Left Eye Dominant
- Thread starter Woolrat
- Start date
Cocked&Locked
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- S. Ontario
I am right handed and right eye dominant, so I've never had to deal with this craziness. When I learned to shoot 50+ years ago it was easy and natural.
But I have trained several people in recent years who are right handed, left eye dominant. Usually they are quite strongly right handed, so I get them to retrain their right eye.
It's much easier and you can use far more common right handed guns. An eye patch over the left is very helpful.
I had one guy who was right handed. But he was blind in his right eye! So there was no choice but to get him to shoot left handed so he could use his left eye (on long guns).
He caught on surprisingly quickly and successfully.
I'm right handed, strong left eye dominant.
Grandpa was ex US Navy and taught us to shoot open sights with both eyes open.
I couldn't hit the braod side of the barn, from inside the barn, trying to keep both eyes open and shooting right handed with the Model 69A.
Once he realized I was canting my head over the stock to use my left eye and keep both eyes open, he had me switch to shooting left handed. Much better results. Never looked back. Many of the rifles I liked using more as a kid shooting only open sights were the lever action rifles. Never shot a scoped rifles until I was in my 20's.
Of course, most of my bolts were right handed, until I could start to afford better quality firearms, and/or able to find left handed Remington 700's (and other makes later on; Ruger, Browning, Sako, etc.). Today, almost all of my bolt action rifles are lh.
Getting into archery, it was left handed from the very beginning, with both traditional and compound bows. As a bow technician, I had to learn to shoot right handed in order to set up and tune bows. This forced me to be very conscious and consistent in my shooting form, although I must close my left eye first to gain right eye dominance, then learned to maintain that dominance when I open my left eye and still shoot right handed with both eyes open; this skill takes a lot of focus and time to acquire, and maintain. Have also trained myself to do this with rifles, in the event I ever have to shoot right handed due to circumstances or injury when afield.
As your daughter is young, set her up to win by getting her left handed firearms and bows. She will do better, quicker, and have more fun because of it. This will increase her level of enjoyment and ongoing participation.
Teaching to to shoot right handed later, after she has mastered her left handed skills, will add to her ability and overall skill level. She may also like the added challenge of being able to master a skill that most people cannot (or are willing to try) do.
Grandpa was ex US Navy and taught us to shoot open sights with both eyes open.
I couldn't hit the braod side of the barn, from inside the barn, trying to keep both eyes open and shooting right handed with the Model 69A.
Once he realized I was canting my head over the stock to use my left eye and keep both eyes open, he had me switch to shooting left handed. Much better results. Never looked back. Many of the rifles I liked using more as a kid shooting only open sights were the lever action rifles. Never shot a scoped rifles until I was in my 20's.
Of course, most of my bolts were right handed, until I could start to afford better quality firearms, and/or able to find left handed Remington 700's (and other makes later on; Ruger, Browning, Sako, etc.). Today, almost all of my bolt action rifles are lh.
Getting into archery, it was left handed from the very beginning, with both traditional and compound bows. As a bow technician, I had to learn to shoot right handed in order to set up and tune bows. This forced me to be very conscious and consistent in my shooting form, although I must close my left eye first to gain right eye dominance, then learned to maintain that dominance when I open my left eye and still shoot right handed with both eyes open; this skill takes a lot of focus and time to acquire, and maintain. Have also trained myself to do this with rifles, in the event I ever have to shoot right handed due to circumstances or injury when afield.
As your daughter is young, set her up to win by getting her left handed firearms and bows. She will do better, quicker, and have more fun because of it. This will increase her level of enjoyment and ongoing participation.
Teaching to to shoot right handed later, after she has mastered her left handed skills, will add to her ability and overall skill level. She may also like the added challenge of being able to master a skill that most people cannot (or are willing to try) do.
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I'm in the same boat, and I don't see a need to change. Pistols naturally cant a bit left. For scopes/sights I look with the right and simply shut my left eye. I've had success in plenty of matches (PRS, Steel Challenge, 3Gun, F-Class) with scopes, red dots and iron sights with my affliction. Only caveat would be trap/clays. I'm "okay" with clays, but that's an area where I believe having both eyes open (as I do with pistols) would be a definite advantage.
My wife and daughter have the same dominance issue.
What works best for them is the ocluded eye aiming method or what has been dubbed the Binden aiming method.
If you take a red dot and leave the objective lens cover on and aim with both eyes open, you will see both the target and a dot. One eye sees the target and the other eye sees the dot.
In your brain, you see a dot on the target.
If you try this with the objective lens not covered it sucks, so don't do that.
This type of aiming is actually advantageous a person with a dominance issue because they get to use their weak eye for the dot and their strong eye to follow the target.
It's not for precision shooting but it does work well for anything with red dot accuracy expectations.
I am right handed and right eye dominant and prefer to use this on my shotgun for skeet.
I use the Armson OEG sight on a couple guns and a Vortex spark solar red dot on another.
What works best for them is the ocluded eye aiming method or what has been dubbed the Binden aiming method.
If you take a red dot and leave the objective lens cover on and aim with both eyes open, you will see both the target and a dot. One eye sees the target and the other eye sees the dot.
In your brain, you see a dot on the target.
If you try this with the objective lens not covered it sucks, so don't do that.
This type of aiming is actually advantageous a person with a dominance issue because they get to use their weak eye for the dot and their strong eye to follow the target.
It's not for precision shooting but it does work well for anything with red dot accuracy expectations.
I am right handed and right eye dominant and prefer to use this on my shotgun for skeet.
