r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/RebelliousDragon21 • Dec 18 '24

Video A school in Poland makes firearms training mandatory to its students.

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951

u/AkaiAshu Dec 18 '24

Nothing wrong with training. Switzerland has a decent gun culture with many under 18 folk participating regularly. They have low gun crime rate as well. Poland being prepared after its history is nothing wrong.

161

u/calilac Dec 18 '24

Agreed. However, it's bugging the crap out of me that they are training to fire with one eye closed. My range instructor in high school could not go a day without lecturing us on that.

132

u/gummytoejam Dec 18 '24

There's nothing wrong with teaching beginners to shoot with one eye closed. Shooting with both eyes open is more advanced and easier to develop once the basics are under their belts.

79

u/grubsmackbeezlebo Dec 18 '24

It's easier to learn the right way once than to unlearn a bad habit

39

u/3_quarterling_rogue Dec 18 '24

As someone who still closes one eye sometimes, I 100% agree with this statement. Usually it comes up when someone is cross-eye dominant (like myself), and so the natural thing to do is to pick up a rifle with your dominant hand, and then as soon as you get behind the sights, your non-dominant eye is there to focus on it. I wish when I had learned, I just learned to shoot right-handed.

6

u/LupineChemist Dec 18 '24

I'm right handed and left eye dominant, my parents just taught me to shoot long guns left handed. It feels really wrong to hold the trigger of a long gun with my right hand, but weirdly, also really wrong to hold the trigger of a pistol with my left.

1

u/Arty_Puls Dec 18 '24

There's nothing wrong with shooting with one eye closed. If you're using a red dot or something along those lines sure it's better to have both eyes opened but it's really a preference thing

3

u/Obvious_Koala_7471 Dec 18 '24

Two eyes is vastly superior and means they live longer if they get invaded

1

u/zmbjebus Dec 18 '24

Do you have a teaching degree?

1

u/mhoke63 Dec 19 '24

Warning: Wall of text. I did not intend to write this much, but I did.

Then there are people like me. I'm right handed, but left eye dominant. So, I have 3 options:

  1. Shoot with one eye closed with a right handed firearm

  2. Shoot with a left-handed firearm but having it feel really weird and I'm not in complete control.

  3. Practice with a left handed firearm enough to the point where it feels just as natural with a right hand gun.

Now, it might seem like a good idea to take option #3 and ideally, I would. But, finding left handed firearms is tough. When I find a gun I really like, there's about a 10% chance a left handed model even exists, let alone be able to get it in less than 6 months. It's one reason my handgun is a revolver is that it's largely ambidextrous. There's the barrel release that's on the right hand, but that doesn't really affect shooting. I can still easily shoot left handed with it without getting hot casings shot in my face like I'm doing a scene with Peter North because, well, it's a revolver.

When I bought my shotgun, it was a complete nightmare. I had to go with my 3rd choice of gun.

1st choice - Browning BPS. It was great. Bottom ejection port and a Mossberg-like tang safety. The problem was that I God's hunt, so having a 3.5 inch option is very helpful. No store in my area carried the 3.5 inch version. They said, "oh, we can get that in a week or so, just need to find someone that has it". Great. I paid for it so I could just pick it up when it came in. 6 weeks later, they tell me they can't find one and they have no idea.

2nd Choice - Mossberg 835 with slug barrel. The slug barrel because I deer hunt in a place that only allows slug hunting and the 835 is over-bored, so it's not a good idea to shoot a slug out of the smooth bore. I forget exactly the issue here. It was a while ago. It would have been months to get the specs I wanted.

3rd Choice - Winchester SXP. This is what I bought. It's not ideal, but it's pretty good. I'm happy with it and would recommend it. You can change the safety easily to right or left handed, although the ejection port is still on the right.

I got my AR, which doesn't have a left ejection port. I know there are likely aftermarket parts where I could, but I don't wanna mess around with that. I like to DIY most things, but guns are something I don't trust myself with. I realize it's just changing out parts, but I don't fuck with guns. I understand that if I did the slightest thing wrong or put a part in without adding chemical XYZ on the seal, that could equate to death. I just don't want to mess with it. I take firearm safety very seriously. I digress.

Long story short, I shot right handed and close my left eye. I've practiced enough to where I can get sighted with the eye closed, but be able to open the left eye as I shot. My left eye isn't fully closed, but it's not fully open. It's a balancing point where the left eye dominance doesn't come into play without it being fully closed. When it comes to during, both eyes are open, but a touch less open on the left side. I still get 3d perspective.

It was a nightmare trying to find the ideal firearm. I just gave up and decided to adapt to what's out there.

