Shooting Tips For Left Eye Dominant Right Handed People.

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I'm a left eye dominant person that is right handed. I was taught in the military that I should shoot right handed but my left eye will start to twitch which is really distracting when I'm trying to get those perfect shots.


With it a pistol it's a little easier because I can position it with my dominant eye and still use my dominant hand.

I'm just curious if there are any tips or ideas out there about what I could do to improve accuracy/shooting ergonomics?
 
I'm right-handed/left-eye dominant, and I shoot all long guns lefty. Feels much better. Your drill sergeant isn't around, is he? Shoot lefty.;)

I shoot pistols righty, though.:uhoh:
 
I shoot both handguns and rifles with my left. Went into the army and never told them. As far as the knew I was a lefty. Many sergeants in the army are not shooters and just put on a good show.
 
They did no such thing, just said "deal with it." I tried it a few times and could never get my position correct to get comfortable and always got yelled at for taking time!

Now that I have time I want to do it more correctly!
 
Same scourge here.

I shoot all handguns right handed, with my head tilted for proper sight picture - done it so long it's just natural now.

Also shoot rifles and shotguns on the right side. For rifles I close my left eye - for shotguns I'll either squint to fully close my left eye, or sometimes use the old tape trick on the left lens of my shooting glasses.
 
Practice. I can't say much else. The army did teach the basics. So practice with you left. You'll get it.
 
Like you, with a dominant left eye, shooting right handed with handguns is not a big deal. For long guns, I've always looked for a "technical" solution, rather than to learn to shoot left handed, usually a scope mounted high enough that I can sight through it comfortably enough with my left eye.

This works for me, simply because I don't shoot long guns that much. If I did a lot of shotgun work, I'd probably go to the effort to learn to shoot left handed. I no longer hunt. I shoot handguns regularly, and I have a couple of long guns I shoot occasionally. Both have red dot scopes on them mounted so that I'm comfortable sighting with my left eye, while shooting right handed. I have a shotgun, for home defense. Within the range I'm going to be using it, I would just be pointing and shooting, not sighting down the line of the barrel.

I understand the case for learning to shoot left handed in this situation, especially if you plan to shoot a lot. What work for me might not work for you.
 
If you want to continue shooting right-handed, you can put a piece of clear tape over the left lense of your shooting glasses. This will allow you to keep your left eye open but prevent it from focusing on anything. I believe that you can eventually train your right eye to be the dominant eye.
 
I tend to just shoot them left handed to go with my left eye. I can handle shooting with a peep sight right handed , but other types of open sights I find it really hard to shoot at all other than left handed.
 
I don't seem to have a dominant eye -- every time I do a test, I get different results.

I recall someone once asking me to look at a far-away object and point at it with one finger. If I focus on a distant object, I see two fingers.

Regardless, it's probably pretty trivial to "re-train" to a different dominant eye. The human brain is amazingly adaptive. I'd try covering your current dominant eye for a few hours each day with a pirate patch -- perhaps while reading, playing computer or watching TV. It will probably take a few days for your brain to favor the other eye.

If anyone goes this route, please let me know how it works out.

Steve
 
I recommend you stop shooting right handed. Notice I didn't say "try shooting lefty"--there's a difference. It'll be a little awkward at first, but you'll catch on quickly.
 
Same thing here. Pistols are fired from my right hand, and the pistol or my head gets tilted for the proper sight picture.

Rifles and shotguns are fired from the wrong shoulder. Most of the time they're easy to adapt to, the exception being slickside AR15s... The biggest problem is rifles/shotguns with the safety on the triggergaurd, like a 10-22 or a remington 870.

Switching shoulders for longarms was actually pretty easy for me.
 
Here's a neat trick Doug Koenig (shooting champion) showed me. I am right handed but strongly left-eye dominant. Long guns from the left shoulder, hand guns in the right hand.

The tip: Shooting a handgun in the right hand, just before you raise the gun hand, turn your head about 15 degrees to the right. Doing this allows you to use a proper grip on the handgun (so the recoil goes straight back into the arm, not into the thumb/web part).

Slick as a whistle.
 
I don't seem to have a dominant eye -- every time I do a test, I get different results. I recall someone once asking me to look at a far-away object and point at it with one finger. If I focus on a distant object, I see two fingers.
Click to expand...

Everyone sees two fingers. Your dominant eye/brain will use the dominant image.

BUT, here is an EASIER test.

Focus on an object across the room. Hold up a CD so you can see the object through the hole in the middle of the CD. Your brain will automatically line up the CD so you can see it with your dominant eye. Now close your left eye. If you can still see the obect you are right eye dominant. Now close your right eye. If you can still see the object you are left eye dominant.
 
