Right Handed but Left Eye Dominant

[ntodwild]

Been shooting lefty since I can remember but I DO NOT shoot a left handed action as I am helplessly uncoordinated with my left hand and just can't cycle a bolt worth a s#$t as I am right handed. Left handed stock with a right handed bolt action was my ultimate solution. Comb and cheek rest on the right as well as the action. I can certainly shoot a right handed rifle well even without a rest or comb on the right. This is by far the most comfortable way to go for me. Makes for much better shooting fundamentals for sure. Oddly enough Ive been shooting a right handed bow for almost 20 years without any issue.

 

[Adski]

Been shooting lefty since I can remember but I DO NOT shoot a left handed action as I am helplessly uncoordinated with my left hand and just can't cycle a bolt worth a s#$t as I am right handed. Left handed stock with a right handed bolt action was my ultimate solution. Comb and cheek rest on the right as well as the action. I can certainly shoot a right handed rifle well even without a rest or comb on the right. This is by far the most comfortable way to go for me. Makes for much better shooting fundamentals for sure. Oddly enough Ive been shooting a right handed bow for almost 20 years without any issue.

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Thanks for the perspective.

 

[Lilhowie83]

My dad was right eye dominate and right handed, but he shot left handed because he was taught to shoot by his left handed brother. But he shot a right handed rifle, with his left hand, somehow using his right eye in the scope and doing it rather proficiently and accurate.

 

[Black Elk]

I’ll jump in on this thread. I am left eye dominant but right handed. I shoot pistols right handed but bring the sights over so I can see with my left eye. I shoot my bow and rifle left handed. The rifles are all right handed rifles and I find that I can run a bolt pretty well with proper hand placement. Just find what works best for you and run with it.

 

[AndyPOW]

I'm right handed and left eye dominant. As a kid I could never hit a baseball, make a basket etc. . . didn't get it figured out until I joined a gun club and shot skeet with guys who knew what they were about. They suggested wearing shooting glasses with a small piece of tape on the left lens that was placed such that it shaded the side of the barrel of the shotgun. It works like a charm, and have been using the method for 40 years now. It is best to be wearing eye protection in the woods anyway. The smallest piece of tape you can get away with is best, which is pretty small, like the size a hole punch would make.

 

[OntarioHunter]

Again, why is it necessary to make any adjustment if shooting with a scope? Scopes are shot with one eye only anyway. If the dominant eye has to close to make the scope work on opposite side, the non-dominant eye becomes dominant by default. Unless it is damaged or incorrect prescription, it sees things just as well as dominant eye. Shoot a right-handed scoped rifle if you're right handed and left eye dominant. I don't understand what is the problem?

 

[OntarioHunter]

I'm right handed and left eye dominant. As a kid I could never hit a baseball, make a basket etc. . . didn't get it figured out until I joined a gun club and shot skeet with guys who knew what they were about. They suggested wearing shooting glasses with a small piece of tape on the left lens that was placed such that it shaded the side of the barrel of the shotgun. It works like a charm, and have been using the method for 40 years now. It is best to be wearing eye protection in the woods anyway. The smallest piece of tape you can get away with is best, which is pretty small, like the size a hole punch would make.

I tried the electrician tape over one lens. The downside is it limits peripheral vision. Makes it harder to find a moving target and get on it. I shoot skeet and clays low gun because that method better simulates wingshooting. My left eye is disoriented due to multiple retina surgeries and right eye has several pieces of its retina floating around inside. I need all the vision I can muster to find the moving target in time to mount the gun and get on it for a shot. The left eye doesn't see well but it sees something and provides 3-D. Try pouring a cup of coffee with those taped glasses. I know how much fun that can be: I was blind in left eye for almost two years. Personally, I cannot imagine attempting to negotiate rough country in the field while purposely blinded in one eye. Been there, done that and it's not only not fun, it's dangerous. Lose your depth of vision and stumbling is the order of the day.

 

[88man]

I'm RH and LE dominant. Rifle & shotgun I close my left eye and shoot, not many issues. Bow I shoot left handed.

I know it can be done with success, however with a shotgun closing an eye is an issue and the target will appear to move twice as fast as with both eyes open.

