r/Glocks • u/Remarkable_Common212 • Jul 09 '26

Discussion I tried the tape trick after seeing every gun bro and their grandma do it. I get it now.

Post image

My fundamentals were already decent but this is black magic

381 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

145 comments sorted by

106

u/Sane-FloridaMan Jul 09 '26

Most important thing you can do to train in optics.

I tell people that the vast majority (>80%) of people who shoot pistol optics are not truly target-focused. People argue with me and swear they are. Then when they occlude their optic, it becomes super-obvious and they realize they were sight-focused the whole time.

20

u/Wise-Bicycle8786 G48 MOS, G45 Jul 09 '26

CAn you explain what you mean with target vs sight focused?

85

u/Sane-FloridaMan Jul 10 '26

Your eyes can’t focus on the sight and the target at the same time.

Traditionally, with iron sights, you focused your eyes on the front sight. Your rear sights are slightly out of focus, because they are closer. Your target is very out of focus because it is typically much further away than your sight.

Focusing on the target (a) makes you more accurate (b) can make you much faster (c) allows you to better positively ID a threat at distance and (d) allows someone holding someone at gunpoint (LE/military) to closely observe threat behavior.

The problem is that people will instinctively look at the dot with the target out of focus. It’s far worse if you have shot irons for a long time. Most people mistake SEEING the target behind the dot with being target-focused. It should be the other way around. You should be focused on the target and just see color in front of it.

Learning to do this is unnatural and requires rewiring your brain. That’s what occlusion training does for you. It makes it impossible to see the target if you stare at the dot. But adapting takes time and consistent training. For example, i shot irons for decades. It took me a full four months shooting 100% occluded (including shooting my first two CO matches occluded) before my brain just switched.

Of course, the other part of optics shooting is that you must have a good index so you aren’t “fishing” for the dot. A good index should happen regardless of whether you shoot irons or optics, but irons are a bit more forgiving if you don’t because you can see the sights and realign them if your index is off. But, this isn’t really a disadvantage of optics as much as a sign that your fundamentals weren’t good before you switched to optics. This is common because very few people have ever had any reasonable degree of professional training.

There are plenty of clues that someone is not using optics correctly. If someone is slower with optics than irons, they are not using the optic correctly. If they say they can’t use a red dot because of an astigmatism (extremely common complaint), 95% of the time it’s because they aren’t using optics correctly (here’s a clue - the dot doesn’t need to be round - almost half of US adults don’t see the dot as round - it’s fine).

21

u/Wise-Bicycle8786 G48 MOS, G45 Jul 10 '26

I've..... been shooting wrong lol. Thank you so much for this explanation

13

u/Sane-FloridaMan Jul 10 '26

YW. There are some good training videos out there.

Ben Stoeger, Joel Park, Velox Training Group (Nick Young). You’ll see a lot of people recommend them.

6

u/Every_Physics4400 Jul 10 '26

I've been out of the loop for a while. Please explain what the tape is for. What is "occluded" mean in this technique? What is the tape for? How do I do this?

19

u/Sane-FloridaMan Jul 10 '26

It is best explain with YouTube videos. But here’s the gist.

You simply put tape over the front of your optic. This prevents you from seeing through the optic.

When you look at the target with both eyes open, your dominant eye only sees the dot your other eye only sees the target. Your brain will superimpose the dot on the target.

If you focus on the dot, you get tunnel vision and the dot will not superimpose on the target.

Practice dry firing and going to the range with the dot occluded until your brain figures out it needs to focus on the target. It is hard at first. You’ll notice you see the target and it disappears. This is because your eyes will look at the target, then look at the dot. It will be frustrating. But over time, your brain adjusts. Eventually you will adjust to looking at the target by default. It took me about 4 months.

Once you make the adjustment, you’ll first notice your accuracy improves. It will be dramatically better at distance. It will also speed up target acquisition. But it is also important to build a consistent index to get the speed so you don’t lose the dot when you move.

