one eye open or both eyes open?
 

This year I started keeping both eyes open and it worked great at first. But lately I notice myself dropping my bow arm when I see the arrow fly. If I close my right eye and focus on the pin instead of the target, I holdsteadier and I don't drop my bow arm upon release. So now I keep both eyes until the pin is steady on it's mark. Then I slowly close one eye as I'm squeezing the trigger. I try to concentrate on the pin as the bow fires. It seems to help my follow through. By keeping focused on the pin as the bow fires, it helps me to have a suprise release because I'm not focused on pulling the trigger. What do you guys do?

RE: one eye open or both eyes open?
 

I have always subscribed to the theory that we were given 2 eyes for a reason.;)
I don't think we were designed to do anything with one eye closed, especially things that involve balance and hand eye coordination.
Now throw in hand eye coordination and balance and possibly uneven footing, maybe 25 feet in the air and stress and I want as many eyes working as God gave me.:D

Just try standing still with one eye closed for any period of time and see what your body thinks of that. I just think that learning to shoot with one eye closed will have a negative impact on a persons inherent shooting ability.

Eye dominance issues can be worked on by squinting down slightly on the dominant off eye to take it out of play but I would never close it entirely.

RE: one eye open or both eyes open?
 

Matt - When shooting w/ both eyes open, do you focus on the pin or the target?

RE: one eye open or both eyes open?
 

i have always been a one-eyed shooter. Possibly because the first weapon I ever used extensively was my .22 with scope. I am extrememly right-eye dominant so having the left eye open doesn't really help me out anyway. I can't say how it has effected my shooting ability because I haven't done it any other way, but I am a pretty darn good shot, so it doesn't seem to have adverse effect.

RE: one eye open or both eyes open?
 

Target.

My eye never leaves the spot I want to hit......I just let the pin float over that spot and concentrate on the release process.
I'm more concious of how my peep aligns with my sight ring than I am with the actual pins themselves. Once I am confident my peep is aligned precisely the rest is just looking at the target and execution.

It gets even easier to do when gapping pins. When you have a pin sight set up for say the standard 20-30-40 yardage settings, when you want to shoot 25 yards you don't aim high with one pin or low with the other. I aim with the imaginary pin in between the 20 and 30.....just stare at the spot you want to hit by bracketing it. It's essentially aiming with air as you don't look at either pin at all, just the spot you want to hit.

If you shoot closer to or farther from one pin or the other's exact yardage you just shade the gap a little in the necessary direction.

You'll be amazed at how accurately you can shoot by simply staring at that spot you want to hit.

RE: one eye open or both eyes open?
 

I too have always been a one eye open shooter. That is just how I learned and it has always worked. I tried it the with both open before and I truly did better with one, so I stuck with it. I have always been a really good shot so it seems to work for me.I know that alot of people think that there is only one right way to do everything but I have never believed that. I know guys that have very weird styles of doing many things that are very successful. Look at the way some NFL QB's have an unorthodox pass delivery, but threw their way into the HOF.
In one of Randy Ulmers articles I read he said that their is really no totally wrond way to shoot, as lond as you can do it consisitent time after time after time. And I believe that. I am not a golfer, but in the golf leauge where I work, there is one guy that they always talk about that has the goofiest stance and way he hits the ball. They say that it is hilarious to watch, but he is the guy laughing the most when every year he is accepting his first or second place award for the year.:D

RE: one eye open or both eyes open?
 

I've always shotbows and firearms with both eyes open. The older i get the more i'm glad i do because my eyes surely aren't what they use to be. Years ago I tried shooting with one eye closed but I can definately see the target better with both eyes open and i agree with Matt, always focus on the target. Come to think of it i do pretty much everything with both eyes open. I've even been accused of sleeping that way!;) But honestly i wasn't asleep!:D

RE: one eye open or both eyes open?
 

