Help with Right handed / left eye dominant teen shooter

[cmysix]

I had been shooting right handed, right eye, left eye closed for years, sporting clays and was pretty good at it stopped shooting for 15 years took up trap not bad at first but then every thing went screwey. went to a gun fitter and we discovered I was left eye dominate , tape dot on the glasses and Meadows industries "sight blinders" on the guns, It is so much more comfortable shooting with both eyes open! pistol in right hand and I do just fine with the left eye, Gun fitter said if I was YOUNG he would try to get me shooting left handed

 

[wkdwdg66]

Big thanks to all who shared there advice and stories.

It highlighted my complete ignorance in regards to eye dominance and shooting hand gun , something i am new to.
it'll take a while to get the practice needed to see results were a fair trip way from the range and our local regulations don't allow for use of hand gun outside of registered pistol clubs.

But in the mean time practice with a toy gun will have to do.

StaySafe

ROO

I have used a crimson trace for my wife who is left eye dominant and was taught by her ex to shoot right handed. Fortunately she didn't shoot much that way because of confidence issues. I figured out she was left eye dominant and started teaching her proper stance and techniques and target acquisition with a crimson trace.....no range or ammo required.

 

[wkdwdg66]

This is really a lot to read... My wife is Right hand Left eye and has issues hitting anything through a scope with either eye.

I am trying to find a way to help her but I am no expert trainer and I am at a loss.

Can someone summarize suggestions here?

How well does the rifle fit her? Eye relief adjusted for her natural/comfortable body position on the stock comb? My wife was left eye right hand when I met her. Got her shooting the ithaca 49 left handed, then got her a crimson trace for pistol, THEN moved her up to 6.5 jap open sights. She now has a left hand savage in 22-250 with scope that we are getting the eye relief dialed in on. Proper posture and correct sized firearms make it much easier to point then shoot naturally, whichever eye is dominant.

 

[psegriz]

Hi all.
My eldest daughter is old enough to get her minors permit and shoot handgun at the range. All good till the point where she starts to shoot and only manages a few hits .
Its her first visit to the range and i'm standing behind her , so I cant see that she has both eyes open, trying to shoot right eye.
Later at home we were talking and I just asked her to close her left eye, as it turns out she cant but she can close here right .
back to the range and would you know it , Right eye closed and she has improved remarkably.

So is this OK.

I have no experience with this and would appreciate some guidance .

well one thing i was taught when young keep both eyes open scope or no scope. i am right handed so started shooting right handed. wasnt til a few years ago i realized my left eye was my dominant eye. what made me realize this was deer hunt, i made the longest shot i ever made left handed. it was due to the circumstances i could not shoot that buck righthanded cause a tree was in the way. it was a clean kill at 780yds. at the time i wondered why i even took that shot but that 12 pt buck is on the wall. so i have been trying to teach myself to shoot left handed now for a number of yrs. i still feel uncomfortable with it 12 yrs later but my shooting has improved. my advice would be to get her shooting left hand while young yet. might not take over 12 years to get comfortable with it. i hope this helps. btw i have 2 guns on order for long range a custom 338 lupau and and barret 50 cal both ordered right handed but intend on shooting them left handed. that makes no sense but it does if you consider the cycle time. also i dont usually aim at anything under a couple hundred yards, i just point. hand guns i still do right hand but dont use the sights. one thing i might add is that my vision is better than anyone the armed services ever tested, its about 3x 20/20vision. i dont know if that makes a difference or not. like i said hope all this is helpful
point an shoot is my motto.

 

[Mike Matteson]

Try and teach with both eye open. You loose 50% of field of view with only one eye open. It will help be a safer shooter. Controlling Eye. Point your hand and index finger at an object with both eyes open. Then without moving you hand or finger, close one eye then the other. See which one is pointed on the object. That's your controlling eye. it may only be a couple of inches difference between the two, but there should be a difference.

 

[SammySTW]

Hi all.
My eldest daughter is old enough to get her minors permit and shoot handgun at the range. All good till the point where she starts to shoot and only manages a few hits .
Its her first visit to the range and i'm standing behind her , so I cant see that she has both eyes open, trying to shoot right eye.
Later at home we were talking and I just asked her to close her left eye, as it turns out she cant but she can close here right .
back to the range and would you know it , Right eye closed and she has improved remarkably.

So is this OK.