I believe that you can eventually train your right eye to be the dominant eye.
Click to expand...

MUCH easier said than done. Younger children have some success in making eye dominance change, but us older folks stand a fat chance of doing so.

There is some excellent info out here on the Internet about cross dominance. Did you know there are four major areas of cross dominance? Vision, hands, feet and hearing. Interesting conditions - often partially responsible for assorted children's learning disabilities in school (why attempting to change a child's cross dominance vision back to normal is desired) to athletes having to overcome all sorts of inhibiting issues that these cross dominance issues affect.
 
Here's a neat trick Doug Koenig (shooting champion) showed me. I am right handed but strongly left-eye dominant. Long guns from the left shoulder, hand guns in the right hand.

The tip: Shooting a handgun in the right hand, just before you raise the gun hand, turn your head about 15 degrees to the right. Doing this allows you to use a proper grip on the handgun (so the recoil goes straight back into the arm, not into the thumb/web part).
Click to expand...

Turn to the right (swivel head) or tilt to the right? Do you shoot with feet square to the target or left foot forward for this?
 
I write left handed and shoot a rifle left handed... thats it. Everything else is right handed. I was left eye dominant shooting right handed pistol but retrained to be right eye dominant for shooting pistols (just a better arrangment altogether). I'm shooting IDPA now so it just seems easier to get in those non-square facing positions shooting around corners etc. I went to the range and totally refused to use my left eye. Close it, site with your right eye, slowly open your left just a wee bit, fire. Again and again. After a few hundred rounds you'll get it. Its just conditioning. I'm shooting much better than I ever did. A tip someone gave me for IDPA shooting: close your left eye as you draw, that way there is no confusion as to what eye will be used. After you line up your target open your left eye a wee bit, fire. I still shoot a rifle lefty and left eye. I guess you call it ambidextrious. :)
 
I guess I'm not the only oddball. I shoot pistols righthanded left-eye dominate. Rifles left handed left eye. Write with my left hand, everything else right handed. I used the style Tom mentioned. Works for me. The only issue is right handed bolt action rifles. Looks a little bizarre reaching up and across to work the bolt with my left hand.

Ron

ps. Tom -- Love the TV show.
 
ass I just posted in the other thread regarding the same issue....

Folks,
From someone who does this for a living......to reach your full potential, you need to get any longgun, especially a shotgun for airborne targets, under your dominate eye. Anything else is not going to enable you to achieve your best.

I have been working with some specialist on a program to retrain eye dominace, but so far, it doesn't look practical.

Best advice, if you are left eye dominate, but right handed.....get a cheap Red Rider BB gun, and start shooting left handed.....it will seem very awkward at first.....but it will quickly seem much more natural. You eyes will love it!
 
Well, here's another combo! I'm a lefty, and right eye dominate!

I shoot rifles right handed and couldn't comprehend doing it any other way. I shoot pistols left handed and force myself to use my left eye. I've done enough practice that it all seems normal to me.

And strangely enough, my left eye is 20-20 while my dominate right eye is 1 diopter far sighted.
 
I am a left eye domiant, right handed shooter. for handguns You have to teach yourself to keep both eyes open. over the years I have developed a shooting stance where I put my left foot foward and my right foot back, with both eyes completly open, I plant my right ear into my right shoulder, lock my elbows look down the sights and my left is at about 10 o'clock and my right eye is at about 5 o'clock. after my first shot, I relax my elbows and just find the front sight and squeez. This sounds complicated but has become second nature to me. Try it, it might not work but its worth a try. I also shoot rifels right handed but with my left eye closed
 
The biggest problem is rifles/shotguns with the safety on the triggergaurd, like a 10-22 or a remington 870.
Click to expand...

I think you can just do a little work on the safety and reverse it without a problem. All they are is a trigger block, and one side is fat and the other is thin enough not to engage. Should be very easy to remove reverse and have it work. I have done it on accident with other arms and had a reversed safety that was functional (solidly blocked the trigger when on and allowed trigger pulls when not) when I finished putting it together and went to test it for functionality. Most shotgun and rifle safeties do nothing except block the trigger.


Of course always test to make sure it still functions properly. Some attempted dry firing, bang it around a little, try again. But usualy it should work fine. If it is specific to a non symetrical spot on a particular design and it is popular model I am sure you can get a cheap replacement left hand safety switch. Otherwise reversing the right hand one does it.
 
In my case, I shoot right handed because I've basically done it that way for so long that I've compensated for it.

Though lately I've started shooting bolts and doubles left-handed.
 
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