How do you "train" yourself to use holo sights?

6704 Views 34 Replies 19 Participants Last post by Sig, Nov 18, 2014

thadbme

Discussion Starter · Mar 23, 2008

How do you "train" yourself to use holo sights?

I was hoping for something a little bit more than "practice," so please try to resist!

I just got my XCR yesterday. Haven't had a chance to make it go bang yet, but did go to a local gun store and the only optic they had that was mounted on anything was an EOTech. So I grab the rifle and the first thing I do is close my left eye like normal. He tells me to keep both eyes open which was a hard concept for me to grasp.

With a pistol I keep both eyes open and I focus on the front site no problem. With rifles I've mainly used regular scopes. An my only experience with .223's to date has been an M16 with iron sites. So I'm used to closing my good ole left eye and letting her rip like that.

I've got myself trained to do both eyes open on a pistol.... now how do I do that with a rifle? Anything you folks have that might help me out?

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Ranly

· #2 · Mar 23, 2008

Re: How do you "train" yourself to use holo sights?

Eye pins, if its that hard to keep from closing it... ;D

There is no rule saying you have to keep both eyes open, it just increases your situational awareness by giving you a bigger Field of view, but because of this you wont e consitrating as hard on the target, its just an option, not a rule. Just to brag I can shoot both eyes open with iron sights on my rifle... :ninja:

thadbme

Discussion Starter · #3 · Mar 23, 2008

Re: How do you "train" yourself to use holo sights?

lol... well isn't it kind of the point of a holo site to be able to keep both eyes open?

I've yet to decide what i'm going to do with the XCR. May just be a plinker for me. Not a duty weapon or anything of the sort right now.

I've thought that the Millet-DMS1 is a fine looking scope and would probably be just fine for what I would use it for.

admin

· #4 · Mar 23, 2008

2

Re: How do you "train" yourself to use holo sights?

Use these:

Just don't get carried away like this guy:

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Ranly

· #5 · Mar 23, 2008

Re: How do you "train" yourself to use holo sights?

Ya both eyes open is the point, so as pin your eyelids open, its the ONLY solution...

thadbme

Discussion Starter · #6 · Mar 23, 2008

Re: How do you "train" yourself to use holo sights?

Ok maybe I'm explaning this wrong. I can use both eyes with my pistol no problem because i'm focusing on the front site. How do I teach myself to do the same with the rifle? I saw the dot in the eotech, but it was just odd, like i couldn't focus on it.

Ranly

· #7 · Mar 23, 2008

Re: How do you "train" yourself to use holo sights?

Just look past your dot to the target, your focus should'nt be on the dot, hmmm I guess I cant explain so well...

thadbme

Discussion Starter · #8 · Mar 23, 2008

Re: How do you "train" yourself to use holo sights?

See its confoosing! I know what I'm supposed to be looking at, but something in my mind or my eye dominance isn't clicking right. I was just wondering if anyone has any super cool tricks from training or something they have picked up!

EricCartmann

· #9 · Mar 23, 2008

Re: How do you "train" yourself to use holo sights?

maybe you are can't do it because you are right handed but left eye dominant? for a pistol this will not be a problem as you just move the gun over your left eye, but for a rifle this is not possible as you need a cheek weld.

thadbme

Discussion Starter · #10 · Mar 23, 2008

Re: How do you "train" yourself to use holo sights?

Interesting.. I never thought of that. This is rather odd since I'm a iron site / scope user and always close my left eye, but that doesn't have anything to do with eye dominance...

Damnit I should convert to being a lefty!

Also this is pretty darn weird... I've ALWAYS closed my left eye shooting rifles... never thought I might be left eye dominant because it didn't matter... now it makes sense why I had trouble with the holo site... I'm not sure if I can do anything about that other than closing an eye.

EricCartmann

· #11 · Mar 23, 2008

Re: How do you "train" yourself to use holo sights?

Maybe your POI shift is consistent with both eyes open so try zero'ing your weapon with both eyes open. Ofcourse if you are able to zero with both eyes open, this means you will always have to shoot with both eyes open and never be able to shoot the holosight with left eye closed

If your POI shift is not consistent, meaning that it varies, then you will have no choice but to shoot with left eye closed.

