How long would it take a lefty to learn to shoot right handed?

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Spec ops Grunt

Spec ops Grunt

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Anyone know. I know it used to be done in the millitary, but thats it.

It just feels weird to me. Like my form is way off.
 
There are as many answers to your question as there are lefties. :)

At the very least you'd need to develop strength and muscle memory on the other side of your body, for things like holding your body and the gun steady, and trigger control. Depending on your eye dominance, getting used to acquiring the target with your other eye might be a very difficult problem to overcome. I'm not sure about rifles, but with pistols I'm able to shoot nearly as well right handed as left handed -- and I'm very left-side dominant. It feels awkward shooting with my right hand, but it works well.
 
I doubt Hillary could ever learn to shoot well.

:p

Actually, while I am right handed, I'm left eye dominant. For pistols, this is not a problem, but I shoot rifles right handed. I've been told I'd be better off learning to shoot left handed, but it feels so crappy it's never gonna happen.
 
concentrate on one thing and one thing only: cheek weld/sight picture. keep shooting , over and over, concentrating just on this. Suddenly , one day, 2 months ,6 months from now , you will suddenly realize that you are comfortalbe, and you are working on some other shooting techniques. i shoot lefty myself , and do it very well , thank you much.
 
I'm almost ambi, but have always shot right handed (much more right eye dominant then hand) and my biggest problem learning to shoot rifle ambi was just learning to cycle the bolt on a right handed rifle with the "wrong" hand. I can shoot with both eyes open righty, but lefty I *MUST* close the right eye. It all depends on your particular style. If you're shooting a bolt action rifle, buying a gun designed for lefties definatly helps.
 
I suspect that it will depend upon how long you've been shooting left handed. I'm ambidextrous, and was real confused about ths whole "left-right" thing when I was growing up, as I tended to do some things with one hand and some with the other. Whne I first started shooting, my natural predisposition was to shoot left handed. But because there were and are few left handed guns available I quickly switched and have shot right handed ever since. In short, it didn't take me very long, but I hadn't developed the "habit" of shooting lefty for very long, either.
 
my biggest problem shooting my long guns right handed is getting a decent mount. on the left side, it's completely natural. on the right, it just feels wrong, which is reinforced when cycling a lever causes it to drop off my shoulder.

more broadly (so as to include handguns), i guess it's just a matter of finding a natural, intuitive and repeatable grip. i've never had much trouble with controls (though i do stick to rather ambi firearms).
 
I'm left-handed, and I tried and tried, and never got the hang of shooting a right-handed rifle from a left-handed position; I can't imagine shooting right-handed.
 
My question is, why?

I mean, I practice off-handed shooting. But being left-handed and left-eye dominant, I see no reason to handicap myself by shooting from the weak side.

The military used to do that in the name of senseless conformity. Such things, happily, aren't done anymore. (Heck, looking at the troops in Iraq, configuring their personal gear however best suits them, I have to look back and smile at the hooplah I went through trying to get my sergeant to let me put my first aid pouch on the right shoulder of my LBE instead of the left, because I'm left-handed...:rolleyes: )

But, as has been said, learning to shoot weak-sided is an individual proposition. Some will adapt quickly, others might never get the hang of it.
 
There are as many answers to your question as there are lefties.
Click to expand...

The above sums it up pretty well. The one factor that may be the toughest to overcome, is when you fist pick the gun up to shoot. Your first reaction is always going to be to the left. How long that takes to re-learn refers once again back to the above post, which I agree.
I have been trying to work out shooting lefty, and that has been the toughest part for me.
 
I practice both hands. The weak hand just a little. I guess it depends on how much you practice. You will see a improvement each time you shoot.