I use the Armson OEG sight on a couple guns and a Vortex spark solar red dot on another.
I'm a lefty too, was probably born all left handed, as I also bat left, hockey left and kick with my left foot, yet am right handed.
I just got my first left handed rifle just over a year ago, and regret not getting one much earlier in life.
I just got my first left handed rifle just over a year ago, and regret not getting one much earlier in life.
- Location
- Western Manitoba
Is much discussion above about the eye dominance - if you are involved with the issue, also consider the hand and finger capabilities - what I think we discovered with my Grand daughter - she says she is left handed - writes and eats with left hand - but strongly right eye dominant. At shooting bench, her assessment is that the view is "better" when off her right shoulder (using right eye), yet her groups are much worse on target - I think that has to do with finger and hand control - much better for her to use left hand / trigger finger to shoot. I do not think it is just about eye dominance - I am now sure is also about ability to finely control shooting finger and hand - to make the shot go when she wants it to go.
As an aside - a former boss of mine was a USMC shooting instructor in his younger days - training Marine recruits to shoot - he totally convinced me about shooting with both eyes open - I have been working at that perhaps 15 years - trying to overcome the previous 35 (?) years of closing the off eye - and I believe it to be correct that your brain can accommodate one image through one eye and a different image through other eye - your brain puts them together as one - if you practice that. One of the last elk that I took was with a 338 Win Mag - I saw the chest / ribcage cave-in at the bullet impact - so I am quite sure at least one of my eyes was open to see that.
As an aside - a former boss of mine was a USMC shooting instructor in his younger days - training Marine recruits to shoot - he totally convinced me about shooting with both eyes open - I have been working at that perhaps 15 years - trying to overcome the previous 35 (?) years of closing the off eye - and I believe it to be correct that your brain can accommodate one image through one eye and a different image through other eye - your brain puts them together as one - if you practice that. One of the last elk that I took was with a 338 Win Mag - I saw the chest / ribcage cave-in at the bullet impact - so I am quite sure at least one of my eyes was open to see that.
I believe The finger and hand control can come alot easier with time and practice than trying to train the other eye.
- Location
- Western Manitoba
My only significant attempt to do stuff "left handed" (I am right handed) was to try to use a lathe file, left handed - close to the spinning chuck on my metal lathe - was most definitely NOT an intuitive thing to try to do - after I got a few inches away from the chuck, I swapped back to "right handed" to finish that.
I have read, however, about people that practice shooting from their weak shoulder - so as right hander, you step forward with right foot - and target appears off to the right - is claimed to be much faster to swap grip on rifle and shoot off left shoulder, then to shuffle your feet around and shoot off right shoulder. But, I suspect that is not "intuitive" to do well either - likely needs practice - or at least compelling motivation to learn to do so.
Your daughter is a left handed shooter, currently using the wrong hand. Eye dominance is the most important part of shooting, even for handguns. She needs to learn to shoot both rifles and handguns left handed.
My wife is left handed but right eye dominant and she had to learn to do everything right handed.
Trying to shoot a handgun with opposite eye and hand will screw anyone up. It is best to just accept the need to shoot with the hand that corresponds to eye dominance.
There is absolutely no reason to use a left handed firearm. ALL firearms can easily be used left handed (with the exception of bullpups and flintlocks).
Shooting a rifle or shotgun doesn't necessarily require the fine control that you would need when using that file.
I am right handed and had to learn to shoot left handed. It only took a couple of shoots for it to start becoming natural. I'm still no good at using my left hand for other things like writing. I still can't even shoot pool left handed, but I automatically put my shotgun or rifle to my left shoulder as if I was doing it all my life.
- Location
- Western Manitoba
From an accomplished and experienced bench rest shooter, and game shooter - who happens to be left handed and left eye dominant - he advises to NOT TO TRY left handed firing of the right handed 1960-ish "roll over combs" that were once considered "cool" and "stylish" - apparently they will leave a mark on your face, if fired from the off-side - especially if the chambering has any amount of "buck" to it ...
I think his "normal" standard hunting cartridge in Rocky Mountain Alberta and B.C. was 308 Norma Magnum for most things, although I know he used 458 Win Mag for bison and other uses in Northern B.C. and perhaps the Yukon.
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Phhhtt, I have shot all kinds of things off my left shoulder, including those sharp comb type stocks and even profiled RH thumbhole stocks. Its not really all that different from using a RH pair of scissors. Is it fun? Not really but it can be done successfully when need be. I have certainly never been injured or beat up by a RH firearm.
The only firearm I will concede needs to be correct for the shooting shoulder is a flintlock because having a couple of grains of powder flash off right in front of your eyes isn't a good idea. I have done it but it freaked me out and its not something I'd choose to do again.
Thirsty_Fox
Regular
- Location
- Eastern Ontario
There was someone on my skeet team that was left-eye dominant but right-handed. Our coach had him switch to left-handed shooting (easily done with an over-under) and at first he found it awkward but within a week or two he was hitting way more targets. It really is an eye game at the end of the day.
CAN be used, sure. But most are not ideal. Especially if something goes wrong like an OOB discharge or a ruptured case, as the features that mitigate hot gasses blowing in your face are either not there or are less pronounced on the right side of the gun (eg my shotguns have the ejection port on the right, so there is no solid wall of the receiver between my face and hot gasses if something goes wrong).
Safeties can also be backwards or on the wrong side of the gun, which is not ideal especially for young people just starting out.
I use right handed guns left handed all the time. But that's largely because I'm poor and cheap.
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Agree with this, most of my hearing loss in my right ear is from shooting right handed guns from the left.
