Shoot with one eye open, and one closed, or both open?

[Mountainshadows]

Both eyes should be open. It won't really be noticeable unless you are doing a lot of shooting at one time or you are looking through a scope (with one eye closed) for a lot longer than a quick shot.
What happens when you close one eye it puts a large amount of strain on the eye that is kept open, as it is having to do the work of two (I'm sure people with one eye, or vision in only one eye have already worked past this). That's not a big deal but say your looking through your scope waiting for that animal to get in the right spot, or move the right way. After several minutes of that, unbeknownst to you, that eye you have kept open will start to have some muscular spasms due to the strain placed on it. I'm sure this can be trained away, but much better to train yourself for both eyes open.
I've went to two different sniper schools while in the Army and when I went the first time I had always closed one eye to shoot. I passed that course but later in my assignment to a sniper squad, we were out shooting all day at ranges from 300-800 meters (M-24 .308). I started out doing okay but as time progressed my shots were quite scattered although mostly hitting the target with horrible grouping. My squad leader at the time was from AMU and got to studying me as I shot trying to figure why I was shooting so bad. He noticed the closed eye and said there is the problem. I spent the rest of the day with my soft cap turned around and a strip of cardboard hanging over my left eye (the one I closed). I don't think I improved my shooting that day as my shoulder was getting beat up by then but I did learn after about two shooting iterations to keep that eye open without the need for the cardboard.
Yes, my shooting improved!
That is the correlation to hunting. Tactically, you should never close both eyes whether pistol or rifle so you have more situational awareness on the periphery of your vision. When focused on a human target (animal too I guess) the mind tends to box in on that target and it takes training to pull yourself out of that focus after the shot and check surroundings or other follow on shots.
Just my two cents. To each their own.

 

[RLD]

Why close?

I find the image to be a little bit sharper through the scope with my non-dominant eye closed.

 

[Wyatt Smith]

I leave both open unless shooting a rifle with a scope on high magnification.

 

[NIGHTHAWK]

I shoot with one open and one closed. What do you do? Will be interested to find out.

Left hand Shooter and Right Eye Dominant

Shotgun - Scan till I see target/bird, close right eye to shoot.

Rifle - most of the time my right eye is closed while scanning with magnification zoomed out until I confirm target/animal, then zoom in and close right eye to shoot. Sometimes, right is immediately closed…

Pistol - either hand, close one eye…

 

[coreydb]

I shoot with both eyes open. For me, I then don't lose my sight picture at any magnification

 

[BourbonTrail]

Any magnification, 1 eye. Otherwise both, but if I start having eye dominance issues I close the eye off the sights (I shoot right and left handed).

 

[steve white]

If you don't have both eyes open, you don't have much depth of focus, because you are not being stereoscopic. People with only one eye struggle with this. But, that non dominant eye can give you trouble if it picks up on the larger profile of an O/U shotgun! Your dominant eye is seeing a single barrel while your non dominant eye is tempted to look over at the larger, taller stacked barrel from it's perspective. I had to sell a nice Beretta because of that. I would cross fire every so often.
Some people place a dot of clear tape on their shooting glasses on the non shooting eye side to prevent their brain from picking up the target with that eye. If you are shooting with your non dominant eye at clays, you will almost certainly have to do that. However, if you are shooting with your non-dominant eye, God help you! I shoot right handed because I am right eye dominant. I am left handed on everything else.

With regard to rifle, I let my non shooting eye sort of play second fiddle. It is open, but unless the magnification is under 2X, it just gets to be lazy. No one can actually focus two eyes at the same time. One HAS to be dominant.
For pistol, I use the Festus Haggin triangulation method, yuk-yuk.

 

[steve white]

Anyone have a comment on people who are "center dominant"? I have heard of this, don't know that much about it, but my nephew thinks it describes him.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

My left eye is badly damaged from three retina detachments and several corrective surgeries. It has a silicone buckle around eyeball which causes it to see up and right. I can "see" with that eye but difficult for my brain to decipher what it's seeing. Prism lens in glasses helps correct orientation some but still not 100% in line with dominant right eye. If I try to shoot shotgun with both eyes open, the pattern is up and to the right. Generally miss the target. I corrected this by practicing with the shotgun hundreds of times at night. Both eyes open until the gun is to my shoulder and acquiring target then left eye is closed. That way I still have both eyes for binocular field of view and depth perception but left eye taken out of action when on target. If I start to miss clay targets late in the day or bad weather, it's usually because my brain is telling both straining eyes to look harder for the target. Then I have to remember to remind myself at the shooting station to force the left eye closed. I tried wearing an eyepatch over the left eye but that didn't work. Takes longer to acquire the target. For three years I was blind in the left eye so I know what that does to depth perception in the field. Hell, walking up and down steps at home was a challenge. I am NOT wearing an eyepatch while hunting!

