Anyone Taught Themselves to ...

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... shoot "other" handed so as to conform with their dominant eye?

Just wondering whether anyone has actually taught/trained themselves to shoot off-hand (specifically with rifles) to accord with their opposite dominant eye? If so, did you learn about eye dominance early enough that your initial orientation to a rifle was in conformance or did you actually have to switch from what you had been doing?

I'm not trying to open the debate as to whether one ought to do so or not or ... I'm really curious as to whether anyone actually has and, if so, what their experience was like.

For the record, I am right handed; starting shooting right handed; and subsequently came to learn/know that I am left-eye dominant.

Btw, I beat both Inigo Montoya and the Man-in-Black with this trick. "I know something that you do not: I am not right-eye dominant." :cool:
 
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GreatGazoo said:
... shoot "other" handed so as to conform with their dominant eye?
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I did, years ago... I am strongly left eye dominant due to amblyopia corrected without surgery. I choot pistols right handed (but left eye'd), rifles and trad bows left handed.

But I was already amphibious...
 
My wife and my older daughter are both left-eye dominant and right handed. We found it when doing cowboy action (SASS) events. So they shoot pistols right handed with left eye aim, shoot lever (or pump) rifle left handed, and the SxS shotgun right handed. Any other rifle shooting is left handed too. They learned about it pretty early, so was not much of an adjustment for them.
 
There's a thread on the forum somewhere that has discussed this, somewhere.......................




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I started to shoot pistol with my weak hand about 10 years ago, and found out I am equally mediocre with either hand. ( but I also squint the opposite eye of the hand I am shooting). then started to shoot rifle left handed as well, and manage to hit the target fairly well.. just keep trying, as it will feel totally alien , but you will have no bad habits yet.. good luck
 
"If so, did you learn about eye dominance early enough that your initial orientation to a rifle,............."


I just realized this is posed in the "Long Guns" section......................


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Gator said:
"If so, did you learn about eye dominance early enough that your initial orientation to a rifle,............."


I just realized this is posed in the "Long Guns" section......................


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Click to expand...

Yes. I figured that compensation with a pistol is not too onerous e.g. I just close my right eye and shift my arms slightly to the left for sight picture/alignment: otherwise, I manipulate the pistol right handed. I do appreciate, however, the previous comments posted even if based on a handgun.

In my case, I purchased an AR15 before I knew about things like eye dominance (my ROTC stepson wanted an AR for himself as a present some years ago now ... and that's how I got into shooting at a somewhat later age). That being said, my other rifles/shotgun (when they're not at the bottom of a lake somewhere) are lever action or single shot. So whilst my default has been to work such firearms right handed, the thought occurred regarding whether effort to shift to left-handed firing for those intrinsically ambi firearms might be preferable or whether that might just be cause for muscle memory confusion. I get that "preferable" is vague as to preferable for what. I'm not aiming to be a competitive marksman, but my eyesight won't be improving, so I wondered about a shift in orientation to preserve what I could: I want to shoot as well as I can.

So I was curious whether anyone else had experience with this sort of thing.
 
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Good question.

I've never had to do this, as I'm right eye dominant as well as right handed.

However, I run across this issue all the time with Cub Scouts as BB Rangemaster. It's a real challenge with little kids who are cross-dominant, as most have enough of a problem learning proper form and safe handling of BB guns. Each such kid is different, so how to approach them on this matter will differ. I will generally work with whatever ends up being the most comfortable with them, as I generally don't have enough time to give any further specialized training with the sheer numbers of Scouts who need to get through the range.

For adults, with one-on-one time, I'd try different things to see what might work better. Maybe learning to shoot with their non-dominant hand would work, maybe learning to shoot with their non-dominant eye would work, maybe learning to cross-dominant shoot (right hand, left eye for example). Maybe they can pick up ambidextrous shooting. Each will be different.
 
Right handed and right eye dominant, but...

I practice shooting lefty using left eye both rifle and pistol. Rifle because sometimes the deer just won't cooperate and the only shot is lefty.

Pistol when shooting around barricade; keep as much behind cover as possible.
 
Back when I was competing with subguns, it was common for us to practice both strong hand and weak handed shooting. Since I was shooting from the shoulder, that meant using both eyes; it right shoulder, right eye and left shoulder, left eye.

I actually got pretty good at it, but that was in the last century....
 
GoWolfpack said:
I'm cross-dominant and generally shoot rifles left handed. Doesn't really take much adjustment for me, it's just what I have to do to make the sights work. I can't wink my left (dominant) eye shut, so I either use it or obscure it somehow.
Click to expand...

Did you have to switch handedness with rifles, or were you aware of this and adapted when first learning to shoot?
 
