Right handed, but left eye dominant

[big johnson]

I'm left handed and was left eye dominant , my dad made me shoot right handed with my left eye closed. I was able to switch to the right dominant eye at a very young age . I shoot all guns both eyes open and can shoot left or right handed with either eye.At a early age we found out my son is right handed and left eye dominant and I left well enough alone. Iv'e coached our FFA trap shooting team for years and seen alot of left eye kids shooting right handed and the parents had no idea . some can change to shooting left handed and some can't .
iv'e never seen a right eyed kid shooting left handed My opinion is if you check your kids to see which eye is dominant when they first start shooting and buy the right gun. Most manufactures make left hand guns. Good luck

 

[baldhunter]

I'm 65yrs old now,have worn glasses since I was 5yrs old.With corrective lenses my vision is 20/20 in my left eye and 20/30 in my right eye.I'm right handed,left eye dominant. I never really noticed it that much until about 20yrs ago and started reading about it,then I got the reason why I had issues with certain types of shooting,especially flying birds,more so one direction than the other.I've always shot everything right handed,bow,pistol,shotgun,rifle,everything.To do any of those left handed just doesn't feel right at all period.I would never force a kid to do something that doesn't feel right just because of eye dominance.I would rather make him aware of his issue and how to compensate for it.If I put a gun up to my shoulder right handed,it feels like it belongs there.If I put it up to my left,it just not fit and I do not have the feel of control either.Shooting with a scope doesn't seem to be an issue at all.If I was doing some wing shooting,I'd maybe look into a red dot optics or some sort to train my right eye to be the leader.Getting back to the original poster,you might see about having your son's eyes checked.If he has vision issues like me,that can also contribute to his cross dominance,but may be corrective.

 

[Mrvmax]

I'm right handed but left eye dominant due to my vision. I've always shot left handed but can shoot right handed too if needed. Let him shoot the way it's comfortable

 

[LeeCrkCowboy]

Left

 

[LC Smith]

My suggestion is to shoot from the shoulder that the same as the dominate eye. I'm RH handed but left eye dominate and have shot left handed from day one. I also shoot RH rifles which you get proficient at over time. I prefer rifles without a cheek piece or Monte Carlo style stock.

 

[demonjigger]

As a firearms safety instructor, (24 years) this is one of the things I look for when teaching class. I always have them switch to shooting from their dominant eye side. You can watch them start out struggling on their non dominant eye side, then when we make them switch, you can see the improvement instantly. I know many shooters who struggle with this, and if they had changed to their dominant eye side, they would be fine later in life. The good thing is, you noticed it at a really young age.

 

[kdris73]

I am left eye/right hand. I was taught to shoot right handed, but when I was probably 10ish, tried shooting left handed... What a difference, it just felt natural. I have shot left handed since, but every gun I own is a right handed action because to me a left handed action just feels awkward. I would say have him shoot both ways, let him feel it out and go with what is comfortable for him.

 

[Treeslug]

I built a rifle for my son who is currently 4 years old, but will start shooting next year. He's right handed, so I built him a little 16" 6 Creedmoor on a Savage action. Its a great little rifle. However, the other night we were playing around looking through an empty paper towel roll and I noticed he kept putting it up to his left eye. I ran downstairs and grabbed one of my scopes and told him to look through the lens and tell me about the lines he saw. He put it up to his left eye again.

So now I don't know if I should teach him to shoot righty, or if I should build him a lefty rifle instead. I wouldn't mind building a new rifle. I love that whole process and then it would free up a new action for another build that I don't need. What should I do here?

The world is biased against left-hand shooters. Some companies do not bother making left-hand rifles, and those that do usually only make their rifles in some popular calibers but maybe not what you want.

Being left-handed makes me think I deserve some kind of government reparations. I think we should start a movement for left-handed people.

 

[chav0_12]

The world is biased against left-hand shooters. Some companies do not bother making left-hand rifles, and those that do usually only make their rifles in some popular calibers but maybe not what you want.

Being left-handed makes me think I deserve some kind of government reparations. I think we should start a movement for left-handed people.

I guess it might be time you start building or having built the rifles you want. Lol. Even being right handed it's hard to find the right rifle that I want.

 

[Traveling Tech]

I built a rifle for my son who is currently 4 years old, but will start shooting next year. He's right handed, so I built him a little 16" 6 Creedmoor on a Savage action. Its a great little rifle. However, the other night we were playing around looking through an empty paper towel roll and I noticed he kept putting it up to his left eye. I ran downstairs and grabbed one of my scopes and told him to look through the lens and tell me about the lines he saw. He put it up to his left eye again.

So now I don't know if I should teach him to shoot righty, or if I should build him a lefty rifle instead. I wouldn't mind building a new rifle. I love that whole process and then it would free up a new action for another build that I don't need. What should I do here?

I also am right handed and left eye dominant. I have always shot right handed, but I can switch to left at will. It is really handy in off-handed 10 bird derby shoots. I agree with the ones suggesting to let him figure it out. You can have the best intentions, but bottom line is you can't see through his eyes. Keep your options open and let him decide as he grows. JMHO Best of luck!

 

[Treeslug]

I guess it might be time you start building or having built the rifles you want. Lol. Even being right handed it's hard to find the right rifle that I want.

You are absolutely right. I want to build a 338-378, and it is all the fault of all the people on this forum that like .338 caliber rifles and shooting a long way and dinging steel. And now that you mention it, I am going to give that a lot of thought. That sounds like fun, but I still feel discriminated against.

 

[wasskeet]

I had this problem when I began shooting sporting clays, I took lessons from Dan Carlisle and he solved it in short order. He used Chapstick smear placed in the middle of my left lens, it blocked my straight on vision, but allowed me to have the periphery in full focus and use. He told me to use that technique with any glasses I wore at any time. It took about 30 days of daily use to retrain my right eye to become the dominant eye. That has been years ago and it has never reverted back.

Did Dan take the beads off your shotgun barrel? The Chapstick or anything to smudge the lens in the pupil area does work well for many.

 

[chav0_12]

You are absolutely right. I want to build a 338-378, and it is all the fault of all the people on this forum that like .338 caliber rifles and shooting a long way and dinging steel. And now that you mention it, I am going to give that a lot of thought. That sounds like fun, but I still feel discriminated against.

You know I wanted a 338-378 for a long time, it seemed to have more powder capacity than the LM and a little more speed. Then I was introduced a 338 LM AI, now that's what I want. I think I'm two guns away from building it, so I have two other projects before I can start that.

 

[neilbfree]

The world is biased against left-hand shooters. Some companies do not bother making left-hand rifles, and those that do usually only make their rifles in some popular calibers but maybe not what you want.

Being left-handed makes me think I deserve some kind of government reparations. I think we should start a movement for left-handed people.

Society to Help Lefthanded People - SHLEP