Shooting with both eyes open

[Musky hunter 82]

So while watching some of the hunting shows this spring, I noticed that a lot of the hunters were shooting with both of their eyes open. I never thought of doing this, so I figured what the heck why not give it a try, if nothing else I should have a larger field of view. Well I decided to try it this spring, so I started out at 15 yards and drew back my bow, closed my one eye lined up the pin on the target then, opened my other eye. To my surprise it didn't feel awkward at all, so when I got my pin back on the target I touch off the shot, and it hit right where I was aiming. From that point on I started to draw and shoot my bow with both eyes open, and I can say that all the way out to 50 yards my groups have gotten smaller. I used to hold a group at 20 yards of about a 5" diameter circle, and now I can consistently get 3 arrows to group in a 2-3" circle. And at 50 yards I can group 3 arrows in a 6" circle where before that it was about a 10" circle. Need less to say I will not be going back to shooting with one eye closed, another thing I noticed is that it was a lot easier to pick up the nock on my arrow in flight also. Can't wait to shoot a deer this fall now.

[96trigger]

I learned to shoot with both eyes open when I was having trouble getting deer in the field of view at low light. I can't shoot any other way now.

[jentz]

Both eyes is most efficient!Military teaches this Marines anyway.Field of view is increased,Practice Practice practice

[Archerysniper]

It really helps during the low light time periods.

[Bear55]

It really helps during the low light time periods.

I don't generally shoot this way but have used it a few times during low light, really helps a lot!

[vister]

Once u get used to both eyes open, shooting gets better, because you learn to use the other eye to watch arrow flight, so mentally, u don't need to drop/move the bow to see the arrow. Especially when the arrow is on its way to a deer

[Lunker]

All closing one eye does for you is restrict your field of view. Your dominant eye will do it's job for you while shooting when both are open. I saw someone mention Marines training this way, Army does as well.

[eyeguy 54]

be the arrow grasshopper

[HNTNBUX]

Thats sounds great unless you are cross eye dominant like I am. Handguns and bows right handed. Handgun left eye, right eye closed. Bow right handed right eye left eye closed. Long guns left handed left eye right eye can be open or closed. Things would be easier if both eyes open was possible with seriously trying to retrain my eyes.

[Big Country]

Just one of the many tips I picked up on the web last winter. I too have transitioned to both eyes open and have seen a significant increase in accuracy.

[paceman]

Yep been doing the 2 eye thing for many years. In my younger years I worked on a survey crew and spent many many hours staring through levels, theadolites... It just became much easier, faster and with much less eye strain to keep both eyes open.

[Gus]

Thats sounds great unless you are cross eye dominant like I am. Handguns and bows right handed. Handgun left eye, right eye closed. Bow right handed right eye left eye closed. Long guns left handed left eye right eye can be open or closed. Things would be easier if both eyes open was possible with seriously trying to retrain my eyes.

I am cross eye dominant also. I was forced to learn how to shoot with both eyes open as a kid. I struggled with sights and accuracy until I learned that I was cross eye dominant later on. What I do now to compensate is to close one eye just long enough to gain focus, Just a blink works for me now. Then I can leave both eyes open and the focus stays with my aiming eye. If I had learned I was cross eye dominant when I was younger, I would have switched to lefty. It was just too hard to change that by the time I learned. It works for me now. No issues with shooting rifle, shotgun or bow.

[Scott K]

I am right eye dominant, but I am far sighted pretty bad with my right eye, and if I leave both eyes open, I cant see the pins on the bow. If I wear different glasses, then everything farther out gets blurry. I can do it at 20 yards, shooting in a lighted area, at a bright target, but when in the woods, I cant see the pins good enough to shoot with both eyes open. So I have to keep one eye closed.

[mainbutter]

Just wondering for those who shoot with both eyes open:

Where do you focus, on the target? How blurry are your pins in your sight picture? How do you aim to compensate for parallax, in the middle of the two independent images?

Do you just make use of your 'dominant' eye's image of the pin and leave the other open for an increased field of view?

I don't have a dominant eye. When aiming with both eyes open and focused on my target, I get a very strong parallax and very blurry pins.

[96trigger]

The pins aren't blurry, but there is a little double vision at first. That was the hardest for me to get over, the fact that I had two sets of pins. one was obviously the right set. After doing this for many years, I don't even notice the other "floating" set of pins off to the left. I started by closing my left eye during draw and then opening it when I was focused on the pin and target. This is how I would start if I were you. You need to train your brain to focus on the target with both eyes, but the pin and target with the other eye.

I don't aim any different. If you shoot with both eyes open, the sight picture in your aim eye is not different than if the left was closed. The pins don't look any different and I never had to compensate for both eyes being open as long as my posture and anchor stayed the same, which it did.

[MattL]

I've been shooting with both eyes open for years and it really helped with accuracy. I had to train myself at first as 96trigger stated above. I started by aiming and focusing with one eye, then opening the other. After awhile it just becomes second nature and you don't even have to think about it.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

I'm pretty new to archery. I gave this a whirl last night and at 40 yards I went from volleyball sized groups, to baseball sized groups.

[PropsterII]

Only one sight picture can be clear, either the target or the pin. The other will be a little fuzzy. For the poster who says it was too hard to switch to shooting left handed after you got older, back when I worked in the shop I had many, many guys, generally older, who came in and said I just don't shoot as well as I used to. After checking their eye dominance, in many cases they were left eye dominant shooting right handed. Their hand/eye coordination or visual accuity allowed them to shoot well for many years but finally got the better of them. Once I got them past the idea they couldn't do it, I switched many of them over and within a short period of time they were shooting better than they ever did right handed. So consider it, never too late.