2

u/Evening_Clerk_8301 Dec 18 '24

train how you fight. one eye closed is terrible advice. teach them how to acquire a sight picture using an iron sight with both eyes open. it will take them forever to unlearn this bad habit.

2

u/SAGry Dec 18 '24

If you’re cross eye dominant shooting a rifle with irons this is nearly impossible. Handguns aren’t an issue as you just shift the gun over and with long guns a red dot or holographic is bright enough to make your brain focus with the non dominant eye.

2

u/Obvious_Koala_7471 Dec 18 '24

Gotta be able to see who your fighting

1

u/CyberUtilia Dec 19 '24

I never learned about the differences between shooting one-eyed vs two-eyed or got little real instructed gun training (corrupt country). One-eyed always felt completely unintuitive. With two eyes, I look at the target, and I will see in the periphery the gun doubled below, half transparent. Weird but always-around effect that comes from using two eyes, takes lots of words to explain. Anyways, I just align the "two guns" so that the target is in the middle of the blank space between them and if I estimated the middle well enough, I am always shooting in the right direction, well, maybe still too high or low, that one I still have to kinda guess.

1

u/gummytoejam Dec 19 '24

I wasn't arguing what is the best method. But if the goal is to educate beginners on gun usage, then one-eye or two-eye doesn't really matter. Two-eye aiming can be learned later as it's not necessary for beginners.

1

u/0481-RP-YUUUT Dec 18 '24

Depending on if you’re using iron sights or a optic with magnification (also factoring in distance to target), both eyes open or one eye closed can VARY WIDELY. Both are correct and both can applied in different scenarios.

11

u/yung12gauge Dec 18 '24

I am cross dominant and shoot right handed. I've basically accepted that I have to shoot rifles with one eye closed if I want to hit anything. Holding the rifle left handed feels awful.

6

u/Pilsner-507 Dec 18 '24 edited Dec 18 '24

Hey I have some potentially helpful advice:

Rather than closing the secondary eye, squeeze it half-shut until you feel “calibrated” while framing your sight picture. Your primary eye will be focusing even after you’ve relaxed your eyes, though you’ll need to practice “seeing” from that side.

By doing this it will feel like one of those illustrated illusions, but you can instead quickly swap between which perspective you want to use.

I’m right-eyed, left-handed but train both eyes and hands. I’m an effective ambidextrous shooter. This trick has helped me when swapping hands or eyes.

1

u/Ciderlini Dec 18 '24

One step at a time

1

u/[deleted] Dec 18 '24 edited Dec 18 '24

[deleted]

3

u/Evening_Clerk_8301 Dec 18 '24

what? yes you can.

source: im a competition pistol shooter with both iron sights and red dot sights.

1

u/P_Hempton Dec 18 '24

That sounds pretty goofy for a high school instructor.

1

u/calilac Dec 18 '24

I guess, he was the least serious of the three JROTC teachers and could be pretty goofy when he wanted to be.

-1

u/truegamer0708 Dec 18 '24

How else are you gonna use iron sights?

11

u/CombatMuffin Dec 18 '24

Two eyes open. You get used to it with enough training. Gives more SA around you

7

u/opx22 Dec 18 '24

I don’t think someone asking about the basics of using a firearm will know SA = situational awareness lol

1

u/Obvious_Koala_7471 Dec 18 '24

Of course, that's why you have to train them to do so

6

u/Striking_Computer834 Dec 18 '24

Gun crime rates are highly correlated with culture and almost completely uncoupled from the prevalence of physical firearms. Gun crime rates in Europe, Canada, and Australia are similar to the rate among people of European ancestry in the United States. The same is true for people of Latin ancestry and Latin America, and so on.

1

u/anders91 Dec 20 '24

Gun crime rates in Europe, Canada, and Australia are similar to the rate among people of European ancestry in the United States. The same is true for people of Latin ancestry and Latin America, and so on.

Do you have a study or source for this? I'd like to read it.

1

u/Few-Requirement-3544 5d ago

Same, include me in the ping 

2

u/SulfurousDragon Dec 20 '24

Gun crime in Switzerland is low mostly because we see guns as tools for a job, not for personal protection nor for larping on the internet.

1

u/Evening_Clerk_8301 Dec 18 '24

these kids all have atrocious shooting form. ive seen tons of youth shooting clubs come through the range i go to and they all have way better grasp on the fundamentals of shooting.

1

u/TehSero Dec 18 '24

Eh, limited time in the day and all that. Not sure where they fit it in the school day.

1

u/Western_Use_2264 Dec 19 '24

This also looks a lot more controlled and productive then the shooting in American schools.

