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Eight Awesomely Bad Shooting Tips

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In an effort to rid the firearms world of these damaging misconceptions, we surveyed eight professional shooters and writers to get their best examples of shooting advice gone wrong. Learn them, know them and be sure to scold anyone who has the gall to offer up any of these awesomely bad shooting tips.

  • Patrick Flanigan: Just Go Practice?
  • Mark Keefe: Starting with a .410?
  • Phil Bourjaily: Try to Miss?
  • Ron Spomer: The Gravity Effect?
  • Todd Jarrett: Non-Dominant or Dominant?
  • Scott Olmsted: Jerk the Trigger?
  • Doug Koenig: Non-Dominant Eye Closed?
  • John Zent: Lightweight Rifles Easier to Shoot?
Doug Koenig: Non-Dominant Eye Closed?
Posted by: Ben O'Brien

Doug Koenig: Non-Dominant Eye Closed?

The bad advice that I hear most often is to shoot with one eye, the non-dominant one, closed. Most military schools and expert instructors teach that both eyes should be open, even in long range shooting. However, I still see a lot of instructors telling shooters to close the non-dominant eye. This is the absolute wrong way to teach shooting. Although many shooters may believe that the monocular versus binocular shooting is simply a difference in approach, the "one eye closed" method is not correct. --Doug Koenig, Professional Shooter, Hornady Ammunition

  • jim

    11/17/2012 6:31:45 AM

    i am left eye dominant right handed pistol shooter left handed rifle shooter. when shooting a pistol i keep both eyes open and onthe sights. when shooting a rifle i close my weak eye and use my dominate eye but then as i said i shoot rifles left handed. i cant hit the broad side of a barn with a rifle shooting right handed but put it in my left and i will qualify expert every time.

  • Tim

    7/23/2011 5:23:22 PM

    Most of the advice seems sound. Squeeze trigger, use dominate hand to shoot with, etc. But keeping both eyes open? I find that really hard to believe. What's the rationale here? How can one shoot with double vision like that?

  • Bary A. Dickson

    8/27/2010 1:25:23 PM

    I don't think I could hit anything that way. I too am right handed and left eye dominant. When I was young I could nott even close my right eye and keep the left open so I learned to shoot long guns left handed. I shoot pistols right handed left eye closed. If I keep both eyes opened I tend to favor the left eye and cant the gun to the left, which I think will miss. I will try at the range next time I go and see!

  • Tom Jerbic

    8/26/2010 10:08:27 PM

    I like to keep both eyes open no matter what I am shooting. It gives added safty and preception of possible game

  • Nick

    8/26/2010 5:16:18 PM

    Another one I'd have to disagree with. Again in training I was taught to keep the non-dominant eye closed. If you couldn't keep it closed there were these little blinders that attached onto the rear sight of the rifle.

  • f-stop

    8/26/2010 5:09:10 PM

    With a dot sight or holographic, sure. But when trap or rifle shooting with standard sights of scope I don't see how this works better. More info, please.

  • Patrick B

    7/7/2010 11:47:16 PM

    Please do tell With pistol you can tilt your head but how do you do so with a rifle or shotgun without your site picture being wrong?

  • Orlando R. La Rosa

    7/7/2010 8:56:57 PM

    Once again, when I was in Marine boot camp in 1963, we were taught to close the non-dominant eye. They even had eye patches for the guys that had trouble shutting the non-dominant eye. In my 4 years in the Corps, I managed to shoot Expert every time I went to the range. I, at one time, put 11 out of 12 rounds in the bulls eye at 500 yards. The 12th round was in the 4 ring. I must have jerked the trigger. This was with a standard issue M14 with iron sights.

  • steve pike

    7/7/2010 4:42:24 PM

    I'm a right handed shooter left eye dominant. I use the both eyes open method when shooting handguns and it works fine but when shooting rifle/shotguns I need to close my left eye because I end up seeing the side of the gun. I think that every shooter should try different things and then stick with what works best for them.

  • Peter Thomas

    7/7/2010 3:22:12 PM

    Thanks Doug, both eye's on great approach to being spot on target.

  • mike hauptly

    7/7/2010 2:03:49 PM

    i'm with Roger K. right handed and left eye dominant, so i HAVE to close the left eye, and i shoot quite well with longrifle or a handgun.

  • Greg Evans

    7/7/2010 12:20:45 PM

    You could never convince me that both eyes open is better...Period! Who came up with that one?

  • John R.

    7/7/2010 11:30:59 AM

    You just state this as fact with no support. If Rifleman wants me to "scold anyone who has the gall to offer up these...", you need to provide me some rationale. Why is the monocular technique an "awesomely bad" one? I've been using it with good results. Should I change?

  • M. Miller

    7/7/2010 10:07:34 AM

    "This is the absolute wrong way to teach shooting. " --Doug Koenig, Professional Shooter, Hornady Ammunition Ah, the unquestionable confidence of youth. Hope that works out for you, Doug.

  • Roger K.

    7/7/2010 10:05:09 AM

    Okay I am a right handed shooter and left eye dominant, how do I do that without seeing the side of the scope or rifle?? have tried many times to keep both eyes open and it just does not work out, if there is a way please let me know...