How to get your ‘back sight’ right
It’s almost impossible to shoot consistently well unless your gun fits and accommodates your eye dominance. So how do we ensure that all is correct?
Eye dominance could be affecting your shooting. Michael Yardley looks at causes and solutions
When you fire a rifle (or a pistol) it’s a given that the sights should be adjusted correctly. A shotgun, however, does not normally have a rear sight but you effectively create one as the face comes into contact with the stock comb. If the stock fit is wrong, it is like moving the rear sight of a rifle or pistol up, down or sideways – it will affect shot placement profoundly at the target. With a shotgun, other factors may impact your sighting, most notably your eye dominance and mounting technique. They all interact and may alter where the shot charge ends up.
Addressing gun fit in isolation is never enough; ‘dry fitting’ a gun in a shop is inevitably incomplete. There is always a need for further testing, ideally at both pattern plate and clay targets. Even if your eye is looking straight along the rib (as it should for most people) and the basic physical fit of gun to shooter seems ok, undiagnosed eye-dominance issues can cause you to shoot to one side of the mark. Similarly, a poor gun mount may cause various errors of impact as well as making it difficult to access and remedy gun fit properly. They are all connected. They need to be understood and dealt with together.
Many never get their shotgun ‘back sight’ right and struggle on regardless,
often not knowing there is a problem and accepting habitually average performance. I see it frequently with people who love their inherited gun but have a different build to the person for whom it was originally built. So, accepting these three key components – gun fit, eye dominance and mounting technique – as fundamental to getting the back sight right, which should be addressed first? Probably eye dominance. Until you know what yours is, you cannot move reliably forward. I would say mounting comes next, because it is hard to fit a gun well to someone who has not learnt to mount consistently. Finally, with solid foundations on the vision and basic technique fronts, fit may be refined. Subtle changes may significantly, even radically, improve performance.
THE EYES HAVE IT
How should you test for eye dominance? Carefully. Seek professional assistance if required. It is easy to misdiagnose eye dominance or miss some of its subtleties. Eye dominance is certainly not just a question of ‘right or left’ – there are all sorts of individual variations. I now have no less than six categories: right; left; central vision (where neither eye is dominant); predominant right or left; and indeterminate vision, where both eyes may fight for control.
TWO SIMPLE EYE DOMINANCE TESTS
Pointing: this is easiest with an accomplice. Stand about 10 feet apart (farther if there is space), both square on. Facing each other, ask the testee: “Are you right- or left-handed? Do you have any tendency to be ambidextrous?” Those who are ambidextrous frequently do not have absolute dominance in one eye. So, if the answer to the question is yes, it is a warning to be heeded.
Commence testing: point at the friend with your hand, or visa versa if they are the testee. The pointer/testee must keep both eyes open initially. They should point with their declared stronger hand first, beginning with the extended arm/hand/index finger pointing straight down. To create a ‘target’ for the testee – a defined spot for them to point at, the tester should indicate a point just beneath their own right eye (or left if it is more natural – the tester need not keep both eyes open, of course).
Get the testee to point a couple of times without hesitation or too much deliberation. Don’t let them think about it too much. Some people will come up cleanly with one eye clearly acting as master – you will immediately note their finger in line with their ‘aiming’ eye. Some will be more hesitant; some will correct subtly or grossly and some will evidently be suffering from considerable visual confusion (and may instinctively try to close an eye to eliminate it). Try testing with both hands. The result may be different.
The circle method: ask the testee to ‘make a circle’, bringing the tip of thumb and index finger together – or you can use a material circle such as a curtain ring or loop of wire that can be held between the fingers (it may even be attached to a handle). Now ask the testee to extend the arm and look through the circle. You will see if the eye is well centred or to one side. It might also be high or low. Repeat the test with both hands, as for pointing. Again, results may differ.
Professional instructors may repeat these tests with a proven empty gun. I would never advise this for home testing as there are too many safety issues. You can, however, use a laser pointing device attached to a gun to test eye dominance.
You may also construct your own substitute pattern plates from card or painted board. Pay due regard to safety at all times (and always make sure that there is a good backstop before firing).
BASIC PATTERN-PLATE TESTING
I would normally work at a distance of 16 yards for eye dominance (and fit), sometimes 25 yards. Shoot at a mark centre of the ‘plate’ with both eyes open. Do not rush nor be too deliberate. Several shots should be fired, first with ‘gun up’, that is, premounted, then ‘gun down’, taking the shot as you would normally. Take special care to note where the first shot goes, then note where the pattern builds up. If steel shot is being used there may be ricochet. Protective glasses are always a must.
INTERPRETING RESULTS
Many men have long assumed, incorrectly, that they are right-eye dominant. Only about half of those I test professionally turn out to be absolutely right-eye dominant; many middle-aged, right-handed men test as only predominantly dominant in the right eye. Their absolute eye dominance has shifted with age, something of which they might not be aware and might explain a loss of form that they have wrongly tried to remedy by changing lead, etc. I put them into a different category (details to follow).
Only half of those I test turn out to be absolutely right-eye dominant
Some will have inconsistent dominance; the wrong eye may cut in occasionally. Other differences may relate to tiredness, bad technique or poor gunfit. We might call these variable eye dominance. For serious shooters it can become a significant issue, often most apparent on slow targets.
Dominance may change temporarily when we are tired/sleep deprived, ill or when we have been staring at a computer screen for too long or driving long distances. It may change more permanently with age. Men will often start to have eye dominance issues in their forties and fifties. Boys before puberty and most women may have ‘indeterminate’ eye dominance where both eyes seem to fight for control. (Closing or dimming the eye opposite the sighting rib, or, a physical block to vision – such as a well-positioned spot on shooting glasses – may be the best remedy.)
