Cross eye dominance, help a guy out

[1SOW]

Sam 1911 +1
For pistol: Shoot normally with 'both eyes open'. Your dominant eye WILL take over with a minimum of practice.
Wear corrective glasses for your vision problems.
I wear bi-focals.

Quick test to illustrate: Pick an object across the room and look at it both eyes open. Quickly point your index finger at it. Close the NON-dominant eye. Your finger will still show pointed at the object.
Do the same with the other hand. It too will still show pointed at the object. The DOMINANT eye guided both fingers.

Shoot both eyes open.

 

[56hawk]

Quick test to illustrate: Pick an object across the room and look at it both eyes open. Quickly point your index finger at it. Close the NON-dominant eye. Your finger will still show pointed at the object.
Do the same with the other hand. It too will still show pointed at the object. The DOMINANT eye guided both fingers.

Shoot both eyes open.

Don't know if I'm naturally this way, or if I've trained myself but... When I point with my right hand my right eye is lined up and when I point with my left hand my left eye is lined up.

Either way I have always been taught to use your right eye when shooting right handed and your left eye when shooting left handed.

 

[Sam1911]

Either way I have always been taught to use your right eye when shooting right handed and your left eye when shooting left handed.

And that you MUST do when shooting long-guns. Mess this up and you'll be putting bullets or shot waaaay off to the left or right of your target!

However, with handguns, that's not true, at all. No one (ok...no one I've met or watched shoot) swaps eyes when they swap hands with a handgun.

When you say, "I have always been taught..." do you mean that an instructor has TAUGHT you to do that? Or just that it was just a habit you picked up along the way, like from dad, grandpa, uncles and such?

 

[Promod1385]

What type of competition's are you shooting? If you shooting USPSA or any of the other fast paced gun games learn to shoot both eyes open and you will get this sorted out in a hurry.

If you talking about the longer range rifle sports I would look at buying rifles for a lefty and learning to shoot them that way, it will benefit you much more in the long run.

 

[56hawk]

When you say, "I have always been taught..." do you mean that an instructor has TAUGHT you to do that? Or just that it was just a habit you picked up along the way, like from dad, grandpa, uncles and such?

The college I went to had a police academy. I took quite a few firearms classes there and they taught that when shooting from the left side of a barricade use your left hand and left eye. I think the main idea was to maximize cover, but since then I have always used my left eye when shooting left handed.

 

[Sam1911]

Hmmm! That's odd! Lot of effort and system disruption for almost no gain from a cover perspective. Most people don't shoot handguns nearly so well with their opposite hand, let alone eye! So you're really at a big disadvantage in accuracy, just for an extra inch or two of cover.

Wonder if they still teach that?

 

[56hawk]

Using the Weaver stance from behind a barricade you make a pretty small target. You're going to expose a lot more vital areas shooting strong hand from the weak side since you have to lean out far enough to expose both shoulders.

And apparently they still teach it that way, see Segment 3:

PPC 48 Round Combat Course

Full size revolver or semi auto pistol.



STAGE A -

Segment 1 - Twelve (12) rounds in twenty-five (25) seconds at seven (7) yards.

Segment 2 - Twelve (12) rounds in twenty-five (25) seconds at fifteen (15) yards.



INTERMISSION - Reload magazines and speedloaders.



STAGE B -

Segment 3 - Eighteen (18) rounds in ninety (90) seconds at twenty-five (25) yards. Six (6) rounds kneeling - Six (6) rounds standing left barricade, left hand strong hand - Six (6) rounds standing right barricade, right hand strong hand.

Segment 4 - Six (6) rounds in twelve (12) seconds at twenty-five (25) yards standing with no support.

A B-27 target will be used. There will be a short intermission after Stage A for scoring and target repair.

At the beginning of each stage, the weapon must be secured in the shooter’s holster. All reloading will be done with ammunition taken from the competitor’s magazine or speedloader pouches. A competitor will need a minimum of (4) magazines or speedloaders to compete in this match properly. All magazines and speedloaders will only be loaded with six (6) rounds as this course of fire is revolver friendly.

 

[waktasz]

If they are still teaching the Weaver stance than any of their opinions are immediately invalid.

 

[56hawk]

If they are still teaching the Weaver stance than any of their opinions are immediately invalid.

It makes sense if you are taking cover. But I was referring to them teaching left handed shooting, not the stance.

 

[Andrew Wyatt]

I'm not sure i'd bother switching hands just so i could crowd cover.

 

[Sam1911]

If they are still teaching the Weaver stance than any of their opinions are immediately invalid.

Well, there ARE a few schools still teaching Weaver, but they are dwindling.

As for crowding cover and trying to use Weaver to excuse it, or vice-versa: http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=8338498#post8338498

 

[Rustle in the bushes]

Im resisting because I dont want to be doomed to buy left handed rifles- selection sucks. Im gonna give both a go when Im at the range next time and see, I gotta listen if everyone says that closing one eye doesnt work/learn to shoot with the dominant eye.


