Simple question

[rick523]

I am right handed and have shot right handed my whole life. I have never been a great shot but I do well enough to qualify every year at work and pit meat on the table when the opportunity comes along. I recently discovered that I am left eye dominant. Is that going to effect my shooting style? Should I attempt to change what I have been doing for 30 plus years? It's kind of mind boggling to me.

Why? I'm left eye dominant shoot RH and have for years I'm 70 and can still bust at least 23 or better on a skeet range kill ducks and geese with ease. If you been doing it that way for 30 years??? But that's just me. I do however shoot a bow left handed! Lol

 

[antelopedundee]

So I went to this Fleet n Farm store down in Ankeny of Iowa which is just north of Des Moines. Without even trying I found a LH Savage Axis in 243 Win for $320, another in 6.5 Creedmoor for $320 and yet another in .270 Win for $280 on clearance. They sell only OTC and don't/won't ship even to a dealer or FFL holder. I suspect that they could get Rem 700s and 783s if one wanted them to. If you're interested in one I could try to work with you as long as I'm not out anything and there aren't too many hoops to jump through. Maybe you're not all that far away in SD to make the drive. The next closest store that I'm aware of is north of me in Mason City, Iowa. No idea what's in their inventory.

 

[TGVan]

I'm going to follow the advice of some members and try shooting my existing collection left handed before I fork out any cash for a dedicated lefty rifle, but even then I have one daughter that shoots lefty and another I am beginning to suspect is going to be a left eye dominant so I really would not be out much if I did get a rifle to mess with.

 

[longtubeman]

Ok so I'm not left or right dominant eye. I'm right handed, but shoot rifle left, and pistol right. Have no problem going back and forth. Shoot bow right, but have left and right rifles, so go figure!

 

[crkckr]

TGV, changing things that have worked for 30 years seems a bit odd to me but there's not a lot of harm in giving the lefty lifestyle a shot. It won't feel comfortable for a long time but you can force yourself to learn new tricks if it actually improves things for you. If there's not that much of a gain, however, I wouldn't put too much effort into changing everything you've been doing just fine for so long.

I'm right handed but left eye dominant. I feel much more comfortable shooting right handed and since all of my rifles are scoped, it makes little difference. I can, however, shoot left handed almost as well as I can righty. However, knocking on the door of 70, I'm starting to develop cataracts, so while I may have to adjust the ocular on a scope depending on how well I can see that day, when it comes to handguns I just have to lean a bit and use my left eye sometimes. I'm in the process of putting red dots on as many pistols as I can afford to, which should eliminate most or all of these problems. I may put them on my shotguns as well since I've always shot with my left eye closed, which is a pain (getting some tips from pro at the trap range is how I found out I was LED). When shooting off the bench I have a patch that covers the left lens of my glasses, so I don't get eye strain in my left, squinty eye!
Cheers,
crkckr

 

[DaveOrr]

Don't know if this works with scopes or not but ... have a friend who couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with his shotgun. He's right handed but is left eye dominant. Put a small piece of tape on bottom center of his left eye glass lense. This apparently caused his left eye to relinquish dominance to the right eye. My friend started knocking pheasants from the sky immediately! True story.

 

[longtubeman]

Or just use a red dot!

 

[Wprinkle]

I am right handed left eye dominant... i was taught to shoot with both eyes open... works for me...

 

[Frog4aday]

I am right handed and have shot right handed my whole life. <SNIPPED STUFF> I recently discovered that I am left eye dominant. <SNIPPED STUFF> Should I attempt to change what I have been doing for 30 plus years? <SNIPPED STUFF>

You've been 'successfully' shooting for 30 years. You are right handed. Your left eye is your 'dominant' eye. The solution is easy - close your left eye and shoot. Done. That's it. Doesn't matter if you are shooting a shotgun, rifle, or pistol. When you close the "dominant" eye, the brain is perfectly happy to use the non-dominant eye for the task at hand. For people that can't WINK (close one eye) putting scotch tape over the lens of the eye not being used accomplishes the same thing (forces the brain to 'use' the non-dominate eye for the task at hand.)

Cross dominance is not uncommon. The guy that ran the skeet range I shot at was cross-dominant and shot with one eye closed to 'fix' the issue. He was consistently breaking 23+ targets every round. Drove some people crazy ("You gotta shoot with both eyes open!") but life isn't fair and we do what we have to do to even up the odds when given a poor hand. Thankfully for you, that only means you have to close your left eye when shooting from the right side...probably like you've done for 30 years. Don't change anything. You've adapted and are successful.
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Before closing, I will add this: Some people have a condition called AMBLYOPIA. This means one of their eyes never developed the ability to see more clearly than 20/40 (and some see much worse than that). The clearer seeing eye is their DOMINANT eye, but they don't have the option to close that eye and use the other (amblyopic) eye for shooting, because the visual acuity is not good enough. These are the folks that MUST learn to fire from their 'dominant eye side', and that is not an easy task, but it can be accomplished with some practice.

 

[Orange Dust]

You've been 'successfully' shooting for 30 years. You are right handed. Your left eye is your 'dominant' eye. The solution is easy - close your left eye and shoot. Done. That's it. Doesn't matter if you are shooting a shotgun, rifle, or pistol. When you close the "dominant" eye, the brain is perfectly happy to use the non-dominant eye for the task at hand. For people that can't WINK (close one eye) putting scotch tape over the lens of the eye not being used accomplishes the same thing (forces the brain to 'use' the non-dominate eye for the task at hand.)

Cross dominance is not uncommon. The guy that ran the skeet range I shot at was cross-dominant and shot with one eye closed to 'fix' the issue. He was consistently breaking 23+ targets every round. Drove some people crazy ("You gotta shoot with both eyes open!") but life isn't fair and we do what we have to do to even up the odds when given a poor hand. Thankfully for you, that only means you have to close your left eye when shooting from the right side...probably like you've done for 30 years. Don't change anything. You've adapted and are successful.
-------------------
Before closing, I will add this: Some people have a condition called AMBLYOPIA. This means one of their eyes never developed the ability to see more clearly than 20/40 (and some see much worse than that). The clearer seeing eye is their DOMINANT eye, but they don't have the option to close that eye and use the other (amblyopic) eye for shooting, because the visual acuity is not good enough. These are the folks that MUST learn to fire from their 'dominant eye side', and that is not an easy task, but it can be accomplished with some practice.

All correct. To add to it, eye dominance can also change with age. I slowly developed this after 40. With a shotgun the best solution is a transparent dot on the off eye that blurs the front bead. Open sited rifles and pistols close the off eye. Scopes, both eyes open. No big deal.