left eye dominant

[tsalazar]

I am left eye dominant...but a right handed shooter. So while shooting a pistol I normally just say screw it and close my left eye. Same thing with a rifle. I'd been told to just start shooting with my left hand/left eye but it just doesn't feel right that way...I am super slow with my draw and shooting speed shooting lefty. Anyone else have this problem?? And what would you recommend for me to become a better marksman?​

 

[pwoller]

I'm the same way. I've been successfully duck hunting this way for 15 years so I just say screw it and close my left eye too.

 

[wpmason]

I'm the opposite, left hand/right eye.

Since it's my right eye, I was able to adopt shooting right handed long guns with no problems at all. Since you're left eye is dominant, that's trickier since you'll be catching brass with your face if you do any left hand shooting with a right handed gun. My dad was actually left handed/left eyed, and he just dealt with it.

With handguns though, I use my left hand (slowly training my right hand, but have some limp wristing problems) to hold the gun, and simply angle my left arm across my body to line up better with my right eye. I also kinda bend my neck towards the left a bit, so the sightlines are a bit more centered relative to my body. Usually there's a slight bit of contact between my left cheek and shoulder.

Of course, this is not a natural stance, and it takes some getting used to (as I learned to shoot handguns with very little formal training, it is now pretty natural to me, as in, the only way I've ever done it) and it does lead to a tendency to shoot to the right (in my case, in your case it'd be left). If you try it, you just have to be very aware that your gun arm is NOT pointing at the target, and bend your wrist to accommodate the different angle.

Maybe that'll give you some ideas, and hopefully it's not too confusing. Just let me know if you need more info or even pictures... I could explain things better, but just not on spec. lol Good luck figuring out what works for you though.

 

[griffin]

I am left eye dominant...but a right handed shooter. So while shooting a pistol I normally just say screw it and close my left eye. Anyone else have this problem?? And what would you recommend for me to become a better marksman?

Keep both eyes open. Your dominant eye will dominate. Not complicated.

I am right handed and left-eye dominant.

Let me tell you a story.

I recently took some pro handgun training. At the end of the first day we were doing a step back dill competition for fun (and prizes).

I am on the left wearing the green shirt. We began at the 15 yard line and fired six rounds, one 45 degrees left to an 8" x 10" steel plate, one 45 degree right to an 8" x 10" steel plate, two center mass inside a 6" circle straight ahead left, two center mass inside a 6" circle straight ahead right. All six shots had to hit. Any miss would DQ (disqualify) you. Out of eleven students, only three made it. I was one.

We moved back five yards and repeated. All three scored the same.

We moved back another five yards. This is where the picture below was taken. One 8" x 10" steel target was placed in the center. You can see it if you look carefully. Two of us hit it, one missed. He was out.

We then moved back another five yards, but one of the instructors said "screw it" and walked back ten yards. Now we were at 35 yards. Two people left. I walked up, drew, and shot the steel target and hit. The other guy missed.

I won.

What was the question? Oh yeah, keep both eyes open. It works.

 

[hANNAbONE]

same here - left eye dominant and a righty handgun shooter BUT a lefty rifle shooter.

Both eyes open, get use to it, it works.

 

[Birds Away]

There was another thread about this not too long ago. I am also left eye/right hand. I go with it. I usually close my right eye and swing the gun into line. Like anything else, practice, practice, practice.

 

[eldirector]

I'll just echo the others...

Left-eye, right handed. Both eyes open and practice, practice, practice.

 

[k12lts]

Me too.

Right hand, left eye pistol.

Left hand, left eye rifle.

Just practice, get used to it, not a problem.

 

[AJBB87]

Me too.

Right hand, left eye pistol.

Left hand, left eye rifle.

Just practice, get used to it, not a problem.

Yup, me three

 

[Stang51d]

Same here. Shoot all handguns right handed using my left eye. My scoped rifles all have risers on them so I can shoot right with left eye, I can get low enough on my 03A3 to shoot right with left on the iron sights and all of my AK variants with folding stocks I can shoot right handed with the left eye because I can get low on them. All others I have to shoot left handed.

 

[gregkl]

I am cross dominant and I can shoot pistols okay both eyes open. I just slightly favor the dominant eye and it works fine. With rifles I can keep both eyes open also and see through the scope if I concentrate but once I pull the trigger, the recoil knocks me back to my dominant eye and I am no longer looking through the scope. If I would close the left eye, I could see the target after firing.

For shotgun, I am still trying to figure it out. I can shoot better with one eye closed, but I am trying the cellophane tape trick to see if that will work. I would prefer to keep both eyes open for the peripheral vision.

