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Eye Patch for Cross Firing?

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9.1K views 65 replies 30 participants last post by  tomk2  
J
#1 ·
I have heard that some people have improved their cross firing issue by wearing a visual occluder (pirate patch) over the off eye during non shooting activities. Theory suggests that this will encourage the weak, on shoulder eye to take over and reduce cross firing.

I would like to hear from anyone who actually found significant improvement with this method. I don't mind hanging around the house with an eye patch in the evening for a few hours if it would help. I am not asking about tape on the lens, or closing the eye while shooting but just about the benefits of visual occlusion while away from shooting. Thanks.
 
R
#2 ·
My daughter had trouble with crossfiring when she started shooting trap a couple years ago. Yes, closing one the non gun eye has made a great difference.
Now, when she was younger her vision was weak in he right eye (her shootin eye) and the eye doc had her wearing a patch over the left eye as much as possible to strengthen the weak eye. It no doubt helped her based on the change in glasses prescription the following year.
 
#3 · (Edited)
Might want to talk to an ophthalmologist before engaging in such a practice. You only have two eyeballs. Such a suggestion was made to me by a doctor while still in grade school and the kids were unmerciful about it. After a couple days, I gave up on it because I was bumping into things and could not read my text books.
 
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#7 ·
jktphd said:
I don't mind hanging around the house with an eye patch in the evening for a few hours if it would help
Click to expand...

Well, if you get up at 6 am and go to bed at 10 pm your are awake for 16 hours. If you wear the patch for 4 hours per night, it represents 25% of your waking hours to train your already dominant eye to be more dominant. Of course, the other 75% of the time you are training your non dominate eye to take over. So, how do you think that is going to work out for you?
 
#8 ·
I haven’t done that but I have successfully gone from shooting with an occluding dot on the lens of my non dominant eye to shooting without one. Almost everyone told me that it couldn’t be done but after reading an article by a shooting instructor up in Alaska that doesn’t believe in occluding the non dominant eye, and with the encouragement from a shooting buddy, I was able to make the transition. I believe that for most individuals their shooting will only progress so far with one eye partially or complete occluded. Just my two cents.
 
#15 ·
24601 said:
I believe that for most individuals their shooting will only progress so far with one eye partially or complete occluded. Just my two cents.
Click to expand...
And your new, improved average is?

Your statement is not supported by any factual evidence and there is a massive amount of anecdotal evidence that would indicate it is 180 degrees wrong.

BTW, the guy in Alaska is completely full of baloney and if you read some threads on here about him, you may learn why.
 
#13 · (Edited)
I think it might work on the shooting line, not sure it would work in the long run to stop your non shooting eye causing you to cross fire. In most cases a patch is recommended for “lazy” eye where the eye wonders and does not line up in sync with other eye. I am not offering medical advice, just repeating what I was told. This why in my post above, I suggest you seek professional medical advice.
 
#14 ·
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#16 ·
You have remembered the ancient treatment for the "lazy eye" of decades ago, and extrapolated it to the modern day "cross firing." They are not the same thing. Go ahead and block your off eye when shooting if you want to try it, but I do not think blocking it when not shooting will be beneficial. Cross firing really isn't about a "weak" eye. You have a dominant and less dominant eye, but the situation is rather dynamic and intermittent when tracking flying objects. A trap shooter will be upset about losing 5 moving and flying targets out of a hundred due to cross firing, but this would not be a problem for anything else in life. Not to mention the 95 trap targets that it wasn't a problem. And yes, sometimes we blame our 79 on cross firing too, but my guess is that 79 involved a lot of other things too.
 
#17 ·
The long ago banned Hacker in 2018
"There is more ignorance on eye use and dominance than just about any other factor in shooting.
If someone would like to change their dominance, and are willing to go to the trouble, I could give them my guidance…
Who are the coaches who can achieve eye dominance changes? The only one I personally know is me."
Eye dominance question | Page 2 | Trapshooters Forum

We were not apparently worthy of his guidance which he never shared.

