Which hand should I shoot handguns with?

[1KPerDay]

I am left eye dominant and right handed.

I shoot long guns lefty and handguns righty using my left eye.

Same here.

 

[rskent]

I’m left handed, right eye dominant.

I shoot my rifle right handed. With a pistol I consider my strong hand, my right. When I bring the gun up it sorta just goes to my right eye naturally. But like so many others have said, with a pistol I try to practice with left, right, and both.
What works for me may not work for you. You just gotta try different things out and see what works best for you. It’s sad, but that might mean your gonna have to spend more time at the range.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

I was doing it before any of these guys -- as I got older, I became nearsighted in my left eye and farsighted in my right eye. If I use my dominant right eye, the sights are a hopeless blur. I found that by tilting my head, I can see the sights needle sharp in my left eye AND see the target clearly in the right eye. The brain merges the two images, and it works beautifully.

 

[Harriw]

Wow.... Thanks for all the responses! Sounds like a.) I'm not alone in being "buckets-o'-weird," and b.) there's no real proper/correct/right way to do it - try it all and see what feels best/produces the best result. I'm looking forward to the process of figuring it all out (and will definitely spend some time attaining/keeping proficiency with both hands).

Just for fun, I realized my use of bladed tools is an even better example: I swing a 2-handed axe/maul/sledge right handed, but a one-handed hatchet with my left. My pocket knife currently lives in my right front pocket, so I take it out and jump the blade right handed, but I haven't always done it that way - it's lived on my left side at times as well. If I'm whittling, sharpening marshmallow sticks, etc., the knife is usually in my right hand. But if I somehow found myself in a knife-fight or in a fencing club, the knife/sword would be in my left hand. In the kitchen, I use a paring knife to cut apples or strawberries in my right hand (i.e. cutting towards my thumb). But if I'm chopping veggies, cheese, or carving meat down on a cuttingboard, the knife goes in my left hand again.

Thanks again for all the help!

 

[9mmepiphany]

So the only downside would be that I'd be forcing myself into a cross-dominant situation. So what do you think? Should I side with eye-dominance and shoot with the left hand, or side with the standardized world we live in and shoot with the right hand?

Forget all the suggestions to go with what is most comfortable, but do pay attention to practice the ability to shoot with both hands.

You're very lucky to not have developed a habit or preference in handgun shooting yet. You get to start with a clean slate. Believe me that there are many cross dominate folks who don't have the option...I've had many cross dominate clients who I've taught to shoot by either turning their head (less than ideal) or moving the gun over to their dominate eye (preferred).

Take advantage of your clean slate and learn to shoot with the handgun on the same side as your dominate eye. It makes it much easier to draw from the holster naturally and doesn't require that you contour your upper body to accommodate alignment.

Granted this advice really only matters if you want to shoot quickly and accurately. If you're just going to shoot at a target on a static line, it really doesn't make much difference.

I have several friends who are left handed who I shoot handgun competition with. The only real inconvenience is finding left handed holsters in stock...they usually have to be order from the manufacturer. They've found that it is actually easier to activate the magazine release of a right handed gun with the left hand. Depending on where the slide lock is located, it can also be easier to use for a lefty...most polymer framed guns now offer ambidextrous slide locks. Even DA revolvers aren't hard to use left handed, it just requires a slightly different technique to reload

The most ambidextrous handgun I own is a H&K P7 and the P7M8

 

[Spade5]

I believe I was born left handed but back in the early 50's when I was in first grade my teacher whom I loved with all my heart thought that left handed people where Satan's Seed. We had these big fat pencils and would trace our letters in these work books. She would walk around the room and sneak up on me and smack my left hand with a ruler so guess what, I started using my right hand. My hand writing sucks to this day and always has.

I can shoot hand guns equally bad with either hand so I practice with both because you never know. I don't know if I could shoot a long gun right handed if my life depended on it. I made it through Army Infantry with one tour in Nam but everything was done left handed. You just learn to do what you need to do.

My eyes are kind of wonky in that I see two pistols when I aim so I have to remember to sight the one on the right. Now if I use a laser I only see one pistol I guess because I am focusing on the dot and the sights are secondary.

