Help me with my left-eye dominant son

[SteelyDan]

Here's the scoop. I took my 11-year old son out hunting with me this weekend. He's still learning to shoot a rifle with a BB gun. I know other members' kids shoot Rigbys at that age, but he doesn't. Anyway, his left eye is clearly dominant, but he's right-handed. So when he shoots, he leans backward, and has to put his left eye way back on top of the stock. At that angle, the Rigby would flip him over 4 or 5 times.

He really enjoys the shooting, and this is a lot of fun for me, too. But I think I've got to get him aiming through his right eye.

I put some shooting glasses on him with the left eye taped over, and he was able to shoot through his right eye. Not nearly as well as with the left eye, but he could do it. As soon as the glasses came off, however, he couldn't. Please understand, he wanted to please me, and he wanted to shoot with his right eye, but he just couldn't do it.

So I'm guessing that we've just got to keep blocking his left eye and forcing him to get comfortable with the right eye. But I really don't know. I'd really appreciate any suggestions.

 

[cookhj]

teach him how to shoot left handed. teaching him to shoot right handed with a left eye dominance will only cause more problems down the road if he ever decides to get into competitive shooting. it's gonna make a big difference in how he shoots.

 

[Beetle Bailey]

FWIW, I am also right-handed and left-eye dominant. There are two obvious solutions (shoot left-handed or use the right eye) but I didn't like having to use my left hand (especially for the milsurp bolt-actions I like) so I just shoot right-handed and close my left eye when I aim, forcing me to use the right eye. It takes a bit to remember to do it at first, but when you train over and over it can and does become second nature. Good luck!

 

[Mike Irwin]

It will be easier for him to learn how to shoot left handed than it will be for him to learn how to consistently aim with his non-dominant eye.

Believe me, I've tried.

 

[C.R.Sam]

I'd go for lettin him shoot left handed.
Later, he can learn to do it either handed and either eyed.
For now, keep it simple and ejoyable.

Sam

 

[SteelyDan]

I forgot to mention, but he can't shut or blink just one eye. I was amazed, but he really can't. When he shuts one eye, they both shut. That's my boy--he knows how to make simple things difficult.

Thanks for the suggestions so far. We'll give the left-handed shooting a try.

 

[VG]

I brought a guy to the range to shoot for the first time and that was the case. Once he started shooting left handed, he did fine.

It's really no big deal to shoot lefty. The Garand and AR15 are easy to shoot lefty if he competes, and slow fire with a .22 isn't a problem either. There are plenty of left-handed actions available. I think Savage sells their lefty actions for the same price.

I shoot Milsurp bolt actions lefty as well. Since no one is shooting back, I haven't found it to be a problem.

 

[ShaiVong]

Good skill to have, anyway. I try and practice with my offhand so can do it in a pinch.

 

[WYO]

My wife is right handed and left eye dominant. Without formal instruction, she tried to shoot long guns left handed. Last year, she took a shotgunning for women seminar put on by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. They recommended that she continue to shoot right handed and to use her right eye. She went through the class that way and had no problems learning to hit clay pigeons, using both eyes open while shooting. She recently started shooting scoped rifles, and she has continued the practice of shooting right handed, right eyed. She is a consistent sub MOA shooter from the bench at 100 yards, and a 2-4" shooter at 200. With some practice, I am sure that she can improve group sizes at both distances. She says that she usually closes the left eye just before she breaks the shot with the scoped rifle, while she's making her final adjustments.

I'm not sure that there is a right or wrong answer on this. It probably depends on the individual and which "awkwardness" is more easy to overcome.

 

[larryw]

Spread out over three weeks in the summer we have about 300 Cub Scouts at our club for BB gun shooting. One of the first things we do with the boys is determine eye dominance; about 10% are like your son.

We try to teach the boys to shoot on the side of their strong eye (we don't force the issue, safety is the first priority, but the boys having fun is a close second ). One such boy this past summer had been shooting with his dad weak eyed for three years. He really fought switching sides, but after giving in to our "suggestions" and trying it for a day, was outshooting his previous best targets by a wide margin.

