Like many others I'm right handed but left eye dominate. This isn't a big problem for shooting trap. I'm able to shoot with only my right eye open and do reasonably well. In the last year I have started shooting skeet and I realized during my first round this technique would never work. It took far to long to acquire the targets coming from the left. I then switched to shooting with both eyes open and blinking just before I shoot. This worked better but closing 1 eye for the brief period isn't the best choice on doubles. I then switched to a small piece of clear tape on the left lens. This works the best out off all the others. I have a mild prescription for astigmatism (images are not quite a crisp as possible) and have always shot without prescription glasses. I generally only wear glasses while driving and doing very fine detail work like soldering. And of course meetings and anywhere else I want to look smarter... My question is has anyone attempted get glasses made with only a prescription on one side (in this case my right) would this be enough to rectify the left eye dominance? The left eye prescription is only +0.5. I don't spending the money on decent pair of shooting glasses if it will remedy the situation.
Dominate Eye Help.
- Thread starter ProX2
- Start date
I don't have prescription safety glasses and cant shoot at the range without safety glasses. I was looking into purchasing a pair of prescription shooting glasses when I came up with the idea of getting only the right eye in the prescription. I'm sure someone has tried this but I haven't had any luck on google...
Willy Tincup
CGN frequent flyer
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- Owen Sound
I have the same left eye / right hand dominance. Many years ago I started shooting from my left shoulder. Its not nearly as difficult as one might think and soon it is the norm and trying too shoot right handed feels weird. For me it was the best long term solution and possibly is something to consider. Cheers!
Ahhh...thanks for the clarification. How about going for a prescription pair of safety glasses with both eyes corrected, and ask for a second non-corrected lens that fits the left eye. Likely won't cost too much extra and you can swap it back and forth with the corrected lens and see how it works for you. You will have a solution, either way it works out. You may still decide that a patch on the left eye is the way to go but you will end up with vision-corrected safety glasses. Not a bad thing.
With the left eye only needing .5 , the right eye with prescription lens will not be that much stronger than the uncorrected left eye. I do not think that solution will work to change eye dominance. I believe that Willy Tincup's suggestion represents the best "short term pain for long term gain"for you. Many shooters have switched from right to left and quickly became very accomplished shotgun shooters.
A friend of mine also does this, right handed, left eye dominant, shoots now from the left side.
You can train yourself to use either eye, but I'm not sure how you would practically do it. When I was surveying I would get a headache from constantly closing my left eye and only looking through the total station with my right, so I started making sure I used my left eye more often, first with my right eye closed, then while keeping both open. It was easier in that case because it was something I did hundreds of times a day for several years, and just like blacking out one lens, I always had the view from the eye that I wasn't using blocked off from seeing much from the total station itself being in front of it.
Realistically I think it would just be easier to start shooting left and build the muscle memory for it than to try to purposefully train your brain to use the other eye.
I started life as a lefty but my dad trained me to shoot right, because of the fact of way more guns set up for righties. So I only shoot right...only problem is I am still left-eye dominant. I just shoot with both eyes open and it seems to be okay. You can train yourself to do just about anything, including focusing with your right eye. Whichever approach you take, I am sure with the intent you have, you will be successful. Good luck!
Sunchild2071
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Glen Park, AB
Although left eye/right hander, as noted; I shoot right on rifles, and use my right eye.
Handguns, I use my left eye when shooting.
Just something I acquired over time.
Handguns, I use my left eye when shooting.
Just something I acquired over time.
I am the same as above. I started shooting everything right-handed, as I am right handed, and I am also left-eye dominant.
When shooting a rifle, I shoot it right handed. With a scope infront of me, I have no problems focusing through the scope with my right eye. This is a bit harder with iron sights, but still very much doable for me.
With a handgun, I hold it right handed, but usually (not always, Im still a total newb with a handgun) raise it in line with my left eye. Makes for an easy enough fix.
With a shotgun, I just shoot it left handed. Started with a pump, now I have a cheap Semi. It ejects out the right side, but it doesn't come close to hitting me.
I tried a bunch of tricks, including closing one eye, using scotch tape over my glasses on the left side, using sunglasses over just my left eye, and trying to focus with my right eye. Long story short, nothing worked as good as I wanted. You need to have both eyes open for two reasons: First, you need to see the target as soon as possible, second, having both eyes open gives your brain WAY more info about the speed and trajectory of an object (Especially for the ones coming towards/away, but crossers too. You have no depth perception with only one eye open)
The FIRST day I shot left handed, I knew it was the right choice. The gun felt awkward, heavy, and too long when I first switched. I dont know why, but it seems my comfortable length of pull on my left side is significantly less than my right (like 3/4" or so) and I felt like the pump was a mile away shooting left handed. (Part of the reason I picked up a semi)
I only switched in the early parts of this year, and I haven't spent a lot of time shotgunning this year (didn't even get a range membership due to money and time) but in maybe 200 clays (3 rounds of skeet with my mossy pump, and probably 125ish hand thrown or launched with a cheap $40 trap machine) I already feel way more confident in my abilities.
Shoot your shotgun on whatever hand is your dominant eye. You can re-learn to shoot a shotgun with your left hand, its much harder (personally I think impossible) to reteach your eyes. All the tricks out there might increase your success rate, but I don't believe you'll ever hit your true potential by shooting on the side of your non-dominant eye.
I went a different way this year.
Instead of focusing on the gun, simply focus on the clay. Keep both eyes open.