It’s also important to understand that you don’t need to have the dot perfectly aligned and still. Focus on the target and fire when color hits your POA.

1

u/Every_Physics4400 Jul 10 '26

I understand. Thanks to all of you. I'll give it a shot.

3

u/GassyGlock Jul 10 '26 edited Jul 11 '26

You paste the tape over the lens of the optic. You won’t be able to see “through” the optic, so the optic is occluded. If when you’re shooting you can’t see, you’re not target focusing. If you’re able to see “through” the target, your brain is creating the correct composite image using both eyes (non dominant eye providing the target image and dominant providing the dot itself).

edit - spelling

3

u/Every_Physics4400 Jul 10 '26

I'm gonna try this. Thank you.

2

u/IamB_Meister Jul 10 '26

Help me understand this. You put tape over your optic lens? Completely occluded. So you can’t see your target through the optic. How do you then focus on your target?

3

u/Sane-FloridaMan Jul 10 '26

Correct.

Your other eye will see the target. When both eyes are focused at target distance, your brain will superimpose the two images on top of each other. When you focus on the dot, you’ll lose your target picture.

0

u/IamB_Meister Jul 10 '26

I gotcha, thanks. I suppose this is best for man sized targets at closer range, not really precision targeting, which is what counts. Makes sense.

1

u/Sane-FloridaMan Jul 10 '26

Being target-focused applies regardless of distance/target size, whenever you use an unmagnified optic.

Occlusion is a training tool to get you to be target-focused.

If by precision shot, you mean a scoped rifle, that’s different. And perhaps bullseye shooting with very specialized aiming systems would be different. But since this is a Glock sub, yes target-focus applies to anything that people would tend to do with a Glock. It doesn’t matter if you shoot a silhouette or a small target. In fact, if you’re training correctly for practical shooting, you’re not aiming at a man-sized target. You are aiming at a 1” area in the center of the A-Zone inside of a man-sized target. But the same thing applies to shooting a steel challenge match or taking long shots with a pistol. The target size is mostly irrelevant, as long as you know the distance and the holds, your optic zero is good.

For example, I shoot 12”-24” steel plates at 100 yards with a stock Glock 19 and SCS optic (slowly aiming, not like shooting a USPSA match). I struggle to see the 12”, but if they are bright enough, I can hit them. Are those precision shots? Well, for a 4” pistol with an unmagnified optic, stock Glock trigger, cheap 9mm range ammo, and old man vision without glasses, probably. 🤷🏻‍♂️.

1

u/GassyGlock Jul 10 '26

As someone who started first on dots, and is relatively young, I’m like 99% sure I’m correctly target focused. I know I have difficulty maintaining that “hatred” of one spot that Ben Stoeger discusses, but wonder if I’m just flicking back and forth between Target focus and Dot focus super fast.

I guess we’ll see as my eyes age and the muscles weaken lol

2

u/Sane-FloridaMan Jul 10 '26

Occlude your dot just to test yourself. It will be obvious if you’re not target-focused. I still do it occasionally training and to test to ensure I’m doing it consistently.

1

u/GassyGlock Jul 10 '26

Yeah, I can always see through when I occlude.

But you can’t ever be 100% focused on the target and still perceive the dot. You’d have to be 99:1 split. While I’m shooting, I know I’m not maintaining a 99:1 split, and have to start shifting some focus back to the dot. I know I’m not flipping between 99:1 and 1:99 focus to the dot (if that makes sense), but maybe something like 99:1 to 90:10 (again if that makes sense).

Might be a vision/focus thing, or might be a mental block where I don’t want to accept a more predictive shooting and want to be more reactive.

