Daily Defense Season 2 EP 13: How To Use Your Pistol's Sights

[@njsurf1973]

Thanks. As a newish handgun shooter, that was extremely helpful.

[@TridentConcepts]

For sure, enjoy the rest of the series and keep coming back.

[@josephwillis665]

when it comes to closing one eye, folks should remember, you can be left handed but right eye dominant or Vice versa!

[@TridentConcepts]

Eye dominance doesn't matter.

[@davemyrick1966]

@@TridentConcepts Eye dominance does matter. I am right handed but left eye dominant. With both eyes open, my left eye does all of the work and my body will align the pistol with my left eye. I cannot see nearly as well from my right eye and if I shoot with my left eye closed I cannot pick out the target

[@TridentConcepts]

@@davemyrick1966 I hear what you are saying. Outside of an eye injury or condition where you are incapable of using the eye to the same level eye dominance doesn't matter. The eye is an organ and as such has conditions to which it can preform to that are progammable. I have run into a variety of students with vision issues, especially as I get older. The key is to determin if their eyesight prevents them from accomodating. This is the biggest issue, without the eyes abilty to focus there is not much we can do. Outside of that the corrected vision is the next big obstacle. How much of their vision is correctable and what are they left with if not. After that, it becomes a matter of changing the way they look at the sight...literally. Every student who has undergone the corrective strategies we use in our classes has been able to see their sights effectively with their gun hand/eye combination. I don't know your condition, but like I said we have seen some pretty challenging cases produce results. They are there. Good luck.

[@scottmcmillan593]

Thank you, very helpful! 🙂

[@marsoelflaco5722]

Jeff gives clear, thoughtful, down to earth explanations. No tough guy, foul mouthed, macho nonsense.👍🏽✌🏽

[@alexandersquid4681]

Thank you for the clear instructions! I'm a self-teacher, so little videos like this help a lot. 🥰

[@bongdimalanta5772]

Very comprehensive fundamentals lecture. Godspeed!! Shoot safe!! 🇺🇲🇵🇭

[@ajawrrll4]

I appreciate that. Never had anyone break it's down like that before. Lets see what happens at the range now

[@Mac_Diddy]

Rifles are super easy to be accurate with compared to pistols, and personally I like the challenge of becoming skilled enough with my pistol to where I can send the rounds exactly where I want them.

[@TridentConcepts]

Nothing wrong with that!

[@D1_Tactical]

You have to learn to hold a rifle and control recoil so i slightly disagree it being easier than pistols

[@Xavieus]

⁠​⁠​⁠​⁠@@D1_Tacticaldepends on the rifle/caliber. An AR-15 shooting 5.56/.223 has less recoil than a 9mm handgun. Holding a rifle isn’t hard. In fact it’s much easier to stabilize and aim precisely versus a handgun. Even .22LR rifles are easier to shoot accurately than .22LR pistols.

[@D1_Tactical]

@@Xavieus true

[@nathanoteyza1044]

True.... I experience the same thing. My rifle is easier to shoot hitting the target, whereas my pistol is a challenge. This video is very helpful. Thank you!

[@noahnims3942]

I have put about 200 rounds through my new cz and am still getting used to it. I did not know about the top of the sight post tip. Very useful!

[@TridentConcepts]

You would be surprised by how many folks make this same mistake. Easy to fix and now you are way ahead of the pack.

[@jesspius93]

Thank you. I will try what you've said. All along I thought the circle on the front sight should be the one centered on the middle of the aim point. It should be the top of the front sights(aligned with the rear sights). Very helpful

[@yokoshemp]

Consider both eyes open and don't use the sights. Defense shooting is mostly close range and you can't see sights at night or in bad sunlight. At 20ft most people point better than they aim during quick shot or rapid fire. Try it! Hunting or targets are a different situation.

[@kerrydavidsadler980]

Some great points thanks.

[@vladimirzarankin6240]

Thanks for the tips Jeff

[@stansenter2660]

Basics, basics, basics. The Pros/"Operators" are only doing the basics, perfected by countless repetitions, smoother, quicker by practicing and perfecting their basics.

[@zerpblerd5966]

two-eyes open tips next !

[@istvanromai9603]

If you have the opportunity, practice shooting a rifle with both eyes open. With rifles the two sight pictures are quite different since you can see both the rear and front sight only with your correct eye, so your brain get used to focus on the "real" sight picture and ignore the other "ghost" sight picture. Then transitioning to a handgun your brain will remember to focus on the correct sight picture even if they are much more similar than in the case of a rifle.

[@rico989]

I got used to that after a while of shooting often. It was hard but got it down!:)

[@st3v3stich]

Great video for all the Newb's out there.

[@TridentConcepts]

Spread the word.

[@randallchuck6376]

Well done. Thank you.

[@a.nichols626]

Watched this after coming back from a disappointing trip to the range. Will try this next time.

[@RickyJr46]

Thanks Jeff!

