Cross eye dominant.

GBExpat said:

FWIW, given the choice, I would not change a thing since [1] all of the long guns that I have encountered in my life have been designed for right-hand use and [2] the fact that it apparently never impaired my shooting ability or comfort level.

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Sam1911 said:

Certainly. Now you've developed such ingrained habits that changing will probably take you a great deal of effort, and the increase in absolute skill might never materialize.

But with a youngster, with skills still unformed and a lifetime left to take advantage of best practices, we owe it to them to teach them the BEST way.

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For the type of shooting that I have done all of my life, I was taught in what I consider the BEST way ... I was at least as skilled as those around me and quite content with my skill level ... but I understand what you are saying.

Actually, I think that the best point that you have made on this subject may be the aspect (if accurate) of being able to more naturally/comfortably deal with the challenges presented by dynamic shooting.

Am I the only one who looked at Rondog's M1 photo and thought "wow, that kid better watch his right thumb" when seeing his hand's proximity to the bolt?

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That photo is actually a still snagged from a video. In the video it's alarming how close his thumb is to the oprod, you can even see him wag his hand after it grazed his thumb very slightly. I had to warn him about it, and watch him closer now. That would be "M1 thumb from Hell".

being able to more naturally/comfortably deal with the challenges presented by dynamic shooting.

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Yes indeed. Imagine if you will the plight of a cross-dominant skeet or sporting clays shooter who's forced to shoot from their weak-eye shoulder! They'd almost invariably have to use some artificial occluder (like tape over their better eye's glasses lens) to be able to accurately point their shotgun. Or deal with shooting with one eye closed all their lives. That's not going to give you the sharpest performance you could achieve with your BETTER eye, and certainly not with BOTH eyes open, obviously.

The thing is, this translates extremely directly through all sorts of other shooting, with the possible exception of the bench-bound rifle shooter.

I think you need to upgrade that M1 to an M1C or M1D, and the offset scope should be about perfectly placed for him.

I am "one of them" who is left eye dominant and shoot right handed. I wish I would have learned to shoot left handed many years ago but now that I am near 60, I won't be changing. Left handed shooters run in to their own set of challenges.

I can actually shoot handguns with either eye but squint with the opposite eye. I can still see some but not as much if they were both wide open. I am a reasonably good shot so as long as I am target shooting, life is good.

I agree with those who advocate for teaching them to shoot lefty. That being said, I haven't suffered a great deal but it may be I am not smart enough to know it.

Sam1911 said:

Imagine if you will the plight of a cross-dominant skeet or sporting clays shooter who's forced to shoot from their weak-eye shoulder! They'd almost invariably have to use some artificial occluder (like tape over their better eye's glasses lens) to be able to accurately point their shotgun. Or deal with shooting with one eye closed all their lives. That's not going to give you the sharpest performance you could achieve with your BETTER eye, and certainly not with BOTH eyes open, obviously.

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Funny thing is that, even being cross dominant and shooting from my weak-eye shoulder, I was always deadly on the dove hunts. I would always miss on my first shot and then connect on every subsequent shot. We all referred to my First Shot Miss as my Settle Down Shot.

Now I am thinking that it may be something else, possibly connected to the cross dominance.

Being mostly a rifle shooter, on that first shot I may have been instinctively trying to acquire the fast-moving target and aim with my right eye only ... and only after that did I successfully shift into Shotgun Mode.

I know that on subsequent shots I always had both eyes open.

My grandson also is right-handed and left-eyed. He also is apparently unable to close his left eye (not uncommon I've learned).

We're just starting his training and I am trying several approaches. My first attempt was to have him shoot left-handed, but he was uncomfortable with that - and the first priority is to make this is as fun and comfortable for him as possible.

The next approach was an eye patch over his left eye (a cool "pirate patch" purchased at a costume shop). That worked pretty well, but isn't very practical.

My latest (and by far the most succesful) approach was to purchase a relatively cheap red-dot sight. With that, he is able to quickly obtain the target with both eyes open and shoot very accurately.

At some point, I will re-introduce the idea of shooting from the left shoulder.

Its amazing what an eye patch can do train him to use both sides of his brain effectively. Worked for my daughter and me. Now I am ambidexterous and loving life more than when the teacher used to smack me with the chalkboard pointer if she caught us using the left hand.

I can't remember where I heard this but supposedly if you are cross eye dominant you can wear a patch and over time your brain will switch to the other eye. I tried that for years and while still right handed but left eyed I can shoot with both eyes open. In my 20s I would have said I was 70/30 left eye to right but now in my early 50s I would say 55/45.

Sam1911 said:

Use your dominant eye, and adjust how you hold your guns accordingly. If cross-dominant, shoot long guns from the dominant EYE's shoulder.

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Echo that. Turn the other cheek (thank
you Jesus).

Quote:

so, what are we saying the best way is?

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Use your dominant eye, and adjust how you hold your guns accordingly. If cross-dominant, shoot long guns from the dominant EYE's shoulder.

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This is the best way, if started early. I'm more in this camp:

I am "one of them" who is left eye dominant and shoot right handed. I wish I would have learned to shoot left handed many years ago but now that I am near 60, I won't be changing. Left handed shooters run in to their own set of challenges.

I can actually shoot handguns with either eye but squint with the opposite eye. I can still see some but not as much if they were both wide open. I am a reasonably good shot so as long as I am target shooting, life is good.

