Both Eyes for a Scope?
When most people think of shooting with the aid of a rifle scope, they picture someone with their face firmly welded to a rifle stock with one eye closed tight and the other staring at the intended target through a scope. This image is correct, but I want to talk about what happens before you get to this point. A great many shooters are already closing one eye when they start their rifle mount. This is a mistake. When you close one eye, you are losing half of your sight picture. When the rifle comes to your shoulder, and you start squinting trying to find the target, and before you get the rifle and scope into the proper position, you probably lose another 50-60% of your sight picture. Add the two together and you are only left with using 20-25% of your vision. I do not know about you, but that does not sound too smart to me. Consider this alternative. When you start your rifle mount, leave both eyes open. Keep them open until you are seeing your target through the scope and then you can close the other eye to sharpen your sight picture. Keeping both eyes open increases your field of view and depth perception. It allows you to keep your target in view the whole time you are mounting the rifle. How many of you have brought your rifle up and found yourself moving the rifle all over the place trying to find your target through the scope? This takes a little practice, but, once you get the hang of it, you will never go back to the old way.
See you out hunting,
David B