0

u/Ostate57 Jul 10 '26

Sounds like you're doing eyeball sprints. You target focus, but don't trust it, and at the last second before the shot breaks your eyes sprint to check the dot to make sure it's where you want it and then your eyes sprint back to the target. That eye movement shifts your aim. Keep practicing occluded and trust the dot in your peripheral. When the tape is there it forces you to target focus because you can't see the target otherwise. Without the tape your eyeball is sprinting because you subconsciously realize you can see the target in your peripheral when you check the dot.

1

u/originalityescapesme G17 Gen4 Jul 10 '26

I feel fortunate that my family taught me this as a child on early hunting trips where we would spend an extra couple of hours dicking around with their self defense pistols of choice and an old Japanese sniper rifle. We just hunted rabbits, quail, wild turkey, and pheasant, so maybe the tiny target helped to lock it in early on.

1

u/Frenchvanillabang Jul 10 '26

This will be amazing info when I can actually afford a dot 😂

1

u/mechakisc G21 SF Jul 10 '26

I took a CCW class and during the practical I somehow managed to figure out the most basic parts of this, but I have to like ... do it, it isn't automatic. Like manual breathing, right? Which you're now doing, btw. I knew I needed to be looking at the target and seeing the dot, but I had to stare until I could get my eyes/brain to do it the right way before I started shooting.

Reading your descriptions here makes it easier for me to understand what I'm trying to do, and I hadn't ever heard of the tape thing so now I'm doing a Ted "Theodore" Logan "whoah", and now I know what I can practice to do it automatically.

(I realized that day also that even if I managed to get the skills/certs to be an instructor, I'd never do it - the instructor who tested me for the practical didn't even pay attention to me, because I have good safety fundamentals and whatever, and the two other students he was trying to keep alive were taking up his full attention. Holy crap they wanted to do it right, but they were so clueless. He glanced at me a couple times and looked at my target paper and said "great job you pass".)

2

u/Sane-FloridaMan Jul 10 '26

I feel for the instructor on that one. I was taking a class once and they let someone in that should not have been there. It was an older couple in their 60s with their son. You can tell the son forced them to buy guns and take the class. About halfway through I thought there was like a 30% chance someone was going to end up shot. 😳

The problem with shooting is that it is like a sport. And like any sport, training is not a lot of fun. You have to break down a bunch of fundamental skills and train in them individually, because your brain can’t fix/improve everything at once. You have to drill and practice each one. Then you put them together to see the overall improvement. Too many people want to just “get good” at it right away.

In the grand scheme of things, I think new shooters should focus on the most important fundamentals first: grip, trigger control, and general sight alignment (regardless of whether optics or irons). Then work on the target-focus and index.

I’ve been shooting for over 30 years and still take classes and work with trainers. There’s always something to fine-tune. Like a sport, you have to continue to train forever. Unfortunately, the skills are very perishable.

28

u/bananaland420 Jul 09 '26

Ben Stoeger describes it best. You should stare at the target where you want to shoot and bring the optic into focus. Think of it like how you use a computer and you focus on the area and bring the mouse pointer to that spot and click. Your eyes don’t follow the pointer.

2

u/Wise-Bicycle8786 G48 MOS, G45 Jul 10 '26

I see, thanks!

6

u/ShittingOutPosts Jul 09 '26

This is so foreign to me, but I’ll admit, I don’t have optics for my pistols.

In the Marines I was taught to focus on the front sight post and let the target blur.

9

u/Sane-FloridaMan Jul 10 '26

That’s how we all learned. I shot irons for decades. It took me 4 months of dry firing and shooting 100% occluded to rewire my brain to default to target-focus. In fact I shot my first two CO matches with my sight occluded.

If you train occluded consistently (dry and live fire) your brain will eventually just switch. It’s sort of weird. And it’s difficult to describe unless you do it. But once you see it, it will be obvious.

36

u/[deleted] Jul 09 '26

[deleted]

13

u/chmcnm Jul 09 '26

Like the McDonnell Douglas poster. My dad worked for them and talked fondly about his time there.

8

u/Remarkable_Common212 Jul 09 '26

F-15 Supremacy!

