Do you know which one of your eyes is dominant? It’s easy to determine eye dominance with a simple exercise. Pick an object about 6-10 feet away (a light switch or door knob works well). Make an “OK” sign with your right hand (see photo) and hold that about 18″ from your face. Now, with both eyes open, look through the circle formed by your thumb and index finger. Center the circle on the object, so you can see the object in the middle.
Now, here’s the important part — while still holding your hand up, centered on the object, first close your right eye. If you don’t see the object anymore, then your right eye is dominant. If you still see the object, then repeat the procedure with the left eye shut and right eye open. If you don’t see the object when your left eye (only) is closed, then you are left-eye dominant.
The digital archives of Shooting Sports USA contain many interesting articles. A while back, Shooting Sports USA featured a “must-read” expert Symposium on Eye Dominance, as it affects both rifle and pistol shooting. No matter whether you have normal dominance (i.e. your dominant eye is on the same side as your dominant hand), or if you have cross-dominance, you’ll benefit by reading this excellent article. The physiology and science of eye dominance is explained by Dr. Norman Wong, a noted optometrist. In addition, expert advice is provided by champion shooters such as David Tubb, Lones Wigger, Dennis DeMille, Julie Golob, Jessie Harrison, and Phil Hemphill. NOTE: If the story doesn’t open at the links, go to the ssusa.org home page first, indicate you are over 18, and then CLICK HERE.
Top Rifle Champions Talk About Eye Dominance:
David Tubb — 11-Time National High Power Champion
I keep both eyes open, always. Some use an opaque blinder in rifle or shotgun shooting. If you close your non-dominant eye, you will not get as good a sight picture. If your aiming eye is not your dominant eye, you have even more of a problem to overcome.
Lones Wigger — World, National and Olympic Champion Rifleman
Shooters should try to use the dominant eye unless the vision is impaired and the non-dominant eye has better vision. You should always shoot with both eyes open since this will allow the shooting eye to function properly.
Dennis DeMille — National Service Rifle Champion
I close my non-shooting eye initially. Once I pick up my sight picture, it’s not something I focus on. For those that use a patch, I recommend that they use something white to block their view, rather than cover the eye.
Bruce Piatt — 2025 World Action Pistol Team Championship — Member of Winning Team CMP-USA
Some shooters, especially those with nearly equal or cross-dominance, will naturally find themselves squinting one eye. When anyone does this, you are also closing your dominant eye to some extent and adding stress to your face.
Forum member 1LessDog calling in coyotes in a cold North Dakota winter landscape.
Forum member DNorton posted: “I live way up north where our white sandy beaches look like this!”
There is a nice thread in our Forum appropriately entitled “Winter Time”. You’ll find some great backcountry images taken by our Forum members. Winter is a special time in the outdoors. Forum member JDP explains: “Winter is the best time to shoot! One of the few of life’s ironies that works in my favor. The range is empty and barrels keep cool, no bugs, no waiting on people, no mirage. Yup, this world needs more thin blooded snow birds. This cool weather is terrible and dangerous, tell your friends! Do people get lonely while shooting or something? It’s the true holiday season in multiple ways.”
These two images come from Forum member Bill K on a winter varmint safari. He posted: “This was Varmint Shooter’s truck [showing the outside temperature] when we set up.” Brrrr… that’s cold.
The above photo is from Forum member 1LessDog, who posted: “The mound behind the Coyote is a Indian burial mound. There are six of them within a half mile of this one. I would really like to know how many coyotes I have shot off the mound. I would guess 4-5 a year over 35 years. It is one of my favorite spots to call from… any time I have a South to Southeast wind[.]”
Forum member Bojo posted images of his hunting trip in Northwestern Pennsylvania last week. Bojo wrote: “It was an early winter for us — temps from low 20s to mid 40s through a week’s swing. Our cold hits hard in January/February.”
The Vortex Blog contains an interesting article featuring recommended gear for a coyote hunting trip in late winter/early spring. This Vortex article covers all the items you’ll need: rifle, optics, shooting sticks, insulated clothing, Laser Rangefinder, game calls, carry packs and more.