So wait...seems alot of people shoot scopes with one eye closed anyway. Could I possibly: shoot scoped bolt guns right handed

and just shoot shotguns left handed?(like a freak)

Or do the same "both eyes open" advantages apply to both scopes and sights?


Otherwise Im doomed to do this for the rest of my life! heheheh

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyZztvmoyl4

 

[1SOW]

Don't know if I'm naturally this way, or if I've trained myself but... When I point with my right hand my right eye is lined up and when I point with my left hand my left eye is lined up.

Are you testing with the pointed fingers "roughly (+/-)" centered on your chest, like a pistol would be?

 

[56hawk]

Are you testing with the pointed fingers "roughly (+/-)" centered on your chest, like a pistol would be?

I've tried it a bunch of different ways, and it's always right hand right eye and left hand left eye.

 

[Sam1911]

So wait...seems alot of people shoot scopes with one eye closed anyway. Could I possibly: shoot scoped bolt guns right handed and just shoot shotguns left handed?(like a freak)
Or do the same "both eyes open" advantages apply to both scopes and sights?

Some of them certainly do apply to both, but yes, of course, long range, deliberate, slow-fire work with a scope is much more forgiving of using whichever eye you choose, and closing the other.

However, if you're going to go "whole hog" it probably makes sense to dedicate yourself to long-guns all fired the same way.

Having said that, I know left handers who only shoot right-hand rifles. There are some advantages, to balance out the disadvantages. (Notice how many precision rifles now eject and load on the opposite side from the bolt handle?)

 

[Andrew Wyatt]

Having said that, I know left handers who only shoot right-hand rifles. There are some advantages, to balance out the disadvantages. (Notice how many precision rifles now eject and load on the opposite side from the bolt handle?)

When i bought my LH remington 700 i learned the hard way how good i had it with right hand rifles. Short action 700s are really terrible to load if the port is not pointed at your off hand.

reaching over the top to run a bolt gun is not especially bad.

 

[Rustle in the bushes]

Funny cause I'm just rifle shopping.Well, here's hoping the model 70 comes out in lefty some time.

It's either deal with reaching over to operate the bolt/safety or get a browning, lever, or pump.

I think the levers and pumps make sense for a lefty, I've been trying working the bolt left handed and its gonna take some practice to get a second shot off in comparable time vs a right handed person

 

[Andrew Wyatt]

to be fair, though, I'm trying to keep the gun loaded on the clock while moving. if you're hunting or whatever, it's not that big a deal.

 

[coolluke01]

I am left eye dominate. I shoot right handed with my right eye. I can switch eyes when shooting weak hand.

Moving the gun to one side compromises the stance too much. IMO.

I shoot steel action a lot and have been very successful with my technique.

It takes work, but I feel it is ideal. Shooting with the left eye closed and using the right eye and right hand. I shot like this for years. After a while I noticed that I could switch from eye to eye if I squinted my left eye. With practice I don't even have to squint my left eye anymore. Again, it takes work. It also requires that you commit to it. Even now if I switch eyes when shooting left handed (I don't do this anymore) it's hard to overcome that and switch back to shooting with my right eye. It takes a few mins and then I'll be able to do it again.

I feel it's much more natural for me to shoot right handed and point shooting is easier with your strong hand, in my experience.

It's worth it. Stick with it. Don't give up, it can be done and done well.

Good luck

 

[p2000sk]

Post #50
What benefit does right handed shooting bring you that is worth all the trouble you're going to?

Hold my coffee lefty.

 

[jon_in_wv]

I agree with Andrew when it comes to a rifle. For slow shooting with a scope I have no problems just closing my left eye but for other types of shooting I would be better off learning to shoot better left handed especially with open sights. This does bring up some new problems with my AK47 but I'm sure I would be able to see much better.

The only problem is that so many rifles are really set up for a right handed shooter. The charging handle is reciprocating in my face with my AK when I shoot right handed. If I was still in the Marine Corps I would have switched to lefty a long time ago. The techniques they use with the ACOG just don't work for me unless I'm looking through the scope with my dominant eye.

 

[Hk Dan]

You have a couple o options.

1) Do what youre doing.
2) Tip the gun over or your left eye
3) Look at the target. You will have a double image of the sights. Line up either double image and you will hit (this is called "type II focus")

A lot of cross dominant guys will put tape on the let side of their shooting glasses right where the pupil an the sights would normally intersect. They swear by it, and it doesnt hurt their SA.

For my money, anything you do that adds another item to the list is bad (or sel deense). Fix it with training and its fixed forever, ya know?

 

[d2wing]

I might as well throw in 2 cents. The best way is to get training from a NRA or other high quality nationaly certified instructor. The best choice is as many said, to learn to shoot from the side of the dominant eye. If you choose not to do this, with lots of practice you can adapt to shooting using just about everything suggested on here. Many trick and competition shooters learn to shoot either handed and many shoot the wrong way. The key is training and lots of practice.