Dominant eye check before purchase?

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Flyer91

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Hello folks,

I am a rookie deciding on a a firearm to start target shooting and hunting in the future. I tentatively decided on a .22 LR center-fire cartridge.

Do I have to investigate my dominant eye first before deciding a left or a right hand rifle? Any tips how to find out! I will go hunt on YouTube meanwhile!

Thanks for your generous input ;)
 
Most people are dominant hand/eye coordinated but cross eye dominant is quite common. The only RH/LH rifles really are bolt actions. Semis, pumps and levers don't really matter.

Sure, you should determine if you are cross dominant and then go from there. Lots of RH but left eye dominant shooters just close their left eye, but a surprising amount of people simply can't close their dominant eye. Chances are you are "normal" anyway. Most people are.

It's easier to train your hands than your eyes.
 
Eye dominance was super easy for me to determine. Just look at something, then think, "which eye am I actually looking at this thing with?". Which is a different question from "Can I see it with both eyes?".

I may not be like all as I'm very left eye dominant, but I think if it's not obvious to you when you try and figure it out, you can prob go either way.
 
Look at something like a tree with both eyes open, hold up a finger covering said tree then close one eye then the other, the eye that the finger doesn’t move is your dominate eye.
 
Flyer91 said:
Hello folks,

I am a rookie deciding on a a firearm to start target shooting and hunting in the future. I tentatively decided on a .22 LR rimfire cartridge.

Do I have to investigate my dominant eye first before deciding a left or a right hand rifle? Any tips how to find out! I will go hunt on YouTube meanwhile!

Thanks for your generous input ;)
Click to expand...

I fixed that for you.
 
Poke a small hole in a piece of paper. Hold said paper at arms length and focus on an object with both eyes open and draw the paper closer maintaining focus on the object. You will inevitably draw it to your dominant eye. I am left handed and right eye dominant. I shoot pistols ambidextrously and everything else right handed.
 
Flyer91 said:
Hello folks,

I am a rookie deciding on a a firearm to start target shooting and hunting in the future. I tentatively decided on a .22 LR center-fire cartridge.

Do I have to investigate my dominant eye first before deciding a left or a right hand rifle? Any tips how to find out! I will go hunt on YouTube meanwhile!

Thanks for your generous input ;)
Click to expand...

I did just this, I am left handed and right eye dominant, so I bought a right handed bolt rifle and decided to 'train' my handedness. Yeah good luck with that. After 2 or so years I sold the rifle and have decide I will train my eyes instead. I have a right handed Winchester wildcat that I shoot left handed and when I shot it I didn't even notice the cartridges ejecting so there is that too i guess.

edit: to determine eye dominance hold your hands together to forma triangle at arms length and focus on something through the triangle with both eyes, alternate closing one, the eye that holds whatever you were looking at in the triangle is the dominant eye.

hands-create-illuminati-triangle-symbol-video-id972547886
 
Gatehouse said:
Most people are dominant hand/eye coordinated but cross eye dominant is quite common. The only RH/LH rifles really are bolt actions. Semis, pumps and levers don't really matter.

Sure, you should determine if you are cross dominant and then go from there. Lots of RH but left eye dominant shooters just close their left eye, but a surprising amount of people simply can't close their dominant eye. Chances are you are "normal" anyway. Most people are.

It's easier to train your hands than your eyes.
Click to expand...

That depends, some semis etc it doesn't matter, some it does. For instance, any gun with a cross bolt safety will be a pain in the ass. I recently sold my Mossberg Maverick 88 and bought a Mossberg 500 for the sole reason of switching from a right-handed crossbolt to a tang-mounted safety. Ejection can also be an issue, its usually not but some guns spit brass in such a way that you'll take it straight to the face.

Big-boss-man said:
I did just this, I am left handed and right eye dominant, so I bought a right handed bolt rifle and decided to 'train' my handedness. Yeah good luck with that. After 2 or so years I sold the rifle and have decide I will train my eyes instead. I have a right handed Winchester wildcat that I shoot left handed and when I shot it I didn't even notice the cartridges ejecting so there is that too i guess.

edit: to determine eye dominance hold your hands together to forma triangle at arms length and focus on something through the triangle with both eyes, alternate closing one, the eye that holds whatever you were looking at in the triangle is the dominant eye.

hands-create-illuminati-triangle-symbol-video-id972547886
Click to expand...

I am the opposite, right handed, left eye dominant. For me, there was no possibility of training my eyes. The day I switched to shooting my shotgun left handed I immediately started breaking more clays. I can focus with my right eye, so scoped rifles were not a big issue, but anything with iron sights, or that requires two eyes open like shotgunning I just couldn't do right handed decently. Long sessions at the bench were also difficult because I have to work to focus through my right eye, whereas focusing through my left takes no effort at all. I have recently switched to left for my rifles too. Its a bit awkward still, but its getting better. Especially considering you are left handed but right eye dominant, you should take advantage of that - So many more options for right handed guns, I'm having a hell of a time finding an affordable lefty bolt action 22lr that isn't a savage mk2 with a sporter weight barrel.


OP I would figure out which eye is your dominant eye and then go with that. Shooting with both eyes open has many advantages - both eyes allow you to track a moving target far better (twice the info going to your brain), it also allows you to see whats directly infront with your non-dominant eye while your dominant eye is buried in a scope, and it is less fatiguing on longer sessions at the range. IMO there is nothing to lose and a whole lot to gain by figuring it out now and going with whatever your dominant eye is.
 
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22 LR is rim fire not centre fire lol. All good though, it’s easy to mix up.

I’m left eye dominant but right handed. I learned to shoot rifles at a very young age before I even knew what eye dominance was. Never really had a problem but I guess I just trained myself. I automatically slightly close my left eye when I shoot. I don’t shut it, just close it a bit without even thinking about it. Bead sight shotguns both eyes wide open. Same with scoped rifles. But rifles with iron sights either open or ghost ring, I close the left eye a tiny bit. Handguns I use my left eye but with my right eye open. Works for me
 
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