To shoot left or right...that is the question.

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hudson

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Though a noob, I have been shooting for a few years but never with my own equiptment. I decided to get with it and took my PAL/RPAL and got three guns, a little bolt .22, an inhertied 20 ga single and a 12ga semi (in the process of getting the rifle and the handguns).
I have always shot friends/relatives guns that have all been right handed. My problem comes that I am left handed and right eye dominant. When taking the PAL the instructor suggested shooting right as that is my dominant eye. Any suggestions on deciding which way to shoot??

Thanks for the help/suggestions!
 
you can train hands-most firearms show a bias for righties anyway- i'd say he gave good advice going with the dominant eye- i'm left on left- i can't see any problem, but my best is to mount each- chances are the semi and single will present no problem, and you'll like the way the bolt fits on the right side, rather than having to reach over the top with the left hand and use the back of the palm and pinkie to work the bolt
 
I have been shooting left handed for years because of the strong eye rule. Thats why I use semi-auto rifles. Its easier than trying to go right. left hand bolt-action rifles are available in the used rifle market. usually fair pricing because not everyone shoots left.
 
actually the fair pricing thing is fairly recent- there was a time that so-called "mirror" actions( read left handed) cost considerably more- but at that time southpaws comprised only 10 % of the population-
 
I'd go with the eye dominance suggestion. Unless you're completely unable to function shooting right handed it's easier to train your hands than it is to train your eye.
 
If your right eye dominant shoot on the right side as it was stated you can teach your hands to work whichever way you want them to. You just can't train your eyes to pick which one is dominant. I'm a lucky person as I'm ambidextrous person with NO noticeably dominant eye so I can shoot what side is most comfortable for me which happens to be left but I'll be learning to shoot right too so I'll be having fun shooting with my weak side for some time.

And also as stated if you do shoot left hand the price difference is not really there any more so don't worry about going bankrupt getting a south paw gun. You're just going to be working with a much smaller selection as most companies only have a few gun models in south paw.

If your really torn on which side you want to use as your main shooting side do what I'm doing, get a lever action rifle. Most of them I've seen are ambidextrous just be careful of the empties as you eject them.

Good luck in your decision Hudson
 
I'm left eye right hand
Makes shooting my 12g tough, i've tried shooting left, but it just doesn't feel right.

So i want a riffle. add a scope then dominant eye won't be as important
 
dominant eye

BigGreenMachine said:
Is that the case? The dominant eye isn't important when using a scope?
Click to expand...

When you close either eye,the oposite becomes dominant. I do how ever disagree that it is easier to train your hands than your eyes. I had a Draconian first grade teacher back in the early 60's and her world was a right hand world. I had to sit on my left hand when learning to write and even had the old b!tch tape my left arm to my side.The result was redoing grade one and a pile of frustration. If you are comfortable using your left to shoot then use it...Your eyes will adjust easier. Of course if you are blind in one eye then there could be a problem...
 
Although I did not have saddletramps problem I can remember a teacher [also in the early 60`s] in an old one room school also doing that to children who wanted to write with their left hand. I am right hand left eye dominant and found with a lot of work that shooting left hand using my dominat eye was the only way to go as I got older. Believe it or not when I shoulder a firearm to my right side now there is no front sight but if I go to my left shoulder I can see sights. I used to shoot a lot of handgun right handed and just canted the pistol slightly in my hand to get to my dominat eye. When shooting coyotes I now shoot left handed 99% of the time-old habits die hard. When I was younger there was no problem using my right shoulder and squinting but as I got older my dominant eye took over totally as my weaker right eye started to fade. If I could do it all over again I would have taught myself to shoot southpaw from the beginning FWIIW
good luck.
 
Thanks for all the suggestions/inout/feedback. I have gotten used to running the bolt with my right so I don't think it will be a stretch to "train" up the right eye and hand. All that means is more rounds and time at the range!!!!
Happy shooting.
 
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