Left handed, right eye dominant - which hand should I use for long range rifle?

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JLStorm

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I am a left handed shooter, but I am heavily right eye dominant and I have 20/20 sight in my right eye, my left eye is around 20/25 but with a stigmatism. I have not shot much rifle, but plan to get into it over the next year and since I am starting from scratch I am thinking of trying to shoot right handed. It feels much more natural to hold the gun left handed, but more natural to aim holding right handed. I am going to get a semi-auto so I can shoot left handed if I decide to so that I dont have to deal with a bolt action on the "wrong" side.

Any help would be appreciated as I dont know much about shooting rifles to be honest, but I want to start out doing what would be best.
 
As a general rule, if possible, use the trigger finger on the SAME side as the dominant eye. This makes it easier to be more accurate, as you aren't fighting your brains natural desire.

But given that your dominant eye has a little trouble, it's a little more tricky than that. I'd say try both. One or the other will most likey start to stand out as more consistant.
 
no, Im cross eye dominant so my right eye is dominant and my left hand is dominant, so if I started shooting right handed I would be using my dominant eye, just not my dominant hand.
 
Although I'm not left handed, I do have much the same vision. Right eye dominant with an astigmatism. Corrective not to be cross eyed. So, in my case, I shoot right handed -as feels natural, with my dominant eye. Open sighted or scoped.

I have found, that most lefties, are more ambidextrious than we righties. You should have little trouble shooting from the right side. (Lefty rifles are hard to come by and usually cost more anyway..)

I agree that you should shoot/sight with your dominant eye. You will find that instead of closing your left eye, when using a scope you'll be able to teach yourself to leave both eyes open. The left eye will focus on 'nothing', allowing you to concentrate on the image in the scope with the dominate eye.

-Steve
 
I am also left handed/right eye dominant.

I have always shot rifles and shotguns from the right shoulder and handguns from the left hand. There are many benefits to this:

1) You don't need left handed long guns, and most hand guns are very lefty friendly.
2) I shut the left eye when shooting rifles, but keep both eyes open for shotgunning and most hand gun shooting. Shooting handguns in the left hand helps me keep the left eye open even though the right eye is the one on the sight plane.
3) It is very easy to peroform "weak hand" drills will handguns due to the fact that you are already used to trigger pull, etc. from your long gun work.

Personally, except for the difficulty in sometimes finding left handed holsters, I wouldn't change a thing.
 
funny, I'm the same way. left handed, stronger right eye.

I shoot pistols right handed, usually right eyed. Sometimes the opposite or even two-eyed. Best right-handed.

With rifles, however... shoot from your left shoulder. Learn to close just your right eye if you cant, it only takes a little bit of practice. Get to the point where you can alternate closing both eyes easily in succession, that helped me. If you wear glasses, try out contact lenses...that really helped me focus for some reason on my weaker side. Don't get frustrated if you lose your setup just before you take a final breath and squeeze the trigger, just start over a few times and just remember that each time you focus and shoot you make it easier for the next time. Set up in your house and practice from prone position first, be sure you go through all the steps and control your breathing.

Do the above on the other shoulder, do it from benchrest next... then do it standing... I've found I like to shoot standing with my right shoulder and left for benrest and prone. Just a note, if you haven't bought your rifle yet, try to find something that isn't bolt action... it always messed me up, I definitely prefer almost anything else now.
 
I'm with Sistema on this one.
Left-handed, right eye dominant.
I primarily shoot handguns left-handed, and rifles almost exclusively right-handed.



B.
 
being left handed and right eye dominant, I shoot rifles and shotguns left handed and pistols right handed, I am not comfortable shooting rifles or shotguns right handed, it just doesn't feel right..
 
My father was cross-dominant (right-handed, left-eyed), and so is my son. Dad shot very well left-handed, going with the dominant-eye side. I'm teaching my son to shoot the same way, and it seems to be working for him too.

Edited to add: Dad was captain of his high-school rifle team and one of the best wing-shots I ever saw, all with his non-dominant hand.

The eye determines the side you should shoot with, not the hand.
 
I'm cross dominant as well & although it was kinda awkward learning to shoot lefty (I'm right handed, but left eye dominant) but I took to it after a day or two of just forcing myself to shoot left handed. I would definitely do the same again so my advice is go with your dominant side.
 
I would go with , whichever way your body feels most comfortable, and relaxed, in a prone position. if that means lefty, then a scope will take care of that eye problem, for the most part.
That being said, if you cannot compensate with a scope for your stigma, then go other side.
 
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