How hard was it to switch shooting hands?

[Dees]

For those of you who have done it, how hard was it to switch your main shooting hand and how long did it take? Do you now shoot better with your "new" main hand, do you feel you have an advantage because both hands are capable now?

I've been a lefty for 24 years but only a gun owner for a month or two, so I don't feel that it's entirely set in stone. I'd like to switch for a variety of reasons, the main one being that a larger market of handguns/rifles will be open to me and much easier to operate. And being right eye dominant only makes it worse.

 

[Treo]

It's really not that hard I'm actually ambidextrous so I shoot pistols W/ both hands Rifles just don't feel right in my left hand though

 

[loneviking]

I'm pretty ambidextrous, and with handguns it's easy. With a rifle, it just doesn't work.

 

[owlhoot]

The "off" hand can learn to do its part in playing virtually all musical instruments. Obviously, it can learn something as simple as maniputating, aiming, and firing a gun. But you do have to practice.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Changing hands isn't a problem with the hand as much as with your eyes. Since you are already cross dominant changing hands for you will probably come much easier than for most. I practice all the time with my weak side hand and can shoot fairly well with it but I'm sure I would do much better if I practiced with it exclusively. Even though you're left handed I think because you are right eye dominant if you shoot with your right hand exclusively from now on you may end up shooting better with your right hand than with your left, and do so in a fairly short timespan. (IMO of course)

 

[ClemY]

I asked a left handed guy how hard it was to learn to fly right handed. He said you just learn along with everything else.

When I was shooting IPSC I had to learn to shoot "weak hand." It really isn't that difficult, it just requires practice. Now I practice weak hand most times at the range.

 

[Mad Magyar]

Even though I don't spend a lot of time or ammo on it, I find my opposite hand to be more steady. I practice mostly one-hand point shooting directed toward the Kill-Zone.

 

[XDKingslayer]

I can't do it. I've tried and tried to practice shooting left handed. If my right hand is ever damaged in a shoot out, I'm going to die.

 

[Gibbles]

I use to beable to switch hands, it took like two-four shots for me to get the feel for it. after a motorcycle accident... I'm slowly getting my left hand back...

I'm buying a fourwheeler soon....

 

[floydster]

I am right handed and left eye dominant, I was shooting right handed until a range officer had me start shooting left handed and in the last two months have tightened up my groups considerablly.
Floyd

 

[spwenger]

One of the Best Things...

...I got out of "serving my instructor apprenticeship" under Massad Ayoob was the requirement to be able to shoot with either hand. I did not find it that much of a challenge but dread the day that I may be required to write left-handed - no matter how many times I try the latter, I just can't seem to make it work.

On a side note, I benefited greatly from a friend's advice, many years ago, to use the right eye when shooting right-handed and the left eye when shooting left-handed. Those who are challenged by this advice can search for earlier threads that discuss the process of successive approximation in the context of cross-dominant shooters.

 

[KC&97TA]

A little back ground on the $0.02 I'll give you. I've been doing weapons instruction for the past 3 years, up untill a few months ago, I'm not an expert but I'm pretty dam good. Of this time, I ran a Marksmanship Training Unit for 13 months, doing USMC Annual Known Distance Instruction... I left that job and became the Cheif Weapons Instructor at a little unit, for another 13 months, instructing all organic Infantry Weapons.

For the Left handers, you can pick up shooting with your right quite easily, alot easier than most think, you've been battleing the right handed world all your life... it just takes a bit of practice and you'll be on your game. I've seen alot of left handers go amidextrous with great results, on both pistol and rifle.

Right handers... (thats myself included), it takes time and you'll be frustrated... but just keep going, for me I sometimes only shoot left handed at the range just to do it and not have the right handedness come into play, I've been putting more into left handed rifle than pistol lately, which has been helping my pistol game by leaps and bounds.

I'm trying to shoot rifle more from the left and not so much pistol left handed, I'm getting pretty good left handed pistol almost as good as my right, which has taken a few years, I still wouldn't shoot a match or steel challenge left handed yet, but that could be interesting. Left handed Rifle has been the biggest challenge, but it's something I've needed to improve upon.