In the article intro, Vortex notes: “Winter snow and cold temps don’t get Vortex’s Bill Krivanek down. In fact, quite the opposite. This time of year, he’s fired up about calling coyotes and putting a little fur on the ground. “There’s so much to love about these crafty critters”, said Bill. “They nearly always have the advantage. When you get one to come in to shooting range, you’ve really accomplished something. It’s as exciting as hunting gets.” CLICK HERE to read the FULL Article with a complete description of each item, shown in the lead photo above.
With snow on the ground and sub-freezing temperatures in much of the country, we hope our readers are staying warn indoors with family members this Christmas Eve day. To provide a bit of entertainment we’ve found six videos that combine a holiday theme with the shooting sports.
In this fun video, YouTube host 22plinkster plays a holiday tune on steel plates. Using a Henry Golden Boy .22 LR lever gun, 22plinkster performs a plate-by-plate musical rendition of Jingle Bells. To hit each tuned plate in the right order takes considerable skill and concentration. But we thank 22plinkster for offering this special holiday shooting range concert.
Here we have 22plinkster once again. He wanted to see how many Christmas ornaments could be penetrated by one .22 LR round. To answer that burning question, he lined up 40 plastic Xmas bulbs in a row and then fired a single round of CCI .22 LR Velocitor ammo through the bunch, using his Henry Golden Boy lever action rifle. Did the bullet penetrate a dozen ornaments? Two dozen? What do you think? Watch the video to find out the surprising answer.
From a modest .22 LR rifle we move on to the real big boomers — military canons. This holiday-themed video shows multiple large-bore artillery pieces. The video is accompanied with a background tune based on the classic “12 days of Christmas”. If you’re a fan of military hardware and history, you should enjoy this clever video from the Matsimus YouTube Channel.
Christmas Gifts for Gun Guys and Gals
Need to do some last-minute shopping for your shooting buddies and/or gun-friendly family members? Here are three videos that provide gift recommendations for gun guys and gals. Suggestions include hunting accessories, knives, reloading equipment, and some handsome handguns and rifles. Warning — you may find a few items you end up buying for yourself.
The type of targets you use can make a difference during load development and training — helping you align your crosshairs, estimate group size visually, and also record load data/gun type. Here we provide selection of FREE printable precision and training targets. This selection includes popular load development targets AccurateShooter created as well as other useful grid targets. You can download ALL these targets as PDF files and then print them out on 8.5×11″ heavy paper.
AccurateShooter.com offers a cool page with over 50 FREE downloadable targets. You’ll find all types or FREE targets — sight-in targets, varmint targets, rimfire targets, bullseye targets, tactical targets, load development targets and more. CLICK HERE for all our free targets, including our LOAD DEV target.
We created the above target a decade ago. Since then it has been used by tens of thousands of shooters. It has proven very popular as a load development target, since all your load data fits neatly in the boxes under each target. In fact this target is being employed by both rifle-makers and barrel-makers (including Criterion) to test their products. The target was designed for aiming efficiency. The diamonds have 1/2″ sides and you can align your cross-hairs on the horizontal and vertical lines. It is a clean design that is easy to see even at 200 yards with a 20X scope. When we test, we usually crank in a little elevation, setting the point-of-impact higher, so that our shots fall in the gray circles. That way you leave the squares intact for precise aiming.
Versatile Targets with Multiple Aiming Points
We use the two targets below for load development and precision practice. For the left target, use the corners of the diamonds to align your cross-hairs precisely. The circle dot target (on the right) can also be used for informal rimfire competition at 50 yards. Right-Click Each Target to Download Printable PDFs.
Know-Your-Limits Target for Rimfire Training & Fun Matches
Here’s a rimfire training target with “big to small” target circles. Start with the largest circles, then move to the smaller ones in sequence. This systematic drill provides increasing challenge shot-by-shot. Novices often are quite surprised to see their accuracy improve as they move from bigger to smaller aiming points. That provides positive feedback — always a good thing.
Right Click and “Save as” to download printable PDF versions of target.
Five Diamond Grid Targets
Here’s a popular grid target with multiple red diamond aiming points. The background includes a grid pattern with 1″ squares — that helps to quickly estimate group size through your scope. We recommend using a color printer for this target so the diamonds and grid lines are bright red.