I have shot animals on the run close range with my scoped rifle. Several times. Frankly, I don't know if both eyes are open. It works and I'm fairly deadly at it but no facility to practice shooting moving targets with my rifle so I presume it's reflexes from sixty years hunting birds.

 

[JG26Irish_2]

I have 1-6x or 1-8x illuminated optics on most of my hunting rifles and when at 1x with the reticle/dot illuminated, I shoot both eyes open. Same with handgun & iron or dot sights. Also shotgun. But if I dial up the magnification, I close the weak side eye.

 

[skydiver386]

Both eyes open till it's time to execute the shot, then close the left eye.

I'm right eye dominant, but keeping both eyes open I'll shoot to the left of everything. When I shoot Olympic 10 meter Air Rifle and Air pistol, I use a blinder on my non dominant eye to reduce eye strain and a prescription lens on my dominant eye specifically ground to give the clearest vision at the front sight.

Over 20 years in the Army with some of the best instructors and both eyes open just doesn't work for me.

 

[Twraska]

If you don't have both eyes open, you don't have much depth of focus, because you are not being stereoscopic. People with only one eye struggle with this. But, that non dominant eye can give you trouble if it picks up on the larger profile of an O/U shotgun! Your dominant eye is seeing a single barrel while your non dominant eye is tempted to look over at the larger, taller stacked barrel from it's perspective. I had to sell a nice Beretta because of that. I would cross fire every so often.
Some people place a dot of clear tape on their shooting glasses on the non shooting eye side to prevent their brain from picking up the target with that eye. If you are shooting with your non dominant eye at clays, you will almost certainly have to do that. However, if you are shooting with your non-dominant eye, God help you! I shoot right handed because I am right eye dominant. I am left handed on everything else.

With regard to rifle, I let my non shooting eye sort of play second fiddle. It is open, but unless the magnification is under 2X, it just gets to be lazy. No one can actually focus two eyes at the same time. One HAS to be dominant.
For pistol, I use the Festus Haggin triangulation method, yuk-yuk.

Not everyone can shoot with both eyes open. Even before I had eye problems with my left eye I couldn’t shoot with both eyes open, especially with iron sights. My left eye would take over and my right eye would be a blur.

 

[Hififile324]

I shoot with both eye open, mainly for situational awareness. There are a number of vision exercises that can be done to help train your non-dominant eye. It's also good to practice this if your shooting eye should become injured or temporarily impaired, allowing you to fall back on your non dominant eye for sighting.

 

[Doug Hamilton]

I shoot with one open and one closed. What do you do? Will be interested to find out.

Both eyes open until the actual shot. As I pull the trigger the left eye automatically shuts. I think the shot is more precise if only the shooting eye is open Gor placement. In any case, I've been shooting this way for so many years, I couldn't change it.

 

[crossfire3006]

Both open for rifles with and without scopes and shotguns

 

[SStomcat]

Both eyes open till it's time to execute the shot, then close the left eye.

I'm right eye dominant, but keeping both eyes open I'll shoot to the left of everything. When I shoot Olympic 10 meter Air Rifle and Air pistol, I use a blinder on my non dominant eye to reduce eye strain and a prescription lens on my dominant eye specifically ground to give the clearest vision at the front sight.
View attachment 731418
Over 20 years in the Army with some of the best instructors and both eyes open just doesn't work for me.

So why start with both eyes open in the first place? Curious

 

[Russ16]

I'm very slightly left eye dominant and right handed. With shotguns I use the tape trick when shooting targets and managed to be fairly competitive at sporting clays doing that. Hunting upland I always wear shooting glasses with the tape but if it is raining in a duck blind I'll leave them off. I usually just squint my eye just as the gun hits my shoulder and that takes care of it.

With a rifle it is left eye closed. I've tried shooting left handed and I'm so uncoordinated with my left side it is a disaster. But even shooting left handed I can't leave my right eye open, I can't see anything through a scope from either side with both eyes open. My brain always picks the eye that isn't looking through the scope.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

So why start with both eyes open in the first place? Curious

Both eyes open = faster acquiring the target, especially if it's a moving target (e.g. wingshooting). Also both eyes open helps depth perception (determining range and potential obstructions). Once I'm onto target with gun, acquisition is satisfied and range and potential obstructions assessed. Left eye can be closed.

 

[Mike70560]

I do both eyes closed. That way I never see myself miss!

The definition of a good shot is one where you do not disturb the sights between the time you close your eyes and pull the trigger.

 

[mitch4570]

I shoot rifle, shotgun and handgun both eyes open.