[@jeffdutramusic7220]

Great and thorough explanation on how to use the sights. I’ve shot rifles most of my life, but have just recently gotten into shooting pistols. You answered the questions I had on how best to use the sights. Thank you!

[@bbarton84]

Great explanation !

[@timhatchett7048]

Good video

[@tjstevens001]

Thanks, good info!

[@dknollRX7]

Shoot with one eye open, gripping your pistol tight...ah!!!

[@bulkhungry]

🤘

[@TridentConcepts]

Simple enough...

[@YellowHammer26]

Thanks

[@macgeek2112]

So it appears the model shooter @3:25 has the same problem I do. I'm right handed but can't leave my right eye open and close my left eye. This goes against what was said just a few seconds earlier. I'm attending my first firearms class (outside of my military experience) in a couple weeks and this video has some good tips. Thanks.

[@RobinP556]

Good advice. One training tip that I’d like to add, and I can’t take credit for this, is to close 1 eye initially and gradually get used to having both eyes open by putting chapstick over the non-dominant eye, keep both eyes open and over time (different training days) put less and less chapstick on that lens until you can shoot with both eyes open. Credit goes to Karl at Tactical Rifleman for that one.

[@MidwestPicker]

Great video. At my age, I need to wear reading glasses to shoot a handgun, it's really frustrating. As soon as I can afford a red dot, I'll be better.

[@dbelex]

Nice presentation, no tactical b.s..

[@brianmoore1164]

Really great video. I would probably have left the whole eye dominance issue to a separate video. It is complicated enough to deserve a stand alone video. At a minimum I hope you address it more thoroughly in your courses. Eye dominance is a huge big hairy deal and a lot of people who should be happy accurate shooters never get that chance because they never learn about eye dominance.

[@TridentConcepts]

Glad you liked it and as I mentioned above; eye dominance is not an issue. Head to our website and look up a few blogs on eye dominance. We may look to add it to our upcoming videos.

[@brianmoore1164]

@@TridentConcepts Eye dominance is very much an issue if it is never addressed. After 30 years of competition and 11 world championships I know. If mediocre is the highest goal, then sure, just close one eye, but that closes the door to ever understanding the problem.

[@TridentConcepts]

@@brianmoore1164 No it doesn't and it is not an issue. The overwhelming majority of shooters think it is an issue because they have been told it is an issue. They have been given cute techniques to learn which is their dominant eye. Told to shoot on the same side of the dominate eye even if it means moving to the gun to the weaker side. Unequivocally closing the non-gun hand eye makes the eye left open the dominate eye. Learning to shoot or what we are actually talking about is seeing the system from the same side as you are holding the gun is in the best interest of the new shooter or even someone with beginner to intermediate skills. It is not mediocre, that is the exact same type of dialogue those who would push the issue would recount because they don't under the real issue. The bottom line, there is only a problem if you make it a problem by trying to focus on the so called dominate eye theory.

[@brianmoore1164]

@@TridentConcepts The truth seems to annoy you even when you yourself admit it. "Beginner to intermediate skills" Thank you for realizing that anyone wishing to move beyond mediocre will need to understand more than just "close one eye."

[@TridentConcepts]

@@brianmoore1164 Haha, you wouldn't know the truth from an instructional point of view if it poked you in the eye. See what I did there ;-)

[@mymemoryarchive]

in a perfect world a pistol will hit exactly where he says to aim with sights... here on earth not so much, being that its for beginners/novice should have mentioned Kentucky windage 🤔

[@pliofcho4237]

For a paper target one eye with front sight focus is ok, but for a small moving target both eyes open and focus on the target seems to be easier for me. Is it a wrong practice, or should use different approach in different situations?

[@TridentConcepts]

There is nothing "wrong" per say, however your sight acquisition also doesn't matter. It's about how you interpret the sights.

[@PapiTheMenace]

Don’t let Them lie to you, idk why everyone says focus on the front sights, real shooters know you focus on the target

[@Valeron5]

For a new shooter do the bullets with the laser beam inside help to get the sight alignment correct with the rear sights blurry, the front sight focused, and the target blurry?

[@riner9]

luckily I'm right handed because I'm legally blind in my left eye

[@jimmieburleigh9549]

Then what the point of the dot if your focusing on top of the blade???

[@jarink1]

Low light conditions when you may not be able to properly distinguish the edges of the sights.

[@TridentConcepts]

The tritium or dot is ideally used for close range shooting where the mechanical offset is less of an issue. The problem is when you don't know the difference.

[@halopcdraco]

2:17 Close your left eye, but the editing team chose the right eye to be closed clip?

[@oilhammer04]

Shooter is left eyed and right handed. 3:24

[@toycoma98]

Thats caleb, he's left handed.

[@CalebSavant]

Yeah, I'm left eye dominate but shoot handguns right handed.

[@oilhammer04]

@@CalebSavant, interesting. One of my sons was going through handgun training in the Navy and the instructor (a Navy SEAL) told him he needed to choose either right hand, right eye shooting or left hand, left eye shooting. My son must have been doing what you are doing.

[@bangbang9411]

Is that JJ Redick