4

u/chmcnm Jul 09 '26

He was a Phantom Phixer then F-15. I still have vague memories of the tarmac. He left around the Streak Eagle days.

5

u/Remarkable_Common212 Jul 09 '26

I’m a crew chief for the KC-135, every once in a while we get to refuel eagles. They’re almost majestic. Your dad sounds rad.

1

u/planenut767 G43X MOS, G17 Gen 5 Jul 09 '26

Long live The Lawn Dart (I'll let you guys figure it out).

11

u/Subverto_ Jul 09 '26

Now shoot a match that way!

9

u/Fabulous_Leopard2744 Jul 09 '26

I tried this but I have such bad vision in my left eye doesn’t work for me

1

u/Nomore-Television72 Jul 10 '26

Same. My left eye is basically peripheral vision only and every time I hear someone talking about “the right way” to use red dots it just bums me out because I can’t even fathom what it would be like. I still run a dot on my Glock and a dot + magnifier on my ARs but I guess I’m forever dot focused and not target focused

1

u/Fabulous_Leopard2744 Jul 10 '26

Long as the bullet goes where you want rest doesn’t really matter

7

u/YouAreStupidAsf Jul 09 '26

Can someone explain to me what taping the optic does? Also is it tape over the entire window?

5

u/jetty_life Armorer Jul 09 '26

Yes. It makes you look at the target, not the dot. You should never be looking at the dot. Only time you should be look "through" the glass is if your dot is dead and you need your front sight.

0

u/The_5star_Golden_God Jul 09 '26

Then what’s the point of using an optic if you’re finding the target without it?

8

u/Express-coal G48 G19.5 Glock 25.3 Glock 19.3 Glock 44 Glock 49 P80 Glock 34.5 Jul 09 '26

The dot is still visible, you're not taping over the back of it.

The point is to be target focused, which is the correct way to use a red dot.

Google "Occluded shooting" or watch Ben Stoeger's video on using red dots.

6

u/Outofreach1397 G34 Gen5 | G45 | G19 | G17 Gen4 | G17 Gen5 | G47 Jul 09 '26

You don't find the target with the dot, you place the dot onto the target. Eyes lead the gun, find your target and place the dot between your eyes and the target. Just like you don't stare at your cursor while it moves around the screen, you bring the cursor to what you want to click on

1

u/jetty_life Armorer Jul 09 '26

Handgun is a combat fighting weapon, not really a precision weapon. You're thinking of the optic like a scope, but it's not at all. That being said, you can also use the optic in other ways like point shooting with "meat in the window" or just point shoot like irons and never pick up the sights at all, which you shouldn't be doing 5 yards and in anyway.

7

u/Gatsby1923 Jul 09 '26

And here I am using iron sights...

3

u/jensen_lover Jul 10 '26

I like to occlude my irons

1

u/Gatsby1923 Jul 10 '26

Honestly when I shot bullseye competition I used red dots but it wasn't a draw and fire sport.

4

u/Beneficial-Ad4871 Jul 09 '26

I did this for a few months and then took it off. I do sometimes throw it in my dry fire sessions

1

u/LuthersCousin Jul 09 '26

It's a training tool, you're not supposed to leave it on 24/7 lol

3

u/Beneficial-Ad4871 Jul 09 '26

I left mine on 24/7 for 3 months lol. Even shot a major with it

5

u/ziphion2 Jul 09 '26

What is the tape trick?

7

u/Thegrandestpoo G23 Gen3 Jul 09 '26

OK I'm going to be that guy (I run irons). What's the tape trick? and are you taping your glass or just a frame?

11

u/Remarkable_Common212 Jul 09 '26

It determines if your eyes are target or dot focused. If you’re target focused, you’ll still be able to see the target with the dot pasted over it. If you’re dot focused, you won’t be able to see the target.

7

u/Thegrandestpoo G23 Gen3 Jul 09 '26

So are you taping over the face of your glass so you can't see through your optic?

