Aiming

Superman · 09-07-2019, 06:28 PM

Nearly all my spoon experience has been with longspoons. Glass sights do not involve using two eyes, and longspoons are generally used slowly. I'm learning to shoot handspoons. For these spoons I would like to 'sight' the target more quickly than with longspoons. I am having trouble with this.

I am right handed. Unfortunately my better eye is the left. Anybody eat left-handed with a handspoon, using their left eye? Also, do you sometimes close one eye, just to get a rough 'sight' before opening the other eye? Getting lined up with my weak eye (which works fine using a longspoon) takes time. I wonder if I should learn to use handspoons with my left eye.

Or perhaps I should quit worrying about it. I can 'sight' in a pretty short time using my right eye by slowly blinking my left. But....the eye I really use is my left. I'll practice more and figure it out, but wonder if anyone here as dealt with this.

John Rogers · 09-07-2019, 07:23 PM

My S&W Model 66 Hog Hunter (GUN!!!!) has a holographic sight on it with a red circle and red dot in the middle. When my daughter shot it, both eyes open, all she had to do was put the red dot where she wanted to shoot. I use it now and then and that is true.

Generally, I see pistol shooters line up right handed and use either eye and shoot well. I imagine there will be others who disagree but line the front sight to the target and you are good.

KFC911 · 09-08-2019, 04:06 AM

Y'all open yer eyes? Mebbe that's been my problem all along...

sc_rufctr · 09-08-2019, 04:32 AM

Laser site or is that too 80s?

Tobra · Tobra's Garage

Laser is particularly nice to appreciate how much your hands move around.

sc_rufctr · 09-08-2019, 05:30 AM

"Sarah Connor?"

cabmandone · cabmandone's Garage

Laser or Red Dot. When I finally make the jump, my pistol will be equipped with one or the other.

Rick Lee · Rick Lee's Garage

I'm not a laser sight person. But then it's usually so sunny here, that I wouldn't bother anyway. I always, always get next to someone at the range who has one and they never shoot them very well. I think lasers tend to make people think the bullet will just land where the red dot is on the target. It takes just as much control, proper breathing and practice to be accurate with a laser as with plain old iron sights.

flatbutt · 09-08-2019, 05:52 AM

Supe, FWIW I set up right handed, right eye but actually use my left hand on the trigger (my right is really fked up). I tried setting up left but it didn't work as well since I am right eye dominant.

I think you should set up with your dominant eye and just practice a lot. Iron sights, laser or red dot don't mean a thing if you can't control the spoon and squeeze it off steady.

sc_rufctr · 09-08-2019, 06:01 AM

30 years ago when I was shooting regularly... (I was a member of the Army shooting team)

The thing that improved my shooting more than anything else was practice. The unit I was with taught dry shooting. That is practising stance, movement and technique dry with no bullets. Then after hours of practice we went to the range and fired live ammo. Just a regular 10, 25 meter ranges at first then we graduated to small courses. Then the complex ones. This was a long time ago and I had 20/20 visions but after about 3 years of competitive shooting (and countless rounds of ammo) I was getting an almost "sense" when I was on target. As I moved the pistol into position I could almost feel I was on target. This was with a 9 mm Browning High Power. It's not like sharp shooting with a .22 pistol.

Could I do it now? Not right away but with practice and lots of time I could get my skills back.

Superman · 09-08-2019, 11:35 AM

Lasers are thinkable for my .45 ACP, but the .45 LC will not be equipped with any stinking lasers.

I'll do some more practicing, right-handed, to see if using my left eye is a better method.

sc_rufctr · 09-08-2019, 11:52 AM

Have you talked to an optometrist? Pro/Olympic shooters wear custom corrective lenses.

Something like this but you can get less dorky designs.

Jeff Higgins · 12:40 PM

It is difficult to shoot handguns if you are cross dominant. Most folks will tell you to keep both eyes open when shooting any gun at all, even scoped rifles. I think that is bad advice for anyone who is cross dominant.

Shooting with both eyes open is ostensibly done so that the "aiming eye" sees a bit better. That, and under most defensive (and hunting) situations, we need to see as much as we can possibly see. That's all well and good, unless you are cross dominant.

I do most of my shooting with my left eye closed. Even when hunting. Having never been engaged in a self defense situation, I cannot say one way or another how that would work out. Otherwise, having my left eye shut has worked for me. I have two grocery bags full of medals and a shelf full of trophies that would seem to indicate it works o.k. for me...

I would just go ahead and close your left eye. Forget the naysayers who claim that is "not how it's done". We need to be able to adapt for our individual needs.

And, god dammit, if you put a laser on that Vaquero I'll drive all the way to Lacey... Don't make me drive all the way to Lacey...

wildthing · 09-08-2019, 12:37 PM

You should be fine. I am right handed and left eye dominant and pretty accurate at 7 yards.

KFC911 · 09-08-2019, 12:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Superman

Lasers are thinkable for my .45 ACP, but the .45 LC will not be equipped with any stinking lasers.

Yer thinkin' is only half right... jmho

Por_sha911 · Por_sha911's Garage

I still get a kick out of the boys club code words.

I have about 8 "longspoons" but in our house we call them tablespoons. The "handspoons" are teaspoons.

The stuff that fires bullets we call weapons, guns, rifles, and handguns.

Arizona_928 · 09-08-2019, 04:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

I'm not a laser sight person. But then it's usually so sunny here, that I wouldn't bother anyway. I always, always get next to someone at the range who has one and they never shoot them very well. I think lasers tend to make people think the bullet will just land where the red dot is on the target. It takes just as much control, proper breathing and practice to be accurate with a laser as with plain old iron sights.

I agree.
It's an aide that does not supplement the fundamentals.
I've seen that a lot at the ranges where kids would qual with iron sights and acog's... Lazy shooting with the optic.

I feel muscle memory is a big part of training. That said I carry a pistol, but hope I never have to use it. I'm way more proficient with a rifle. My next truck gun will be a sbr akm platform.

Superman · 09-09-2019, 07:20 PM

I think I'll put a laser on the Vaquero, then fire up the BBQ and wait for Jeff.

T77911S · 09-10-2019, 03:59 AM

i have an old pair of glasses that I had the doc make a lens for my right eye that has the front site in focus and not hurting the long distance vision, although it does.
I have electrical tape over the other eye and that allows me to keep both eyes open.
focusing on the front site of course.

my wife is "crosseyed" she had tried shooting with her left hand and left eye but she has switched to right hand and left eye.

focus and concentrate on the front site.

flipper35 · flipper35's Garage

Our son is/was left eye dominant. He had a hard time with rifles since he shoots right handed. By the time he got to handguns he had gotten used to using his right eye on the sights. In his case we started working with him at a very early age which may have helped.

You should practice strong and weak hand anyway on the ACP powered unit.

On the second season of Top Shot, one of the competitors was cross eye dominant and it cost him the competition because it wasn't his gun and he had a tendency to cant the gun slightly left.