Dominant eye vs dominant hand

[airbus300]

I am working with my 8 yo son on shooting. It seems he is Left eye dominant. But he holds naturally holds the rifle Right handed. Is it easier to train him to hold left or sight with the right eye. Which is easier to change?Any help is appreciated.

 

[oklahoma caveman]

I grew up with the same problem as your son. right hand/left eye. It is actually fairly common. I switched hands. now shoot rifle/shotgun left handed and handgun right handed. It really improved my shooting and was not all that hard to master. And imho he will not be hindered by firearm choices, as I can use any style in a right handed configuration just as easily as a right handed shooter can. My opinion.. teach him to shoot lefty

 

[unwise11]

I write lefty, and I shoot right handed, I am "mixed dominant" meaning I have no truely dominant eye, My strongarm is my right arm, I play baseball right handed, football, but I shoot pistols ambidextrious, I guess I'm wierd..
Although when suggested I refuse to shoot longguns lefty, I get advise like I've never picked up a guns on occasion, and Just say thanks respectfully enough and Break a 23/25 on clays, or shoot a 2.25"x2.5" group at 300 yards..
and I'm 14, been shooting like I have since age 7, and I wouldn't mess with your sons way of aiming, his body knows best, and that will always be the case in my opinion, because of how I personally shoot, and do other things.
It's nearly impossible to change a dominant eye, though my left eye is dominant more days a week than my right eye is.

 

[thunder173]

I am right handed and left eyed. Been shooting long guns and bows southpaw since I was a kid and own many long guns of differing actions. None of them are specifically left handers. CONFIRM he's left eye dominant. If he really is,..I'd say teach him to shoot long guns left handed. You'll probably find he'll do okay right handed with hand guns,...as most of us do.

 

[Float Pilot]

At that age the eye dominance could change. It would not hurt to let him try shooting both ways, left and right handed. If you are really only used to shootinh one way, it is very interesting trying to teach somebody the otehr way of doing things.
I am horribly right handed.... For years I could not even try using a screw driver in my left hand becasue I would probabl;y poke my eye out with the darn thing...

I took the FBI firearms instructor course and they never really mentioned it..Neither did our State and Muni level courses.
But I eventually took a few of the NRA sponsored police officer courses for tactical instructors. The best was taught by an ex-Brit Marine named Shepherd. He noticed my problem and made me wear a left handed holster and gear. He also made me shoot rifles and shotguns lefty only for a week as well. That really helped. After a few days I could shoot with either hand and with either eye.
I recently had some injury to my right eye, so for the last coupe of weeks I have been shooting left eyed...

 

[JFtheGR8]

I am cross dominant as well. With your son you could start training him to shoot long guns left handed since he is very young yet. Larry Vickers of Tactical arms is cross dominant and shoots pistols right handed and long guns left handed. I have tried to switch to my left with long guns but it feels very uncomfortable and awkward. I don't have the time nor money to shoot thousands of rounds to make it feel any better either. I have found that if I slightly squint my left eye while acquiring the sight picture then my right eye will take over and I still have vision out of my left though it is lessoned somewhat. It has worked for me with both rifles and shotguns. If my dad would have known way back when what you know now I would hope he would have made me change hands though.

 

[SpentCasing]

Its called cross-eye dominance. Im the same way. Im a lefty but shoot righty(right-eye dominant). I see it as an advantage over most cause I can shoot ambi with rifle or pistol but prefer righty when having the choice. Only thing is, for me anyways, its easier to shoot lefty with both eyes open and tilt the rifle slightly inward.

For those who dont know how to tell, point at something on the wall with your thumb. Close one eye, then switch to other eye closed. Whichever your thumb is still pointing at is your dominant eye, and the side that makes your thumb not pointing at object is weaker eye.

 

[LeverGunJunkie]

The good NCOs I've worked with in the Army teach to shoot rifles on the side of your dominant eye. Both my kids are cross-eye dominant, and that is the route I'm taking with them. They are doing pretty well with it.

 

[mshootnit]

The problem with dominant eye versus dominant hand met its solution which was dominant uncle. My uncle switched me over to shooting right handed to match my right eye use when I was four.

 

[armoredman]

Right handed, left eye. Was told in the Academy that I was going to shoot left handed. I refused and told them I would turn in an Expert score. Graduated with the highest score in my class. I still shoot rifle and shotgun right handed.

 

[Hopsing]

My opinion is to let him shoot whichever side he is more comfortable with. I am right-handed and yet I shoot long guns left-handed. Have all my life. I fired expert in basic training, third highest in my company. Pistols I shoot either-handed, but prefer my right. It does seem odd, but I never worried about it. Think about this. When I throw it up to my left-side pocket it goes right where I want it to be, every time, no thinking involved. When I try to shoot right-handed I have to think about every move and I have to place it where I want it. That's just the way it has always been. Just my .02

 

[wannasupra]

my wife is the same way, she just learned to shoot left handed, i guess it was easier for her. let your son decide what's comfortable.

