Blind in one eye

[johnott 5]

I am blind in one eye. I would like to get some feedback from other marksman/hunters/sportsman etc. who also have monocular vision. If you know of anyone who meets this criteria please point them to this thread.

 

I would like to know if there are any special considerations or tips they could pass on to someone else who has the same problem? Do they find certain aspects of firearms training challenging?

 

The reason I ask is that everything I've learned so far has been from the perspective of an instructor or author who has two eyes. I would like to find out if there is any beneficial information out there for a one-eyed shooter.

 

All questions pertaining to this topic are welcome.

[hd2000fxdl 422]

I don't know anyone but I would think it would be just like any other shooter aiming and pulling the trigger for the first time. I almost want to say that after reading the thread about shooting with both eyes open there might be a slight advantage being I like to be the type of person looking at the glass half full. Alway using a single eye you will not have any adjustment to make, no squinting the other eye, no double views when trying to shoot with both eyes and you are probably more dominant in your one eye than others that share seeing between 2 eyes. The only down side would be the reduction in peripheral field of view.

 

I'd be interested in hearing also seeing some of the other responses from shooters with monocular vision.

 

By the way you might want to add a little more info to your profile, a location would be nice, you never know, a lot of good people here and if you might want to try shooting and your close someone might offer up a little time to get you started. As you can see I am in the Sayreville area.

 

Harry

[tony357 386]

Only problem i can think of would be your peripheral vision as harry mentioned..

 

So you may want to be cautious of your saroundings especialy if you plan on hunting.

 

Otherwise i think you will do just fine possibly better than others..

 

Some shooters actualy put a patch over their weak eye when shooting especialy people who are say, right handed but happen to be left eye dominant will put a patch over their left eye to train and teach their right eye..

 

Just go for it, be careful and have fun..

[mipafox 438]

If you are asking with respect to handedness, you are going to have to shoot handed with respect to your working eye. Trying to learn anything else will be a mistake in the short run and a huge mistake in the long run.

[Old School 611]

I am blind in one eye. I would like to get some feedback from other marksman/hunters/sportsman etc. who also have monocular vision. If you know of anyone who meets this criteria please point them to this thread.

 

I would like to know if there are any special considerations or tips they could pass on to someone else who has the same problem? Do they find certain aspects of firearms training challenging?

 

The reason I ask is that everything I've learned so far has been from the perspective of an instructor or author who has two eyes. I would like to find out if there is any beneficial information out there for a one-eyed shooter.

 

All questions pertaining to this topic are welcome.

 

I haven't read the other posts so I'll address this from a clear perspective.

 

Is your hand dominance on the same side as your good eye? If so, it makes your shooting somewhat easier. If not you may have to develope additional dexterity. I have a friend that is a successful bench rest shooter who is blind in one eye. Don't get discouraged.

 

Some bulseye shooters even block their vision in one eye.

 

How's your vision in your good eye?

 

I really don't see you being unable to overcome your handicap. And with practice I expect you'll be able to out shoot plenty of folks.

[Parker 213]

You should not view your loss as a detriment. I don't have any shooting tips for you, I would say just go with the flow. I'll wager that half the shooters out there today still shoot with one-eye open anyway, so don't see this as much of a dilemma. Many target shooters block the vision in their non-targeting eye with tape over their shooting glasses. I'll use my uncle Mike as a example as someone who overcome the same hardship in his life. My uncle Mike lost his left eye in a welding accident just before the war. He was drafted in WWII, despite his handicap, and served stateside in the U.S., plumbing military barracks around the U.S. during the war. When the war ended, he came home and started a very lucrative plumbing business. His other passion in life were Buick Riviera's, hunting, fishing and raising and training bird dogs; mostly English Setters. He was a crack shot on woodcock and grouse with his 20 ga. Parker or his 20 ga. Ithaca Featherlight (although left-to-right crossers had him at a disadvantage sometimes,) and he also liked to duck hunt and rabbit hunt with my grandfather. He liked to varmint hunt and was deadly with his Sako .222, and took plenty of deer in N.Y. with his Sako .243. My uncle was still hunting with my dad and I up until he reached the age of 92. His Setter died that year and he hasn't bird hunted since. This December, he turns 101. He still talks about getting another bird dog and hunting again. He still drives his Subaru Outback to the Korean fish market and buys fresh fish each day, he has an extensive garden and grows his own produce and cans his own tomatoes. His only weakness for sweets is lemon meringue pie. He still maintains his house on his own, and recently re-did his upstairs bathroom a couple years ago. He cooks and cares for his oldest son who has an illness. He's outlived two wives, and his new girlfriend is a bit younger than me.

