I think my eye dominance has changed ...

[axeman_g]

I am a natural lefty, I swing, write, throw and shoot left handed. for years till about a year to 18 months ago I could shoot trap and consistently hit in the 20s, even a perfect round or two. I could sometimes rip the center out of a bullseye target with my hi-power if I did everything correctly. I recently started to notice that my handgun shooting has gotten terrible, spraying bullets all over a target, mostly to the 4 oclock area. I thought it was my technique so I got help, nope. Maybe another gun, I sold the hipower and went through a litany of firearms (SIG 226, SW1066, Glock 20, Walther P99 etc etc) trying to find the accurate choice for me. I eventually got another Hipower a few months back and my shooting still was horrible. And getting worse

Then the ultimate insults. I took a friend out to my first Grouse Unlimited Shoot which turned out to be a round of Sporting Clays. I was horrible and shoot a 40something and tied him exactly. He is a new shooter and was using a Rem870 express pump..... HUghghghgghh!!!!!! I knew something was wrong but I could not figure it out. I was certain I should have been busting more of those birds, but I just could not hit them. Last weekend we went trap shooting... I never shot over a 9 in 5 rounds. It was a cold windy day, but there was something wrong, I could just tell.

I went to the range today with a new GP100 to wring it out. I shot the first 6 rds single action at 15 yds at center mass of a 25 yd sillouhette target. 5 holes would not have been covered by my spread out hand with one total miss down to the 4 oclock area. Gun shot great by the way, nice feel and there is something about .357 that makes you grin. Next six also SA, aiming for low belt line center mass area, one again spread all over and one missing paper totally.

Ok, load again and take the gp up with my right hand, squeze my left eye shut. Feels very strange, cock the hammer and let one fly aiming right for the bridge of the nose. Nailed it, and the next five rounds made only three more holes. Two double holes in that group all seperated by no more then 2 inches.

I then ran through a bunch of single shots, some SA some DA at smaller sticker targets placed around the sillouhette. I was usually right on with the right hand, only sometimes close with the left.

This is very strange, I think I could make the change to right handed with a short gun, but I dont think I could do the long gun transition at all.

Has anyone ever heard of this happening or had it happen to them? Any advice? Is this even possible?

One advantage is that I no longer have to anguish over finding ambi friendly handguns or lefty leather again, .... the world is now my gun oyster.

 

[Wiley]

Too many holiday libations???

Seriously, put a small piece of the hazy sticky tape over the center of the non-dominant lens of your shooting glasses. This will force the eye you are used to regain its dominance.

 

[axeman_g]

but do I want to?

I mean, if I can get my handwork down, why not change? I will use your suggestion for long gun work though. Thank you.

Axe

 

[B36]

Suggestions

Put the front sight back on the handguns. Look at it. Use it. Do ball and dummy.

See an eye doc. I won't try to explain how you determine 'master eye' on the forum, but eye doc can show you.

 

[Standing Wolf]

I doubt eye dominance can change, since it's a deeply wired brain function; I'm very sure, however, eyes can lose acuity independently of one another.

I'd say you need to see a top quality eye specialist.

 

[Shanghai McCoy]

My contact lens wearing wife has noticed that her eye dominance will change sometimes.She thinks it is due to dirty lenses or maybe tired eyes.She does the old hand triangle test if she thinks it is happening and then compensates.Once,when she was in a left eye dominant phase she shot her pistol lefthanded and did pretty well.The tape trick on the glasses works pretty well too.

 

[DigMe]

I doubt eye dominance can change, since it's a deeply wired brain function;

Eye dominance can change and it's not that difficult. I am a specialist for a learning program at a high school. This program was originally based on Guilford's Structure of Intellect which has seen and still sees regular use in the Air Force to improve pilots focus, coordination, memory and general cognitive abilities. Anyway, part of this program involved research by developmental optometrists as well so one of the aspects of this is determining whether or not both eyes are working together or if one is doing way more work by itself than it should. If it is then we have exercises that students can do to bring that other eye up to strength. It won't make the other eye dominant but it can bring it up to doing equal work of the formerly dominant eye. One of the exercises involves what's called a "Brock string" which is a string with colored balls on it at three different intervals and the exercise involves focusing and refocusing on different balls.

If one eye that was formerly being used only, say, 10 percent can be brought up to equal strength then it's not a stretch that another eye could easily be made dominant.

brad cook

 

[Telperion]

I'm pretty sure my eye dominance can change. I took an archery class years ago in school, and found that I was left-eye dominant. Now whenever I do the tests I am right-eye dominant, and I feel comfortable shooting this way.

 

[Combat-wombat]

Really? It can change? I'm right handed-left eye dominant. Guns are my most involved interest by far, so it'd be great if I could actually shoot accurately. Would a local eye specialist have a solution?

 

[DigMe]

combat-wombat,

Try and find a developmental optometrist in your area. Honestly I'm not sure that a normal practicing optometrist would have any idea about it but he/she might.

brad cook

 

[HSMITH]

DigMe is right all the way. Good posts.

 

[Amish_Bill]

FWIW, I have always been right handed, left eye dominant. Camera, rifle, pistol, whatever. Somehow after being poked in the eyes by pointy lasers, I'm now right eye dominant. My shooting is much more pleasant now. I'm still trying to re-work the way I hold a camera though...

 

[Fletchette]

I am left eye dominant, right hand shooter. It's a pain.

I adopted a heavy Weaver stance for pistols because isocelese gets me focused wrong. Basically, I use my nose to block the view from my right eye. I will soon go to lasers, for additional help.

For long guns, I use closed (tube) "holosites". I can shoot with both eyes open but the tube body prevents my dominant left eye from seeing the dot. Only the right eye picks it up.

For long range scopes and iron shotguns I really have to concentrate on keeping my left eye shut.

 

[Amish_Bill]

Note: The Docs are not going to tell you about eye surgery affecting eye dominance. It's not a result that they are trying for and cannot tell you if it will happen or not. It's one of those "You pays your money & You takes your chances" sort of things. The fates may be kind, but then again they're just as likely to not care.

 

[DigMe]

Actually my guess as to what happened with the laser eye thing is that often with that they will fix one eye to be stronger looking at objects close up and the other to be stronger looking far away. IMO that's probably what caused his eye dominance to change.

brad cook

 

[Amish_Bill]

Nope. the Doc described that as a Mono-vision procedure. He set my eyes up to be the same, not one far, one near.

 

[DigMe]

Nope. the Doc described that as a Mono-vision procedure. He set my eyes up to be the same, not one far, one near.

Oh ok...I was just taking a guess. I guess you just got lucky.

brad cook

 

[Amish_Bill]

Good guess... but I suspect I did just get lucky. Maybe my surgery corrected a minor flaw that made my right eye just a bit less acute than my left, so my brain always deferred to the better left eye?

 

[Lennyjoe]

You still got that 1066? If the shooting gets worse then sell me that S&W

FWIW, I am right handed but left eye dominant. I learned how to shoot everything from a gun to a bow left handed. The bow being the hardest to learn.