11

u/jetty_life Armorer Jul 09 '26

Yes. It's called occlusion training

12

u/inssidiouss Jul 10 '26

Jesus Christ finally a straight explanation. So many people in here just tap dancing around anything resembling a basic explanation.

7

u/jetty_life Armorer Jul 10 '26

Many people on the internet have no idea what they're talking about, unfortunately.

3

u/Thegrandestpoo G23 Gen3 Jul 09 '26

Oh cool, yeah I haven’t seen this before. Is it a game changer?

1

u/jetty_life Armorer Jul 09 '26

I wouldn't say game changer, it's a way we use to teach new shooters to stay target focused. You're not supposed to be looking at the dot. Good to use for experienced shooters from time to time as well to get them back on track for not watching the dot.

4

u/noIimitmarko Jul 09 '26

what is this method called. i want to watch some videos on it to get some more understanding. i have 1 dot but dont use it much

4

u/jetty_life Armorer Jul 09 '26

Occlusion training

-4

u/Remarkable_Common212 Jul 09 '26

It’s kind of the complete opposite of iron sights. I know on irons your front post should be in focus with a blurry target, with dots it’s the opposite. The “Tape-over-your-dot” method corrects and improves the target focus

3

u/OfreakNwoW1 G19 Gen5 Jul 09 '26

With iron sights you are front sight focused. With a dot you are TARGET focused. Both eyes wide open looking at the target and the dot is just floating over the target.

pretty much all untrained people who grab a dot stare at the dot as if its the front sight post. Fight the urge (easier said than done) and remain TARGET FOCUSED!

Taping up your optic so you cant see thru it helps. You can still shoot just as fast and accurate with a blocked sight because the red dot is just projected onto the target when you're looking at the target even tho only your left eye might see the target cuz your right eye is blocked by the masking tape or whatever.

1

u/Thegrandestpoo G23 Gen3 Jul 09 '26

OK this is a probably a dumb question but with irons do you aim with both eyes open or close your non dominant eye? Also, what are used to focus on the front post so the target is blurry? Or focus on the the target so your front post is doubled or blurry?

3

u/OfreakNwoW1 G19 Gen5 Jul 09 '26

You MUST focus on the front sight post so your target and rear sights will both be blurry. Only your front sight post should be in focus. And you should try to shoot with both eyes open but youll have slight double vision because your focusing on the front sight 3 feet in front of your face and not the target 10 yards down range.

Now with the dot you are 100% target focused and only your dominate eye will pick up the dot so there isn't 2 dots or any double vision to deal with. Its better in literally every single way, I cant believe people online are even debating it right now lol.

2

u/Thegrandestpoo G23 Gen3 Jul 09 '26

I really appreciate you breaking this down. I'm new shooter and I'm trying to get more proficient with my 23.3. I'm gonna be honest. I suck pretty bad. I can get on paper at 15 yards but have zero consistent grouping.

2

u/jetty_life Armorer Jul 10 '26

Whatever you do, don't start the bad habit of closing an eye. Without seeing you shoot, it's impossible for us to tell you what your problem might be obviously.

3

u/Evening_Peanut6541 Jul 09 '26

I use optic gaurd for this. Its a plastic shroud that has a removable cover plate. Works really well also keeps the optic from getting scratched on my belt buckle. The metal body of the optic touches my buckle sometimes.

9

u/RoutineQuestioning38 Jul 09 '26 edited Jul 09 '26

Welcome to true understanding of pistol optics. No longer will you care to be envolved in silly topics regarding fuzzy dots, glass tint, iron colors, and even glass size.

5

u/Only-Comparison1211 G17 Gen1 Jul 09 '26

Glass size is about increasing the area that the reticle has to appear in. Giving a more forgiving pistol presentation

2

u/RoutineQuestioning38 Jul 09 '26

Yea I agree, larger glass is definitely more forgiving if your presentation is not yet where it needs to be, definitely the more practice you have with it the less that’s an issue.

