Right handed but left eye dominant

To each their own, but I can't imagine shooting with one eye closed. I am left handed. When I was younger,I tried to shoot right handed by closing my left eye. It worked, but didn't feel natural or quick. I gave upon the idea. My two sons are both right handed and LED. They both shoot left hand with both eyes open. I feel there is a huge advantage in being able to keep both eyes open, if you ever want to be proficient at snap shooting with the shotgun or for that matter, running shots with the rifle. That said, you have to do what works for you.
 
9.3mauser said:
I would think this is actually the wrong approach. With both eyes open the dominant eye, in this case left, wants to take charge. You need to learn to squint or close your left eye so the right eye is forced to take over.

If you're at the range, I've seen partly opaque stick-ons for your glasses to acheive the same effect. Not practical for hunting though.
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my wife that her strong eyes is the left one decided she did not like to use left hand actions or bow and it took her exactly one day to master to close her left eye.
for scope it is depending on the kind used.

in the army they trained us to shoot with both eyes open to always be sure about your surrounding but it was the doctrine in the end of 70s and 80s especially when no obsverator was with you.

when i was a really young and started to shoot they had the black cover for the non dominant eye will it as a carry around the head or attached to the rifle. you re way more accurate with open sights that way.

for handgun while not a specialist if you want to keep both eyes you need a laser designator or a little optic.
 
fratri said:
Interesting, I guess next time at the range I will have to pay a little more attention to see what will work best.
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If you can train yourself to keep both eyes open, that will be best.

It's a question of degree though, because if your left eye is REALLY dominant, you've got your work cut out for you. In that case, it may be easier to retrain to shoot lefty.

Have you had your eyesight checked? Because if your left eye has significantly better vision that could be the deciding factor. I'm left eye dominant, but the vision isn't any better in that eye so I still shoot right handed.
 
fratri said:
Didn't want to hijack the other scope thread so started this new one with the question..... What happens when you are a right handed shooter but are left eye dominant.... That seems to be my way of life... Right handed but left eye dominance... I wonder if this is why sometimes I have a hard time lining up the crosshair on them. Any tips to make me a better shooter, just putting it out there.
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Frank you seem to kill enough coyotes. I wouldn’t fret too much about your eye issue. Just tell yourself you offer the coyotes more advantage….and you still win sometimes. Cheers and good luck out there.
 
9.3mauser said:
I would think this is actually the wrong approach. With both eyes open the dominant eye, in this case left, wants to take charge. You need to learn to squint or close your left eye so the right eye is forced to take over.

If you're at the range, I've seen partly opaque stick-ons for your glasses to acheive the same effect. Not practical for hunting though.
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This!!

As a left eye dominant and right hand shooter, I close my left eye before shooting so right eye gains dominance. Once I’m about to shoot, I open the left eye. The right eye maintains dominance for a period of time. Pain in the ass, but thats how I shoot clays and when using a scope. If I’m hunting with a shotgun, usually there is no time to play these eye games so I have both eyes open
 
I have more or less trained myself to become ambidextrous with firearms as a result of being left eye dominant.
 
cdn1canhunt said:
Frank you seem to kill enough coyotes. I wouldn’t fret too much about your eye issue. Just tell yourself you offer the coyotes more advantage….and you still win sometimes. Cheers and good luck out there.
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Thanks, just discovered my left eye dominance the other day while doing some tests, it just got me thinking about those coyotes that I have missed or were not able to get into the scope quick enough and wondered if this left eye, right hand shooting contributed to it at all?
Not trying out for the Olympics :) but rather just seeing if there is something simple that can help me do, just little bit better that's all.

I am changing scopes soon (going with a 3x9)and then when sighting in, I will pay more attention to my eye placement in relationship to the target.... I will try both eyes open and left eye closed to see how it plays out.
It needs to warm up a bit before I do that as it is pretty cold for that kind of stuff now :(
Thanks for all the advice
 
fratri said:
Didn't want to hijack the other scope thread so started this new one with the question..... What happens when you are a right handed shooter but are left eye dominant.... That seems to be my way of life... Right handed but left eye dominance... I wonder if this is why sometimes I have a hard time lining up the crosshair on them. Any tips to make me a better shooter, just putting it out there.
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You are a gimp. My kids have this affliction too. I started them out shooting long guns LH so they didn't struggle like their dumbass dad trying to shoot right. Pistols are a different story - you just look like you mean business.
 
Rwilco said:
You are a gimp. My kids have this affliction too. I started them out shooting long guns LH so they didn't struggle like their dumbass dad trying to shoot right. Pistols are a different story - you just look like you mean business.
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You are a silly guy....
 
I'm left handed,but when I shoot firearms my left eye is dominant,when I shoot bows my right eye is dominant.i shoot with both eyes open.I use right handed bows,and I can't shoot a left handed bow ,and can't shoulder a rifle and shoot right handed,it just doesn't work.

It's automatic as soon as I pick up a bow or gun.Most people don't believe it until they see me shooting.
 
My buddy had this problem pretty bad and he wore an eye patch while shooting until he got used to shooting with the correct eye. It worked for him.
 
I'm left handed, right eye dominate. Shot guns and bows left handed from age 5-18. Realized I was right eye dominant as I couldn't shoot iron sights straight. Made the switch to right handed. Now I've been doing it for 15+ years and it's second nature. Don't even think about it and I shoulder right side.

Shot a few coyotes/turkeys/deer left handed since i switched as I couldn't turn far enough, Shoot either way now if need be.
 
fratri said:
I may have to learn to shoot with both eyes open if it helps my accuracy because I am not going to shoot left handed, just too much work, :(
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I never knew any better, always shot left with RH guns. I finally found my first big game hunting rifle in LH, so just try it and keep your eyes peeled for LH guns, they are out there.
 
I'm left eye dominant and right handed or ambi with some things. My Grandpa Joe wondered "what the Hell are you doin' with that rifle?" when he was teaching me to shoot the .22. I was holding it like he showed but using my left eye. I was 6 or 7. After deer hunting with the No. 4 mk1* Longbranch for 20 years I broke down and bought a left handed Tikka. Problem solved. No more reloading like Private Jackson! (albeit Dad's Lee-Enfield was probably smoother than his 1903)
 
I've been shooting right handed all my life , 4 years ago
I changed to left because of injury.

My target shooting improved increadibly , I am
right eye dominant tho my left eye has become
better for depth of field & sight picture >
 
I have the same issue. It only effects me when shooting a shotgun. It has no bearing on me lining up through my rifle scope. Close my left eye and I shoot a scoped rifle w/o issue. With the shotgun I always shoot both eyes open so now I just have a Magic Dot on my left lens centred with my pupil so my left eye doesn't take over and cause me to shoot to the left. If I was going to shoot my rifle both eyes open I'd just wear my shooting glasses with the Magic Dot. It takes a bit of getting used to at first but now I no longer notice it and you still retain good peripheral vision.
 
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