IMO, shooting from the strong eye side is more important for rifle than pistol. There's a recent thread over on General Handgun discussing this subject from the perspective of handguns you'll probably want to check out as well. http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=43522

Please don't worry about handicapping him by shooting left handed. I'm left handed and have no problems operating any of the (many) rifles I've shot.

 

[SteelEye]

SteelyDan,
There is nothing wrong with a right handed person shooting left handed. I am right handed but have no vision in my right eye. I shoot rifles left handed because it is easier then trying to use ultra high sights/scope with a severe cant. However, I shoot pistols right handed and find, because of my vision, I can shoot left handed almost as well (especially if I practice).

The only problem I see here is getting a neutral stock, that is, one that is neither left or right handed. Which side the bolt is on is really not an issue. It takes more effort for a lefty shooting a right handed bolt rifle but if speed becomes an issue, there are a number of solutions available.

I recently bought a lefty Cooper 57M. The test target had one very small hole where 5 shots went the distance at 50 yards. Yes, these are very expensive rifles but the weight, balance, feel, quality and, did I say, accuracy, are outstanding.

I am looking at a lefty centerfire, most likely a Tikka or a Cooper in .260 as my next purcahse.

 

[Beetle Bailey]

It sounds like shooting left-handed is the perferred solution here and if your son can't close just one eye, it's probably the way to go. The important thing (besides the all-important safety issue) is not to turn him off on shooting. There is a reason I don't go bowling anymore. Again, good luck.

 

[Andrew Wyatt]

It takes more effort for a lefty shooting a right handed bolt rifle but if speed becomes an issue, there are a number of solutions available.

actually, if the rifle doesn't have a scope, working the bolt wrong handed is just as fast.

having your son shoot left handed is the only solution. Anyone who suggests otherwise is not a lefty, and doesn't understand.

 

[Owen]

It is possible to retrain eye dominance, but it takes a very long time, and is very frustrating. Don't do that to your kid. If he gets into target shooting, he may decide to do it on his own.

If he is so completely one sided that he can't do much of anything with his left side (you should see me try to throw a ball ) You can also black out the left lens of his shooting glasses, so he can use his right eye. For a less severe effect, place a piece (or several) pieces of clear tape over the left lens.

most of all, just make sure the kid has fun

owen

 

[HankL]

"11-year old son" "most of all, just make sure the kid has fun"

Owen said a bunch.

 

[Steve Smith]

Please don't try to force your sone to shoot right handed. He will be a much better marksman if he shoots left handed.

Shooting with both eyes open is actually PREFERRED.

 

[Jon Coppenbarger]

I'am left eye dominate and shoot right handed.
have given thought to switching and have practiced it a little in the last two years but still know my best bet at this time or maybe forever will be to stay with what I know and it seems to work alright for me at least.

I also feel if you can get him to switch while he is young if you plan to have him start target shooting it would be better but I also feel that while he grows in the sport he will have at some time the chance to switch on his own.

 

[SteelyDan]

Thanks for all the very good advice! It's times like this that make me proud to be a member here. We will definitely try out the left-handed shooting thing. And don't worry, I'll keep it fun for him, only partly because it's so much fun for me to do it with him. The hardest part is when he violates a safety rule, because then we have to quit--I'm kind of a hardass about this, for obvious reasons. Still, he's already better or safer than one or two guys I hunt with. That makes me proud, too.

 

[Phantom Warrior]

Others have covered the important points...

My $2*10^-2: I'm right-handed, left eye dominant. I've been shooting left handed since I was...I dunno. For at least 10 years. I'd like to try and shoot right-handed too, just to make certain things like a right-handed bolt easier, but it's never been an issue. Sometimes it easier because I can use my strong hand to support the weight of my rifle (or shotgun), rather than my weak side. Let him try lefty...