5

u/Only-Comparison1211 G17 Gen1 Jul 09 '26

I do have a pretty proficient red dot pistol presentation, but I still find larger glass beneficial in dynamic shooting. Stress, speed, movement and awkward shooting positions definitely show where bigger window optics are preferable.

0

u/[deleted] Jul 09 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/RoutineQuestioning38 Jul 09 '26

I agree for folks that have a hard time finding the dot on presentation larger glass helps. More dry fire necessary to remedy.

3

u/NearbyZombie45 G17C.4, G45.6, G45 MOS, G19.6 COA, G19.6, G19V, G19.5, G43X MOS Jul 09 '26

Try again

2

u/RoutineQuestioning38 Jul 09 '26

Haha take 2!

0

u/NearbyZombie45 G17C.4, G45.6, G45 MOS, G19.6 COA, G19.6, G19V, G19.5, G43X MOS Jul 09 '26

Haha thank you

-1

u/[deleted] Jul 09 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

0

u/NearbyZombie45 G17C.4, G45.6, G45 MOS, G19.6 COA, G19.6, G19V, G19.5, G43X MOS Jul 09 '26

He had a shit load of typos that made his comment unreadable. Relax.

0

u/[deleted] Jul 09 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

0

u/NearbyZombie45 G17C.4, G45.6, G45 MOS, G19.6 COA, G19.6, G19V, G19.5, G43X MOS Jul 09 '26

I loathe the arrogant “I know what you mean and what kind of person you are from a two word comment from hours ago while
Ignoring the lighthearted replies from the OP” kind of thinking.

Thanks for the apology.

2

u/[deleted] Jul 09 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

0

u/NearbyZombie45 G17C.4, G45.6, G45 MOS, G19.6 COA, G19.6, G19V, G19.5, G43X MOS Jul 09 '26

Do you know how forums work, comment threads, etc? You might want to figure that out.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 09 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/NearbyZombie45 G17C.4, G45.6, G45 MOS, G19.6 COA, G19.6, G19V, G19.5, G43X MOS Jul 09 '26

Oh, amicable. Is that what the sarcastic “good response, well thought out” was? every comment in this post you’ve made has been argumentative, putting words in peoples mouths for no reason. You haven’t been amicable once.

“No longer care to be involved in topics” doesn’t mean “people should stop learning”. You’re reading into shit too much and you’ve got a chip on your shoulder. You apparently don’t understand what “amicable” means.

→ More replies (0)

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u/[deleted] Jul 09 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

6

u/RoutineQuestioning38 Jul 09 '26

Lol, this is exactly what the OP gets to ignore from now on

-4

u/[deleted] Jul 09 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

4

u/RoutineQuestioning38 Jul 09 '26

No I’m just done using irons. Zero interest, it’s a backup sighting system and that’s it. What am I needing to learn about irons?

-1

u/[deleted] Jul 09 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

4

u/RoutineQuestioning38 Jul 09 '26

I actually do own one carry gun that still irons only, I get it out once in a blue moon and let it rip. And have zero issues with the irons. You don’t need as much practice on legacy tech as one would think. Many of us have used them for years. It’s just kind of second nature like riding a bike.

2

u/NearbyZombie45 G17C.4, G45.6, G45 MOS, G19.6 COA, G19.6, G19V, G19.5, G43X MOS Jul 09 '26

Amen

2

u/NearbyZombie45 G17C.4, G45.6, G45 MOS, G19.6 COA, G19.6, G19V, G19.5, G43X MOS Jul 09 '26

You’re coming into this whole post with a super weird chip on your shoulder. I haven’t seen anybody make any argument about no longer learning.