Develop your own individual skill set and don't look back.

 

[SeanSw]

I'm left eye dominant and shoot pistols right handed. The real struggle has been with rifles which I simply don't shoot very often as they feel much more unnatural. As a child I had to use bows or slingshots left handed, and never quite settled in on batting left or right. Sometimes being ambidextrous means you're equally adept with both but my experience in youth athletics mostly meant that I was just equally uncoordinated with all hands and feet! I would probably end up shooting rifles left handed except I am forced to use my right hand for shooting after an injury severed nerves in my left thumb. I can't stand anything touching the joint or base of my thumb and it's nearly impossible to turn doorknobs or even grip a steering wheel tightly. I deal with it to ride motorcycles. Now that my right has completely outgrown my left in strength there's no going back so I'm stuck shooting as a righty forever.

 

[someguy2800]

Your going to have to try both. If you can become proficient with both that would be great, but I suspect if you buy an ambidextrous handgun and try both hand you'll probably find a preference for one or the other.

 

[roval]

i would try the left aide as left eye dominant. once you are proficient. practice with right handed ahooting.i suggest sticking with one side only for now.

i shoot fairly similar left or right j
with 2 hands and sometimes i shoot better single handed with the left hand. i cant the gun not my head.

I'm left handed but shoot right handed rifle and handguns. I'm right eye dominant. i cast fly rods with my left hand and spinning reels with my right.

 

[25-5]

As said cross dominance is not uncommon. Using the isosceles instead of weaver helps.
Switching hands and eyes is easily learned with practice and very handy.

 

[Bama59]

I'm LH rifle and RH pistol , confused a young boy watching me at the range

 

[Coal Dragger]

More specifically on what to buy: get a pistol that is both right and left hand shooter friendly. The easy choice is an HK of some description.

Then go shoot and figure out what works for you best, no matter the outcome you’ll still have pistol that is just as easy to run with whatever hand suits you.

 

[JTHunter]

Thankfully, I don't have a cross-dominance problem. Most of the work I have done has been in labs where, out of necessity, I use both hands to run the equipment. While I can't write lefty, there is a lot I can do. The two problems I have are being very near-sighted and losing half of my left thumb to a table saw accident 12 years ago. That makes it rather hard to cock the hammer for single action shooting. But I agree with the others who advocate for using both hands as you never know when it might be necessary.

 

[lsudave]

It's good to be able to shoot with either.

That said... don't think about it, just stand up and point at something in front of you.
Go ahead and do it right now.




Whichever hand you used; that is probably going to be your best bet. That will be your dominant motor control hand, will likely point just a tad better, will respond just a hair more accurately and efficiently.

 

[WheelGunMan]

This has been an interesting thread. Learning a lot. I'm right handed, right eye dominant. I found out one day, while at the range, when I changed over to my weak hand for the first time to practice with it... that my firearm felt extremely comfortable in my left hand....and I shot just as good with that hand. I expected it to feel awkward and clumsy. I still used my right eye for aiming. When I pick up my firearm now I naturally use my right hand but frequently give both hands a workout. Still use the right eye...the left one just doesn't feel right. (no pun intended)

 

[BlueHeelerFl]

I'm left handed but right eye dominant. I shoot long guns right handed and handguns left handed.

However I recently started trying to make a serious effort to shot handguns right handed. Its mainly been my S&W M63 in 22lr, but at the very close ranges I've tried I'm not doing to bad.

After warming up it doesn't feel unnatural any more, but I'm still far more comfortable shooting handguns with my left hand.

 

[Mike OTDP]

Back to the OP...check your eye dominance. The orthodox solution is to shoot with the corresponding hand. I would not be surprised if you are left-eye...so shoot left-handed. Most modern pistols can be set up with left-handed controls.

 

[Riomouse911]

Find what feels best and stick with it. Glock mag releases can be swapped in about three minutes from right to left thumb operation, I know there are other poly pistols that are just as versatile.

