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Magic Eye Dot System

13K views 27 replies 20 participants last post by  xsshooter 
#1 ·
So glad I bought the Magic Eye Dot System from America to prove to myself that eye dom can be overcome by sticking to the right shoulder and just looking at the target with both eyes open .

Don't know how people use that system just made my shooting glasses irratating to the point of why am I trying this ? , look at the target not the gun . {hs#
 
#5 ·
Kids and young adults that I teach try the magic dot or the scotch tape method a lot. After they are taught the hard focus method 90% of them realize they don't need to use anything like that. For giggles, and to experience what students are seeing, I tried both a magic dot and scotch tape. It's more of a distraction than anything else.
 
#6 ·
To these various internet experts: I have used the Dot successfully. I went from D to AA in one year....another 10 months to M. I know MANY others who successfully use it too.

The idea that one can simply ignore eye issues thru training your "eyes" is an insult to people w/ true eye problems. Saying that "we" simply aren't working hard enough is truly showing your ignorance.

The Dot will only work if you are NOT looking at the gun in the 1st place. It will not allow you to shift your focus back to the gun and away from the target. It surely does not work that way.

use it or not. I will be. So will many other M class shooters.
 
#7 ·
Sera's got it right.

It's amazing just how much mis information there is out there about eye dominance, especially since it's such an important part of good shooting.

According to the late, great Chuck Dryke, the patch works extremely well for folks who have a weak dominant eye. It allows you to keep both eyes open while you shoot, and trains your brain to depend on your dominant eye more -- and not let the off eye take targets, as well as to have you center the targets you hit better.

The Magic Dot isn't going to switch your dominance from one eye to the other, but it's sure going to help when dealing with a weak dominant eye. Problem is, many instructors don't know the difference.
 
#8 ·
kemenup4...you did not mention if you actually shot better with the dot or just saw the target better. I don't think anyone would argue that you will see the target better with both eyes. But, that does not mean you actually shoot better with two eyes.

Sometimes, the more it bothers you, the more you need it....because that off eye is trying to push out and take over the target. If you hardly notice it, then you may have a very strong dominate eye anyway and you don't really need it.

At any rate, you can't slap it on, shoot a box and say I'm done, it does not work. If you are going to try it, give yourself a few months, a few thousand rounds to get used to it. It is not without it's pitfalls...it does affect hold points and look points on some targets. But, it does get to a point where you never even notice it is there....just the target in the sky and the barrel.

For what it's worth all of us one eyed shooters would love to shoot with both eyes....we just love hitting targets more. Just find what helps you actually hit more targets.
 
#9 ·
sera said:
To these various internet experts: I have used the Dot successfully. I went from D to AA in one year....another 10 months to M. I know MANY others who successfully use it too.

The idea that one can simply ignore eye issues thru training your "eyes" is an insult to people w/ true eye problems. Saying that "we" simply aren't working hard enough is truly showing your ignorance.

The Dot will only work if you are NOT looking at the gun in the 1st place. It will not allow you to shift your focus back to the gun and away from the target. It surely does not work that way.

use it or not. I will be. So will many other M class shooters.
+1 Absolutely. Use the Magic Dot and they work great and you can clean your glasses and the Dot stays put - what's not to like and inexpensive too. Many different colors to choose from. morganoptical.net 800 594 0175.
 
#12 ·
To mismost .

I have had eye dom since i started shooting , I am left eye dom and right handed .

just out of interest I bought the magic dot things just to see what would happen , so I stuck the thngs on my glasses with my gun dry mounted to block seeing the left hand side of my gun thinking wow these work .

Saturday morning thinking this should be a winner at my local ground , put my glasses on thought it must be foggy whats this in my left eye , yep its a patch ok lets carry on.

I will tell you now once you know you are left eye dom and learn to shoot at the target and not look at the gun you will laugh at this so called magic dot system , the only thing it did for me is know I am right saying its a total waste of money and all it does is cloud your left eye before you go on station to shoot .

Anyone that thinks they work dont get it !. {hs#
 
#14 ·
Wow.

I's all pretty simple. As per Chuck Dryke:

If you are truly cross dominant, the best solution is to either close an eye or switch soldiers.

The magic dot is a great help for folks who are not cross dominant, but have a weak dominant eye and will often lose targets to the off eye and have problems with centering targets with both eyes open.

The issue is to correctly establish if you eye problem is from cross dominance or from weak dominance. Two completely different things.
 
#15 ·
Sera and Mule Driver are all over this.

I never EVER would have guessed how many people have "weak" or "center" dominance. There are a lot of people who have varying degrees of "dominance".

At this point, the very first thing I do with a student is to take an easygoing (make the shooter relax/go subconscious and then point at my right eye) look at eye dominance. 3 of the last 5 students coming through here have had weak/non/center dominance. We are talking dead center.

No wonder they finally broke down and came to an instructor. Within 10 minutes that can be accounted for, they will be hitting targets and shooting will be fun.

How you fix it depends on the goals, desires, physical contraints of the shooter. Personally I would never tell a "hunter" (non-clay shooter) that have to use a magic dot/tape/chapstick on their glasses. When its pouring down rain, ducks dumping into the decoys... you can't see a thing if your glasses are fogging up or covered up by raindrops.

At the same time, some shooters find their "off" eye starting to try and peak around the dot/patch/etc. It can cause headaches and/or take them right back to dominance issues. I know it sounds crazy but its true.

Its nice to have options though, and the Magic Eye Dot System is one of them.
 
#16 ·
straightsixes said:
At the same time, some shooters find their "off" eye starting to try and peak around the dot/patch/etc. It can cause headaches and/or take them right back to dominance issues. I know it sounds crazy but its true.
When that happens, or if it happens a lot, you most likely are looking at a true cross dominance situation. And that's far from ideal for the patch to work well.