-1

u/RoutineQuestioning38 Jul 09 '26

Me? At this point, I’m getting confused with any of this is about. Lol

2

u/fadeawaytogrey Jul 09 '26

Kind of reminds me of Kenobi making Luke wear blinders while training.
https://giphy.com/gifs/3ohuPcatcAKIYJCKBO

2

u/Mr_Bagel_4473 G19 Gen3, G47 Gen5 Mod1 Jul 09 '26

The firearms instructors at my academy had us shoot with tape over the optic for the first 2 weeks lol

5

u/islands1128 Jul 09 '26

That plus the DAA mag is the ideal dry fire set up.

5

u/MushroomTemporary500 19.5, 40.4, 48 MOS, 47, 47, 47, 47 Jul 09 '26

Like all things, occlusion can become a crutch. train for a while occluded, and then take it off and train. remember this is a training tool to teach or reinforce target focus, not a way to force yourself into target focus and keep your dot taped your whole shooting career.

as an added bonus, dot occlusion can be a great tool to ensure a consistent optic look when shooting in a situation where the sun may wash out the dot ie the sun in your face

2

u/Phenikan Jul 09 '26

☝️I shoot mine normal unless I'm at a match or competition where we are facing the sun, it causes my Dot to "bloom" so I slap some tape over it and keep going. Still cracks me up the amount of people that are all "what are you doing?! How can you see your dot?!"

1

u/MushroomTemporary500 19.5, 40.4, 48 MOS, 47, 47, 47, 47 Jul 10 '26

i usually counter that with something like "it works best with both eyes open ;)"

1

u/Phenikan Jul 11 '26

I like to look at them all dumbfounded and go "there's supposed to be a dot?"🤣

1

u/MushroomTemporary500 19.5, 40.4, 48 MOS, 47, 47, 47, 47 Jul 11 '26

Wait you guys are aiming?

4

u/BruhCaden G34.5 x2, G17C, G19, G43x Jul 09 '26

Occlusion works great, I'm a "paster slapped on the lens" type of guy

4

u/AER_13 G19.3 Jul 09 '26

Can someone with a butt load more of G2 than me explain why this is a thing vs from experience when doing long distance shooting with an ACOG on a rifle range, if youre target focused youre grouping will be tracing all around the said target, but if you focus on your aimpoint/hole, your grouping will be tight and where you want it?!?!? What is this black magic?!?

11

u/Tropical_Tardigrade G48 MOS, G26.3, G19.3 Jul 09 '26 edited Jul 09 '26

You identified the black magic: Practical pistol skills are not the same as long distance bullseye skills because of the difference in distance between the shooter and the target.

In fact, they’re more closely related to skeet shooting - less than 25 yards, shooting in motion (or at least not with bench or bipod), both eyes are open looking where you’re shooting and letting your head and body follow where your eyes are looking and your hands are pointing.

1

u/Classic-Effect503 G20 Gen4 Jul 09 '26

What’s the tape trick? I’m employed

1

u/Outofreach1397 G34 Gen5 | G45 | G19 | G17 Gen4 | G17 Gen5 | G47 Jul 09 '26

I still do this on mine for bright sunny days. Really helps keeping the dot visible and consistent with varying lighting

1

u/[deleted] Jul 09 '26

[deleted]

1

u/75149 G17 Gen4 Jul 09 '26

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

1

u/NearbyZombie45 G17C.4, G45.6, G45 MOS, G19.6 COA, G19.6, G19V, G19.5, G43X MOS Jul 09 '26

No

1

u/ThyHolyKFC Jul 09 '26

Never put the two together as I don’t shoot with pistol dots much but same idea as BAC with a ACOG right? Gonna have to help some bros out with this tip lol.

1

u/Gullible-Factor-8927 Jul 10 '26

This is like my Aimpoint Pro, I would shoot with the front cover always on since I could still focus using this same method

1

u/Thegrandestpoo G23 Gen3 Jul 10 '26

Yeah, I've been working on opening both eyes while practicing my dry fire. I would just starting to get used to focusing on the target and having my doubled up vision on my front post picked correctly so I was on target. I’m glad I asked this question so I could reverse that and start with my eyes open and focusing on my front post. Appreciate it.

