Right Handed but Left eye dominant--Why way?

[Bama]

Have friend who ask for help. His daughter is right handed but left eye dominant. She is wanting to start shooting. The question is should she be taught to shoot left handed or taught to use non dominant eye? Which and why. If you have any directions to articles or where to find information on the subject it would be appreciated by her dad. Would like to get her started off in the sport the best way possible. Thanks in advance.

[nagantguy]

Shooting truly is the ambidextrous sport,very few muscles or fine motor skills involved we teach to shoot on the side with the best eye. It is very easy to train one finger on the former "offside"hand

[GhostHawk]

Starting out I would say teach her lefty.

For an older person who used to be right handed, right eye dom, then finds left eye is stepping up as right eye slips. That is a harder fight.

Pretty easy to go either way with many pistols.

Let her decide what is comfortable.

[claude]

That depends on a lot of things, such as how good is the vision in the non dominant eye, is she going to be taught to shoot both eyes open, what action she will be using.

The reason I say that is because I have always been Left eye dominant and shot righty until the right eye was no longer able. I either had to switch eyes or quit shooting, and shooting righty with the left eye sucks. I was always a bolt shooter, after the eye went bad I switched to mostly pumps and levers, and do all my rifle and shotgun work lefty, I still shoot righty with handguns but use the left eye. With the crossover, shooting shotguns both eyes open left eye dominant right shoulder arms was a joke, I couldn't hit the broad side of a barn so quit using shotguns for about 45 years.

Being extremely right handed it was a challenge to switch over to lefty, but well worth the effort.

If the girl really wants to shoot, teach her to shoot lefty from the beginning, teach her to shoot both eyes open, and use guns that lend themselves readily to lefties. If she insists on shooting righty, she will need to shoot left eye closed simply because it is dominant and will line the front sight up for that eye, especially with moving targets and shotgun beads.

YMMV but that has been my experience, I was forced to shoot righty from the git go because most people thought it was best to shoot righty if one is right handed.

claude

[clum553946]

I’m left handed & right eye dominant. I just sight down the barrel with the right eye, both eyes open shooting lefty! This is for pistol. For rifle, I shoot right handed, which was the way I was taught when I was a kid.

[DocSavage]

Interesting I'm right handed but left eye dominate and have no problem shooting a right handed rifle. I can't explain this but I've never closed the non dominate eye,the best way to describe the processes is I learned how to turn my right eye "off" for lack of a better term.

[Texas by God]

I have to close my right dominant eye when shooting a shotgun or rifle left handed, but both eyes open for pistol. I'm right/right severely.

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[Omega]

Right handed, left eye dominant here. Shoot rifles and bows left handed, but only left handed bows, due to the sight window, my rifles are all right handed. I held a left handed rifle, bolt action, and it was just awkward working the action.

As to the OP, just give her an empty rifle and tell her to look through the scope without telling her how, you will have your answer. Teach her the way it feels more comfortable for her, no sense going against her natural instinct.

[Wild Bill 7]

If she wants to shoot with both eyes open go left handed. If she doesn't care about closing her left eye then shoot right handed. I am left handed but right eye dominate, so I learned to shoot right handed. It is the best way for her if she wants to do it but she has to make her own decision. Two eyes open or one eye open that is the question. JMHO

[runfiverun]

left--left.
she will be a better shooter with her dominant eye in alignment with the sights.
if she decides to take up shotguns down the line she will thank you.

btw most women are left eye dominant.

[shooterg]

Right eye dominant , right hand shooter. Now have damage in right eye due to diabetes. Pistols fine, use left eye. Tried to shoot lefty iron sighted service rifle, just can't cut it. Guess I need to switch to scopes like everyone else !

[popper]

First was she tested to find eye dominance and is it an adolescent situation. Was left eyed, after cornea scrape, right eyed. Only matters when both eyes open.

[danmat]

Without a doubt lefty for shotgun and rifle. I'm righty and left eye dominant, pistol I can shoot either way. Shotgun is where I can really tell the difference.
I never was coached either way, first BB gun naturally went to my left eye. I've known a couple of friends that shot opposite their dominant eye,they never could keep up with better shooters, but otherwise pretty decent athletes.

