Eyes Wide Open, or...

I keep seeing the "red dot mastery" add on FB, but either I don't want to shell out the $ or I'm hard headed. Either way, this bunch has probably sorted this out ad nasuem.

I use an UltraDot 30mm. I find that I shoot my best when I keep both eyes open, but have a blinder on my weak (suplicant?) left eye.

Can anyone explain the concept behind this? My son is cross dominant, so a blinder may be a fact for him. I'd like to guide him correctly....


TIA

Cross dominate, and a blinder is necessary.

If you teach yourself to shoot with both eyes open (no blinder) you will find it an advantage.
Better depth perception and no one can sneak up on your blind side if using as a carry piece.

What’s the question? Why blinders? Or should blinders be used for general shooting instruction?

Why? Minimize eye fatigue. Bullseye is an endurance sport for your eyes. Monocular vision through the sighting system (metallic or electronic) without (1) needing to close your non-dominant eye and (2) needing to process (i.e. consciously ignore) the visual information from the eye that’s not behind the sight. Blinders give your muscles and brain fewer things to do. The benefit is more pronounced with irons, but still present with a dot.

A good translucent blinder is worth its weight in gold.

Blinders are tools for precision sport shooting, not general/practical shooting. Binocular vision is beneficial for defensive training and practical competition. The visual focus demands tend to be short bursts over a variety of distances. Much easier on the eyes.

As to internet training on red dots, it’s not worth the money. Most pistol instructors are useless grifters. For practical red dot use (both eyes open, performance- or defensive-oriented), Ben Stoeger has too much good information available for free online to justify paying anyone else.

For a couple of years I was shooting bullseye using a Burris Fast Fire III on both my .22 and .45.  I am left eye dominant but right handed/right eyed shooter.  I tried keeping both eyes open and it was not that difficult to do with the reflex sight.

However, when shooting with a tube-type red dot like the UltraDot, I found it more difficult as my dominant left eye seemed to see too much of the side of the scope and it was distracting.

During the Phoenix Rod and Gun Club Mid-Winter match this past February, I paid particular attention to the best shooters there, including members of the AMU, John Zurek, and several other high master shooters.  Virtually ALL of them used a blinder on their non-shooting eye.

If shooters at this level are all using a blinder, I decided that I would follow their example.  My scores are improving as a result.

YMMV,

Dennis, aka Dulcmrman

FWIW quick/easy/free way to test blinder: 1-2 strips of translucent scotch tape on the shooting glass lens over the non-dominant eye

Why would you close or blind one eye when you don't do that for any thing else we humans do? 
worked for me in Bullseye and Highpower.

Some people shoot better with a blinder, but NEVER use a fully opaque blinder. It should be translucent, hence the trick of scotch tape on your shooting glasses. Some people, particularly those with cross-dominance, aren’t that vision dominant to adjust the grip and position to maintain vision in the dominant eye, so a blinder helps do that.

My dominant eye can flip from one side to the other. It's very weird. Without some sort of blinder I can shoot careful aimed shots at my neighbour's target then wonder where it went in the scope. About 1cm^2 masking tape in the correct place for my left eye is quite sufficient.

Wes Lorenz wrote:Why would you close or blind one eye when you don't do that for any thing else we humans do? 
worked for me in Bullseye and Highpower.

Congratulations!

You are unique!

Wes Lorenz wrote:Why would you close or blind one eye when you don't do that for any thing else we humans do? 
worked for me in Bullseye and Highpower.

I don’t use guns for much in my daily life, but if I need to hurl a small rock at a black circle a half-football field away, I’m happy to use a good tool for that job.

When you shoot HP rifle… do you wear a shooting jacket and sling? Do you use those for anything else as a human?

Wow!!! That went in the weeds FAST

Okay, point taken. Let’s keep it civil guys.

To the ops question about shooting with a blinder vs no blinder - if you close your non-dominant eye when shooting you are focusing with your dominant eye.  This is how most of us learned to shoot. The trouble comes when you try and do this for a 270 shot match. Closing that eye will become fatiguing and your results will be inconsistent. By covering the eye it takes that portion of your vision out of the equation but keeps it relaxed. That is likely why you are shooting well with that arrangement. 

John

Wes Fleming gave me a white translucent occluder to try at Nationals last year.  It was a bit of an adjustment but now it seems as natural as can be when I shoot bullseye.  It's part of my routine.  Besides, other non-BE shooters think you are really cool if you wear "that thing on your glasses" at the range.  (Note: I shoot iron sights only.)

When I shoot two-handed/facing the target, I do not use the occluder.  I'm not sure if that is normal, but if I don't, I seem to stare at the white "blind" spot.

Regarding cross dominance. I’ve found a translucent occluded over the dominant eye reduces visual acuity in the sighting eye. I get a much clearer picture closing my dominant eye or using a patch.

When occluding the non-dominate eye, the dominate eye isn’t affected as much