Here’s a NRA-type target for pistol shooting. The bright red center helps when shooting indoors because well-placed bullet holes are much more visible. This target includes data entry boxes to record gun type, score, and load data. This is one of many good free targets available at Targets4free.com.
This 50 Cal Days of Christmas video features some fantastic slow-motion footage of a Barrett .50 Caliber M82. This bad boy pumps out some serious muzzle flash. Watch carefully at the 1:05 mark and you can see the .50-caliber projectile exit the muzzle brake and spin through the ball of smoke and flame. For best viewing, you may want to change your video settings to 720p or 1080p High Definition and view full-screen (using the video controls).
The video carries “overkill” to the max, as the shooter uses his big Barrett to blast Christmas ornaments and a snow-globe. To top things off, at the 2:50 mark, the shooter fires the .50 cal at a pyro-equipped gingerbread house. (The gingerbread shot is taken from a standing hold no less!) The results (at 3:22) are impressive — gingerbread house becomes flaming gingerbread pudding.
In this video, former Army Ranger sniper team leader Ryan Cleckner explains how proper head and scope position is a critical component to accurate shooting. Ryan finds that some shooters place the scope too far forward or too far rearward. If the scope is too far back you may have issues with eye relief and stock reach to shoulder. If it is too far forward, you may have cheek-weld problems or get neck strain. Cleckner cautions: “When you are in a good prone position, you don’t want any strain in your neck muscles or back.”
In the video, Cleckner offers a simple method to check your scope position:
“To see if your scope is set up properly … close your eyes, lay your head on your gun, get completely comfortable, and only when you are set-up, then open your eyes. If you can’t see clearly through your scope, CHANGE something [such as comb height or scope position]”.
“When you open your eyes, if you see some scope shadow [i.e. the black ring around the edge of the scope picture], figure out which way you need to move your head to get rid of that shadow, and then make adjustments to either your position, the rifle, or the scope.”
“Very often you’ll open your eyes and realize you need to move further back or further forward. Instead of moving your position [or head], move the scope and get it set up properly.”
Tip on Viewing Your Reticle:
Cleckner: “Sometimes it can be difficult to focus between the target and the reticle, even with the parallax adjusted properly. I recommend you focus only on the reticle. Just like the front sight on a rifle or a handgun, that reticle is what you can control, and it’s what matters. Focus on a crisp, clear reticle, in a stable platform, and all that’s left is trigger control.”
Long Range Shooting Handbook — A Good Resource Cleckner’s Long Range Shooting Handbook covers a wide range of topics important for precision marksmanship — both shooting skills and technical matters. You can view Sample Chapters from Ryan’s Book on Amazon.com. Cleckner’s book is designed as an intro to key concepts such as MOA vs. Mils, External Ballistics, and Environmental Effects. Included are personal tips and advice based on Cleckner’s years of experience as a sniper instructor and special operations sniper.
The Long Range Shooting Handbook is divided into three main categories: What It Is/How It Works, Fundamentals, and How to Use It. “What It Is/How It Works” covers equipment, terminology, and basic principles. “Fundamentals” covers the theory of long range shooting. “How to Use It” gives practical advice on implementing what you’ve learned, so you can progress as a skilled, long range shooter.
Ryan Cleckner was a special operations sniper (1/75 RGR) and he served as a U.S. Army sniper instructor. Currently he works as a firearms industry executive and practicing firearms attorney.
Kirsten Joy Weiss has created a useful video about Dry-Fire practice. Dry-Fire is a method of training without a live round in the chamber. Dry-Firing is effective, Kirsten explains, because “it eliminates all the extra noise and messages that you get when you fire a live round. Without recoil, without the sound of a shot going off etc., all you hear is the click of the trigger. This allows you to focus on your sight picture and your trigger press.” This the lastest installment in Kirsten’s ‘How to Shoot Awesomely’ series. Kisten says: “I hope it helps you, and keep on aiming true!”