 

[MT Bound]

Anyone ever run into this? I noticed my son is in this boat.

Is it easier to teach him to shoot a LH rifle from the beginning or will your eye still look through a scope alright?

I haven't read through any of the posts other than your original post Schaaf, but I am a lefty & have been shooting guns and bows right handed for almost 40 years. I have gotten used to it, and actually shoot my bow with both eyes open. So yes, it can be done

 

[Adski]

I’m the new guy who re-upped this thread and I sure appreciate all the info within. My right hand bolt/left eye shooting style is mandatory due to uncorrectable right eye injury as an adult. I do have decent peripheral vision in compromised eye. Critical for navigating the world effectively

Thanks for all the suggestions. I’ll spend plenty of time with scoped right hand bolt rifles before I buy, and hopefully be able to try out a lefty as well to compare experiences.

 

[brymoore]

Again, why is it necessary to make any adjustment if shooting with a scope? Scopes are shot with one eye only anyway. If the dominant eye has to close to make the scope work on opposite side, the non-dominant eye becomes dominant by default. Unless it is damaged or incorrect prescription, it sees things just as well as dominant eye. Shoot a right-handed scoped rifle if you're right handed and left eye dominant. I don't understand what is the problem?

Slow head shake. The shooter will never be as proficient a shooter if they don’t use their dominant eye. I’ve watched it hundreds of times on the rifle teams I coached. The squint method is poor shooting.

 

[OntarioHunter]

I know it can be done with success, however with a shotgun closing an eye is an issue and the target will appear to move twice as fast as with both eyes open.

Yes, and with both eyes on the target the shooter is less inclined to look at ("aim") the shotgun. That's often a problem with new shooters moving from rifles and stationary targets to shotguns and moving targets. If they shut the opposing eye like they do when aiming a rifle, shotgun shooters often tend to look at the barrel when getting on moving target. Doesn't work. It can be a problem even for me after shooting fifty years but closing left eye is necessary because its damaged vision is cockeyed (pun intended). So I practice closing the eye after the gun is mounted and on target. Shooting high gun trap can be done with one eye closed fairly successfully but skeet and sporting clays not so much. In the field no one is walking around with one eye closed and gun mounted ... not over my dogs anyway. So while one eye and high gun may work with some, albeit limited, success at the range it's kinda counterproductive for someone who wants to hunt birds too.

 

[OntarioHunter]

Slow head shake. The shooter will never be as proficient a shooter if they don’t use their dominant eye. I’ve watched it hundreds of times on the rifle teams I coached. The squint method is poor shooting.

Another slow headshake. Dominance is not about defective vision in one eye. If the non dominant eye is corrected with proper prescription, it will see just as well as the dominant eye. Dominance is about which eye the brain prefers when lining things up with binocular vision. Do you know how to check for dominance? And certainly shooting a scope the shooter will adjust it for the shooting eye. If he needs to do any squinting it has nothing to do with dominance. He's got a problem with scope or correctable vision that needs looking after.

The exception is of course the Jeff Cooper style of rapid firing a low power scope at moving targets with both eyes open. Then eye dominance comes into play. But I don't believe in shooting at animals that way.

As I recall there a very few folks who have both eye dominance. Many of the best baseball players.

 

[brymoore]

Another slow headshake. Dominance is not about defective vision in one eye. If the non dominant eye is corrected with proper prescription, it will see just as well as the dominant eye. Dominance is about which eye the brain prefers when lining things up with binocular vision. Do you know how to check for dominance? And certainly shooting a scope the shooter will adjust it for the shooting eye. If he needs to do any squinting it has nothing to do with dominance. He's got a problem with scope or correctable vision that needs looking after.

The exception is of course the Jeff Cooper style of rapid firing a low power scope at moving targets with both eyes open. Then eye dominance comes into play. But I don't believe in shooting at animals that way.

As I recall there a very few folks who have both eye dominance. Many of the best baseball players.

I guess the NRA rifle classes I took to become a tier one coach and the hundreds of kids I coached to become Distinguished Experts was meaningless.