I have no experience with this and would appreciate some guidance .

I am the same way as your daughter. Right handed, left eye dominant, can't close my left eye but can close my right. I grew up only shooting rifles and shotguns, no pistols, so my case might be a little different. When I was a kid I spent a lot of time shooting a 22 around the yard, right handed, with both eyes open. Back then my dad had thought you were supposed to close your left eye to shoot with your right, and since I couldn't close my left, he tried to teach me with an eye patch. I didn't like the eye patch and preferred to have both eyes open. I think that shooting a scoped rifle a lot helped my brain to learn to use my right eye. A shotgun was a little more difficult, sometimes my left eye would take over. I tried shooting a shotgun left handed some, but couldn't do it. Today, I'm 30 yrs old, if I do the eye dominance test, it points to my left eye every time. But if I point a shotgun, or pistol, right eye takes over. If I point the shotgun at something close, like indoors within about 15 ft, my left eye usually takes over and I'm looking down the side of the gun. But if I point at something farther away, my right eye is good. If I try to shoot a gun left handed, my right eye is dominant and it is hard for me to switch to the left eye.
I don't know if it would have been better to learn to shoot lefty as a kid or not. My left handed coordination has always been very bad, but maybe that's something you can improve with practice. But I have no problems shooting right handed with both eyes open, whether its with a rifle, shotgun, pistol, or a bow.

 

[Mike Matteson]

I am the same way as your daughter. Right handed, left eye dominant, can't close my left eye but can close my right. I grew up only shooting rifles and shotguns, no pistols, so my case might be a little different. When I was a kid I spent a lot of time shooting a 22 around the yard, right handed, with both eyes open. Back then my dad had thought you were supposed to close your left eye to shoot with your right, and since I couldn't close my left, he tried to teach me with an eye patch. I didn't like the eye patch and preferred to have both eyes open. I think that shooting a scoped rifle a lot helped my brain to learn to use my right eye. A shotgun was a little more difficult, sometimes my left eye would take over. I tried shooting a shotgun left handed some, but couldn't do it. Today, I'm 30 yrs old, if I do the eye dominance test, it points to my left eye every time. But if I point a shotgun, or pistol, right eye takes over. If I point the shotgun at something close, like indoors within about 15 ft, my left eye usually takes over and I'm looking down the side of the gun. But if I point at something farther away, my right eye is good. If I try to shoot a gun left handed, my right eye is dominant and it is hard for me to switch to the left eye.
I don't know if it would have been better to learn to shoot lefty as a kid or not. My left handed coordination has always been very bad, but maybe that's something you can improve with practice. But I have no problems shooting right handed with both eyes open, whether its with a rifle, shotgun, pistol, or a bow.

Some of the work I did over the years, I learn to use both hand equally as well. I could thread nuts onto threaded rods faster with my right hand than my left hand, and I am left handed. So I really think it's a matter of practice. Getting older you get more set in your ways. Nothing wrong with that either. They say you can't break and old dog of bad habits, but you can teach them new tricks.

 

[xsn10s]

I shot PPC in college and I'd have to agree to just have her shoot left handed. Just follow all the safety protocols as mentioned first and then work on the basic fundamentals of shooting. No need to rush, in the end she'll get a handle on it. You could have her shoot right handed with a pistol and just use her left eye. But when it's time to shoot rifles/ shotguns it might be harder to grasp.

 

[mnoland30]

I'm right handed and left eye dominant. My dad had me shoot my toy guns and bb gun left handed from about 5 years old. I couldn't shoot worth a darn until I bought a pistol and started shooting right handed. I could shoot that pistol better than my rifle. I believe it is a matter of trigger control. I finally bought a left handed rifle in my 40's and it just felt weird, so I sold it. I use a scoped rifle and close my right eye. I believe I'd have been better off shooting right handed from the start. With a scope, I don't believe it makes any real difference. I hurt my left shoulder last year and so started shooting right handed. It was an easy transition, although I'm not sure I could make a snap shot that way yet.

 

[ducky]

Its her first visit to the range and i'm standing behind her , so I cant see that she has both eyes open, trying to shoot right eye.
Later at home we were talking and I just asked her to close her left eye, as it turns out she cant but she can close here right .
back to the range and would you know it , Right eye closed and she has improved remarkably.