Occlusive therapy for amblyopia (lazy eye) in children is an entirely different issue than trying to alter ocular dominance in adults, but there has been research suggesting that dominance can be influenced in adults by short-term patching
www.nature.com

The shift in ocular dominance from short-term monocular deprivation exhibits no dependence on duration of deprivation - Scientific Reports

Deprivation of visual information from one eye for a 120-minute period in normal adults results in a temporary strengthening of the patched eye’s contribution to binocular vision. This plasticity for ocular dominance in adults has been demonstrated by binocular rivalry as well as binocular...
www.nature.com www.nature.com
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Inverse Occlusion: A Binocularly Motivated Treatment for Amblyopia

Recent laboratory findings suggest that short-term patching of the amblyopic eye (i.e., inverse occlusion) results in a larger and more sustained improvement in the binocular balance compared with normal controls. In this study, we investigate the cumulative ...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
 
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#28 ·
It was TWO DOGS who I had just met at a 1990's shoot at the New York State grounds who gave me one of the magic Dots to try. I happened to be on his squad, and he noticed me closing my left eye, so in between 100's he asked why, I told him, and he graciously gave me the dot. Went on to shoot a high 90's on the second half thanks to him. Still using the Dot system to this day.

We have remained friends ever since.

Two Dogs
Image
 
#20 ·
If you get a chance, take a clinic with Phil Kiner. Worth every cent. I knew I had bad habits before taking his class, but never would have guessed crossfiring was one of them. The camera doesn't lie, when he films you. You can see when your non dominant eye takes over for a split second. He is a believer the patch can help some folks. But not everyone. I'm learning I just have to keep me left eye closed.
 
#22 ·
I've tried the meadow sight blinder. All it does is block the end bead to your non dominate eye. I wouldn't say it eliminates the possibility of cross firing. I've gone as far as taping my left lens while removing my left contact and I will still cross fire. I've finally conceded to closing me left eye. I could usually start out the day shooting a decent round or 2 with both eyes open, but it would go down hill after that.
 
#23 ·
Kiner recommends wearing the patch on the offending eye an hour every night like while watching TV and 15 minutes before you shoot to strengthen your dominant eye.
If this don't work you have to black out the upper portion of your lens.
If this don't work You're a one-eyed shooter. Or keep settling for the mystery misses
Cross dominance can get worse with age
 
P
#27 ·
I shot trap in the 70s, then gave up shooting till around 2000. Wanting to learn sk and SCs I sometimes had a lot of trouble with shots demanding a lot of lead. Not always but enough to figure out my master eye would change. The dot on my lens fixed everything. It's just big enough to block out the end of the barrel.
 
J
#30 ·
I think the dot, or something like it has helped me. I saw a short video of Kim Rhode and noticed she had a small piece of tape, placed vertically, over the left eye. I tried it and it seemed to help a lot. I lined it up by looking in the mirror and making sure the tape was blocking all of the colored part of my eye. So far it is the best solution for me that I have found. Thanks to all who offered advice.
 
D
#34 ·
Maxey Brantley said:
I've heard Pilla has a lens in the works to help cross-eye dominance. Haven't found anything on line just yet but one of the bigger dealers may have more info.
V/r
Maxey
Click to expand...
pillasport.com

Dominance Inserts

The Split Insert is our newest insert system that works with Outlaws, Panthers, and Raptor Frames. The Split Insert is an oversized insert for a larger optical field of view. This option is a great alternative solution for Panther Post wearers for weight savings over our metal frame insert. This...
pillasport.com pillasport.com
 
#33 ·
I use monovision for a prescription in all my glasses and found that since my master eye has a tendancy to change from time to time (verified by optometrist and ophthalmologist) it helps greatly. It's because the bird is sharp in my right eye and visible but fuzzy in my left eye. The brain automatically picks the sharp image as the one to use.
 
J
#35 ·
To kind of circle back to the original question about reducing cross firing by wearing an eye patch when not shooting, I tried it and did not find it helpful. I get the clearest image when I just close my left eye. It was worth a try but not for me. Thanks for the replies and information.
 
P
#40 ·
I've been using one for 15 years with success. I didn't know they made a flip down one. How big of an area does it block out? You don't need anymore than something to block out the end of the barrel that way you don't lose your perfume vision. A piece of cloudy or fogged in Scotch tape will work just as well, don't put the clear on. Good luck
 
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