The Benefits of Dry-Fire Training
If you are not doing Dry-Fire practice yet, then it’s time to start. Dry-Fire training is essential to the sling disciplines, and very useful for F-Class. Dennis DeMille, a national Service Rifle Champion, told us that, for every minute he spent in actual competition, he would spend hours practicing without ammunition. While in the USMC, Dennis would practice in the barracks, working on his hold and dry-firing:
“The most important thing is to spend time off the range practicing. Most of what I learned as a High Power shooter I learned without ammunition — just spending time dry firing and doing holding exercises. Holding exercises will really identify the weak parts of your position. The primary purpose of dry firing is to get you used to shooting an empty rifle. If you can shoot a loaded rifle the same way you shoot an empty rifle then eventually you will become a High Master.”
Dry-Fire Training Can Benefit Benchrest Shooters
What about benchrest? Well, we’ve found that Dry-Fire sessions can even benefit benchresters — it can help reveal flaws in your trigger technique, or inconsistencies in the way you address the rifle from shot to shot. With the gun set up with your front rest and rear bag, if you see the scope’s cross-hairs wiggle a lot when you pull the trigger, you need to work on your technique. Also, dry-fire practice can help you learn to work the bolt more smoothly so you don’t disturb the gun on the bags.
Winter solstice — December 21, 2025 — is ten days away. We’re seeing extremely cold temperatures throughout many northerly states, with lots of snow falling on the ground. And some very cold weather is predicted this coming weekend. For American firearms fans in those colder climes, indoor training is the only realistic option this time of year.
AccuWeather forecasters warn that very cold temperatures with significant snowfall will hit the Northeast in the next few days. CLICK HERE for Accuweather Weather Report.
This article explains some key points to remember when shooting at indoor ranges. Always remember — safety first. Be especially careful to follow ALL the rules of safe gun handling. And even before you get to the range, make sure your guns are transported safely and in compliance with all local laws. In some states firearm(s) and ammunition must be kept in separate containers during transport.
This Video Covers Basic Gun Range Safety Rules and Etiquette
FIVE IMPORTANT SAFETY PROCEDURES for Indoor Ranges
1. Follow the Three Fundamental Rules for Safe Gun Handling
ALWAYS keep the gun pointed in a safe direction. ALWAYS keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot. ALWAYS keep the gun unloaded until ready to use.
2. Follow ALL Range Officer Instructions
ROs are the first and final authority on any range and their decisions are generally final. Arguing with a Range Officer may just get you thrown out.
3. Don’t Bother Others or Touch Their Guns
Respect other shooters’ privacy unless a safety issue arises. Do NOT engage other shooters to correct a perceived safety violation unless absolutely necessary – inform the RO instead. NEVER handle or touch another shooter’s firearm without their permission!
4. Know Your Range’s Rules
Review and understand any and all range rules and requirements/expectations. For example, what is the range’s maximum rate of fire? Are you allowed to collect your brass?
5. Know What To Do During a Cease Fire
IMMEDIATELY set down your firearm, pointed downrange, and STEP AWAY from the shooting booth (or bench). Range Officers do not want shooters trying to “secure/unload” their firearms in a cease fire situation — they want the shooters separated from their guns instantly.
BAD RANGE BEHAVIOR — Five Things NOT to Do at the Range
Here are the five worst behaviors we’ve seen at indoor ranges. These behaviors are both dangerous and inconsiderate. Any one of these behaviors can get you permanently banned from an indoor range.
1. Sweeping other individuals after loading a weapon behind the firing line is very bad. All your weapons should be empty until you reach your shooting station.
2. Turning the handgun sideways while trying to clear a malfunction or insert/remove a magazine. This will point the muzzle at a fellow shooter. Or, after shooting a gun, the shooter fails to clear the weapon and then places the gun somewhere near the shooting station with the muzzle in an unsafe position.
3. Reacting unpredictably when firing a high recoil handgun. We’ve seen people take a second shot by accident with the muzzle way off target.
4. Not obeying range commands — in particular continuing to shoot during called cease-fires.
5. Poorly aimed shooting that hits target frames or carriers, causing ricochets.
Double-Up on Hearing Protection When Shooting Indoors
When shooting indoors we recommend quality muffs with earplugs underneath, offering double protection. When inside an enclosed range, with other shooters blasting away right next to you, you really need effective hearing protection. But you also need to hear range commands and be able to communicate. That’s why we recommend electronic muffs with plugs underneath.
