dominant eye

[ronpink2]

When I first started shooting with my Dad when I was a kid I was right eye dominant. That was also true when I was in the Army. Some time during the last few years I have changed to left eye dominant. I am right handed and have never tried shooting left handed. Maybe I should. Anyone have any experience or feed back on this issue?

[Moonie]

I'm right handed and left eye dominant. There are a few things you can do. I can't handle shooting left handed but it is an option. Shooting pistols is easy, I shoot right handed but aim with my left eye.

With rifles, if you do not wish to shoot left handed and are using a scope you can use a blinder on the side of the scope that blocks the view of your left eye and aim with your right eye. This is how I shoot a rifle.

With open sights on a rifle I close my left eye, obviously I'm not a very good target shot with iron sights on a rifle but can easily take deer out to 100 or so.

[JeffinNZ]

I'm the same as Moonie. Shooting the scattergun I have to close the left eye. Not perfect but I can make it work. Not heard of them switching though. Interesting.

[Blacksmith]

When teaching new shooters I cover eye dominance. First you might want to check with your eye doctor to make sure something else isn't going on.

I tell new shooters that to be the best shooter you can be you should shoot from your dominant eye. This also holds true for other activities such as archery, and photography. As you go to higher levels in competitive shooting there are fewer cross dominant shooters and when you get to the Olympic level no one is cross dominant.

As far as changing I believe Lanny Basham U.S. Olympic shooter had to switch during his career. I'll see if I can find a reference to that.

There are things like blinders and occluders that can help because if possible you want to shoot with both eyes open for better balance and better visual acuity.

[C.F.Plinker]

Right handed but left eye dominant here. For both rifles and pistols I put black tape across the top of the left lens of the safety glasses. That way I can't see the target with the left eye but I can use it for doing things at the shooting bench.

[MBTcustom]

I'm ashamed to say that I am the same as Jeff and Moonie.
I shoot pistol with my left eye.
I have trained myself to switch gears when shooting a rifle, but early on, I always closed my left eye. I know I learned wrong, but I am so right handed, I preferred to just learn to shoot like everybody else. However, now I can shoot righthanded with both eyes open without a problem.
Shotgun is a turd. I cant hit anything unless I close my left eye, and honestly, I get confused because I want to shoot a scattergun like I shoot pistol.
However, I can hang with just about anybody at the range, in spite of my handicap, because I have spent so much time doing it.

[gwpercle]

I am right handed and was right eye dominant untill a detached retina left me blind in my right eye. That left me right handed and left eye dominant.

When shooting handguns I hold the gun in my right hand and aim with the left eye. I was taught to shoot with both eyes open so it 's not a problem. I'm now over 60 and find red dot sights just the ticket for not being able to see iron sights as well as I once could. When I sight with a pistol I may tilt my head to get a proper sight picture but it's just a little and I'm not aware of doing it.

Shotguns and rifles ars a different story...I stopped shooting them because I couldn't figure out how to hit anything. One day we took a Boy Scout troop to the skeet range , after the boys shot the rangemaster asked if we wanted to shoot a round. I explained my problem and he said " just shoot lefthanded ", then he proceeded to move me around so I had the correct stance and holding the gun lefthanded. Then he says don't think about it just shoot. When the bird flew I shot at and hit it...much to my amazement. I'm not a good shot with a scattergun.

Shooting left handed is not like writing left handed. My biggest problem is carrying the gun so I mount it to the left. Trigger control is not a problem with a shotgun and only a little harder with a rifle. With practice it all becomes second nature.

gary

[Marvin S]

Left hand and right eye dominate for me. I shoot hand guns left hand and aim with right eye. Long guns is left and left. It works fine for me.

[DIRT Farmer]

As a young police officer I had to learn to shoot left, left and right, right. Being right ey and right hand dominate it sucked for a while but watching a few training vidios that had an officer defencless with a dominate side injury helped speed the learning curve.

[km101]

As a young police officer I had to learn to shoot left, left and right, right. Being right ey and right hand dominate it sucked for a while but watching a few training vidios that had an officer defencless with a dominate side injury helped speed the learning curve.

Same here! But I am left handed and left eye dominant. I shoot handguns and rifles both left and right. My dominant eye actually changed for a few years due to partial vision loss in one eye, but it changed back after surgery and vision correction. My Dr. said that dominance could change for a number of reasons. He said that it is not unusual.

[MBTcustom]

Same here! But I am left handed and left eye dominant. I shoot handguns and rifles both left and right. My dominant eye actually changed for a few years due to partial vision loss in one eye, but it changed back after surgery and vision correction. My Dr. said that dominance could change for a number of reasons. He said that it is not unusual.

Interesting.
I took a BB in my left eye when I was a kid (ricochet off a 2 liter bottle full of water) and after I healed up, the left eye worked better than the right (don't ask me why or how). The doc says that when I get to my 40s that the left eye will be the first to go, so I may be back where I need to be in a few years.

[starbits]

I am right handed - left eye dominant. I could shoot with my right eye, but it would take me about 30-40 seconds to get my eye to cooperate and get things lined up.

Pistol I shoot right handed with no problems.

Shotgun and rifle I shoot left handed. With a shotgun I am fast and accurate and it doesn't matter whether the shotgun is right or left handed, except for the safety. Shooting left with a right handed shotgun you can curl your finger around the trigger guard, or keep the safety off - dangerous and "very much" not recommended, or machine a new safety that will work left handed like I did on my rem 870.

Rifle, I have never owned a left handed rifle. Most of the deer I have taken have been with a right handed bolt action rifle shooting left handed. All it takes is practice and practice is why we cast boolits, right? You could also go with a lever or pump action or semiauto or even a (more expensive) left handed gun. Safety's are still an issue, but usually there is a lot more reaction time rifle hunting than wing hunting with a shotgun. Only other problem is the occasional hot piece of brass down the shirt collar.

I recommend you try shooting left handed. It will seem weird at first, but shouldn't take too long to get comfortable. Have fun!

Starbits