Should You Occlude Your Dot ? - Pro vs Con
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- Опубликовано: 10 сен 2024
-  Something that’s become quite popular over the years is occluding a red dot sight in order to force your eye to focus on the target. 
Here are some thoughts on that topic.
Do you occlude your dot? and if so, why?
If you don’t, why? 
I spent 3 months training with occluded dot. I did shoot occluded dot at matches for the first month. I stopped shooting occluded at matches for 2 reasons. 1) visual feedback for me was not as consistent as I liked. Especially when I had hard leans shooting at “odd” positions. 2) after a hard month of dry fire and live fire training I felt I was more target focused and felt shooting occluded dot in matches was no longer beneficial. I still feel I need to train with occluded dot, just not all the time. Just to confirm and or tune up my target focus.
1- I was shooting irons during 25 years. Last year when I went to red dot I focused immediately in the dot. I was occluding it in dry firing but never in the range. Of course, I always go back to the red-dot.After your video, I will start to occlude red-dot in range training during a couple of months to see if I am capable to focus on targets but I am not sure...
2- By the way, I have watched a tons of videos of Erik Grauffel shooting red dots with both eyes open (as it is supposed to be) but when aiming long distance targets (over 20 meters) he always close left eye to shot thru the dot. I have never understood that.
3- Great type of videos. For me it is very interesting the thoughts and feelings of great shooters. It is amazing to see how all of us can have same problems or feelings than pro shooters.
Just got into shooting 2 weeks ago. These types of videos are SUPER helpful. Bought a TTI COMBAT and I love it. Thanks for your input, I’m subbing to your channel 🫡
I leave mine occluded all the time. I don't even notice that its occluded anymore. Please do more videos like this. I'm enjoying the content!
👍👍
I'll occlude my SRO in matches if the sun angle presents a high likelihood of glare/double-dot which is a problem the SRO in particular suffers from. Usually first stage in the morning is the only time it might be needed. I'll have a piece of tape with me at make-ready and decide to use it or not after examining a few sight pictures.
Sounds like a solid strategy.
Similar experience. At one of my ranges, the first rays of sun come over the hill almost directly uprange. Occluding is a real lifesaver in that situation.
I occluded my dot for a couple months and I couldn’t see any difference from the beginning on.
I’m of your opinion that you get less information from the target area with an occluded dot.
In my opinion it’s an easy way to find out if you’re target focused or not.
Great video by the way 👍
Agreed.
Definitely a useful tool.
Nils,
Because you asked, I’ll tell.. hahaha
I run occluded always, mostly because I shoot a holosun 407 something that is 2 MOA. The small dot size and low light emitting is challenging for me to see/acquire the dot especially in the harsh sun. Occluding provides a contrast in which I never “lose my dot”.
Im working on getting a bigger/brighter dot and then seeing if that works better.
Thanks for your thoughts. I find, despite "thinking" about target focus, my eyes get physiologically sucked onto the dot. In looking at what I am going to improve this year in my shooting, I'm working on my vision, so I'm practicing and dry firing almost 100% occluded this winter. After a few months, maybe I will default to the desired visual behavior. We'll see!
In addition to working on target focus, shooting occluded has been a good way to avoid flare in the optic at low sun angles, as others mentioned.
I really really like training with an occluded dot. But I am one of the few in the population that does see a shift in point of impact. Not much, but enough not to do it all the time on my self defense EDC. My shift is about 2 to 3 inches to the right at 10 yards. I was talking to a buddy of mine that is an ophthalmologist and asking him why I was noticing a shift when occluded. He said it could be a few reasons why but one of the big reasons that can happen is because of eye dominance issues. Which is funny because he’s not a shooter at all and it just so happens that I’m left handed but right eye dominant. He explained the science behind it, but I’m not smart enough to to retain all of that. 😂 Long story short, I still practice occluded about 80 percent of the time to keep target focus skills up to snuff. But carry without it occluded so I can be absolutely sure I’m as safe as I can be if a self defense scenario happens. I would hate to miss and injure an innocent person because of the shift. Not matter how small it may be.
i have been thinking about giving this a try but have not been able to commit to it.. definitely appreciate the insight and after watching this i will give it a try my next live fire practice session... for someone who says they struggle with it you sure have me and probably everyone else on this thread fooled 🤣
Ive heard in one of Christian Sailer's interviews that he's more dot focused and yet he's so fast and consistent just like you
Interesting.
I occlude my dot to keep focus on target. After some time I'll take it off and imagine I'll have benefited from it
Let me know how it goes.
I dry fire both ways and at times practice live fire both ways just to keep checking myself. Only did a match once and had issues around tight leans. When I shot open 20 years ago I was focusing on the dot and didnt know any better.