I have to shoot with one eye open.... I'm a goofball.... You see, if I open my other eye,I see two set of sights, or two sets of targets. There has to be a trick, that I've never figured out.... :(

Left eye dominant, left handed, and shoot with right eye closed. Open right eye, and everything goes to heck in a handbasket real quick.... But yet, I can shoot skeet with my Remington 870 shotgun with both eyes open. Explain that!

RE: one eye open or both eyes open?
 

i look at this in 2 ways.... 1 eye is good for target shooting if thats what you like...but when first light hits and you can barely see that deer, both eyes open will help you see where the animal is instead of a dark spot...you will most likely make a better shot with both eyes open...theres no disadvantage of having both eyes open you just have to train yourself in your form properly..

RE: one eye open or both eyes open?
 

ButchA, I see doubles too when I open my other eye. I think that if I practiced enough with both open, I could change but I shoot fine with one closed.

RE: one eye open or both eyes open?
 

It sucks seeing two images of the pin but that's the downside of having two eyes lol. For me I have to pick the pin image on the left or I'll miss the whole target!

RE: one eye open or both eyes open?
 

I have always shot with one eye closed. I leave both open till ready to site in then close the left eye till I release the arrow! [8D]

RE: one eye open or both eyes open?
 

It is difficult to give a set answer for everyone, because everyone is different. I have a dominant right eye, but the dominance is not that much. I too see two sets of pins at times especially indooors, and have picked the wrong one a few times, sending a nice carbon arrow into my concrete basement wall! To add to the problem, I have astigmatism in my right eye, and even with glasses, see better with the left (by eye exams). I still shoot better with both eyes open, especially outdoors. I also shoot much better when focusing on the target. (at 54, I can't focus on both very well). Your trying to see the arrow is a different thing altogether. I see the arrow fly, but only because I am looking where I intend it to go. I know some guys who shoot well by looking at the pins, but it wrecks my shooting so fast it is aggravating. At least 3 of the "bad" 8s I shot on Sunday (missed 10 by more than 1/2") were because I looked at the pins. (Had a bad stretch for 5 targets, then got my head out of my ...) Even if, for some reason like lighting, I do squint or close my left eye, I still focus on the target. Just how it works for me.

RE: one eye open or both eyes open?
 

In handgun shooting you keep both eyes open and if a shooter finds it distracting we are taught to "blur" the other eye with some thing like "magic tape" scotch tape on shooting glasses. Apparently the light into the other eye is important to your brain to see the target clearly. Some times a paper blind is hung off the peak of a base ball cap in front of the other eye to allow light in but not let the other eye distract you. Another reason for allowing the other eye open is that it requires effort and takes away from concentrating 100% on the target. I use to be a club level hand gun instructor and I can say that you cannot focus on two things at the same time so we are taught to focus on the front sight but I don't know about a bow. I imagine that its the same thing and thats what I do. Haven't tried foucusing on the target unless it is really low light when hunting in which case there is no choice but to focus on the animal.

RE: one eye open or both eyes open?
 

I shot with both eyes open sinceI was in myearly 20's but have recently been forced to shoot with one eye. About two years ago whatever I was aiming atwould slowly separate and become two targets. The longer I would aim the worse it would get. Long story short, I found out that as some peoples eyes get older, ( I'm 36 now )the eyes lense gets less flexible and can't focus on two things at two different distances at the same time. So now I have to close one eye. I didn't like it at first, but I've gotten used to it and shooting just as good now as before.

RE: one eye open or both eyes open?
 

I have to shoot with myleft eye closed ,I shootright handed,left eye dominate.I can close my left eye for a second and then open it again and that works but only for a short time.Likeeveryone hassaid before I can squint as well but I find that takes more concentration then simply closing it.I should have learned to shoot lefty[&o]

RE: one eye open or both eyes open?
 

I shoot with one eye open, but I am trying to re-teach myself with both eyes open. The military teaches their snipers to shoot with both eyes open!

RE: one eye open or both eyes open?
 

Ditto on what Matt said, I shoot both eyes open andnever focus on the pin but where I want the arrow to hit;)

Try it you might like the result:)