Cross Eye Dominance

[BigBL87]

So, was doing some reading today and came across this. I've had trouble shooting with both eyes open in the past, and come to find out my left eye is my dominant eye but I'm right handed.

For others that have the same problem, how have you dealt with it? I've always just closed my left eye even though its not the "proper" way to shoot, but now I'm considering switching to shooting left handed with long guns.

 

[HammsBeer]

I am also left eye dominate but right handed.

When shooting pistol I keep both open and sight with the left eye. Easy and after a few times it becomes second nature.

When shooting long guns it feels totally awkward and unnatural to shoot left handed/left shoulder. So I either close my left eye or put a peice of tape over the left lense of my shooting glasses. The blurry left image then lets my brain focus on the right image instead.

This is probably why I'm a decent shot with a pistol, but only so-so with rifles or shotguns because I'm only using one eye.

 

[Forley]

Same, right handed, left eye dominant. For handguns, I just sight with my left eye, it comes naturally. For long guns, I've just dealt with it, but my vision in my right eye isn't as good as my left, so I need to switch to left handed for long guns. As soon my .22lr from Cabela's comes in I'm going to start practicing that with my .22 rifle.

 

[Sam1911]

HammsBeer is right on.

With handguns there is no discernable problem with shooting cross-dominantly. You achieve a strong-hand grip but you'll "yaw" the gun ever so slightly, to line up the sights with your dominant eye. Many/most shooters will do this without even realizing it.

If you are able, teach yourself to shoot from the strong-eye shoulder with long guns. It turns out that most folks can train themselves to be perfectly proficient operating long-guns with their "weak" hand on the trigger, more easily than they can force their non-dominant eye to take over. Wing-shooting with a shotgun, cross-dominantly will be an exercise in futility. You CAN make do by closing your dominant eye, or occluding it with some clear tape on your shooting glasses.

But think about that for a moment. You just took your GOOD eye, the better half of your vision, out of commission. Shooting is all about SEEING. How much better to use your best eye -- and even better yet, to use BOTH? (Not to mention the huge loss of balance and depth-perception that closing an eye brings.)

Some folks just have so much time behind the gun "wrong-shouldered" that they don't feel that they can learn to do things any other way, and that's understandable. But if you're able to make the switch you'll be a better, more natural shot, especially on any moving targets and/or dynamic situations.

 

[HammsBeer]

I really should make more effort to shoot long guns dominate eye shouldered.

I tried shooting shotgun a few times with both open and right shouldered. Lets just say there were plenty of clays that had no reason to fear, as I lined up the front bead on the clay only to find myself instinctively shooting about 10 feet to the left!

 

[CWL]

Right-hand,left eye dominant as well here. A quick way taught to me to get my left eye "on site" when I shoot, is to immediately turn my head slightly right so that my jaw touches my right shoulder. This gives me a quick & consistent index to get my left eye in-line with the firearm. This way causes very little change to my shooting stance as the only thing changed is the tilt of my head.

 

[BigBL87]

Ya, I'm considering switching to my left shoulder because I don't have a lot of experience shooting and it shouldn't be that hard to learn because of that. It definitely made my mind up on which shotgun to buy though, I had kinda been waffling and thinking about several, but definitely going to get a Mossberg 500 for the tang safety if I'm going to switch to the left shoulder.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

I'm right handed and right eye dominant. As I got older I became far-sighted in my right eye and near-sighted in my left eye. When shooting a pistol I could no longer get a good focus on the front sight. I trained myself to use the left, non-dominant, eye for the front sight, and with practice was able to shoot with both eyes open.

I now see the front sight with needle sharpness, and the target as well (with the right eye.) The brain superimposes the images.

 

[alfon99]

I'm right handed, left eye dominant, but since I was a kid I was thaught to shoot closing my left eye, so I guess I got used to it.

 

[Sam1911]

Lets just say there were plenty of clays that had no reason to fear, as I lined up the front bead on the clay only to find myself instinctively shooting about 10 feet to the left!

LOL! I've done the same thing myself, in front of an audience. Except with me it was a swap-shoulder drill with a slug, and I blew away the right side target stake to the cheers and jeers of my squad mates.

 

[StrutStopper]

Right handed, left eye dominant. I shoot righty. No issues with handguns, pain with my bow or long guns. I keep my left eye closed.

 

[PoserHoser]

I shoot handguns right handed in an isosceles stance. Rifle and bow left handed. Alot easier to learn than you think.

 

[rodregier]

Cross-dominant. Right-handed, dominant left eye.

I shoot long guns sighting with my right eye, closing my left.

Pistols I shoot left-eyed, closing my right.
(Focusing speed and acuity for my left is much better.
I run optics for most of my long guns).

I've experimented with both eyes open, I find it too challenging.

Aerial shotgunning sighting is a big challenge for me. I'm still iterating on
finding a sight that is overwhelmingly "interesting" to my right eye that would let me leave my left eye open.