For indoor rifle and pistol shooting, we like the latest Howard Leight Leightning L3 Ear Muffs. These offer an outstanding 30 dB Noise Reduction Rating (NRR). In addition, these muffs are pretty comfortable. These muffs are now $32.99 at MidwayUSA (great deal) and $37.41 on Amazon with FREE Delivery.
NOTE: The contest is OVER, so ignore information on the PDF about submitting targets — that’s from back in 2013.
Here’s a target for the holidays that can provide some fun at the range. This Christmas Tree Target was created by Sierra Bullets for a 2013 contest. This contest is now over, but you can still have fun with the target. This tree target is designed to be shot at 15 yards with pistol, or at 100 yards with rifle.
Santa’s Extra Accuracy Challenge
Start with the big circles, and then work your way down to the small circles (7,8,9,10) as you build your confidence. Shoot the gifts for bonus points.
For an extra challenge (with an accurate rifle), try working your way back up to the top, aiming for the X-Marks in the circles and finishing with the small, inset star at the top. Try to hit each X-Mark and then put your final shot in the inner star. Have fun!
Christmas is less than three weeks away. If you are looking for a great gift for a shooting buddy, books have always been popular holiday gifts. Here are some recommended titles that should please the serious shooters and firearms enthusiasts on your shopping list. For shooting clubs, books also make great end-of-season member awards. Most of us would rather have a useful book than one more piece of wood to toss in a box in the closet. Check out these ten titles — for yourself or your shooting buddies.
Here Are TEN Great BOOKS Recommended for Serious Shooters:
If you’re a serious long-range shooter, consider adding this book to your library. Relying on extensive ballistics testing, Modern Advancements, Volume II is a great successor to Volume I that contains some fascinating research results. UK gun writer Laurie Holland notes: “Volume II of the Modern Advancements series is as fascinating as Volume I and if anything even more valuable given a series of ‘mythbusters’ tests including: case fill-ratio, primer flash-hole uniforming, neck tension, annealing, and much more. The work also addresses that perennial discussion of a bullet ‘going to sleep’ and shooting smaller groups (in MOA) at longer distances than 100 yards.” The amount of testing done for this Volume II work, with a staggering amount of rounds sent downrange, makes this book unique among shooting resources. There is a ton of “hard science” in this book — not just opinions.
Nancy Tompkins is one of the greatest long-range shooters in American history. She has won five National Long-range Championships. Tompkins’ treatise is a must-read for serious Palma, F-Class, and High Power shooters. The revised Second edition includes F-Class equipment and techniques, and newly updated information. Color pictures. Topics include Mental & Physical training, Reading Wind & Mirage Shooting Fundamentals, International Competition, and Loading for Long Range. Nancy Tompkins is a 4-time winner of the National Long Range Championships, and has won countless other major events. Nancy has been on six Palma Teams (as both a shooter and a coach).
The lastest edition of The Wind Book was released in 2020. The updates make this very helpful 144-page book even better. The Wind Book for Rifle Shooters by Linda Miller and Keith Cunningham, first published in 2007, is a very informative resource. But you don’t have to take our word for it. If you click this link, you can read book excerpts on Amazon.com. This lets you preview the first few chapters, and see some illustrations. Other books cover wind reading in a broader discussion of ballistics or long-range shooting. But the Miller & Cunningham book is ALL about wind reading from cover to cover, and that is its strength. The book focuses on real world skills that can help you accurately gauge wind angle, wind velocity, and wind cycles. Readers have praised the book, earning it 93% 4- and 5-star reviews on Amazon.
Ryan Cleckner is noted for his ability to explain complex topics in an easy-to-comprehend manner. Now Cleckner has authored a book, the Long Range Shooting Handbook, which expands on the topics covered in Cleckner’s popular NSSF video series. The Long Range Shooting Handbook is divided into three main categories: What It Is/How It Works, Fundamentals, and How to Use It. “What It Is/How It Works” covers equipment, terminology, and basic principles. “Fundamentals” covers the theory of long range shooting. “How to Use It” gives practical advice on implementing what you’ve learned, so you can progress as a skilled, long range shooter. You can view Sample Chapters from Ryan’s Book on Amazon.com.
