One Eye — Or Two?

Should I shoot with one eye open — or two? The short answer is two. Most shooters, most of the time, are better off with both eyes open. Most of the top competitive shooters I’ve observed shoot with both eyes open. There are exceptions and I know of world-class shooters who shoot with one eye closed. While I prefer and recommend shooting with both eyes open, I really don’t believe having one eye closed is a serious shooting fault.

For some people, closing one eye also affects the muscles controlling the open eye. Some shooters have noticed reduced visual acuity with the open eye. Since this seems to be an individual thing you might want to experiment using an eye chart. Try with the eye closed, then with the eye open and relaxed but covered by a patch. You should be able to quickly identify if there is any reduced acuity in the eye being used.

Another objection to having one eye closed is loss of depth perception, and in some cases our sense of stability. This may not be an issue in shooting, in which the eye is closed only for a brief period when actually firing. But the loss of an eye, especially for an adult used to binocular vision, can be a serious issue.

Learned Skills

Fortunately most people can learn to function with just one eye. Golf legend Tommy Armour lost sight in one eye during WWI as a result of a gas attack, and had to relearn the game. All he did was win 25 PGA tournaments, including three majors. Sammy Davis Jr. (who lost an eye in a car accident) learned to play again too, and also became an exceptionally skilled gun handler. In fact Arvo Ojala, who trained many Hollywood figures, said Davis and Jerry Lewis were the two best gun handlers he ever worked with. Davis even wrote a little article on his gun collection for the June 1957 issue of GUNS Magazine.

Functioning with one eye can be learned, but it isn’t easy. In all aspects of shooting, from natural point of aim, to stance and grip, I like techniques that are natural, comfortable and repeatable. I believe our eyes work best when they are more or less centered in their sockets, relaxed and comfortable. Both eyes open gives better depth perception, a wider field of view and I believe it improves overall body stability and balance.

Nonetheless there can be circumstances in which closing one eye is a reasonable solution. One example is a shooter who is cross-eye dominant. For example, one who shoots right-handed but has a left master eye. One solution is to learn to shoot left-handed. This seems to work best if a youngster is fortunate enough to have a mentor who recognizes the issue and makes the switch at an early age.

Another solution is to continue to shoot right-handed and turn the head a bit so the dominant left eye aligns the sights. This works with handguns but not rifles or shotguns. Possibly the simplest solution is to close the dominant left eye and let the right eye take over.

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