Left eye dominant, right hand dominant?
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My son is left eye dominant and right handed. He has to shoot as a lefty. When he was 5 is when I started working with him on learning to shoot left, it was very difficult for him. Now he’s almost 17 and it is natural to him. As a little guy he always held the rifle right and crossed over to aim With the left eye. He was 5 when we got him fit for his first compound bow, I had to get him to change at that point because we bought him a left handed bow. He was pretty angry about it then. He is an incredible shot with a bow, rifle and pistol. He just doesn’t appreciate muzzleloaders, yet. I’m not done with him.
My wife is right handed, left eye dominant and she has been shooting that way for 30 years, no problem but it did take a little time to get used to it. She can shoot a right handed flintlock without any problems too.
Retinal disease has made me 20/500 in the right eye. I eased my transition to left hand shooting with a lot of relatively inexpensive .22 rimfire ammo.
I am left eye dominant but mostly ambidextrous with the exception of my right eye. I shoot my rifles left handed and can switch to the right if needed. When I shoot a pistol I favor my right hand so I roll my head to the right so the sights engage with my eye. It sounds complicated but it's really not. I have found it is much quicker on transition drills. By the time the pistol is in the holster the rifle is already up on target. My first shot goes off commonly a good 3-4 seconds faster than the others I'm training with. Whenever I have a new shooter ask me to teach anything I find out what their dominant eye is and what hand they are comfortable shooting with.
Don't change unless it's very comfortable for you. See my above post for my experiences,
Been there buddy. Don't worry the fix is easy.
Aim the rifle and note on your glasses which portion of lense your new dominant eye is looking through. Now mask that portion with tape. It usually only requires a tiny piece.
The brain will switch back to other eye.
Aim the rifle and note on your glasses which portion of lense your new dominant eye is looking through. Now mask that portion with tape. It usually only requires a tiny piece.
The brain will switch back to other eye.
My son is cross-dominate. Left eye/right hand.
(basic observation and simple household tests can/will determine "dominant preference" about the time a child can talk)
I started training him with safe shooting practice at 5.
At that early age I observed his cross shooting/switching sides with interest, knowing at the time that the safety aspects where the most important.
So I freely allowed him to switch, hoping he would develop a dominance or favored side in his own time.
Fast-forward 2yrs or so, @7 his safety and bench shooting knowledge is proven, but he's still switching sides,,
,, now was the time to prove it,, to him.
"Shoot this box at the target, Right handed!"
,,next,
"Shoot this box at the target, Left handed!"
"(Damn it!)".
Longer story short; The dominate eye wins for accuracy.(period)(by a lot!)
My story is not to be confused with the readiness of, or capability of, a lefty shooting a right hand gun,, that's a different topic.
A practiced and proficient shooter should be able to shoot cross hand with any gun he has. (in field or at target).
My Point is; the dominate eye is the one with the main-line to the brain.
There is/was a practiced learning curve,, but at 12, with me being a right/right,, having a partner holding and shooting left sure helps to clean a field of pheasant.
p.s. he's 29 now,, still shoot's lefty,,
I am left eye/right hand and I shoot long guns as a lefty and hand guns right handed. I tried right hand and couldn't hit anything, switched to left hand and do fairly well. In my younger days when I could actually see, I cut 5 playing cards in half in a row the sixth card only halfway. Lost to a lady that cut the sixth card in half with her 32cal.
If you can, it will help.
Thomas.bill92
40 Cal
I guess it all comes down to what you are comfortable with, I'm left eye/right hand and I shoot long guns righty, handguns rights but use my left eye (I know, its weird) and bows and slingshots lefty. If I mix any of those up I feel like I'm on a different planet! I usually wear my glasses whenever I shoot and while they are a rather weak prescription, it evens the playing field as to which eye is getting used.
I am also. I shoot right hand so I close my left (dominant) eye to aim.
There can be confusion over a temporary eye dominance change or a general suppressed handedness.
If someone is for example right handed and has been for years it is quite common for the eyes to switch temporarily for weeks or months.
Under those circumstances a simple method explained earlier will correct it.
If someone is for example right handed and has been for years it is quite common for the eyes to switch temporarily for weeks or months.
Under those circumstances a simple method explained earlier will correct it.
I am right eye dominant. However, as I get older, I developed an astigmatism in my right eye. I thought I needed to switch kinda like you’re saying. But my corrected lenses/glasses fix that issue. But my other problem was, I’ve always shot with my left eye closed. This too was becoming an issue, because it would get tiring and cause my right eye to strain. I recently started using one of those clip on, flip up blinders over my left eye. This allows me to comfortably keep both eyes open while using the sights. Made a world of a difference
Rock Home Isle
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I’m left eye dominant, but I shoot right handed.
When I was a kid, my uncles made me an eye patch, and if I wanted to go shooting with them, I had to wear the eye patch…so I learned to shoot with my right eye…but I still shoot left eye dominant when shooting
pistols.
And as an aside…if someone tells you that biscuits & gravy is not a meal, stop talking to them…you don’t need that kind of negativity in your life…
When I was a kid, my uncles made me an eye patch, and if I wanted to go shooting with them, I had to wear the eye patch…so I learned to shoot with my right eye…but I still shoot left eye dominant when shooting
pistols.
And as an aside…if someone tells you that biscuits & gravy is not a meal, stop talking to them…you don’t need that kind of negativity in your life…
I'm left eye dominant, but right handed and shoot long guns lefty. I'm a natural lefty but remember when I was a small child playing baseball with my four older siblings (all RH), I'd try to bat lefty, whoever was pitching would walk home and turn me around and switch my hands on the bat to make me bat right handed. later on in life I discovered I could kill the ball from the left side.
If you're comfortable shooting from the right side stay with it, try it from the left though, you may surprise yourself. I switched to shooting lefty when I was a boy and never looked back.
If you're comfortable shooting from the right side stay with it, try it from the left though, you may surprise yourself. I switched to shooting lefty when I was a boy and never looked back.
user 48679
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Practice shooting off the left shoulder - it will be difficult at first, but become 2nd nature after a while (different times for different folks).
I made my then young son do it, and 50 years later, he's still a better shot on game than me !
I made my then young son do it, and 50 years later, he's still a better shot on game than me !
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