Input needed on spotting scope issue.

[diego-ted]

I am right eye dominant and Look through my rifle scope with the right eye. For whatever reason I cannot close my right eye and keep my left eye open! Therefore if I use a spotting scope to help see mirage, I have to look through my right eye as well. Anyone have this problem? what is the best configuration? thoughts?

Thx Ted.

 

[dc.fireman]

Are you shooting with both eyes open?

 

[johara1]

you should always use the same eye you shoot with to look through the spotting scope. ..... jim

 

[Erud]

you should always use the same eye you shoot with to look through the spotting scope. ..... jim

What is the reason for that? I use my right eye for the sights, and look through the scope with my left eye. When it's set u p right, I can do both at the same time, or at least without having to move my head.

 

[johara1]

I guess I could go into in depth but better men they we are told me to do it that way in the Marine Corps. would you dispute Carlos Hathcock??... jim

 

[LVLAaron]

I'm left eye dominant. I use my left eye in both scopes. Just snug your spotter up close and turn your neck.

 

[skibar_tx]

I guess I could go into in depth but better men they we are told me to do it that way in the Marine Corps. would you dispute Carlos Hathcock??... jim

BS

 

[johara1]

BS

Who are you to say that? He was a instructor when he was a E5 when I made the team.... BTW what are your credentials? .... jim

 

[skibar_tx]

Ina

Who are you to say that? He was a instructor when he was a E5 when I made the team.... BTW what are your credentials? .... jim

I am a US certified BS identification specialist!

 

[johara1]

Ina

I am a US certified BS identification specialist!

I don't BS. that is fact, I lost my sight and went left handed and uses the scope and the spotting scope in BR and I'm 76 and shot with Carlos. and that s what they taught back then and it still holds true.....

You must be a typical key board shooter, Me I'm a has been at 76, still a life time Master XTC, and held a few records in the IBS...... jim

 

[skibar_tx]

I am right eye dominant and Look through my rifle scope with the right eye. For whatever reason I cannot close my right eye and keep my left eye open! Therefore if I use a spotting scope to help see mirage, I have to look through my right eye as well. Anyone have this problem? what is the best configuration? thoughts?

Thx Ted.

I am very much like you now. For my entire shooting career, I looked thru the rifle scope with my right eye (shooting right handed) and would place my spotting scope on my left and look thru it with my left eye. But the last year or so I have been losing eyesight in my left eye so I will have to start looking in the spotting scope with my right eye. It is uncomfortable to bend my neck around to right eye it, with the spotting scope on the left. I am going to try to put it on the right side of my rifle and try that out. I have a friend that shoots that way. It will make the right side of my rifle a very busy place with my ammo box there also. But I have to do something.

 

[Ned Ludd]

I guess I could go into in depth but better men they we are told me to do it that way in the Marine Corps. would you dispute Carlos Hathcock??... jim

For all his amazing shooting and stalking skills, Carlos Hathcock didn't shoot F-Class, so yes, I would dispute that. That's simply not how F-Class shooters typically use a spotting scope. For a right-handed shooter, left eye on the spotter, right eye on the rifle scope. For a left-handed shooter, the opposite.

Ted - if you can't close your right eye when looking through the spotter, you have some choices. The first is to train your brain to ignore the input from your right eye when focusing through the spotter with the left eye, even though both eyes are open. It will require some effort, but it can be done. Alternatively, you can set the eyepiece of the spotter in such a position that when you're looking through it, your downrange sight picture is largely blocked by the rifle/scope. That will serve to help your brain to somewhat ignore the input from the right eye while concentrating on the image from the left eye.

 

[Erud]

I guess I could go into in depth but better men they we are told me to do it that way in the Marine Corps. would you dispute Carlos Hathcock??... jim

Sure, I’ll dispute anyone if what they are telling me doesn’t make sense. I’m willing to learn though. So what is the upside to breaking position and moving my head to look through the spotter with the eye on the opposite side of my head, if my left eye is right there and can see through it just by looking there? Vision is about equal in both of my eyes, so no sight advantage to either one.

 

[ryanjay11]

You must be a typical key board shooter

He's not.

 

[johara1]

For all his amazing shooting and stalking skills, Carlos Hathcock didn't shoot F-Class, so yes, I would dispute that. That's simply not how F-Class shooters typically use a spotting scope. For a right-handed shooter, left eye on the spotter, right eye on the rifle scope. For a left-handed shooter, the opposite.