 

[txhoghunter]

From what I've seen it is easier to reteach muscles in the arms to get comfortable shooting from a non-dominant side than to try to switch which eye is dominant. I have actually never heard of this, but I am not denying that it is possible at all.

 

[MrCleanOK]

Teach him to shoot left handed. Much easier to rewire dexterity than eye dominance. The worst you can do for him is to let him carry on shooting right handed, because later on when he hits the limits of shooting with his weak eye it will be harder to correct the problem.

 

[airbus300]

WOW. Thanks for all the great replys. It seems more common than I thought. I just bought 2000 rounds of .22 ammo. Time to take him out and let him work it out.
Thanks again to all.

 

[M91/30]

When i was younger around the age of 12. (Im right arm dominant) I took hunters safety and they told us to check eye dominance and the eye that is dominant should be your shooting side. Back then I was right eye dominant. I shot tons in the back yard with my red rider bb-gun. But around the age of 17 my eyes became left eye dominant... So my response to that was oh well a scope is a scope, It really showed with irons though. Well turns out my accuracy has been dropping off a bit I have been practicing firing technique both sides, only problem is for some reason i cant take recoil left handed so my hot loaded mosin is very hard to shoot. So IMO I would have him try shooting both ways and watch his accuracy. Ask him what he is comfortable with and train him both ways. Cause if he switches eye dominance.. he might be in the same boat I am.

 

[deacon8]

Well, you should use your dominant eye. Therefore, he needs to learn to shoot with whatever side that allows him to do that, at least with a rifle or shotgun. Though he could make either arm work with a pistol.

 

[ryanrichmond]

I'm left eye dominant and right arm dominant.
It's funny... as a kid shooting my BB gun (rifle) in the backyard, I always shot right handed and did "fine". I shot that way because that's how all my friends shot. As of a few years ago, I switched to the left side and now I shoot great. It's odd to think that for all those years, I could have been doing better.

Now when shooting pistols, I still hold the gun in my right hand but I bring it across to my left eye. Seems to work well for me.

 

[RustHunter87]

this sucks I have to go lefty i guess.

 

[B1gGr33n]

My personal experience: I'm ambidextrous, left eye dominant. My left arm is stronger, but my right arm is steadier. Whether I shoot lefty or righty depends on the firearm. I prefer pistols in my right hand, but am capable left handed. Rifles I very much prefer right handed, as I can't get a decent squeeze with my left hand. Shotguns I'm competent with in either hand, which comes in especially handy when hunting because I can take the right wing of the party and shoot lefty.

Basically what I'm getting at is let your kid figure out what he's comfortable with. It's gonna take time and practice for him to figure it out, but it's worth it. Everytime I hear someone talk about forcing him lefty or righty, I think back to grade school when I had a friend who was left handed, but the teachers forced him to write right handed. His writing is terrible with either hand now, because neither is comfortable for him anymore.

 

[gatorjames85]

TEACH HIM TO SHOOT WITH HIS DOMINANT EYE

I learned to shoot right-handed and I am left eye dominant. I like to hunt waterfowl and it is a major problem. Luckily you found it out at a young age. You and he will regret it later if he doesn't learn to shoot with his dominant eye. It is much harder to switch later on. Good luck.

 

[doubleh]

I say explain the options to the kid and let he/she try them and choose which they prefer. My daughter is right handed, left eyed and that is what I did when I started teaching her to shoot. She tried both ways and decided on doing things right handed. She became an excellent shot and has put several boys to shame in the shooting department.

Children, just like adults, resent being forced to do things and this can lead to poor performance or outright rejection. Give them a chance to find what works best for them, with your help and advise, and you will achieve better results. If their efforts fail then school them as best you can. And be PATIENT with them.

 

[hiawatha]

I'm another right hand/left eye guy. I have never been able even to hold a long gun right handed -- it just feels very unnatural to me. Since your son is able to handle a rifle right-handed, I agree with HH.

 

[OpelBlitz]

This is something I've struggled with for a while now. I'm also cross-eye dominant; my left eye being dominant and I learned to shoot right handed (And my right arm's also stronger). As long as I never open my left eye looking down sights/through a scope, I generally did okay.

My dad's the same way, except he actually shoots left handed. I've tried a few times to shoot lefty, but I couldn't get used to it. I don't think I tired hard enough; I am thinking I will from now on though. People in a similar situation as me said when they switch over to lefty, they're much better.

 

[Andrew Wyatt]

I am mixed dominant like your son. I shoot left handed.

Please don't teach him to shoot right handed.