I won't use it as an excuse and there are some world class cross dominant shooters out there, but it still is a disadvantage to becoming a good shot. I struggled for years trying to learn to shoot recurve archery instinctively, and I think the cross dominance really hurt me.

 

[amboy49]

eye dominance

Same problem for me - left eye dominant ( really dominant ) and right handed ( for everything I do ) For years I shot shotguns for skeet and trap closing my left eye. Wasn't a huge issue for trap as most of the targets are going away but in skeet you really need peripheral vision onsome of the stations. I then was advised to "tape" my left shooting glass lens. Just enought to "fuzz out" my left eye looking straight ahead but giving me the peripheral vision I needed. This really helped me improve my skeet shooting and I eventually became a AA shooter in all four gaiuges. When you only have "sight" in one eye you lose depth perception - but that's not a huge issue in most of the shooting sports. It's not good for things like shooting a basketball or judging distance when driving.

As for shooting a pistol - again if you put scotch tape on your left eyeglass lens this will make your right eye take over. You will not have to remember to keep your eye closed or squint. It's not a cure - but certainly does improve the sight picture acquistion time. Since you're always supposed to be wearing glasses when you shoot this should mean you don't have to remember to put on glasses. You can get the same effect by smearing a light coat of vaseline on the lense instead using scotch tape.

 

[gregkl]

Same problem for me - left eye dominant ( really dominant ) and right handed ( for everything I do ) For years I shot shotguns for skeet and trap closing my left eye. Wasn't a huge issue for trap as most of the targets are going away but in skeet you really need peripheral vision onsome of the stations. I then was advised to "tape" my left shooting glass lens. Just enought to "fuzz out" my left eye looking straight ahead but giving me the peripheral vision I needed. This really helped me improve my skeet shooting and I eventually became a AA shooter in all four gaiuges. When you only have "sight" in one eye you lose depth perception - but that's not a huge issue in most of the shooting sports. It's not good for things like shooting a basketball or judging distance when driving.

As for shooting a pistol - again if you put scotch tape on your left eyeglass lens this will make your right eye take over. You will not have to remember to keep your eye closed or squint. It's not a cure - but certainly does improve the sight picture acquistion time. Since you're always supposed to be wearing glasses when you shoot this should mean you don't have to remember to put on glasses. You can get the same effect by smearing a light coat of vaseline on the lense instead using scotch tape.

How much time would you estimate it will take to get used to the taped lens?

 

[U.S. Patriot]

I'm left eye dominant but right handed. I have always used my right eye to focus on the front sight, without issue. The only time I keep both eyes open is when point shooting, or using a red dot. I can not focus on the front site with both eyes open, and it may do with having an astigmatism in my right eye. Does that mean I could not hit a target by doing so, no, but my accuracy is really going to suffer at longer distances.

 

[VN Vet]

I am right handed and right eye dominant. Change that. I was right eye dominant. I had to have catarac surgery on my left eye three years ago this summer. Since that time I have changed to left eye dominant. I shoot both eyes open so it's not a problem, but I thought it was interesting that my dominant eye changed. Anyone else this happened too?

 

[marv]

Due to my recent stroke the right lens of my glasses is covered to prevent double vision. I've tried right hand-left eye dry fire and it works OK. Weather and Wife permitting I'm gonna get in some trigger time and see if I can shoot this way.

 

[threedhuntr]

You can train yourself to override your dominance and focus on the appropriate sight picture. I've done it with guns and archery. I shot right handed and an left eye dominant.

 

[mainjet]

Chuck Norris was left eye dominant until he told his right eye to be dominant.

I am left eye dominant and shoot guns and bows right handed. I just squint my left eye closed when going to target.

 

[DemolitionMan]

I am also cross-eye dominant and I've worked with a number of young shooters who have the same issue. Generally speaking I do NOT recommend trying to force your non-dominant eye to be your shooting eye. For most people it is much, much easier to learn how to shoot with their "off" hand than it is to retrain your brain. Also there are often medical reasons, such as astigmatisms or other eye problems, that make shooting with that eye difficult or impossible.

I'd also point out that using aids such as taped glasses or eye-patches work fine on the range - but you are probably not going to have those handy in an emergency situation.

There are some folks, like threedhuntr, who can shoot with their non-dominant eye without using any aids. If you can do it, great. I just think you'll find that shooting with your other hand is easier to learn.

Personally I shoot long guns left-handed but pistol right-handed because I keep both eyes open for handguns. But then I'm weird.

 

[Rocket]

I am left/ left. Shoot everything left handed. I find so long as I wear a ball cap I have no brass problems. Shooting RH bolt guns is a challenge. Ak worldly using my right hand to work the bolt. Most of them stop about a millimeter from my nose. Been shooting this way since I learned.