Ted - if you can't close your right eye when looking through the spotter, you have some choices. The first is to train your brain to ignore the input from your right eye when focusing through the spotter with the left eye, even though both eyes are open. It will require some effort, but it can be done. Alternatively, you can set the eyepiece of the spotter in such a position that when you're looking through it, your downrange sight picture is largely blocked by the rifle/scope. That will serve to help your brain to somewhat ignore the input from the right eye while concentrating on the image from the left eye.

It just amazes me you guys think your the only discipline that knows anything. Shooting XTC you use a scope too. I guess what you guys don't know is worth knowing. Carlos used a scope as we all did for XTC an old ratty ass M-49 to see the conditions.... jim

 

[Steve Blair]

Ted,
What Greg said is correct. It may require a little effort to train your left eye, but it can be done. I'm very right eye dominant but learned to use my left eye on the spotting scope. I keep both eyes open for both.

 

[Ned Ludd]

It just amazes me you guys think your the only discipline that knows anything. Shooting XTC you use a scope too. I guess what you guys don't know is worth knowing. Carlos used a scope as we all did for XTC an old ratty ass M-49 to see the conditions.... jim

The only one that thinks they know everything seems to be you. You seem to believe your way is the only way, and then go out of your way to denigrate anyone that doesn't agree. Why is that?

As an F-Class shooter, I don't claim to be an expert on any other discipline. But the fact remains that F-Class is a unique discipline in which shooters gravitate toward approaches they have empirically found to work. It is also a fact that the majority of F-Class shooters use a spotting scope in exactly the way I described, unless they are forced to do otherwise for some reason. If you were an F-Class shooter, you would already know that.

 

[skibar_tx]

It just amazes me you guys think your the only discipline that knows anything. Shooting XTC you use a scope too. I guess what you guys don't know is worth knowing. Carlos used a scope as we all did for XTC an old ratty ass M-49 to see the conditions.... jim

Mr Jim, I don't doubt that Carlos might have told you that. In the Marines, if Carlos had told you to jump off a cliff you probably would have done it. The fact is, there are several books published on long range (highpower) shooting by several highpower (sling) shooters and none of them have ever mentioned the necessity of using the same eye for shooting and spotting scope. I have read Competitive Shooting by A.A. Yur' Yev and he discusses at length the human eye and it's various shortcomings. Never does he mention your assertion. So I would like you to come up with some scientific data to support your assumption. Surely Carlos didn't pull this "rule" out of thin air. If it is real, I would like to hear it.

 

[Liven The Dream]

Old School Shooter, and old to boot .
Service Rifle , Palma and now F/Class .
Right eye on the Sight iron or Scope . Right eye on Spotting Scope . I have also used eye glasses just for shooting.
I think I tried left eye on spotting scope once or twice? Very uncomfortable.

 

[dc.fireman]

I am right eye dominant and Look through my rifle scope with the right eye. For whatever reason I cannot close my right eye and keep my left eye open! Therefore if I use a spotting scope to help see mirage, I have to look through my right eye as well. Anyone have this problem? what is the best configuration? thoughts?

Thx Ted.

Cliff Notes: use both eyes, try a piece of tape on your glasses, avoid eye strain.

Ted - I shoot Smallbore Prone, High Power Service Rifle, 300M International, and 10M Air Rifle. In smallbore prone, and now service rifle, competitors are allowed to use a scope during certain stages.

Even when shooting on e-targets, I still use a 27x LER Kowa scope, focused about 10-15 feet in front of the target to check mirage. I am RH, using my right eye for either the rear diopter sight & iris, or a 40x scope for the second day of smallbore prone. In service rifle, I have begun to use the rule limited 1.25-4x scope. My goal is always to shoot with my right eye, and check the spotting scope with my left.

I learned this from other smallbore, and 300M/Air Rifle shooters, to include German Salazar, who advised that the less you have to lean over or move your head off the cheek piece, the less you'll have to rebuild your position. It has worked well for me, and helped to diminish some cheek pressure high/low shots on the soul-crushing international targets.

I wear the olympic styled frame and lens combination eye protection, with an ISSF legal 40mm blinder over my left eye. It doesn't completely block the left eye, and I have learned that it only needs to just 'dip' into my left eyes field of view to be effective. Many shooters experiment with this, by using a piece of scotch tape placed in the middle of their shooting glass lens just over one eye.

The reason I asked about using both eyes, is because that's how our eyes are designed to work - as a pair. Long strings of fire with one eye closed are really straining your aiming eye, particularly on bright days.

Give this a try next time you go out, and see of you have any success: imagine dividing your left eye into an upper and lower half. Place an opaque piece of scotch tape over the upper half of your shooting glasses. Now position your spotting scope so that it's somewhat under, and to the left of your left eye. This will allow you to check the mirage, and bring your eyes back up to your rifle scope, with little-to-no head movement.