[crackers]

"Guess I need to switch to scopes like everyone else !"
You can go as high as a see-through ring and all will be fine. I'm somewhat in that boat and my first real gun - a Win 94 - is again a cross-eyed favorite with a sidemount scope.

[Thundarstick]

My youngest son is left eye dominate but absolutely insisted on shooting right handed. I thought him to shoot with a scooped rifle from the beginning and even had to cover his left eye for a while. Now he's a very good shot right hand, right eye, open or scope even though he's left eye dominate.

[Old colt]

Place a small piece of scotch tape overthe left side of shooting glasses. Partially blurs the vision on that side, it's easier to teach using the dominant hand and the tape keeps the dominant eye from being an issue. Remember the dominance of kids eyes can change over time.

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[CastingFool]

I am right handed, left eye dominant. When I shoot pistols, I use my left eye. With a shotgun, I may as well close my eyes and pull the trigger on crossing shots. Rifles, I use my right eye, as the sights help line things up. I have tried to shoot left handed, but find it extremely awkward. I can do many things left handed, but shooting is not one of them. Years ago, I took up skeet, hoping to learn to overcome the cross dominance issue, so I tried a patch on my left eye. Tried different sizes of patches, none was a good solution. For some reason, I had no problem shooting doubles, or on station 8. Station 8 was my favorite station. After a couple of years, I gave up shooting skeet.

[marlin39a]

I am RH, dominate LE. I remember it was discovered by my mother when I was around 5 yrs old playing with a toy gun. That was over 55 yrs ago. I have always mounted long gun on my left shoulder, and held handguns in my right hand. I suggest she be allowed to be comfortable with her shooting, and encourage her interest.

[WebMonkey]

i'll go against the grain:

eye dominance is too wide a description to make a blanket rule 'shoot with the dom eye'.

if the dom is due to focus priority rather than physical imperfection, you can simply relax the dom eyelid and the non dom eye will 'take charge'.

i encourage this before switching sides, so to speak.

i have no experience in benchrest or bullseye shooting.

my comments are born from combat styles where handling the firearm and gear is as important as accuracy. new troopers fumbling with magazines or charging handles or even swapping hands to 'work' the rifle caused a bit of frustration.

:)

again, my comments are not meant to address those with eye problems.
thank you and good night.

[kens]

Let her shoot a single shot and let her decide which side feels more comfortable. her dominant eye side will likely be her comfortable side, but let her decide that with a neutral rifle such as a single shot.

[KCSO]

I was always left eye and was taught to shoot right handed because that was the way you shoot. Now 60 years later or more I am losing the sight in my right eye and am learning to shoot lefty. I just wish I had started out lefty. Re learing is harder than starting out and for the first time I can shoot a rifle with BOTH eyes open. I now check eye dominance before teaching and go with the best eye.

[popper]

The test for 'dominant' eye is to point at an object with both open and then close one at a time to see where the 'eye' and finger point. The one 'on target' is the dominant. The other test is to move the opposing fingers together in front of the face and see the vertical difference. Wedge prisms can provide exercise to somewhat correct the problem. If her case is extreme, she will develop bad headaches when reading a lot, a real problem in school (went through this as a teenager - but NO glasses). Glasses hide the problem, eye exercise (prisms) helps. Eye focus (& dyslexia) problems have a different solution.

[bedbugbilly]

I'm right handed and was right eye dominant. Due to loosing the central vision in my right eye, I now shoot rifles left handed - lever, bolt, whatever and have no issues.
I still shoot pistol right handed but left eye is dominant. It is very doable. It doesn't take long to "retrain" yourself. For someone that is right handed but left eye dominant from the get go - it shouldn't cause a problem. Learn to shoot rifles left handed - all of my rifles, for the most part except Handi Rifle, etc., are right handed - even percussion and flintlock.

If she is like most people, her right hand is going to be the strongest and she'll b the most coordinated with it when it comes to shooting pistols.