 

[rideold]

All those coaches and researchers that know about eye dominance probably know more than most of us.... I suggest to anyone who prefers to use their non-dominant eye due to hand dominance do some reading on eye dominance. The dominant eye is more than just preference. There are more neural connections and the brain relies on the dominant eye for positional accuracy...... I am cross dominant and it really wasn't that hard to train myself to shoot right handed with a revolver, rifle and bow. I had to think about it in the beginning but it is completely natural now.

 

[Otto Matic]

My eldest is RH/LE. Didn't catch it until way late in life.
Invited me to attend a "qualification" shoot. (It's a small town PD)
Thought the kid (top qualifier! !) was acting weird. Something just wasn't clicking.
Then came the shotgun round.
I was getting concerned. Thought the kid was having some kind of seizure or stroke or something!? Despite all that, still finished at the top.
"What's going on?", I asked.
"Dad, I'm righthanded and left eye dominant."
"How did you shoot righthanded all those years?"
"I didn't know any better!"
Made me feel bad as a dad.

Kid's aces with a .45ACP.
Holds the gun righthanded, but shifts it slightly to sight with left eye.
The shotgun?
Mounts it righthanded. Head across stock to shoot with left eye.
REALLY weird looking!
...but it works!

 

[1_pointer]

I’m the new guy who re-upped this thread and I sure appreciate all the info within. My right hand bolt/left eye shooting style is mandatory due to uncorrectable right eye injury as an adult. I do have decent peripheral vision in compromised eye. Critical for navigating the world effectively

Thanks for all the suggestions. I’ll spend plenty of time with scoped right hand bolt rifles before I buy, and hopefully be able to try out a lefty as well to compare experiences.

I strongly encourage one in your position to give a LH rifle a strong look. Right handed rifles are designed to vent gas/debris away from a right handed shooter. Shooting a RH rifle could be venting that gas/debris right into your eye/face. Just something to think about.

If shooting a LH rifle feels awkward, I'd suggest lots and lots of practice. Could be with something cheap like a 22 (not so much anymore), air rifle, or what I did with my boys NERF guns.

 

[OntarioHunter]

Okay, I have cruised the net and found countless sources all confirming what I've said. For cross dominance situations most long gun shooters do not shoot with both eyes ... obviously. Who shoots a scope with both eyes open? Maybe close combat or Jeff Cooper types shooting at moving targets close range. But 99% of us shoot scoped and iron sight long rifles with one eye closed. Depth perception is no longer needed once the gun is mounted so binocular vision or "positional accuracy" becomes superfluous. For handguns or for shotguns at moving targets, it's a different matter. Many people shoot handguns with both eyes open, especially for rapid fire personal defense. But it's easy enough for these cross dominant handgun shooters to simply shift the weapon or head enough to line up the dominant eye. I would think that handgun target shooters would be closing one eye. I know I do. For moving targets, e.g. wingshooting, it is more difficult to accommodate cross dominance. Usually the shooter has to either shoot mounting the gun on the dominant eye side or learn to close the dominant eye. Closing or taping over the dominant eye sacrifices peripheral vision and "positional accuracy." I shoot birds/clays with both eyes open and close the misaligned left eye once the target is acquired and gun is mounted. Two eyes are redundant at that point because peripheral and binocular vision are no longer needed. A cross dominant shotgun shooter has four options: change shooting shoulders, tape over glasses on dominant eye, somehow pull his cheek over the stock to shoot dominant shoulder with dominant eye, or learn to close the dominant eye when target is acquired and ready to shoot. I shoot very well using the last method and it involves the least physical adjustment or financial outlay. But to do it well requires a lot of practice. Fortunately, the practice routine can be done at home with an empty gun.

 

[Adski]

I strongly encourage one in your position to give a LH rifle a strong look. Right handed rifles are designed to vent gas/debris away from a right handed shooter. Shooting a RH rifle could be venting that gas/debris right into your eye/face. Just something to think about.

If shooting a LH rifle feels awkward, I'd suggest lots and lots of practice. Could be with something cheap like a 22 (not so much anymore), air rifle, or what I did with my boys NERF guns.

Thank you. I have definitely considered the ejection issue. I’d love to find a place to try a lefty out. Most shops seem to have one or two on hand (CZ makes a .308 in lefty) but tough to get hands on one to try out.