye

[JeffJ]

back in the day of sailing the open seas; sailors and pirates used to wear an eye patch (we see it on TV all the time) this wasn't because they had only one eye but to keep the one eye used to dark so when it was time to navigate the stars they could see them better at night so there is some benefit to closing one eye. The patch was always worn over the dominant eye

I've also heard that it allowed them to go below deck, swap eyes with the patch and not have to wait for their eyes to adjust - this would be rather important in some sort of battle situation where one needed to be able to see the cannon quickly I'd imagine.

To the OP - I'll second what TC said, if you need to close one eye to see better, then close one eye. Shooting with both eyes open is somewhat a matter of visual training, we all see things slightly differently and some people have more trouble than others. I would spend some dry fire time in low light and see if it is something that keeps occuring.

[BaiHu]

I would spend some dry fire time in low light and see if it is something that keeps occuring.

That's my plan. Thanks for all your input and I love the bit of pirate patch data.

[Sin-ster]

It was a focus problem. At times, there was such a lack of focus and almost a drunken double vision with both eyes open that I had to shut my left eye.

FWIW, I have blacked out half of my rear sights in order to distinguish front from rear, but at times it was so fuzzy that my left rear dot was completely invisible to me and that was when instinct took over and my left eye closed and then I could see all 3 dots.

Yep, sounds like you and I experience the same thing in those conditions. With a 3-dot set up, I found the only solution was to close the left eye-- at least momentarily, until my vision had "locked on". Although in recoil, the issue was prone to popping back up, especially when you factor in that flash of light coming from the end of the muzzle and how it alters your perspective with each shot.

Try this as well, just as an experiment. The next time you do some dry fire, stand right up against a flatly painted wall (white is the worst for me) so that your muzzle is about 6-12" from it when you've adopted your firing platform. Draw and index your sights on the wall in general; do you have the same issue with focus as you did in the dark?

My solution to the issue was, as previously noted, to go with just a single dot and flat black rear. With enough practice (dry reps being the bulk), you should be able to develop your natural POA enough that the front post will always line up with the rears without the use of your eyes-- to the point where you can do it 99% effectively with your eyes closed. (You may not always be exactly where you were planning to aim, but the sights WILL be aligned in front of you.) This is absolutely imperative for speed shooting disciplines, as your eyes should be driving the gun; where you look, the sights appear perfectly aligned-- regardless of your body position. It takes some work, and your learning curve may be steeper and/or longer than others, but trust me when I tell you-- it's very much possible, and VERY helpful. Then, in the dark, you'll only have one dot to look for-- and you'll be confident that when you see it, it's sitting there in the notch.

[BaiHu]

Thanks a ton Sin!

I would say that my left dot 'crosses my eye up' and 'ghosts' or 'blurs', whereas my front sight is clear and my right dot is almost not involved in 'distracting' me.

[Sin-ster]

Thanks a ton Sin!

I would say that my left dot 'crosses my eye up' and 'ghosts' or 'blurs', whereas my front sight is clear and my right dot is almost not involved in 'distracting' me.

That sounds about right. You get a strange sensation of one eye being focused, and the other glazing over? Like half of what you feel if you intentionally cross your eyes?

[BaiHu]

That sounds about right. You get a strange sensation of one eye being focused, and the other glazing over? Like half of what you feel if you intentionally cross your eyes?

Bingo!