Cross Dominant for Self Defense?

[Carbonator]

(You can check your eye dominance by extending your arms fully in front of you and making a small hole with your hands to look through. Pick a spot on the wall and look at that spot through the hole that you created with your hands. Now slowly move your hands back to your face without losing sight of the spot on the wall. Keep moving your hands back until they touch your face. Whichever eye you end up looking through is your dominant eye.)

I am left eyed and right handed. Long ago I shot .22 long rifles in competition and I had to use a left handed rifle because eye dominance trumps hand dominance in standing/kneeling/prone long rifle competitions. This was awkward because my instinct of course is to raise and shoot a long gun from my right side since I am right handed. I am not sure if being cross dominant in any way affects a self defense situation. Is anyone here cross dominant and has it affected your concealed carry or home defense with either a long gun or handgun?

 

[Mad Chemist]

I'm cross dominant.

I turn my head slightly to the right on order to help align my left eye while still keeping both eyes open.

On long guns, reflex sights are fine. Some iron sights require me to close my left eye. I could shoot both eyes open if I shot lefty.

 

[Diamondback6]

Mad Chemist's way works, but there's also another option.

Two words: "McMillan Tilt". Seems we had an ace Marine pistolero bringing home Olympic gold, who had a little problem: cross-dominance. So, Our Hero discovered that if he angled the gun a little over toward its side (NOT NOT NOT a full 90-degree Gansta BS, somewhere between 15 and 45 is the limit), he not only brought the sights over in front of his dominant eye but also gained a little better lock-up in the bones of his arm.

I'm not cross-dominant myself, but when I shoot weak-hand I use about a 45-degree tilt--and I've tweaked my strongside technique so I can gain the recoil-resisting benefits of a 15-degree rotate while still keeping the sights in position suitable for my dominant eye.

Google "Bill McMillan".

 

[Jon_Snow]

I'd never heard it called "McMillan Tilt" but that's what I do with all my pistols. Works great for me at about 20-25 degrees. All my rifles are scoped and I find it easy to shoot them with both eyes open. My shotguns, on the other hand, I have to shoot with my left eye closed.

 

[Mad Chemist]

Diamondback, I actually cant the pistol a few degrees similar to what you described but only when shooting 1 handed.

 

[NMGonzo]

I bring my gun to my eye level and fire.

It hits the COM every time.

I'll be dammed if I look at the sights at all.

 

[Mad Chemist]

I bring my gun to my eye level and fire.

It hits the COM every time.

I'll be dammed if I look at the sights at all.

OK, thanks for sharing that.

Occasionally, I shoot my pistols for accuracy drills. Either small targets (1" dots) at normal ranges or small targets (empty shot shells) at long ranges (100'-200').
This typically requires the use of both front and rear sights.

At intermediate ranges (20-40ft for me) I acquire the front sight, then press.
Less than 20ft probably necessitates a strategy of pointing and moving.

I'm sure the ranges are relative for different shooters. However the mechanics of movement for sighted or non-sighted fire should be nearly identical.

 

[rbohm]

i am also cross dominant, but i have been working hard to eliminate it. i have also been working hard to shoot well with either hand, and use the proper eye when changing hands.