smarandr
Well-known member
That's what I've always been told. My dad shoots wrong handed and I'm still trying to outshoot him.
New shooter; right handed, left eye dominant . . .
- Thread starter Spitz
- Start date
That's what I've always been told. My dad shoots wrong handed and I'm still trying to outshoot him.
I know, which is why I brought it up. I've followed your posts about it on another forum.
My son's only 7, so you should be ready for a new project about the time he's ready for that rifle...
Well if I am not done with it, I don't think anyone would tell the difference between it and a well stocked older B or C series left-handed 270. Lot less fuss and I am sure as effective.
Good to be able to discuss a variety of things and in the end we all have more in common than we think. Hope your son grows up loving to hunt as much as mine does.
Good to be able to discuss a variety of things and in the end we all have more in common than we think. Hope your son grows up loving to hunt as much as mine does.
The Hedgehog
Well-known member
My daughter just switched to left handed shooting for this reason.
devon deer
Well-known member
Not that i know much about this but i would have thought it would make a big difference shooting a shotgun, but surely if the person has their own scoped rifle and the zero is made with the non dominant right eye it would always be on target?
More of a question than a statement!
Cheers
Richard
More of a question than a statement!
Cheers
Richard
spook12
New member
True. However when a person uses the non-dominate eye other factors come into play. I've seen guys shoulder a weapon to the ''Off eye'' and be as much as 15% off target. Depending on the FOV of the scope that can mean that the target isn't even in the glass, resulting in the shooter having to search with the scope. Almost anyone can shoot with the off eye at the bench,the real rub comes in the field when trying to acquire moving targets that may or may not be partially obscured .
I'm sure he will. He's just 7, but I take him with me a bit and was with me when I shot a deer last year. Said it was "the most exciting day of my life"!
Mostly just joshing you about buying the rifle. He'll probably end up with a 260 as I have one and all the gear to load for it. However, he can't use it for big game here in Indiana so I can push that purchase off for a while. Between school, sports, and other commitments I'm not sure when I'll be able to take him on a hunt where he can use a rifle.
Yes, we do have more in common than we think. Things here are generally quite a bit more civilized than the other place when disagreements arise.
Topgun 30-06
Active member
It makes a huge difference in shooting a shotgun. With a rifle what you mention isn't good because to shoot a rifle the proper way you need a good cheek weld on the stock. That puts the dominant eye looking straight down the barrel or scope, which most use nowadays. To try and shoot from the wrong side means you are way out of alignment with the stock in order to get the dominant eye over and looking down the barrel or through the scope.
I have the same problem, I switched for shotgun and tried for archery. Only killed one deer lefty with a bow and switched back. I shoot a bolt rifle righty and an auto ambidextrous partially because of the military. I would say it is better for everything on the dominant eye but, shotgunning is almost impossible without just switching over to left as depth perception is so important. Part of the reason I shoot right with a bolt is because that is what most of them are. Slingshots are also important to shoot with dominant eye.
I am going to be in the minority it looks like, but I am left eye dominant and right handed. I shoot everything right handed. I shoot shotgun a lot for trap, ducks, geese, pheasants and deer. Please dont take this as bragging as I am only making this next statement to give an example....I am extremely happy with my shooting (avg over 24 for trap and I am better at pheasant shooting than trap). So it can be done and the shooter can be very good.
A couple of factors to consider. First is strength of dominance. Some people have really weak right eyes and really strong left eyes. In this case, I would probably have them shoot lefty. If it is not a large disparity however, I think you can easily correct (train?) eye dominance issues.
I did it by putting a dime size smear of vaseline on my shooting glasses directly in front of my left eye. It didnt take long and my brain was trained to "use" my right eye when shooting a gun. My peripheal vision was still intact. It probably took about a summer of shooting one night every two weeks and I havent had to do that since. But note, I dont have extreme dominance. It is there, but it isnt extreme. I can now snap shoot that rooster that is about to go behind a bush and never worry about it.
Having said all that....I am facing the same thing with my daughter. At this point, it is very slight dominance so we are going righty.
Best of luck to all that have this situation and I would be happy to discuss my experience more if someone has an interest.
A couple of factors to consider. First is strength of dominance. Some people have really weak right eyes and really strong left eyes. In this case, I would probably have them shoot lefty. If it is not a large disparity however, I think you can easily correct (train?) eye dominance issues.
I did it by putting a dime size smear of vaseline on my shooting glasses directly in front of my left eye. It didnt take long and my brain was trained to "use" my right eye when shooting a gun. My peripheal vision was still intact. It probably took about a summer of shooting one night every two weeks and I havent had to do that since. But note, I dont have extreme dominance. It is there, but it isnt extreme. I can now snap shoot that rooster that is about to go behind a bush and never worry about it.
Having said all that....I am facing the same thing with my daughter. At this point, it is very slight dominance so we are going righty.
Best of luck to all that have this situation and I would be happy to discuss my experience more if someone has an interest.
Is there a reason you used vaseline and not black tape?
I'm a rifle coach for a youth air rifle club (60 shooters). As part of the training, I became a Level 1 NRA rifle coach (whatever that means). We teach every kid to shoot to their dominant eye. If you watch enough new shooters, you'll learn that those who try to cross-shoot do poorly until they switch shoulders. One of my kids shoots lefty but is right handed. After a few years of shooting lefty, he has difficulty in trying to shoot right handed.
BigRack,
Yes, the vaseline just blurs your vision a tad so that the other eye takes over but you still retain some depth perception and better peripheal vision. You can see through it a little bit. It really worked well. Plus, it was easy to make as big or little as you wanted and you could adjust it somewhat while shooting.
My personal opinion is that some kids with nominal dominance difference can shoot either way and if you just blanket all kids with a policy, you are doing some kids a disservice. Certainly the minority, but nonetheless, some kids can easily learn to shoot cross dominance.
the other thing that concerns me is that my daughter will be left eye dominant about 6-7 times out of 10. it used to be about 9 times out of 10. As kids grow, I think eye dominance, again if slight, may change a little.
Yes, the vaseline just blurs your vision a tad so that the other eye takes over but you still retain some depth perception and better peripheal vision. You can see through it a little bit. It really worked well. Plus, it was easy to make as big or little as you wanted and you could adjust it somewhat while shooting.
My personal opinion is that some kids with nominal dominance difference can shoot either way and if you just blanket all kids with a policy, you are doing some kids a disservice. Certainly the minority, but nonetheless, some kids can easily learn to shoot cross dominance.
the other thing that concerns me is that my daughter will be left eye dominant about 6-7 times out of 10. it used to be about 9 times out of 10. As kids grow, I think eye dominance, again if slight, may change a little.
Spook hit the nail on the head. Shooting is muscle memory. That can be learned through repetition and practice. Eye dominance can be changed also, but it takes a lot longer and it's much more difficult to work on. Teach her to shoot left handed.
noharleyyet
Well-known member
Some stubborn old left eyed/right handed dogs can learn new tricks...except how to hit sporting clays
...however, doves are no problem...weird, but clays make terrible gravy.
...however, doves are no problem...weird, but clays make terrible gravy.