Remember very few ever picked up a pistol/rifle and were naturally great, so switching to 'the other side', takes time and practice, that most aren't used too.

ETA: Shooting Off Hand Skeet and Trap... so far has been a total waste of clay, I've actually not taken shots just because I was so jacked up in the swing of the shotty, LOL!

 

[Defensory]

Go ahead and make the switch now. The longer you wait, the harder it gets. Practice, practice, practice.

 

[Guy B. Meredith]

It's common for competition shooters to learn both hands. The little gotcha is when putting the gun in the other hand puts you at cross dominance and need to tip your head to aim.

In my case I find that a supported 'weak' hand is pretty doable. I also switch eyes at the same time. What the heck, it works.

 

[SCKimberFan]

I switch frequently at the range, just to know that I can use my weak hand if necessary.

 

[Lookn4Brass]

Been there, and made it through

The challenge is understandable, but definitely win-able. I was born right-eye dominant, but left-handed. I shoot long guns, swing a bat, catch, and kick a ball on the right side, but throw and write with my left hand. I grew up using my left hand for handguns too, doing a cross-over with my eyes for the sights. Weeelllll, when I got really serious about semi-auto handguns in my early twenties, I decided it was time to teach my right hand to use the handgun too. It took me about a month, spending time every day when I was alone. (Other people just don't seem to appreciate me holding a handgun around the house that much!) You could apply this to WHICH EVER hand needs training.

Here's how I did it, and it may work for you: I purchased a right hand holster for my main pistol (mine was a 1911-A1 with standard features) and a magazine pouch to go on my left side, and acquired some high quality snap caps to chamber in the gun (I like to dry-fire practice when possible). I also made some dummy rounds to practice some safe unloading/reloading/ speed drills. At night when I had some time to watch TV by myself, I would put the pistol in my right hand and practice my normal motions and dry-fire practice till I got tired of it. Also, as silly as it sounds, doing the conversion while doing something else (watching TV) made it not seem so much as a chore. I made myself pick up the pistol with the right hand anytime I got it out to use it also. That even felt weird, but worked eventually too. Pretty soon the practice started working. Now all my accessories and holsters are mostly right handed, and I like it that way. YES, I do practice with the other hand too, but maintain the conversion. Hope this info helps. Good shooting, and keep it fun, yet focused...!

 

[M2 Carbine]

How hard was it to switch shooting hands?

I maintain that there's only two things that you have to do to be a pretty good target shot.
Maintain the proper sight picture and squeeze the trigger until the gun fires.

Some years ago when I started a little weak hand shooting the accuracy was no problem since I simply maintained the sight picture and squeezed the trigger.
What I had to work on is my awkward handling of the gun with my left hand.

Now I like to shoot a few rounds weak hand most every time I shoot. My accuracy is about as good left handed but my pistol handling is still slower than with my right hand.

For instance this was several months ago, point shooting right and left handed.
The accuracy was about the same but I'm still faster right handed.





Another advantage of shooting weak hand is as I get older my right hand gets too shaky at times. Strangely my left hand usually isn't shaking, so I just shoot left handed.
I also practice switching eyes.

 

[Mike Franklin]

I've been shooting Cowboy Action For 11 years using both hands for the revolvers. My left eye is very weak so I shoot rifle and shotgun from the right. Luckily I can shoot either revolver with my right eye. I'm still noy as fast left handed but I'm good enough to clean a match frequently.

 

[1SOW]

How hard was it to switch shooting hands?

With a two handed grip it wasn't too bad, just a little slower. With a one hand -bullseye type- grip it was terrible.
With the first I just adapt. With the second I'd need to relearn all that muscle memory.

 

[M2 Carbine]

Yesterday while shooting I remembered this thread.

I've been shooting a 2 inch S&W J Frame Model 60 at 50 yards. Mostly I shoot at a two foot square steel plate. It saves me constantly changing targets and I can hear when I miss.





Anyhow, I was shooting right handed and two hands and remembered this thread so I shot left handed.
Two hands and right hand I miss about once in 25-30 shots but left handed I missed once in ten shots.
It was hot so I quit after the ten shots left handed.
I can still use more weak hand practice.
Fun shooting.