MacEntyre said:
I did, years ago... I am strongly left eye dominant due to amblyopia corrected without surgery. I choot pistols right handed (but left eye'd), rifles and trad bows left handed.

But I was already amphibious...
Click to expand...


Same here. I was born right eye dominate but had a right eye injury at 5 that left my vision in that eye barely usable.

I got my first BB gun at 8 and being 8 and not understanding, I shot right handed and had to hang my head over the rifle to sight with my left eye. That was all fine and dandy until I graduated to a shotgun. That first shot hurt and I made the switch to lefty.

Now lefty is so natural that when I pretend to shoulder a rifle it's lefty.

The fun part is going out to bust clays with new people. I start hitting the clays, they say "I didn't know you were a lefty?", I say "I'm not, I just wanted to give you a sporting chance!".
 
GreatGazoo said:
Did you have to switch handedness with rifles, or were you aware of this and adapted when first learning to shoot?
Click to expand...

At first I didn't understand how to sight a rifle, since I was looking down the side of the barrel instead of along the top. Once I figured out what was wrong I switched and except for occasionally getting hit with hot brass it's never been a big issue. I was pretty young, under 10.

I switch pretty easily now. I made a pair of safety glasses with tape over the left lens to force my right eye to take over, and I'm getting better at intentionally looking through the right eye without any external input.
 
NCLivingBrit said:
Yeah, I'm a lefty but shoot righty for my dominant eye. Learned when I was a kid shooting pellet guns.
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I'm righty, But after a while shooting pellet guns. Then for something different went to shooting lefty was good. It paid off because the first deer I shot had to shoot lefty with a heavy old sxs.
 
I can shoot pistols okay-ish lefty, but cross dominance has minimal effect on with handguns. Long guns are a whole different story, though. Just feels awkward & unnatural as hell. I've known my left eye was "better" forever & should have starting shooting lefty in Basic Training, but that was just NOT the situation to add new variables & then later, we only ever shot to qualify, never any just practice. Back when weapons quals played a part in promotions, I wasn't willing to risk promotion points trying to shoot lefty & just forgot about it over time.

I need to revisit shooting lefty again, especially as all my long guns are essentially ambidextrous- lever actions, ARs & both pump & break action shotguns.
 
Dave951 said:
It is possible to change eye dominance but not something to try on a whim.
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I was left eye dominant when I started to shoot. And being right handed made for an oil and water mix.
My Dad and I spent countless hours getting me right eye dominant. And I mean hours a day, everyday, but I finally switched from left to right eye dominance.
Funny thing is, when I play baseball or softball, I throw and catch righty, but I bat lefty......
 
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As a hunter I shoot “non-dominate” eye & handed if the situation calls for it. No training required, just switch hands, aim and squeeze.
 
Learn to shoot with both eyes open. Once you can shoot irons, dots, and scopes with both eyes open I don’t think eye dominance means a whole lot, but I am no pro.
 
Bigdave0924 said:
Learn to shoot with both eyes open. Once you can shoot irons, dots, and scopes with both eyes open I don’t think eye dominance means a whole lot, but I am no pro.
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Even when both your eyes are open, you're not looking through them both when you're focusing on something like a scope or red dot.
 
Shifting which eye you "see" through isn't that difficult.

You can practice by looking at something, then turn your head slightly left or right as you keep looking at it. As you turn your head towards the left, your left eye will become "dominant" as your eyes continue to track what you're looking at. As you turn your head to the right, your right eye becomes dominant.

You can accomplish the same thing by looking left or right without turning your head.

I wonder if this has anything to do with one's nose becoming more "prominent" in the field of vision.

Whatever. As you shift your head left and right, if you pay attention to this, you can learn to shift the dominance of your eyes.
 
I’m right handed left eye dominant. I noticed it when I was a teenager and started shooting long guns from my left shoulder mostly. I did right shoulder too because everyone that was showing me how to shoot was right handed. I can shoot either shoulder now. The left is quicker and seems more natural so that is my primary side.

A couple of years ago a sporting clays instructor sized me up and asked me to try shooting clays right shouldered. He put a piece of tape on my safety glasses in the center of my left eye’s vision and had me try it out. It worked great!

I guess it’s all muscle memory and practice…and maybe a piece of tape.

CHRIS
 
I'm right handed but find it many times easier to shoot lefty with rifles (especially from a bench). Pistol is right dominant always. I also shoot pool backwards or so I've been told, where I aim with left hand and push with right. I am left eye dominant according to my eye doctor and am left ear dominant due to playing in bands and not using ear protection for years. Not sure if any of that comes into play but...
 
I can shoot either handed. Taught myself early on. I'm right handed and right eye dominant but think nothing of taking a left handed shot if need be. I do close my right eye when I do that, where right handed I shoot both eyes open.
 
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