 

My friend who I pheasant hunt with for the last fifteen years has only one eye. He lost his left eye in an accident when he was young. He is as good a shot on flying game as I am with two eyes.

[hd2000fxdl 422]

Great story about your uncle.

 

Harry

[Krdshrk 3,877]

He's outlived two wives, and his new girlfriend is a bit younger than me.

 

Your Uncle rules.

[johnott 5]

Thanks for all the input thus far. (I'm right-handed and my good eye is on the right as well.)

 

As most of you have pointed out, my main problems are peripheral vision and depth perception. I've had this condition for most of my life and I've learned to compensate in various ways for driving and other tasks. My marksmanship seems to be o.k. so far... to date I've only totaled about 800 rounds with a handgun using paper targets at 5 to 10 yards distance. I plan on firing a shotgun and a .22LR rifle in the near future.

 

Problems are sometimes difficult to put into words, ... let me give an example of how I compensate when parking a car by myself. 1) I try to avoid parallel parking all together. 2) When I park in a parking lot at a grocery store I will pull into a space and stop when I feel I am close to the car in front of me. When I get out of the car and take a look, I may be fine or I may be four feet away. If I'm really off, I make a mental picture of the distance and get back in the car. I look around for something to use as a landmark. ie. if the car next to me is about the same size as mine and they are parked correctly I will pull up till my drivers side door is even with their passenger side door. OR I crack open my drivers side door and put my left foot lightly on the ground, I find a spot on the ground approximately the distance I want to travel (in this case 3 feet) then with my right foot on the brake I put the car in gear and very slowly creep forward (incrementally stopping and looking around and never just blindly driving forwards) till my foot is at the mark, now I should be about a foot away from the car in front of me. It's always worked for me and got me in the ball park every time. Now someone else with the same problem may have an alternate solution which is better than mine. This was just an example of some of the everyday things a person with poor depth perception has to deal with. I don't know how it applies to firearms, as my experience so far has been limited. As I progress I'm sure I will make my own adjustments, but it would be nice to have advice from someone who's been there as to avoid time lost in trial and error.

 

Keep those comments and questions coming.

[johnott 5]

I've done a more thorough web search for forums about one-eyed shooters and it appears that it is really not a major issue. There seems to be a number of visually impaired people who are very proficient with various types of firearms. One such person was Colyn Loper, who being blind in one eye from birth, made it to the 2004 Olympics in trap shooting AND she is right hand dominate but has to shoot with her left eye. So it seems that being monocular won't keep you from becoming a good shot.

Nevertheless I would still like to hear from anyone who is impaired in this way.

[mipafox 438]

Thanks for all the input thus far. (I'm right-handed and my good eye is on the right as well.)

 

As most of you have pointed out, my main problems are peripheral vision and depth perception. I've had this condition for most of my life and I've learned to compensate in various ways for driving and other tasks. My marksmanship seems to be o.k. so far... to date I've only totaled about 800 rounds with a handgun using paper targets at 5 to 10 yards distance. I plan on firing a shotgun and a .22LR rifle in the near future.

 

Problems are sometimes difficult to put into words, ... let me give an example of how I compensate when parking a car by myself. 1) I try to avoid parallel parking all together. 2) When I park in a parking lot at a grocery store I will pull into a space and stop when I feel I am close to the car in front of me. When I get out of the car and take a look, I may be fine or I may be four feet away. If I'm really off, I make a mental picture of the distance and get back in the car. I look around for something to use as a landmark. ie. if the car next to me is about the same size as mine and they are parked correctly I will pull up till my drivers side door is even with their passenger side door. OR I crack open my drivers side door and put my left foot lightly on the ground, I find a spot on the ground approximately the distance I want to travel (in this case 3 feet) then with my right foot on the brake I put the car in gear and very slowly creep forward (incrementally stopping and looking around and never just blindly driving forwards) till my foot is at the mark, now I should be about a foot away from the car in front of me. It's always worked for me and got me in the ball park every time. Now someone else with the same problem may have an alternate solution which is better than mine. This was just an example of some of the everyday things a person with poor depth perception has to deal with. I don't know how it applies to firearms, as my experience so far has been limited. As I progress I'm sure I will make my own adjustments, but it would be nice to have advice from someone who's been there as to avoid time lost in trial and error.

 

Keep those comments and questions coming.

 

 

Don't parallel park while shooting at a car jacker. And worship the front sight.