Anyone else aim with their non-dominant eye?

[Therapydude]

When I shoot a handgun, I keep both eyes open, but aim with my non-dominant eye (I'm right hand dominant, right eye dominant). I use a Weaver (or Weaver-like) stance and turning my head to the right (so I aim with my left eye) just feels natural. I use my left eye regardless of shooting with both hands (freestyle), strong or weak hand. Anyone else shoot a handgun with their non-dominant eye?

 

[gbran]

My eyesight isn't real good, but I have a burned out retina in my dominant right eye. I do just fine sighting a handgun left eyed and right handed. I cannot shoot a rifle righthanded if using iron sights. Gotta use a red dot or scope.

 

[cavman]

No.
I can't. My non-domiinant eye is also my poorer sighting eye as well. Although I don't wear glasses, my left eye is just not as good as my right, which is great.

So, although I shoot with my left hand, and use just that hand with it out-stretched, (I shoot one handed), I turn my head to the left to get my right eye so I can use it to sight down the barrel.

I, too, keep both eyes open. It is easier and less effort on my facial muscles, believe it or not. My face gets tired scrunching up and trying to keep closed an eye.

Because of my right eye being the best, I am learning to shoot with my right hand when shooting the rifle. That by far is the weirdest and most foreign to me, grabbing the gun with my right. It seems like someone else is holding it. That is what is taking the most getting used to.

Sitting down and holding the rifle with my "wrong" hand is slowly getting okay. But to grab it and raise it if I ever try to shoot standing up is still something that I have not gotten used to.

cavman

 

[10-Ring]

Shooting handguns, I keep both eyes open and really haven't noticed favoring one over the other. Long guns (shotgun or rifle) are diff't issues entirely and the answer is...I can do it, but not well. My non dominant side just doesn't have the vision to perform at the level I'd like.

 

[jem375]

I'm a lefty with a dominant right eye...So I have learned to shoot a handgun right handed but still shoot rifles and shotguns lefty since it feels too weird to shoot them right handed....

 

[ball3006]

I don't have a.....

dominate eye.........I am ambidextrous too.......chris3

 

[unspellable]

which eye?

I am right handed and left eyed. (Cross dominance is said to be an advantage when swinging at a baseball but not for shooting.) I aim a rifle or handgun with the right eye while golding it on the right side and don't have much of a problem.

Where it gets to be a problem is with a shotgun since you are pointing rather than aiming. Cross dominance results in shooting to the dominant eye side of the target if you are holding the gun on the dominant hand side. Some put a little vasoline or a frosted spot on the dominant lens that will block out the end of the barrel forcing the weak eye to do the job.

 

[MCgunner]

I'm right handed with severe astigmatism, left eye is the only one that sees anything well. It's 20/20 corrected, but the right eye does 20/80 at best. At an early age, about 8, I figured this out and learned to shoot long guns left handed. However, I shoot handguns right handed and use the left eye, not a problem.

I think this might be why I am not so picky about grip shape, "fit in the hand", other such rubbish with handguns. I adapt to the gun and learn to shoot it, got a long history of that in my shooting. Didn't wanna give up on long guns just because my right eye's practically blind. I adapted.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

When I shoot a handgun, I keep both eyes open, but aim with my non-dominant eye (I'm right hand dominant, right eye dominant). I use a Weaver (or Weaver-like) stance and turning my head to the right (so I aim with my left eye) just feels natural. I use my left eye regardless of shooting with both hands (freestyle), strong or weak hand. Anyone else shoot a handgun with their non-dominant eye?

Yep. As I gained in maturity and wisdom, I also became far-sighted in my right (dominant) eye and near-sighted in my left. I retrained myself to shoot, using the left eye to give me a needle-sharp sight picture, and the right eye to give me a sharp view of the target.

 

[lawboy]

right handed. left eye dominant. I shot with right and and right eye. However, I have to close the left eye or it takes over.

 

[N3rday]

I am right-handed and right eye dominant.

When I bring a handgun up, to be honest, my brain's choice of which eye to use seems pretty random.

 

[okiemom]

I am right handed and left eyed. I play pool w/ both hands, left being better. It took almost a box of .22L to figure out why I could not hit anything. Changed to left hand w/ a rifle and was great. Handguns are stranger. My DH Glock is fine I am shooting it rather well. My Kahr is a different story and I worked this past Sat. to figure out what was wrong. I tried a new stance and cocked my head to use my left eye it really seemed to help.

 

[MCgunner]

I am right handed and left eyed. I play pool w/ both hands, left being better. It took almost a box of .22L to figure out why I could not hit anything. Changed to left hand w/ a rifle and was great. Handguns are stranger. My DH Glock is fine I am shooting it rather well. My Kahr is a different story and I worked this past Sat. to figure out what was wrong. I tried a new stance and cocked my head to use my left eye it really seemed to help.

I'll either shoot modified Weaver, or lately I've been shooting a lot Isoceles, but just bring the gun up with my right hand in front of my left eye. I have no problems doing this even one handed bullseye style. I can't see doodly squat with my right eye, so I have no choice. Don't have to cock my head to the side or anything, just bring the gun up and sight it with the left eye. Works for me.

 

[bluto]

Yep, cross dominant. Right handed, left eye dominant. But I shoot with both eyes open using my right eye. Isocelese stance and training have made it pretty much of a non-issue when target shooting even when shooting rapidly. I wonder what will happen if I start IDPA though? I can see where it might be a problem under certain circumstances.

 

[Nitrogen]

Due to an assault when I was in school, my previously-dominant eye became... whatever the opposite of dominant is. I lost about 30% of periphial vision in it. I had to train myself to use my left eye as my dominant eye. After about 10 years, my brain finally recompensated, and now it's naturally dominant.

A trick from photography: If you want to shoot (heh) that way, don't close your other eye, just block it.

 

[rtl]

I was a natural south paw with a dominant left eye...until private school forced to become right handed. Shot right handed with left eye dominant for a couple decades until LASIK eye surgery changed my right eye to be the better of the two. Shortly thereafter I became right eye dominant and now can finally shoot right with right eye dominant.

And yes, in case you're wondering, I do hold a pen like a monkey in my right hand and my handwriting is atrocious, thank you very much private school!