Visualization is a process of mental preparation that is done before you get to the range. Many of the greatest shooting champions have used this technique to get ready for big matches, and to optimize their performance during record fire. If you want to enhance your “mental game” through pre-match visualization, we strongly recommend Lanny Bassham’s book, With Winning in Mind. As a competitive smallbore 3P shooter, Bassham developed a mental management system. Using this system, Lanny Bassham won 22 world individual and team titles, set four world records, and captured an Olympic Gold Medal in Montreal in 1976. His techniques have been embraced by professional and Olympic athletes in many sports. With Winning in Mind covers a complete system of “mental management” techniques used by Olympians and elite champions.
Thinking of getting started in the Practical/Tactical shooting game? Looking for ways to be more stable when shooting from unconventional positions? Then you may want to read Marcus Blanchard’s Practical Shooter’s Guide (A How-To Approach for Unconventional Firing Positions and Training). Unlike almost every “how to shoot” book on the market, Blanchard’s work focuses on the shooting skills and positions you need to succeed in PRS matches and similar tactical competitions. Blanchard provides clear advice on shooting from barricades, from roof-tops, from steep angles. Blanchard says you need to train for these types of challenges: “I believe the largest factor in the improvement of the average shooter isn’t necessarily the gear; it’s the way the shooter approaches obstacles and how they properly train for them.”
The Rifle Shooter by G. David Tubb, $34.95 (Softcover) — $5.00 on Sale
This book by 11-time National High Power Champion David Tubb focuses on position shooting and High Power disciplines. Section One covers fundamentals: position points, natural point of aim, breathing, triggering mechanics and follow-through, sling selection and use, getting started, getting better, avoiding obstacles. Section Two covers mechanics of offhand, sitting, and prone positions. Section Three covers shooting skills, including wind reading and mental preparation. Section Four covers the technical side of shooting, with extensive discussions of rifle design, load development, reloading barrel maintenance, and rifle fitting. We consider this book a “must-read” for any sling shooter, and there is plenty of good advice for F-Class shooters too.
Another fine book for PRS/NRL shooting is Precision Rifle Marksmanship: The Fundamentals by Frank Galli, founder of SnipersHide.com. Former USMC scout-sniper Frank Galli explains techniques will benefit any PRS/NRL competitor. Along with position shooting tips, Galli offers great wind-reading advice. Published in 2020, Galli’s treatise is four years newer than Blanchard’s book, so it includes more of the latest gear and equipment. Galli’s book covers the fundamentals of precision marksmanship with easy-to-understand methodology. The book follows the same instruction process Galli uses in his live marksmanship classes. Published in 2020, this well-illustrated, 272-page book covers the latest equipment (scopes, LRFs, chassis systems, magazines, bags, bipods, tripods) favored by tactical competitors in PRS/NRL type matches.
Tony Boyer, the most successful shooter in the history of short-range benchrest competition, shares match-winning tips in this 323-page book. The book covers all aspect of the benchrest discipline: loading, windflags, rest set-up, addressing the rifle, and match strategies. This is a high-quality publication, filled with valuable insights. Every serious benchrest shooter should read Tony’s book. Boyer has dominated registered benchrest in a fashion that will never be duplicated, having amassed 142 U.S. Benchrest Hall of Fame points. The next closest shooter, Allie Euber, has 47 Hall of Fame points. This handsome, full-color book is 323 pages long, with color photos or color illustrations on nearly every page.
Cartridges of the World (17th Edition), belongs in every serious gun guy’s library. This massive 704-page reference, the most complete cartridge reference guide in print, contains illustrations and basic load data for over 1500 cartridges. If you load for a wide variety of cartridges, or are a cartridge collector, this book is a “must-have” resource. The latest 2022 edition includes dozens of new cartridges and boasts 1500+ photos. The 17th Edition of Cartridges of the World includes cartridge specs, plus tech articles on Cartridge identification, SAAMI guidelines, wildcatting, and new cartridge design trends. Cartridges of the World now includes a full-color section with feature articles.