I notice I shoot worse when I do things you mentioned, like closing the eye temporarily to see out your right eye.
I shoot the best when I'm done shooting and think to myself "I didn't even think about my shooting". Focus on the clay, and the rest just happens.
Keep in mind it's been a mild struggle with this, but my scores have improved greatly.
Obviously different paths to take, but I think getting away from "holding lead" has improved my shooting a lot.
Instead of focusing on the gun, simply focus on the clay. Keep both eyes open.
I notice I shoot worse when I do things you mentioned, like closing the eye temporarily to see out your right eye.
I shoot the best when I'm done shooting and think to myself "I didn't even think about my shooting". Focus on the clay, and the rest just happens.
Keep in mind it's been a mild struggle with this, but my scores have improved greatly.
Obviously different paths to take, but I think getting away from "holding lead" has improved my shooting a lot.
I appreciate all the suggestions. I will order a pair a glasses with only the right eye prescription and give it a try. I really don't have the desire to learn to shoot left handed right now. Life is pretty busy with a career and 3 small kids so I don't get out often enough to really give learning to shoot left handed everything it will require. Maybe in a year or 2 when life slows down and I can devote the time. Thanks again.
I am a full time university student, with a part time job, 3 young kids, and a wife on permanent disability, and I was able to make the switch. If you have time to shoot at all, you have time to learn to shoot left handed. Play a few rounds one afternoon and you'll be amazed, trust me.
The most important thing I've learned about eye dominance that everybody's eyes are different.
What works for you may not work for somebody else.
I experience a dominance issue where either my right eye or my left eye may take over at any time. Either I see two beads or two birds.
I listened to all the BS about just focusing hard on the bird. That works for some... not for me.
I use a simple patch on my glasses. When I'm looking down the rib, only my right eye can see what is immediately in front of me. I maintain peripheral vision with both eyes (very important for left to right targets like High 2). If I shoot without a patch I am simply wasting lead.
I would recommend listening to all the different ideas, but starting with the most simple ones. A small dot of tape placed correctly on your glasses is way easier than messing with lens prescriptions or changing to shoot left handed. If the simple solutions aren't working, look to the less simple ones and find what works best for you.
In my experience a well placed patch will solve most issues. Like I said though, everybody's eyes are different and what works for me may not work for you.
Brad.
What works for you may not work for somebody else.
I experience a dominance issue where either my right eye or my left eye may take over at any time. Either I see two beads or two birds.
I listened to all the BS about just focusing hard on the bird. That works for some... not for me.
I use a simple patch on my glasses. When I'm looking down the rib, only my right eye can see what is immediately in front of me. I maintain peripheral vision with both eyes (very important for left to right targets like High 2). If I shoot without a patch I am simply wasting lead.
I would recommend listening to all the different ideas, but starting with the most simple ones. A small dot of tape placed correctly on your glasses is way easier than messing with lens prescriptions or changing to shoot left handed. If the simple solutions aren't working, look to the less simple ones and find what works best for you.
In my experience a well placed patch will solve most issues. Like I said though, everybody's eyes are different and what works for me may not work for you.
Brad.
Same for me. However I have three different prescription strengths.
One for driving and distance, movies, TV etc...
One for reading at the distance one normally holds a book or distance when writing, and
one distance for computers where I am at a full arm's length from the monitors
So I have two bifocals: one for distance/reading and one for computer/reading.
I use the computer/reading glasses for shooting (mostly handguns. Rarely rifles)
Very easy to focus on front sights.
But....... there is always a but.
I had some surgeries on my left DOMINANT eye and I ended up with a macular hole.
Surgery got it closed bu the wavy distortion of vertical lines is playing havoc with that
eye's vision. I now shoot right-eyed. But I find that I have to use the flippable eye-patches
(opaque white) in order to shoot with both eyes open, using the non-dominant right but
allowing light to get to the other eye thus reducing stress. YMMV. Good Luck.
P.S. I am waiting for two or possibly three more surgeries before I can even think
of having my prescriptions altered. My vision has everything wrong with it including
Strabismus with different prism configurations for the three distances.
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- Planet Earth Wearing My Tinfoil Hat
You and I experience the exact same thing. It started in 2011 for me at age 47. Until then I had never needed prescription lenses. My first prescription put me right back to where I had always been. Two years later my next prescrition turned into a nightmare. The above conditions continued even with the new prescription lenses. I ended up going to an optometrist who specializes in shooters. I now wear the dot system on my left lens and it has made a big improvement on my shooting.
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Its things like this that made me decide on going to left-handed. I can either spend years playing with tricks, or I can just learn to shoot left handed and be done with it. Its really not that hard. There is certainly a learning curve, but the hardest part for me was the little things like the gun felt really long and heavy on my left side (Im short so the length is probably less of an issue for most people, but I'll be shortening my semi soon) and actually hitting the clays was the easy part of switching. I have only shot for a few years though, so I dont have 30 years of muscle memory to overcome (although you could argue I do, growing up with toy guns you dont think about things like eye dominance so everything was right-handed. lol)
I guess it would only be fair to add I wear prescription glasses, and my right is the weaker eye (although again, not enough so that I can't use a rifle right-handed without issue)
I'm right handed, but left eye dominant. I've always had to shoot rifles off my left side, because the right side just feels wrong. I started out shooting pistol right handed, but quickly found that going full lefty resulted in much better groups. I tried using my right eye only, putting tape on my glasses etc. It was actually easier to just switch.