I agree with those who advocate for teaching them to shoot lefty. That being said, I haven't suffered a great deal but it may be I am not smart enough to know it.

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I've been doing it the "hard way" -- shooting right handed, while being left eye dominant -- for over 40 years. I might wish someone had forced me to learn to shoot left handed when I was younger, but it didn't happen. For a long time, I compensated when shooting rifles by using lever guns with high mounted scopes. Then along came the scout rifle, and with the scope mounted forward, I could shoot bolt actions and semi-auto rifles.

I don't think there is a "right way" here. I think there is a "best way," and for dogs too old to learn new tricks, there are "second best" ways.

I am also cross eye dominant.It wasn't until I was in my 30s that I was diagnosed.I can not shoot with both eyes open. I am too old now to try to change so I just close my left eye when shooting.Perhaps if I could learnthe right way,I would be a better shot.

My son is right handed and left eye dominant. I taught him to shoot left handed (bows, rifles, and shotguns). He's 13 now and just earned both his rifle shooting and shotgun shooting merit badges.

Shooting shotgun right handed when you're left eyed is never going to work.

FWIW, my son shoots pistols right handed, where he can easily shoot from an isosceles position and use his dominant eye while shooting right handed.

BTW, I'm left handed and right eye dominant. I shoot everything right handed.

kludge said:

Shooting shotgun right handed when you're left eyed is never going to work.

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Simply not true, kludge.

Not everyone's body responds the same way.

On another thread here recently, the subject of discussion was hearing protection & damage.

As the comments increased it became obvious that not everyone's body responds the same to like abuse. Some suffered noticeable hearing degradation over the years and others did not.

With that in mind, the logical way to approach that subject with a youngster is to train them so that just in case they happen to be susceptible to such hearing loss, they will be protected against damage.


Seems to be the same thing with cross eye dominance.

Apparently, I am blessed to have turned out to be a very "high-functioning" cross-dominant shooter for whom shooting weak-eye with long & shotguns has never caused any apparent problems. I may, however, represent the minority ... so ...

... when cross-dominance is confirmed in a youngster, since there is no way to crystal ball his/her future on the subject, the prudent approach appears to be to follow the wise counsel put forward by Sam1911 and others.

No easy one size fits all answer here. I am right handed and left eye dominant. I am not about to learn to shot a long arm left handed, and dont need to. The gun world seems to discriminate against left handers, while a few weapons are available right or left handed. Good luck with bull pup guns!

I shoot long arms right handed and pistols right handed. Shut left eye when shooting long guns (or keep both open) shut right eye with pistols SOMETIMES, sometimes I keep both open depending. Everyone is different, even among cross dominant shooters, and there is no answer that fits everyone. Some convert to left handed, I couldnt. Some keep both eyes open, some cant. You just have to find what works for you.

I recently had a pair of shooting glasses made with the left eye focusing right on the site, the right eye set for distance. It created exactly the opposite problem I was having, slightly blurry site but sharp target. Now I get crystal clear sites, but slightly blurry target. I usually have both eyes open and watch the front site, as the target picture is right I sometimes then close the right eye and shoot...I am still working with them and may need to try something a little different for the right eye.

When I shoot with my normal progressive eye wear, I find myself tilting my head back for focus on the site...hopefully I can work these glasses out!

Russellc

Agreed with GBexpat. You just have to find what works for you. It isnt the same for everyone. I only started using my left eye (but right hand)for pistol shooting in the last few years. I can shoot with my right eye as well, just doesnt seem to work as well. Do tend to keep both open...

Russellc

I'm cross dominant also. I have just trained myself to shoot right eyed. Took awhile, but it is just as fast and accurate as left eyed now.

I'm left eye dominant and right handed and I shoot long guns left handed and pistols right handed with no problems. It doesn't take long and it becomes the normal feeling way to shoot. I put a rifle up to my right shoulder one time a while back and even though I'm right handed it felt a little awkward after 45 plus years of shooting the other way.

I am left eyed and right handed. When I was younger, I took up shooting on my own. I was shooting regularly for a few months and getting very frustrated until an awesome RO noticed my problem, pulled me aside and explained it to me. I still shoot RH but use my left eye. One thing I have not really ever seen a good explanation for is why some people can just close their dominant eye and be on target. For me, with a pistol, I am still not even on the paper from 10 feet away. What doesn't make sense is that I shoot my rifles with my right eye and do pretty well. I am not sure if the longer barrel compensates some or what. I do shoot rifle better left handed but it is a whole lot less enjoyable with my leverguns and there is only a marginal improvement in accuracy.

GBExpat said:

Simply not true, kludge.

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Yet by your own admission, you always miss the first shot.

kludge said:

Yet by your own admission, you always miss the first shot.

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And then hit all of the rest.

kludge said:

Shooting shotgun right handed when you're left eyed is never going to work.

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And the reason for my first shot miss has not been determined ... it could have something to do with the cross dominance and it could be just what we always called it, a Settle Down Shot.

61Woody said:

I can't remember where I heard this but supposedly if you are cross eye dominant you can wear a patch and over time your brain will switch to the other eye. I tried that for years and while still right handed but left eyed I can shoot with both eyes open. In my 20s I would have said I was 70/30 left eye to right but now in my early 50s I would say 55/45.

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only if you see equally well with both i would think. my brain has pretty much shut my bad eye down