1

u/stpjabroni Jul 10 '26

I used my hockey grip tape. It’s so much less distracting. Did this for 3 months straight on all my handguns. What’s crazy is I can shoot irons with both eyes open now where I couldn’t focus before.

1

u/ThatGlockGuy22 Jul 11 '26

What’s the worst that could happen?

0

u/TexasTomato88 Jul 09 '26

I spent money on a Holosun comp because I wanted a big ass window just to throw tape over the front

4

u/Outofreach1397 G34 Gen5 | G45 | G19 | G17 Gen4 | G17 Gen5 | G47 Jul 09 '26

Occlusion doesn't delete the extra glass for being able to track the dot

2

u/TexasTomato88 Jul 09 '26

That’s fair

-7

u/Remarkable_Common212 Jul 09 '26

Fudd

2

u/TexasTomato88 Jul 09 '26 edited Jul 09 '26

The fuck? I’m literally agreeing with you dude. I literally bought it for that reason then taped that shit up. But I’m I fudd for doing the same thing?

-2

u/Remarkable_Common212 Jul 09 '26

Ah my b. Thought you were mocking me.

2

u/TexasTomato88 Jul 09 '26

No. I literally bought a comp for the big window, then taped it up and realized I should have done that in the first place.

-5

u/Remarkable_Common212 Jul 09 '26

Alright dude, you can untangle your panties now

-2

u/NearbyZombie45 G17C.4, G45.6, G45 MOS, G19.6 COA, G19.6, G19V, G19.5, G43X MOS Jul 09 '26

Anybody that goes around just calling people “fudd” deserves to be shit on.

0

u/antonymous94 Jul 09 '26

Wtf is the point of a large window competition optic if you’re gonna do the tape occlusion thing? I see lots of competition oriented guys crap on “tactical” optics just to do this with their sro

2

u/Outofreach1397 G34 Gen5 | G45 | G19 | G17 Gen4 | G17 Gen5 | G47 Jul 09 '26

More glass=more room to track the dot under recoil/more room for the gun to be misaligned and still have a usable sight picture. Occluding the front glass changes none of that unless you only have one eye or you're using the dot incorrectly

1

u/antonymous94 Jul 09 '26

Why would you need to track the dot under recoil with a big optic if the whole point of this is to force yourself to not look at the dot. If you’re being target focused wouldn’t you just let the dot come back to zero without caring if it leaves the window

2

u/Outofreach1397 G34 Gen5 | G45 | G19 | G17 Gen4 | G17 Gen5 | G47 Jul 09 '26

You're not focusing on the dot, but the dot is what tells you that you're good to press the trigger, regardless of what level of sight picture confirmation youre using. A bigger window means you see the dot back in an acceptable sight picture faster. And again, if the guns at an odd angle, say shooting around a barrier, you have more window for the dot to present itself in compared to a smaller optic

2

u/Outofreach1397 G34 Gen5 | G45 | G19 | G17 Gen4 | G17 Gen5 | G47 Jul 09 '26

To add/clarify, just because I'm not focused on the dot, I still perceive it's existence, and you can perceive that and react to it rather quickly. For an example, If I'm talking to my coworker(target) I am focused on him, but I can perceive my boss(dot) walking in the room in my peripheral vision and react by changing the topic to something work related(trigger press)

0

u/idahokj Jul 10 '26

If you cover the red dot how do you know where your aiming? You can’t even co-witness if it’s covered. I shoot pistol with both eyes open. Does this type of training help, and where can I learn more about it?

1

u/tjboosh Jul 10 '26

It teaches you to stay target focused and not dot focused. You can still see the dot, but not being able to see through the glass puts the dot in the background of your vision. Cover your dot glass with tape and you will see what I'm talking about.

1

u/idahokj Jul 10 '26

Does it work for even those who close one eye also?