Easy way to tell which eye is dominant. Look at something off in a distance about 10 yards are so away, such as a door or something. Now with both eyes open, put one finger in front of the door as if it was a front sight of a gun. Now close your left eye, if the finger is still on the door, then that means you are right eye dominant. If it shifted then that means you are left eye dominant.

1redgmc

· #12 · Mar 24, 2008

Re: How do you "train" yourself to use holo sights?

I had trouble keeping both eyes open on the EoTech myself. I had the best results by simply "retraining" myself at night. I mounted a Streamlight TLR1 on the rail, and kept both eyes open while getting accustomed to the halogram.This worked reasonably well, but not 100% - as I couldn't do any live fire at night to assure my concept was working.

Eventually, it took a couple range sessions to get used to teh EoTech, but what really hit the proverbial nail on the head was using iron sights to co-witness. Once I did that, and then dropped the rear sight - the rest was easy.

I bought an Aimpoint Comp (ML2) and figured it would be easy, but NO - I feel like that thing is a scope and my sub-concious kicks in.

Bottom line for me? Hell, at the risk of drawing criticism for this statement... just shoot the way you are the most accurate and have fun. If we ever have a true SHTF scenario, it won't matter one way or another if you use one or two eyes.

My :2cents:

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thadbme

Discussion Starter · #13 · Mar 24, 2008

Re: How do you "train" yourself to use holo sights?

I did one of those eye tests to myself tonight. Here is how I was told to do it and it works like a champ.

Hold your hands out in front of you like you are trying to do a pushup to the air... make your hands flat and straight up and down... have your thumbs pointing inward and toward each other... now put your hands together and make a circle about the size of a quarter. Focus on something through the hole you just made and keep your eyes on it the entire time. Now move your hands in toward your face. You'll pull it in toward your dominant eye.

That was on a video in CWP class that I didn't really pay attention to because I know how to shoot my pistol. Didn't think about it until I was having trouble with the eotech. I dont have one so not a big deal now.

I think I'll just have to close an eye. Yeah might catch some grief, but its how I shoot!

Now I just need my ammo to get here so I can try out the new toy!

SigsRule

· #14 · Mar 24, 2008

Re: How do you "train" yourself to use holo sights?

Here's one technique.

holding the rifle down, well below your line of sight, look at something in the distance with both eyes open. Now slowly raise the rifle up until it is within your line of sight. Without taking your eyes off whatever you were looking at you should see the red dot suddenly appear. This is the drill we use for teaching people to use binoculars, look at the target and bring the binoculars up into the line of sight. Your brain will make the switch automatically if you let it. I tried this with my ACOG when I first got it and it worked like a champ.

gunner69

· #15 · Mar 24, 2008

Re: How do you "train" yourself to use holo sights?

I too have to shoot both eyes open. I am RIGHT eyed and DIABETIC. I am loosing my sight in my RIGHT eye. Not good folks. How I shoot BOTH EYES open is move the Eotech FORWARD on the rail. Now open both eyes, like with a scoped handgun, and focus on the target. After a little practice you can adjust the Eotech BACK to where it is COMFORTABLE for you to shoot.:2cents:

Ranly

· #16 · Mar 24, 2008

Re: How do you "train" yourself to use holo sights?

I guess my eyes are just gifted...

TEXAS SOLFTAIL

· #17 · Mar 24, 2008

Re: How do you "train" yourself to use holo sights?

Rainley your young, just keep on living things change as you get older. ;D

thadbme

Discussion Starter · #18 · Mar 24, 2008

Re: How do you "train" yourself to use holo sights?

Sig that sounds like that may work. I'll try that.

Twisted Jester

· #19 · Jan 17, 2010

Re: How do you "train" yourself to use holo sights?

You might just be brain ^&(*ing the whole situation. You've gotten yourself used to doing things one way and that's how you're going to do it. If nothing else on this thread has worked for you try getting some cheap a$$ airsoft rifle with the red-dot scope and start chasing the cats around the house. You'll eventually just see the red dot on the kittty, pull the trigger, and not worry about left eye closed or open.

SDDuc996

· #20 · Jan 17, 2010

Re: How do you "train" yourself to use holo sights?

Wow, this thread's almost two years old.

Since I missed it the first time, the way I train people to use an RDS (normally an Aimpoint) is to close the front cap and tell them to put the dot on a distant target. If they close the left eye they can't. If they have both eyes open as you should when fighting anyway the dot will transpose onto the sight picture magically.

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