Good luck!

[gray wolf]

Before this goes the usual 5 pages, will someone ask, or will the OP tell us.
Is this for handgun or rifle ? if for handgun it's a piece of cake.

Rifle can be a lot harder depending on the person, and any other physical issues.

[rking22]

If she is truly a beginner then teach her to shoot from the left shoulder. When she starts shooting a shotgun she will thank you. Personally I am fairly center dominant, strongly right handed and have trained my brain to prioritize the right eye data. Not the best method. As a true beginner there is no muscle memory to deal with, heck teach her to shoot from both sides, but the shotgun under the dominant eye is best. Rested rifles, especially with scopes are a non issue. I would also suggest learning to shoot the shotgun first, then open sighted rifle. Easier to learn to use sights after learning to POINT the shotgun while focusing on the target. Shotguning is fast and dynamic, rifles are slow and careful. Pistols in between :)

[RED333]

Left eye, left hand writing and eating, kick left footed. Now here is where things go south, I throw, bowl and shoot a bow right hand. When I did shoot a bow I was not very good because if the left eye thing.
My $0.02 is to teach her to shoot left hand, then let the girl do as girls do, their own thing.

[EDG]

I am right handed and very strong right eye dominant.
I played a lot of baseball as a kid and was a switch hitter when pitchers began throwing curve balls at me.

Let the girl try it both ways. I had much more trouble training my legs and footwork than my eyes. Even so later in life I shot skeet for a decade. When skeet shooting I tended to track birds from the left (high house) with my left eye until they were at the center of the field where the right eye picked them up. It took several thousand rounds to break that habit.
She can learn to shoot either way. It may take a lot of ammo if she shoots a shotgun lefty.

[45-70 Chevroner]

Interesting I'm right handed but left eye dominate and have no problem shooting a right handed rifle. I can't explain this but I've never closed the non dominate eye,the best way to describe the processes is I learned how to turn my right eye "off" for lack of a better term.

I'm kind of like you. I am right handed but ambadextrest and right eye dominant. I can shoot left or right handed with both eyes open using the proper eye, right for right, left for left. I've been shooting since I was about 8.

[Handloader109]

Never knew about eye dominance until I was adult. I'm a righty with left eye dominant. Was so much better with shotgun left handed than right. And my dad would always fuss I was shooting left-handed!

[jimb16]

I don't know whether I'm blessed or cursed! I don't have a dominant eye! Although I'm right handed, I can shoot either hand/either eye. It drives the guys crazy on the skeet field when I switch hit! I do the same on the pistol range. I shot my two biggest bucks one right handed and one left handed. I shot the left handed one because he showed up on the "wrong" side of the tree stand. At least I don't get confused about which way I'm shooting(yet). But it is fun on the pistol range blasting away with a gun in both hands and hitting the gongs with every shot! It drives the other shooters bonky! *LOL*

[bdicki]

I'm right handed left hand dominate I shoot left handed. I hold a pistol right handed but use my left eye. I figured it out on my own when I was very young. Biggest problem I had was finding cast on shotguns for skeet and trap. Beretta has the most selection for a lefty.
My father was left handed and my mother is right handed, I don't know if that has anything to do with it.

[JSnover]

I guess my eyes have deteriorated to the point where I can't tell which one is/was dominant. I do know the vision in my right is slightly better. I shot left-handed for about thirty years; couldn't stand the way a rifle felt on my right shoulder but now it doesn't seem odd at all.
Let her shoot whichever way likes best, if she changes her mind it won't be that hard to switch sides.

[BZimm]

About 20 years ago I was at a week-long boy scout camp and took some scouts to the rifle range with a pocket full of quarters. The range boss mentioned that I should try shooting lefty and I argued a bit but man did my groups tighten up. I'll never forget that. My dominant left eye was much stronger than my motor skills from one hand to the other. Today, knowing that my left eye is better and stronger, I still pick up a rifle and shoot right handed. Can't help it. But with a handgun, I naturally scrunch my cheek hard against my right shoulder and shoot effectively using my left eye. I dunno, animals taste good either way.

