Dominant Eye

[KenW.]

All my life I've been right eye dominant. Recently though, I've noticed that when concentrating on examining tiny things like those little screws on eyeglass frames, I close my right eye and use the left.

Is it a sign that I'm going to have to start shooting lefty eventually? How common is it to switch eyes?

Ken

 

[Hossfly68]

When was the last time you went to the optometrist? Your vision may be changing in one eye and it'll throw you all out of whack. One of my eyes chose to do that while I was going through Instrument flight training. My instructor freaked out a bit when he caught me staring at the altimeter with my right eye closed. Went and got a new prescription and my landings even got smoother!

 

[KenW.]

I generally see one every year, so a check is coming due.

I don't wear my prescription religiously (have yet to wear them on a qualification shoot), and keep the cheap non-prescription reading glasses around.

 

[Strykervet]

Look it up. There is a test you can do to determine that. We used to have all of our students coming through the SDM program do that test, but I can't recall how to do it. I'm sure you can find it online though.

We had a few folks that WERE right handed, but left eye dominant. Those guys wore patches over their right eyes for the duration of the course. The hard part for them all was trying to excel in a class that demanded precision shooting out to 600m, something most of them had never done, WHILE learning how to shoot left handed! Hats off to those that made it. By the end of the course though, five weeks later, they were pretty good at it.

 

[KenW.]

I tryed the tests I found through google. 50/50 over 10 tries.

I must be "ambi-dominant".

 

[Loosedhorse]

If you're using your left eye for fine work up close, just means you're a touch more near-sighted in that eye than in the right. No mystery, and nothing to do with eye dominance.

You're lucky: at 40-45 years old, many can't use either eye for near work...unless they use reading glasses.

 

[Strykervet]

No. Never heard of it. See, one of your eyes is not lined up with the other. One actually tends to look off to one side. It is real obvious in folks that have one eye pointed one way and the other straight foward. Because of this, when taking the test, at least one eye will HAVE to see at the proper angle given that both eyes can see it.

Here is the test:

http://www.archeryweb.com/archery/eyedom.htm

Do like in the picture, hold your hands just like that so you have an aperature. Extend them in front of you while looking at the target with both eyes open. Now close one. Do you see the target or your hands? What about the other when repeating?

Only one should work. I just tried it and, sure enough, I am right dominant.

I'm sure you aren't ambi, because if you were, you shouldn't have stereoscopic vision, which I assume you do because you shoot firearms. As far as changing eye dominance, eyes changing, well, I'm not an optometrist, just a lowly sniper instructor with some experience with this sort of thing. If this test TRULY doesn't work for you and you KNOW you are doing it right, then I suggest going to the doctor and showing him the test and then start asking questions.

 

[Strykervet]

If you're using your left eye for fine work up close, just means you're a touch more near-sighted in that eye than in the right. No mystery, and nothing to do with eye dominance.

You're lucky: at 40-45 years old, may can't use either eye for near work...unless they use reading glasses.

That is fine and well, but he still should be able to pass the dominance test.

 

[Loosedhorse]

^You don't "pass" an eye dominance test. You get a result: left, right, or mixed. And, as I said, the OP's preference for one eye at near is unrelated to dominance, whichever his is.

I'm sure you aren't ambi, because if you were, you shouldn't have stereoscopic vision

Untrue. Eye dominance is unrelated to stereopsis. For example: if a person has only one eye, well, we know which eye is dominant! But there is no stereopsis.

 

[basicblur]

How common is it to switch eyes?

Depends on what day of the week it is!

I'm cross-dominant, but the doc has been keeping an eye on my left/dominant eye for pressure changes-he says no problem, just monitoring it.
Anywho-I'm assuming because of the pressure changes, the sight in my dominant eye goes from sharp to just a little off, whereupon my right eye then takes over as the dominant eye-how ya gonna correct that with glasses?

Heck, if I throw the pistol up I can't tell you which eye I'm gonna be using-it's pretty much reflex, depending on which eye is the dominant one fer the day!
Long as I can put 'em on target, I don't think about it too much.

I do, and have always, used my right/non-dominant eye for rifle work.

 

[Hossfly68]

My ex wife was right handed, but left eye dominant. At least that's why we figured she was so clumsy. Looking back at it now, and knowing what I know now, I realize that she was just stoned a lot of the time.
Never marry a hippie!

 

[rondog]

Look at something on the wall, like a clock or a light switch,with both eyes open. Now point your finger at it and cover it up with your fingertip. Close your left eye, does the finger "move" away from the object, or stay on it? Do the same with the right eye.

Whichever eye the finger stays on the object with when that eye is open, is the dominant eye.

 

[Shadow 7D]

Actually If you are ambi, you will see two distinct images of your hand or finger (depending on the test you use) and then have a bugger of a time doing, know what you are doing and mess the test even more....

I'm left eye dom, but trained to shoot right eye... so I'm pretty close to the above, but I'll kill it quicker in CQB, I get my dot on it and it's dead. Some advantages of being able to shoot (only) close in with both eyes open.

 

[chanroc]

Not to hijack the thread, but how much is accuracy affected when shooting with your non-dominate eye? To me it`s about what`s comfortable, or is that the point?

 

[167]

I find it really makes no difference which eye is dominant for pistol shooting, and hardly for rifle shooting. I am left eye dominant and right handed. I have no trouble shooting pistol or rifle.

 

[Shadow 7D]

As for accuracy, it depends, one oft quote rule, is that you still shoot well, but you could shoot better, for me, it's not worth unlearning years of habit to relearn to shoot right handed, but then I'm not as fast picking up the cross hairs both eyes open and have some difficulty when I first start a lane with both eyes open.

 

[valnar]

I find it really makes no difference which eye is dominant for pistol shooting, and hardly for rifle shooting. I am left eye dominant and right handed. I have no trouble shooting pistol or rifle.

167. I am the same way. I just bought my first rifle and its hard squinting my left eye because that is dominant. I never had a problem with my pistols. What do you do for rifles?

 

[Zone15]

Hmm doing the test I found I am left eye dominant, but I'm right handed and shoot right handed. I can close my left eye while keeping my right eye open but I can't close my right eye while keeping my left eye open so even if I wanted to change I don't think I could.

 

[Shadow 7D]

Actually you can, try it, shoulder your rifle (it's easier since the sights are closer) and aim with your dominate eye, now with both eyes open changer you point of aim (pick a different target) and check your aim, you get a 'ghost' image overlaid with your site, as long as you BRAIN uses the eye with the sights in front of it as the 'primary' image, you will be properly aimed.