left or right hand?

[Unofficial Gun Addict (UGA)]

Heya Buttermilk... Are you left handed... Because if you aren't, it sounds like you lean towards ambidextrous. Most people are unable to write (with kind of precision) with their nondominant hand without significant intervention. There are shooting glasses specifically designed with a flip down milky or even blackened lense for those wishing to exclude the dominant eye from trying to muscle out the nondominant eye. Works well for training cross dominant folks... And I believe faster and easier than trying to train the nondominant hand to shoot, unless there is a tendency already for ambidexterity.

As with anything else though... It's really up to the OP to try and see what works best for the person he's trying to help. Best of luck... And as with all things, persistence and hard work generally pays off!!

 

[Lefty7mmstw]

Let the kid try both ways... I suspect she'll shake out left handed though for shooting.
I can shoot just fine either way but I'm a bit awkward righty and I actually notice recoil as a righty. I suspect the same sort of thing will crop up for you.

 

[7magcreedmoor]

One of the first things they teach you at the firearms instructor's course (NRA) is how to determine a student's eye dominance. The "official" recommendation is to shoot based on the dominant eye. Having said that, a youngster will be easiest to cross-train NOW, when the brain is most agile. I got my first BB gun at about 6 years of age, and being left-handed, followed the instructions for left-handed shooters (Dad was busy, times were tough back then) in the manual that came with the gun. Imagine a 6 year old actually reading the manual! By day's end, I was bashing empty soda cans like nobody's business, only to have Dad throw a fit when he finally caught up to me and saw what I was doing. "It is a right-handed world, boy. Learn to do it right-handed and you'll be better off in the long run" was his pronouncement. The equivalent of God's Word to me back then. So, back to the manual I went, this time to the instructions for right-handers. The eye thing was awkward as heck at first, but in about one more day I had made the transition (it helps when you want to succeed with the intensity of a 6 year old trying to please Dad). To this day, I can switch sides and eyes without conscious effort, but all my bolt guns are righties. I should mention that Dad is also a lefty who shoots right-handed, just in case someone thinks he was being too hard on me. He can't switch sides though, neener neener...

 

[FearNoWind]

I competition I have to shoot both strong and weak side. I'm right handed and right eye dominant; and I admit that my targets shooting left handed are often better than those shot right handed.
If you're training her to be a shooter (after she's completed a Hunter Education Course) hand her a rifle and explain/demonstrate how to align the sights.
Let here decide:
!. if she prefers to sight with both eyes open or one eye closed
2. which side she feels most confident with
Then follow that lead.
If the decision is to develop her as a left handed shooter get her a rifle designed for a left handed shooter. If she ever decides to shoot competitively she'll have a much easier time with a rifle that she doesn't have to pull away from when working the bolt.