Kevin
 
I am right handed but left eye dominant. So stance and trigger control isn't the issue for me. Such things might actually improve from me shooting right handed. The problem for me is that I seem to be physically incapable of closing only my left eye. So I could shoot a pistol or a rifle with a red dot scope right handed, but it doesn't matter how long or loudly you scream in my ear, if you want me to look through a small apature sight or a magnified optic, you're probably SOL. I've spent hours looking in a mirror trying to close only my left eye so I could accomplish such feats. I contort my face some pretty weird ways, but never get the desired effect.
 
Many rifles have a provision to vent off gas if something goes wrong. Like the three holes in the bolt of a Weatherby. If this happens when you are shooting a right handed rifle left handed it will vent into your face. :uhoh:
If you are left eye dominant it will be very difficult to learn to shoot a long gun right handed, and vice versa.
 
I am lefty... I shoot lefty, except when my shoulder gets tired of shooting my AK(many rounds) I can shoot the AK pretty good right handed, it doesn't feel natural. I still don't like shooting scoped guns right handed though. I guess it just takes a lot of practice
 
I am right handed, left eyed! I shoot handguns right handed, long guns left handed. No problems, with M14 type, AR15 type, Mossberg shotguns, or other shotguns that are safety switchable. Lever guns, or Ruger #1's are good, too.
If I bought a bolt gun, it would be a Savage LH.
 
I'm left handed and learned to shoot right handed while in the Army, not because anyone said I had to but after getting hit in the face with spent brass a couple times (boy does that leave a mark), I decided to shoot my M16 and later an M60 the way they were designed. It's not that big of a deal for me except as others have said with a bolt action.
 
Fella's

+1 to Nightcrawler. Why? Or; how many masochist's does it take to feel another one's pain?

:p 900F
 
IMO, sorting out your eye dominance is going to be the tough bit.

Having at least minimal skill with your weak side is a good idea.

That being said, treat shooting from each side as a completely separate thing. The biomechanical shooting machine that is you and your gun will work a little differently, therefore it will FEEL different, and the results will be adequate, but not exactly the same.

If you approach the excercise expecting the same biological feedback cues from each side, you'll wind up barking up the wrong tree.

By way of explanation, as we learn our shooting skills, we amass a checklist of physical sensation cues that tell us when we're doing things right. Arm position here, pressure in cheek there, shoulder here, visual picture thus, etc. When something's not checked off on the list, we automatically compensate until they are. Your "other" side shooting checklist will be DIFFERENT.
 
I'm a lefty that learned to shoot righty as a kid. So it will take you some time less than 30 years to learn to shoot the other way. Could be a long time or a short time. :)

I can shoot lefty with a pistol okay, but I have never tried it with a rifle.
 
My solution? Buy a left-handed bolt gun. Granted, there aren't that many out there. Nevertheless, don't conform to the machine, make the machine comform to you! A lefty using a wrong-handed bolt action rifle is like wearing shoes that aren't the right size.

Now, if you're into shooting milsurps, take heart. I found with my former Mosin-Nagant M1944 that, with the straight bolt handle, I could easily cycle it from the left shoulder.
 
My question is, why?
Click to expand...

Your question really doesn't help him answer his question, so I'll answer your, then answer his.

I'm left-handed and right-eye dominant. I with pistol, I practice with my right hand just because it is required in some IDPA stages, with and without a support hand.

What is more important is scoped rifle shooting. I get eye-fatigue because I have to close my dominant eye when I shoot as a lefty or I won't be able to see through the scope (be it conventional or scout -- reflex sights are less of a problem but still a problem).

I practice on both sides and have been doing so at a low level for about six years, prone, seated, off-hand. I don't think it's working. :)

Rick
 
Spec Ops;

Another +1 to nightcrawler! I may have to start a fan club, geez!! I've quit buying right handed guns, period. No better way to force the companies to do what I want than witholding funds. Of course I do pass on messages as to why I'm not spending money on the latest offerings. Slowly but surely, I'm getting my LHB collection built up.

The only truly backward company these days seems to be Beretta. Hmmm, I think I'll start a thread on that.

900F
 
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