[Black Prince]

The Internet is full of OPINIONS and here is how I do it stories. Those opinions are rarely based on anything other than personal preferance. There is an EXCELLENT book that has an entire chapter devoted to the issue the OP has raised. He can see it here -->> https://www.amazon.com/Navy-SEAL-Shooting-Chris-Sajnog/dp/194378700X?SubscriptionId=AKIAILSHYYTFIVPWUY6Q&tag=duckduckgo-d-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=194378700X

Chris Sajnog actually has taught people how to shoot who are cross eye dominate. He KNOWS what he is talking about because he went to opthalomologist for accurate information and he has many years of experience doing it. If the OP REALLY wants to know the answer, THAT is where he needs to go. Otherwise, he is going to get personal opinions from unqualified people who mean well, but might be harmful.

Chris also wrote a book entitled How To Shoot Like A Navy SEAL. That entire book is included and much expanded on in the one linked to above, so just buy the one linked to above and get both books in one. Read the reviews from other firearms instructors. Get the softback. Read it with a yellow highlighter so you can go back through it and see the important (to you) parts you highlighted and get a quick review. Or not. Or take your chances with the personal opinions you can get from anybody with one who may or may not know what they are talking about.

[Boolseye]

Kind of an interesting thread for me-I’m a relatively new shooter (9 years of serious shooting), and cannot wink, so it’s always both eyes open for me-and I’m a righty and left eye dominant. I’m a good pistol and rifle shot, I just line it up and find the sight picture. Work with what you've got.

[bigcountry022885]

Kind of an interesting thread for me-I’m a relatively new shooter (9 years of serious shooting), and cannot wink, so it’s always both eyes open for me-and I’m a righty and left eye dominant. I’m a good pistol and rifle shot, I just line it up and find the sight picture. Work with what you've got.

My daughter is the same way we used an eye patch for about two years and she has gotten memorie enough now that she don't need to use it


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[buckwheatpaul]

My wife has the same problem.....when she went to parochial school no one knew how to teach a leftie so they forced her into right hand and when she went to the police academy they discovered that she was dominate left eye and right handed......she qualified but now at 70 she still out shoots me on occasion.....dont know how to advise....but it is very hard to master with open sights on a pistol or using a shotgun....with a scope on a rifle not so much.

[Harter66]

Here's a better place to start .
Can she wink with both eyes separately ?
I'm a RHLE . I had a vision drop on the left side . Appearently at some point in my shotguning I started shooting both open . When I discovered the vision was when going away I was learning to shoot a bow both open and right handed came easy .

A funny example of the cross dominant shooter can be found in the sniper in Saving Private Ryan . It was such a normal movement that I noticed it right off . The reach over the scope bolt cycle thing . Made even more humorous by the fact that my first experience with a true lefty rifle resulted in me reaching over the scope with my right hand for the bolt .

Back on track .
If she can close each eye independently , I can't and never could , then it's a matter of which feels more right . One side will eventually show up as the faster pick up and more accurate . The pin hole in a paper plate is as good a method as any to find the dominant focus eye . Shoot both ways it will become obvious which eye is in charge .

The worst case is that of my youngest son the lefty is rt eyed kind of I guess . He picks up faster and shoots long range best precision on the right side however timed hits on target from 50' to 100 yd come on the left side . This skill was a delight for his officers during his tour on crash recovery .

[DCM]

Left, left. I would go with the dominant eye. When shooting with both eyes open it will take over.
I shoot both right and left handed with hand gun, but always with the dominant eye.
I learned the hard way in a match to stick with the dominant eye.

[pworley1]

My son is just the opposite. He has always shot righty and never had a problem.

[Elkins45]

I’m strongly left eye dominant. I shoot a rifle, bow, pool left handed. I shoot a handgun right handed but I hold it in front of my left eye.

My advice is to do what feels most natural.

[Col4570]

A cross over stock could be the answer.The Gun is on the most normal feeling shoulder whilst the stock takes the Sightline to the dominant eye.I have observed one shooter with this configuration he restocked the Gun himself.