I'm the same, can't wink with my left eye. However, that doesn't mean you're lest eye is dominant. My left eye is not my dominant eye, and I shoot everything both eyes open right handed.

I thought I was left eye dominant and learned to shoot everything left handed, and it took a shooting instructor in the Army to figure out I wasnt. It also took a lot of practice to shoot both eyes open and re-learn to shoot right handed, but I did it. Now the only time I close an eye is if I'm shooting on my non-dominate side.

Aperture sights are definitely easier to shoot and learn with both eyes open. Once you learn how to shoot one type of open sight, you can start transitioning to other types quickly. I shot pretty decent left handed, but did much better after switching back.

 

[WeekendWarrior]

I am right handed and left eye dominant. I prefer to shoot left handed. I also shot right handed rifles my entire life until I bought my first few left handed rifles a few years ago (currently in my 30s). There is literally nothing to worry about. Also no need to break the bank buying her all sorts of left handed equipment/rifles/guns either, not until she enjoys it enough to want something of her own. She can learn to shoot left handed on a right handed rifle no problem. Semi autos might put some shells in her lap (wear pants not shorts), and bolt actions might cause her to take more time racking a second round due to her switching hands or reaching around the gun to work the bolt (no speed drills), but none of this will make it harder for her to actually shoot well. Besides, hitting a target will bring her more joy than any inconvenience of learning to shot left handed or shooting right handed firarms left handed. She is young and will learn. Worst case scenario she might need more practice, so you will have to leave work early to take your daughter to the range to shoot with her more...

 

[Mike Matteson]

I am guessing that she is left handed? I have been left handed all my life and don't own a left handed action. You will surprise just how fast you can work a right action with your left hand in getting another round in the chamber. The biggest thing is trying to sell that rifle that is in a left handed action. Auto-loaders never was a problem either nor pumps action. I used and AR-15 in Vietnam for a year with no problem. All my shooting is left handed. I wouldn't buy a left hand action, hard to sell. So people that claim they can't use a right hand action, really have done much shooting. Anybody that's just starting out is slow to get use to a bolt action anyway with either hand.

 

[Treeslug]

I am guessing that she is left handed? I have been left handed all my life and don't own a left handed action. You will surprise just how fast you can work a right action with your left hand in getting another round in the chamber. The biggest thing is trying to sell that rifle that is in a left handed action. Auto-loaders never was a problem either nor pumps action. I used and AR-15 in Vietnam for a year with no problem. All my shooting is left handed. I wouldn't buy a left hand action, hard to sell. So people that claim they can't use a right hand action, really have done much shooting. Anybody that's just starting out is slow to get use to a bolt action anyway with either hand.

I am left-handed. I have shot many right and left-handed bolt action rifles. When I shoot a right-hand rifle from my left shoulder I use my right hand to function the action while leaving my left hand in place by the trigger. Yes, I lose sight of the target through the scope. Yes, it is a slower way for me to shoot accurately. Semi-auto rifles, except bull-pup models, are no problem except for blow-back from some guns. BUT, as far as resale of left-hand rifles, I have never had any trouble selling a left-hand rifle. However, it has ALWAYS been difficult if not impossible to find left-hand rifles to buy. Many calibers are not even offered in left-hand models, especially heavy magnum rifles. Check the classified ads and look for a particular used/or new, left-hand rifle by most manufacturers and you may find yourself waiting years for that model of rifle. Just my experience in this right-hand world.

 

[corsair4360]

I am left-handed. I have shot many right and left-handed bolt action rifles. When I shoot a right-hand rifle from my left shoulder I use my right hand to function the action while leaving my left hand in place by the trigger. Yes, I lose sight of the target through the scope. Yes, it is a slower way for me to shoot accurately. Semi-auto rifles, except bull-pup models, are no problem except for blow-back from some guns. BUT, as far as resale of left-hand rifles, I have never had any trouble selling a left-hand rifle. However, it has ALWAYS been difficult if not impossible to find left-hand rifles to buy. Many calibers are not even offered in left-hand models, especially heavy magnum rifles. Check the classified ads and look for a particular used/or new, left-hand rifle by most manufacturers and you may find yourself waiting years for that model of rifle. Just my experience in this right-hand world.

I am a right handed very left eye dominant shooter who has a several of left hand rifles as a result. Getting accustomed to shooting left handed with the left hand rifles worked well. Now I think a right hand rifle would I would use left handed.