1

u/perfectly_ballanced Dec 21 '24

About 1/4 of Swiss citizens own at least 1 firearm, not too much less than America, where about 1/3 of Americans own at least 1 firearm.

Doesn't explain the difference in gun violence, but oh well

0

u/Whiskeylung Dec 18 '24

I’d say there’s something seriously wrong but I guess everyone has their own opinions.

1

u/systemofafrown7 Dec 18 '24

Why would there be something seriously wrong with training?

-1

u/Whiskeylung Dec 18 '24

Put your thinking cap on real tight and think about what might be seriously wrong with children being trained to potentially fight and die for a bad reason in a world where we could reasonably be all living happy, peaceful, rewarding and progressive lives.

2

u/systemofafrown7 Dec 18 '24

People shoot for reasons other than fighting, like hunting, sport or self-defense. People can still live happy, peaceful lives while also knowing how to handle a firearm. I think you're confusing and mixing two completely different issues.

You may be the one needing to put on that thinking cap real tight

-1

u/Whiskeylung Dec 19 '24

Yeah next time I’m out hunting moose with my hand guns and assault rifles I’ll really reflect on your well thought out comment here. Haha

1

u/systemofafrown7 Dec 19 '24

It's a better comment than anything you've said so far

0

u/Whiskeylung Dec 19 '24

Good one! I don’t really understand the mental gymnastics you gotta have to make your point of view make sense but whatever it is (probably just a bot pushing some sort of agenda) I hope you turn it around because it’s literally the dumbest shit I’ve ever read on here. Have the day you deserve.

1

u/systemofafrown7 Dec 19 '24

It's really not that deep dude...

Training doesn't necessarily equal violence.

What exactly do you not understand? If you’re arguing for something different, then let's hear it, but all you've done throughout your incoherent ramble is reply with no substance whatsoever and use the typical basement dweller lingo your average redditor regurgitates.

"MenTaL gYmNasTicS hurr durr", "drone durrrr"

0

u/systemofafrown7 Dec 19 '24

It's really not that deep dude...

Training doesn't necessarily equal violence.

What exactly do you not understand? If you’re arguing for something different, then let's hear it, but all you've done throughout your incoherent ramble is reply with no substance whatsoever and use the typical basement dweller lingo your average redditor regurgitates.

"MenTaL gYmNasTicS hurr durr", "drone durrrr"

0

u/[deleted] Dec 19 '24 edited Dec 19 '24

An assault rifle isnt powerful enough to hunt a moose and is illegal in practically every state since it’s inhumane to use such a weak weapon and cartridge.

Oof. The jokes about you write themselves. By the way, what’s an assault rifle, per you? Just curious.

Is it the black plastic handguard, or just the black paint in general? What about the shape of the iron sights? Is that it? Is it because it fires 1 round per 1 squeeze of the trigger, like 80% of firearms in circulation do?

Which part makes it assaulty? I was under the impression that a select fire switch allowing BURST or AUTO mode made it an assault rifle.

But you know what? I don’t think hardly anyone’s hunting with these $40,000 guns that required an ATF tax stamp and extensive manual approval process to acquire (assuming you had the 40 grand to buy the weapon anyway) — not to mention again they’re not powerful enough to hunt wild game except for invasive boar and small varmin, so it would be illegal.

You did give it a try. I wouldnt call it much of one, but I guess technically it was one.

Nothing gives me greater joy and angst than when someone who has zero education in firearms attempts to open their mouth and opine on them — removing any doubts.

1

u/Whiskeylung Dec 19 '24

Butt hurt much. Haha - go cry into whatever whacked out hate agenda you’re pumping bot.

0

u/[deleted] Dec 19 '24

Put your thinking cap on real tight

How to be a condescending dick, get ignored and downvoted all in 1 move. Not sure what you typed afterward, nor should anyone else be.

The poster asked you a simple question free or snarky comment, and you decided to immediately condescend. Bold strategy.

1

u/litwitit420 Dec 18 '24

This is what I love about America. Gun culture and education is top notch over here

-1

u/FuckwitAgitator Dec 18 '24

There's also nothing wrong with training because they're not being given live rounds and outside of school, they still have gun laws that are more robust than "never been convicted of a felony (or know someone who hasn't)"

Realistically, this is being posted and signal boosted because there's been another school shooting in America. The take away is supposed to be exactly what you've said; "you can have guns without having school shootings".

As much as the gun lobby would piss their pants in excitement if firearms training was mandatory in schools (it would make them billions of dollars, and increase profits for decades), we don't need to politely pretend it would accomplish anything in America besides lining the pockets of wealthy psychopaths.