I tried occluded once for a uspsa match and didn’t do too bad. I tried occluded with idpa I didn’t like it. I prefer non occluded since it gave me more visual information.
I shot a couple matches and spent a month dryfire occluding the dot to try and perfect target focus. Now I just occlude the dot maybe once a month for part of a dryfire session just to confirm I'm maintaining target focus.
Interesting strategy with incorporating it in as a regular training tool.
I...haven't run a red dot for more that a magazine (I haven't got an optics ready pistol, funds have been tight!), but have heard it's really common to struggle if you're used to irons. Haven't heard of occluding a red dot except for some of the old military sights that didn't want the dot visible from in front (maybe old Trijacons?). Sounds interesting, but I can't imagine it being faster that just practicing with the dot...
newer to matches, but i shoot both pistol and rifle with the red dot occluded. its due to long standing bad habits, and the second i remove the tape, i focus on the dot.
Totally understand.
Look at some Ben Stoeger stuff on dot focus / target focus.
@@onpsxmember following him for a long time
I don’t. Because I have had optic neuritis due to MS which means my right eye is significantly weaker which means if I occlude it’s very difficult to actually see the targets.
Interesting.
With your eyes that way it’s almost like it’s naturally occluded.
@@NilsJonasson ehh not quite. I could still definitely focus on the dot if I wanted- my one good eye is pretty good. The problem is, if I occlude the dot, my right eye isn’t strong enough to make it work so I’d just be looking at a red dot in the middle of a blacked out optic and would barely be able to see the target.
Funnily enough, it’s the opposite when I run PCC. Since I’m right handed, my right eye is what looks through the optic on PCC but since it’s so weak, even if I max out the brightness, it’s hard to see the reticle unless I close my left eye. But if I occlude the optic, it makes enough contrast that I can more easily pickup the reticle with both eyes open. It’s still not great but it’s better than without.
But I hardly ever do that- I’m almost exclusively a CO shooter.
I had no idea anyone would actually do that in a match!
Some very good shooters do.
In training I have it occluded but not at matches
Dryfire about 80% of time occluded dot. Live fire and matches never occluded. Dry fire Wide transitions in movement seems harder to get acceptable site picture. All static dry fire practice haven’t noticed difference occluded or not. If index off draw slightly off easier to make micro adjustments non occluded dot to correct.
Interesting points.
I agree with you, but there will come a time when you younger bucks will need a red dot to shoot. Lol. When I was younger, I was a iron sight guy, but now I'm getting older my eyes are getting bad and need a red / green dot.
I’m wondering how you know if you’re dot or target focused . I can never remember seeing my dot at matches so I’m assuming that I’m target focused ? I do focus on my dot when I zero but it’s very slow and deliberate.
Dots are focused to infinity so you don’t gain additional clarity when you “focus” on it, rather you lose the visual information down range from the target.
You should definitely see the dot. Focus and awareness are two different things.
@@NilsJonasson Copy that - well put - I’d say I must be aware as the A’s are there but definitely not focused
As much! Lolol. Awesome.
A question I have for you. When you use your red dot to use both eyes or just one eye?
Both eyes for sure.
@@NilsJonasson thanks just wanted another opinion that I respect.
Once you occlude, you nevwr go nude. They should sell dots that are already covered. I never take the tape off
I am faster with an occluded dot and it works great until it doesn't and then the wheels fall off. Hard leans and off balance shots is where and occluded dot falls off for me.
Did you test weak hand and using weak hand eye?
No but I also don’t use my weak eye when shooting left handed.
Paying for a quality lens then covering it?
Stupid question: Why not leave the dot off?
I love iron sights. Probably my preference.
@@NilsJonasson My preference as well, but few people are shooting L10/SS/Production near me. My original question was why occlude the dot instead of leaving it powered off? What am I missing?
What are looking for when you sort your brass. Random question i know. But you sorted the whole vid.
I was sorting out once fired brass from my regular reloads.
Different primer in the easiest way to tell the difference.
Thanks for the info I haven’t tried it yet i just started shooting uspsa have done 7 matches so far getting in the 20s out of 65. What would be the one thing you would suggest i try to get to the next level
At the end of the day, it’s all about the fundamentals.
Grip, sight alignment, trigger press.
@@NilsJonasson you make it look so dam easy!!! I am slowly starting to get my nerves in check before im up and that has helped me alot Keep up the great work!!!!! Fellow Canik fanatic!!!!
I was occluding in dryfire and practice, but just YOLO’d it and occlude all the time now. I come from only irons so it’s helping me quite a bit. Swapping to a dot has been somewhat of a challenge but I’m learning new things every time I shoot so can’t be mad about it!
What distance do you sight your dot at