I'm up to trialing the HiViz MGH2007-I Magni-Hunter Magnetic Fiber Optic Shotgun Sight for that usage. I may end up using a 1X red dot for that usage if I can't identify an unpowered sight that fills the bill for my challenges.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001F0KEKA/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8

 

[Prophet]

I'm left eye dominant, right handed. I shoot ambidextrously with only a slight preference for right handed shooting, in which case I keep both eyes open and simply squint my left eye slightly until I can no longer visualize the sight picture through it. Using this method I'm able to rectify the cross dominance while maintaining situational awareness.

 

[Mike J]

I am cross dominant also. I am one of those that think I am just to far in to change shoulders on long guns so I close my left eye. Pistols are not a problem to shoot right handed & aim left eyed. The few times I have messed around at shotgun clays I wasn't very good. I need to work on that one again sometime.

 

[Skribs]

I shoot one-eyed even though I'm shooting with my dominant eye. Your options are to either A) shoot right-handed and deal with the eye dominance issue or B) shoot left-handed and deal with the off-hand issue AND the fact that most manufacturers make guns designed for right-handed folk.

I personally opt for B. I shoot long guns left-handed exclusively (I can't close my right eye without closing my left) and I shoot pistols mostly left-handed.

 

[Noah]

I have a lazy right eye, so I am very strongly left eye dominant. I am also right handed. I shoot handguns with an isosceles stance, right handed, and shoot long guns left handed. I've just done it that way since I was 6 and first picked up a toy gun.

 

[AKElroy]

Same deal for me. LED and right-handed. I fire all long-guns left handed, and all hand guns right handed using my left eye, using the "Horatio Cain" cant. My bolt guns are lefties, and I have 4 lever guns that see a lot of use.

My most used right-handed gun is a remmy 1100 for dove. I have to wear shooting glasses to keep powder out of my eyes.

 

[hartcreek]

I am right dominant BUT I make it a practice to at least shoot handguns right side and left side. With practice you can learn to do it either way.

 

[stevek]

Lefty with a dominant right eye. For me, since I learned this when first beginning to shoot, I just learned to shoot righty. But evidently I'm just very confused, as I throw a baseball, football lefty, but for some reason I throw a frisbee righty.

 

[MEHavey]

Left-dominant/Right-handed
Left eye on pistol/Right eye on rifles

No big deal.
Never has been.

 

[340PD]

Two tips I have found helpful when working with students with cross dominant eye issues.

Being a proponent of keeping both eyes open while shooting (threats come at you from all directions)

This may help.

If right handed, with left dominant eye, most handgun shooters move their head over their sights instead of moving their gun over their left eye.

Visualize your gun at your sternum ready to push out toward your target. Before pushing the gun out move it to the left before you push it out toward your target. Thus keeping it more in line relative to the dominant eye.

It also may help if you move your right or left foot rearward slightly helping equalize arm length.
YMMV

 

[Kuyong_Chuin]

So, was doing some reading today and came across this. I've had trouble shooting with both eyes open in the past, and come to find out my left eye is my dominant eye but I'm right handed.

For others that have the same problem, how have you dealt with it? I've always just closed my left eye even though its not the "proper" way to shoot, but now I'm considering switching to shooting left handed with long guns.

I am left eye dominate as well. I normally shoot left handed though I write with my right hand. I can shoot with ether hand both long gun and handgun. When I shoot a long gun right handed I lean my head to the right and sight the gun with my left eye. With a pistol because of a bad astigmatism and a weaker right eye I have to turn my head slightly to the right so my right eye is not looking straight on at the sights or I have to close my right eye to keep from having double vision while aiming a handgun. I don't have the double vision problems with a long gun but that maybe because the way I am leaning my head and aiming.

 

[Sam1911]

When I shoot a long gun right handed I lean my head to the right and sight the gun with my left eye.

I've seen new shooters try to do that but I don't think I've ever seen anyone get it to work. Could you post a picture of how you do that? How do you get your head so far around that your left eye gets behind the rear sight?

I assume this only works with v-notch sights mounted pretty far down the barrel? I can't imagine it would work at all behind an aperture sight like on an AR or M1.

 

[Trent]

Shooting weak-side on rifles/shotguns is strange at first, but it gets much easier and more natural with practice.

I'm right eye dominant but occasionally shoot rifle left handed. Shot an entire highpower match last summer this way just to prove a point to a competitor who was cross-eye dominant who adamantly refused to believe you can shoot a gun as accurately weak-side. Even though I was shooting weak side/weak eye, I won the match and put in an Expert score, only 2% down from my previous match shot strong side/strong eye.

If you are left eye dominant, shoot rifles/shotguns left handed. If you are right eye dominant, shoot rifles/shotguns right handed.

Not only is it the proper and correct way to go about doing this whole shooting thing, it's going to be far better long term if you do it correctly from the beginning. Fewer bad habits to break.