The Bindon Aiming Concept – Use Two Eyes

If you read Glyn Bindon’s resume you’d be impressed. In the gun world, we know him mostly for his founding of Trijicon and his use of radiation to power illuminated reticles and sights. Trijicon currently provides the ACOG to the United States military, makes what I consider the best MRDS (mini red dot sight on the market, and set handgun night sight standards. Prior to Mr. Bindon’s passing, he came up with a two-eyed open shooting technique called the Bindon Aiming Concept – or for short, the BAC.  

What The Bindon Aiming Concept Isn’t 

There has been a bit of hoopla spread about the Bindon Aiming Concept. Most of it has been done by the USMC and Marines in general. To clarify: the Bindon Aiming Concept is not occluded shooting. Occluded Shooting is closely related with the Bindon Aiming Concept. The USMC’s ACOG is capable of using both the BAC and can be used for occluded shooting. I think this is where many Marines get the two confused. 

Occluded shooting can be done with any red dot optic or any scope with a brightly illuminated reticle. This type of shooting more or less started with Armson OEG sights and Glyn Bindon was involved with this company as well. Occluded shooting is a both-eyes-opened shooting technique and does use some mental and visual trickery to work. 

Occluded shooting as a technique that allows you to see the red dot regardless of the glass in front of you. In fact, the Armson OEG sights didn’t even have glass to look through. It was just a red dot illuminator you looked at. With both eyes opened your brain superimposes the red dot onto the target. 

This means your red dot can have a scope cover on and you’ll still see the red dot on target with both eyes opened. It’s used for ultra-fast snap shooting. With the illuminated reticle of the ACOG, you can use occluded shooting for ultra-close-range shooting despite the optic being a fixed power magnified optic. You are limited to about 25 yards with Occluded shooting techniques before the point of impact becomes unpredictable. 

What is the Bindon Aiming Concept 

The Bindon Aiming Concept is a technique designed for use on optics with illuminated reticles and magnification. The BAC is designed to allow shooters with magnified optics to track a moving target or to locate and transition to a potential target. 

Imagine you have a target in front of you that you’ve just identified. You raise your weapon, close one eye and use your optic to find the target. Unless you’re directly on a target you’ll have to use the magnified view and its limited field of view to find your target. On a still target it’s not so hard, on a moving deer or on a Taliban fighter it’s a little harder. 

Now imagine you have both eyes opened and you swing your weapon towards your target. Your non-dominant eye is tracking the target and because you are moving your dominant eye your vision is blurred when looking through the optic due to the magnification. Your dominant eye can still see the brightly colored reticle though. As you look and track your target with your non-dominant eye the reticle will naturally lock onto the target.

As your weapon settles on the target your brain will switch to the magnified view automatically. This will allow you to refine your reticle’s placement. 

You’ll maintain much better peripheral vision, which is important if dudes with AKs might be looking for you. Additionally, it allows you to track a target easier as they move through brush, or cover, or rapidly changing elevation. Let’s not forget it’s much easier to transition between targets, especially when they are at different ranges or elevations. 

The BAC isn’t perfect but it’s a tool you put in the box and keep there until necessary.

Exclusive to Trijicon? 

The Bindon Aiming Concept is not isolated to just Trijicon products. It works best with illuminated reticles, but most companies offer those these days. The BAC does work exceptionally well with an ACOG, as does the occluded shooting method. It can also be used with LVPO optics easily enough. The Bindon Aiming Concept does take some practice to use rapidly and it’s an easy skill to lose. It’s less of a skill and more of allowing your brain to switch between either eye and focus. Give the BAC a try if you have the optic for it and let us know what you think.