Right from Dryke.......
 
#17 ·
Hi folks,
Sera has it right. It ain't gonna work if you are not looking at the target. When you put the patch on, the relationship between the target and the barrel are much more distinct. This makes it more difficult for the grasshopper to concentrate on the bird but is a necessity.

Concerning the amount of central dominance hope this helps.................Rich

www.youtube.com/watch?v=FD3TKy-FCnA
 
#18 ·
idoc said:
Hi folks,
When you put the patch on, the relationship between the target and the barrel are much more distinct.
If you shoot using "sight pictures"..... Some top sporting clay shooters don't use "sight pictures" IMHO it is probably the best way to shoot. If I shoot "sight pictures" I am toast.
 
#20 ·
dogchaser37 said:
First you have to NEED the dot, if you don't have a dominance problem it doesn't cure anything and you aren't going to like it.
Depends on what kind of dominance problem you have, Mark.

If you DO have a TRUE cross dominant situation, Dryke was very adiment that a patch usually won't help and can in fact be a big problem.

If you have a weak dominant eye, he was very adiment that the patch was the absolute best way to go.

I went up there to see Mr. Dryke after being told that I had central vision. What I actually had, and this was diagnosis by Dryke's partner, Dr. Wayne O. Martin, was a weak (72%) dominant right eye that would not let me center focus the targets, and would also give up targets to the non-dominant (especially when coming from the left side).

A correct diagnosis from the get go is vitally important. So many times, we shooters are given mis-information.
 
#21 ·
Mule Driver said:
dogchaser37 said:
First you have to NEED the dot, if you don't have a dominance problem it doesn't cure anything and you aren't going to like it.
Depends on what kind of dominance problem you have, Mark.

If you DO have a TRUE cross dominant situation, Dryke was very adiment that a patch usually won't help and can in fact be a big problem.

If you have a weak dominant eye, he was very adiment that the patch was the absolute best way to go.

I went up there to see Mr. Dryke after being told that I had central vision. What I actually had, and this was diagnosis by Dryke's partner, Dr. Wayne O. Martin, was a weak (72%) dominant right eye that would not let me center focus the targets, and would also give up targets to the non-dominant (especially when coming from the left side).

A correct diagnosis from the get go is vitally important. So many times, we shooters are given mis-information.
Mule-

You are very lucky to have had that experience with Chuck & Matt Dryke and Dr. Martin team, that's a very effective coaching system dealing with the eyes first and then go to the field with that knowledge.

I am very interested to know how they determined the percentage of dominance (72%) in your dominant eye. I get an eye exam every year from a noted shooting optometrist and he never measured my dominant eye and now I wonder why not.

The reason that I ask is I wore a dot for ten years from almost the beginning of my skeet shooting career and I am right handed, right eye dominant. I just took off the occluder this week and It's a totally different game now. I feel like I have to start from scratch but I am burning holes on the target, not cross firing but it all looks different of course.

I agree with what others have said previously; shooting with an occluder solves a lot of problems but it created one big problem for me: Gap shooting. If you shoot the Gap, IMHO you are too barrel aware and are looking at the wrong thing and not the target. Sad but true, had to take the dot off a decade later to realize the fact that I put the dot on too early without truly learning how to shoot with both eyes.

What a long road. And what a view.
 
#22 ·
If one wants to try the dot system, take a look at the dots made by Browning. It comes with a round black ring that helps to place the dot in the correct position on the lens. When correctly placed the dot is only in front of the eye when you come into the gun, at this point it only obscures the muzzle from the view of that eye. Correctly placed you will not notice it at all, until you try to crossfire a shot. Incorrectly placed it will drive you absolutely nuts.

It works for me as a right handed, primarily right eye dominant shooter. But my eye dominance will switch under some circumstances. The dot is there when that occurs. Given time your eyes train themselves to use the clear picture.
 
#23 ·
I think I'm in the weak dominant eye group. Right handed, right-eye dominant but I can end up shooting cross-eyed. With both eyes open and gun mounted I can present situations where the left eye takes over the alignment (proven by closing other eye).

I tried using a generic sticker I found around the house last night and it left my peripheral vision completely in tact but took away the confusion completely. In the past I have often acquired the target with both eyes and squinted my left eye before I fired. I'll try the dot a little.
 
#24 ·
TexasEd said:
I think I'm in the weak dominant eye group. Right handed, right-eye dominant but I can end up shooting cross-eyed. With both eyes open and gun mounted I can present situations where the left eye takes over the alignment (proven by closing other eye).

I tried using a generic sticker I found around the house last night and it left my peripheral vision completely in tact but took away the confusion completely. In the past I have often acquired the target with both eyes and squinted my left eye before I fired. I'll try the dot a little.
TexasEd,
I have found the dot does give me an issue, over a round of clays.
I use your method of watching with two eyes, then wink down at the shot. Yes, it takes concentration to look at the target. But if you are looking hard at the target (which you need to do, whether using one eye or two!) it works.
I go weak dominate as I tire. I can shoot with two eys and hit the target "most of the time!"
However, when score counts, I don't want to "sometimes miss a target" because I my dominance switched.
I tried for over a year to use two eyes only..My scores suffered! I am back to winking down, and my scores went back up..SCORE counts, not style points for using two eyes!!

Even GD has been "seen" in a video, Squinting down at the shot!!
 
#25 ·
For those who've had success using dots, which ones seem to work better, opaque or transluscent ones?

I'm considering giving them a try for both my wife and myself...she's left eye dominant and right handed but can't switch sides because she has a pacemaker on the left side, and while I'm right and right, I've found that my left eye tries to take over on some presentations.
 
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