 

[rayra]

Sorry, have to disagree (not too strongly, mind you) with the shoot left-handed crowd.
I fired long guns right-handed for several years before joining the Marines, shot High Expert throughout my Marine career, and do well ever since. Didn't find out about eye-dominance until after I was out of the Marines. And my Left is Dominant.

I was simply taught to aim by focusing on target, then on sight alignment and sight picture, then finally focusing on the front sight post during the squeeze. Left eye closed. Worked fine for me.

Bottom line, whatever works for the boy.

 

[duckfoot]

I am left eye dom/right handed and shoot every well with my right eye by closing my left. When I qualed at marine recruit training, I had to cock my cover to block my left eye and qualed 239 out of 250 on a old K.D. course. It can be beaten but every one has their own way fo doing it.

.02

duck

 

[Dave Markowitz]

If he can't close just one eye then shooting from portside is the way to go, IMO.

One of my cousins has the opposite problem -- he is lefthanded but right ey dominant. He had to learn to shoot right handed.

 

[Fudgie Ghost]

I'm left eye dominant and right handed. Don't shoot competively, but if I spend a day on the range, after awhile, my left eye has a hard time staying shut. So, I bought a plastic eye patch at the drugstore. Put that on my left eye when it starts to get tired and shoot away.

Works for me anyway.

 

[JNewell]

I'm strongly left-eye dominant and have been shooting for more than 35 years...am in my mid-40s now. I suspect everyone is different, but for what it's worth here's my experience in a nutshell.

With rifles, I do very well because I instinctively adjust my left eye to get a proper sight picture. I try hard to shoot with both eyes open, and usually it works. When it doesn't, a slight squint will usually tip the balance over to the right eye. Using a telescopic sight tends to make it worse, but using a zero-magnification red dot sight like an Aimpoint Comp-M makes using the right eye with the left eye fully open really easy. So, one thought is you might invest in an economy ($50 or less) red dot sight for a .22 and see how your son fares.

Handguns tend to be a little harder. At one point I actually shot right handed and left eyed, which was a big mistake (for me, at least). After a fair bit of training, I do well with my right eye but it is definitely something that gets better with practice and deteriorates if I'm not. It can be frustrating sometimes, and if your son experiences this it might help to remember that this brain-eye connection is not too different from a muscle. In my experience, you can overcome it not only by choosing hardware that helps (see above) but also simply by using the right eye.

I have to say again that this is my own experience, and others may have better, or worse, experiences. For example, notice no mention of shotgun sports. I tried skeet, really liked it...somehow just kept seeing the left side of the barrel, which didn't work at all. I should try it again -- I was younger and understood less well how to train and develop the mind/body connection. In the hardware vein, I think having a rib on the barrel (I did not) might have helped direct my right eye more successfully (dunno, it's a theory).

One final thought that I suspect doesn't need to be mentioned (to you at least, since you seem very sensitive to you son's experience here). If he gets too frustrated, it's ok to back off. Please God, you and he will have many years to work on this together. Sometimes we expect things to click like a lightswitch...but sometimes things take years and we need to be patient with our children (and ourselves). Better to take it slow and not turn him off entirely.

One other thought. Occasionally, in handgun training, it's helped to put a bit of tape (you mentioned that) over my left eyeglass lens -- I don't think you mentioned what kind of tape, though. I've found that the frosted "scotch tape" type works well because it still lets a lot of light through, so it doesn't freak me out by creating a complete block in front of the eye. My $0.02, no charge to you.

Best luck. Go slow and be happy each day.

 

[jetman]

my dad had the same trouble training me to shoot well with a left dominant eye and right handed. Like most things it just took practice to over come it. Actually after learning to use my right eye as "dominant" I started shooting with 2-eyes before it was taught by many of the local Pro's at the range or my uncle who taught me to shoot skeet. I did much better with both eyes at skeet. With targets and pistols I still shut the left eye and use the right, but still love to shoot silouette's with friends comparing 2-eyed shooting. I rarely lose.