WHAT SHOULD YOU SEE?
I have a simple test when I buy a new gun or want to assess fit. I prove the firearm in question empty and raise it to a convenient (and safe) mark. Mid mount, I shut both eyes and complete the mount without excessive cheek pressure. Then I open my eyes. What I see now is critical. Am I looking straight down the rib? How much of the rib can I see? Does the rib look ramped upwards? Or am I seeing too much of the breech and fences? Am I looking to one side? Too high a rib may cause high shooting. Too little visible rib may create a flat or low shooting gun. An obstruction to the eye that is meant to be looking down the rib (such as the breech) may cause the wrong eye to take over. How much rib should one see? There is no definite answer but if you could put a pound coin on the breech end of the rib and still just see the bead, I would say that is about right for most people – a good starting point. Some prefer to see more rib than others.
I usually carry out the mounting test as described at the horizontal initially. Later, I will repeat it at 45 and 60 degrees with more cheek pressure. If I can ‘lose’ the bead that suggests the stock is too low (and many stocks are). Once you have carried out similar tests you can make temporary or permanent modifications to the gun. Without recourse to a gunmaker, an experimental comb raiser is easily made with a strip or two of card affixed to the gun with vinyl electricians’ tape (which will not usually damage finish). There is a caveat to this that must be added: some will need guns with extra cast – in this case, the well-fitted gun may not appear to have a ‘straight rib’ picture. The complexities go beyond the scope of this article but it may be noted here that many middle-aged men benefit from a little additional cast.
Appropriate action to get the back sight right once eye dominance has been established: you have diagnosed absolute dominance in the eye looking down rib. Keep both eyes open and forget everything but focus on the bird.
Predominant dominance: one eye clearly in control but with evident pull/interference from opposite eye. This usually indicates that both eyes should be kept open but you may need some extra cast. Or, alternatively, you should dim an eye or squint as you bring the gun to the bird. True cross-dominance creates the most options: you can change shoulders, you can close or dim the eye opposite the rib (having decided which shoulder you are most comfortable shooting from). You can create a block to the vision of the eye opposite the rib (again it might be a patch of vinyl tape on your shooting glasses). You might even consider a supplementary rib on outriggers (one was once used with great success at trap by Andrew Perkins, late of Holland & Holland). Occasional cross-dominance: this may be aggravated by too low a stock or caused by tiredness, etc, as discussed.
Central vision where neither eye dominant is rare: it is usually immediately obvious from a pointing test. Options include closing or dimming an eye, creating a physical block to vision, as discussed, or using a semi-cross-over stock. Though I do not tend to be a great fan of the latter, I usually advise simple squinting. Some people do succeed with semi-crossover stocks, however.
Indeterminate dominance: where both eyes fight for control is most interesting. It is not just seen in pre-pubescent boys and many women, it is encountered in adult men as well. Advice here is to close or dim an eye if possible, use a blinder or modify the shooting spectacles. It is a waste of time to change shoulders, although I have seen both youngsters and adults of both sexes misadvised to do this as a result of eye-dominance testing that was less than thorough and indeterminate dominance is misdiagnosed as cross dominance.
DOES YOUR GUN FIT?
Now we come to actual gun fit in a little more detail. It’s a big subject, so let us attempt to keep it simple here. Gun fit, of course, may be adjusted – like a rear sight – by moving the stock up or down (bend) or sideways (cast). This is usually done by means of infrared heat or hotoil. It is a gunsmith’s job usually best done with instructions from a professional fitter who has watched you at the plates and on clay targets. Material may be removed from the top of the stock comb or added to it (you may also add a temporary comb raiser yourself, either a pre-made rubber one – they are available in several heights – or by means of simple card strips as noted previously).
The side of the comb may be ‘swept’ – often seen on Holland & Holland and Churchill bespoke guns – and length of pull may be adjusted. Too long a stock may create mounting difficulties and could cause misses in the vertical plane or behind because mount and swing are impeded. Too short a stock – which will reduce control and may increase felt recoil – may be remedied by the temporary expedient of a slip-on recoil pad or the addition of a permanent one (a gunsmith’s job). Too much ‘toe’ at the butt sole may encourage high shooting. Too little length to heel and/or the lack of a distinct bump may allow the stock to slip down at the shoulder, again with high misses ensuing.
IMPROVING THE GUN MOUNT
If you have any doubts about your basic gun-mounting ability try – as both a training and remedial exercise – the Churchill system where the butt of the proven empty gun begins lightly squeezed under the armpit and the barrels are kept parallel to the line of sight as they are raised. This technique virtually ensures a good mount with the butt coming cleanly to face and shoulder (but remain muzzle aware).
Don’t be in a hurry. When you feel confident that the gun is coming up without a glitch you may try mounting with the stock a little lower and barrel more raised (that is, in a more conventional starting position). In a more classic address position, the comb should start roughly parallel with the top of the forearm with the barrels raised at about 45 degrees skywards.
Be aware of the muscles of the front arm and hand as you mount. Using the front hand well prevents the gun windmilling. The barrels should not zig zag above and below the line of sight during the mount. Keep your head still and your eyes focused forward, too.
Take all the above into consideration and you will be on your way to getting the backsight right. Then, all you should need to do is keep focused on the bird and keep the gun moving well. A shotgun with the ‘back-sight’ well adjusted to you should make shooting more natural and enjoyable.
Michael Yardley is a Fellow of the Association of Professional Shooting Instructors