When trying firearms for the first time, many beginners imitate what they’ve seen on TV or in movies. A common habit is closing one eye while looking down the sights or through a rifle scope.
If you’re new to shooting and have questions like “Do you close one eye when shooting a pistol?” or “When should you shoot with both eyes open?” you’re not alone. The answers can vary, as experienced gun owners often debate the effectiveness of shooting with one eye closed versus both eyes open, depending on the weapon and the situation.
Discover the pros and cons of shooting with one eye versus both eyes, when to use each method, and how to improve your shooting skills.
Shooting With One Eye Open
Most aiming systems, from iron sights to optics, are monocular, meaning they are designed to be read and interpreted with a single eye. Aiming with one eye feels natural for most people, especially beginners learning the basics. It helps them focus better on aligning their sights before pulling the trigger.
However, experienced shooters rarely use one-eyed shooting, and many professionals advise against it. While it helps focus on distant objects, it has drawbacks, especially in defensive situations.
Disadvantages of One-Eyed Aiming
Closing an eye reduces your depth perception, making it more difficult to judge distance accurately. It also reduces your peripheral vision, potentially decreasing situational awareness. One eye closed means 50% of your field of view is now unreadable, and the remaining eye is focused on the sights.
For some shooters, one-eyed shooting can lead to fatigue, causing eye strain, hand-eye coordination issues, and difficulties with focus adjustment. This makes it harder to aim and concentrate on the target.
Additionally, if you haven’t identified your dominant eye or practiced enough, relying on your non-dominant eye can cause even more problems, including visual discomfort, fatigue, and headaches.
Situations Favoring Shooting with One Eye
Shooting with one eye can be beneficial when precise aiming is crucial. It’s often favored for long-distance shots or when focusing on a small target is essential.
- Long-distance precision shooting. In shooting disciplines such as Precision Rifle Series (PRS) or benchrest (BR), shooters use highly accurate rifle platforms with high-precision scopes on targets at 800 yards and beyond.
The targets are located at extended but known distances and are often static. This means there is less emphasis on estimating distance and more on accurately tuning the rifle, scope, and ammunition. PRS and BR shooters may rely on one-eyed shooting to concentrate and correctly align their scope crosshairs or aiming reticle. - Adjusting new sights. If you’ve recently acquired a new rifle scope or optic, you will need to zero it and ensure the reticle shoots to the desired point of aim. This task requires setting up a rifle, optic, and ammunition at a set distance, such as 100 or 200 yards. Then, shooters progressively dial the reticle until it is correctly configured. Many shooters will rely on one-eyed aiming to ensure perfect alignment, using similar techniques to precision and benchrest shooters.
- Strong eye dominance. While having a single eye open generally reduces depth perception and awareness of your surroundings, every shooter is different. Eye dominance varies from person to person, and in some people, one eye is stronger than the other. It can be beneficial for a shooter with one stronger eye to aim using that eye, especially if shooting with both eyes open is uncomfortable.
Shooting With Both Eyes Open
If you ask a shooting range officer or a concealed carry instructor, “Do you close one eye when shooting a pistol or a rifle?” Their response should be, “You shouldn’t.”
Shooting with both eyes open is standard practice in most shooting scenarios. Professionals such as competition shooters, hunters, law enforcement officers, infantry, and military snipers are typically trained to aim with both eyes open.
The biggest advantage of shooting with both eyes open is preserving the entirety of your peripheral vision. With two eyes open, you keep your entire field of view and can see objects in front of your non-dominant eye.
This is crucial for self-defense and combat, as it allows you to see your surroundings and respond appropriately. For example, a properly trained shooter can focus on a far object with their dominant eye while remaining able to observe near objects with the other eye.
Disadvantages of Using Both Eyes
The main drawback of shooting with both eyes open is that it can feel complex and unnatural, especially without training. Some shooters experience “double-sight” or ghost images, particularly with pistols, making it seem like there are two sets of sights or two targets. This happens because the brain has difficulty merging the different images from each eye into one clear picture.
How to Get Used to Shooting With Both Eyes
Getting used to shooting with both eyes open can take some practice, but it’s worth the effort. Here are some simple tips to help you transition and improve your shooting skills.
- Squinting the non-dominant eye. If you were to ask a competition shooter or a hunter, “Do you close one eye when shooting your pistol or rifle,” their answer might be, “Not all the way.”
Squinting the non-dominant eye is one of the simplest ways to help your dominant eye focus on the sights. It is often suggested to shooters struggling with double vision or blurring in the non-dominant eyes.
Find the most comfortable level of squinting you can handle without completely closing your eye, and try focusing your dominant eye on the front sight. It should appear sharp and clear, helping you apply your aiming fundamentals more easily. - Using a blinder. A blinder is an eyepatch or an opaque square worn on shooting glasses that blocks the non-dominant eye’s view without requiring you to close it. This solution is commonly used as a transitional tool to help newer shooters get used to aiming with two eyes. As you get more used to shooting with both eyes open, you can gradually reduce the size of the blinder until you no longer need it.
- Head tilting. For some shooters, focusing on the front sight and following traditional aiming fundamentals can worsen double vision instead of correcting it.
To address sight issues, aim your firearm and focus on the front sight, being mindful of blurriness or double vision. Then, subtly tilt your head without turning it completely, experimenting until you find a comfortable position that eliminates the ghosting or double vision. Some shooters find it helpful to tilt toward the non-dominant eye, while others prefer tilting toward the dominant eye.
Which is More Effective?
Should you aim with one eye open or two? The answer depends. While most professionals and instructors recommend that new shooters get used to two-eyed aiming, the intent is to avoid developing and reinforcing bad habits.
Aiming with both eyes open is generally more effective and beneficial. The complete field of view, depth perception, and ability to react to your surroundings more efficiently benefit virtually every situation. If shooting with both eyes open is difficult or uncomfortable at first, use techniques to gradually transition from one eye to two eyes.
The more you practice aiming and shooting fundamentals, the more familiar you will become with how firearms behave, improving your accuracy. Once you have mastered two-eyed shooting, you may consider using one-eyed shooting techniques if your particular discipline or situation makes it more comfortable.
Shoot Like a Professional With IFA Tactical
IFA Tactical is one of the premier gun shops and shooting instruction centers in the Detroit Area. We carry a wide selection of pistols, rifles, and shotguns of all makes, models, and calibers suitable for self-defense, hunting, and recreation.
At IFA Tactical, we are also proud to do our part and help people become responsible and skilled shooters. Our friendly and knowledgeable instructors offer basic shooting instruction, Michigan CPL classes, and other training courses to help you learn and develop your shooting skills. We can answer any of your questions, from “What is the best gun for beginners?” to “Do you close one eye when shooting your pistol?”
Contact our team today to book a training class or visit us in Sterling Heights, MI, to shop our extensive firearm inventory.