My wife is right hand-left eye... and my 13 year old son has the same trait. I noticed it when he just about sprained his little neck flopping his head across the stock while trying to find the sights on his Red Ryder a few years back.

I’m right hand-right eye and bat-shoot-swing golf clubs righty, but as the son of lefty’s I ride wakeboards goofy foot (lefty), swing axes / sledges or take slapshots in hockey with either hand equally well... Just thinking about all that made me realize my kids are doomed to never be consistently one-sided either...

Stay safe!

 

[k4swb]

People having opposite eye dominant shooting with handguns problems has always baffled me.
My wife has this problem and I finally convinced her that all she needed to do was sight with her right eye and hold the gun still while barely rotating her head to where the left eye was lined with the sights and there you go.

I shoot with my right hand mostly but switch eyes if one gets tired. Gun never moves, just my head slightly swivels on my neck.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

People having opposite eye dominant shooting with handguns problems has always baffled me.
My wife has this problem and I finally convinced her that all she needed to do was sight with her right eye and hold the gun still while barely rotating her head to where the left eye was lined with the sights and there you go.

I shoot with my right hand mostly but switch eyes if one gets tired. Gun never moves, just my head slightly swivels on my neck.

That's exactly right. I'm right-eyed, but as I got older I became far-sighted in the right eye, and unable to see the sights. But I'm near-sighted in the left eye, and the sights are needle sharp in that eye. I discovered the head-tilting method early, and learned to shoot with both eyes open. The left eye sees the sights in focus, the right eye sees the target, and the brain merges the two images.

 

[JDR]

IMHO, whatever arrangement allows you to shoot with both eyes open is the way to go, this has made all of the difference in my shooting.

 

[Browning]

I was watching Hickock45 on youtube, and heard him mention that he's actually cross-dominant. He explained that he shoots right-handed, but has a dominant left eye so he shifts his head and/or hold to align his left eye with the sights of a handgun held in his right hand. This option had never occurred to me before. And now the more I think about it, the more I think it makes a lot of sense for me. I'm quite new to this whole handgun thing, so the only muscle-memory I'd have to fight/re-train would be from arcade games in my youth and a CO2 pistol I had years ago. Would I be better off starting from day 1 as a right-handed hand-gun shooter using my left eye? I've

So the only downside would be that I'd be forcing myself into a cross-dominant situation. So what do you think? Should I side with eye-dominance and shoot with the left hand, or side with the standardized world we live in and shoot with the right hand?

That's how my wife shoots. She's a lefty and left eye dominant, but she shoots right handed with pistols and just rolls her head over slightly.

Most lefties are somewhat ambidextrous since it's a predominantly right handed world. More things are made for right handed people, so lefties are generally used to adapting where most right handed people are not (unless their dominant hand was taken out of commission at some point and they had to).

My father was a right handed competition shooter, but because of diabetes he lost his right eye and switched to shooting left handed. He was still beating the vast majority of the competition. It wasn't until I was older that I appreciated how much effort that must have taken.

I'd probably try both at first and see which one turned in better scores (timer and groups). Give each a try. What we say doesn't matter much if you try it out and it doesn't work for you.

 

[OneFreeTexan]

Didn’t the middle son on Bonanza,,,was it Pernell Roberts?? Teach himself to handle his gun left handed, cause he was right handed, and was concerned his right hand might be busy, rolling a cigarette, or something, when he needed his gun??????

 

[9mmepiphany]

Didn’t the middle son on Bonanza,,,was it Pernell Roberts?? Teach himself to handle his gun left handed, cause he was right handed, and was concerned his right hand might be busy, rolling a cigarette, or something, when he needed his gun??????

Pernell Robert's character on the show was neither left handed nor the middle son. The character, Adam, was the eldest son. The middle son was Hoss. The youngest son, Little Joe, was left handed

 

[OneFreeTexan]

Pernell Robert's character on the show was neither left handed nor the middle son. The character, Adam, was the eldest son. The middle son was Hoss. The youngest son, Little Joe, was left handed

Well, I was almost totally off,, I just remembered one of them was right handed, but learned to shoot with his left hand.....do I remember any of that correctly?