Left-handed Shooting

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kcofohio

kcofohio

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I'm left handed, but grew up with all right-handed parents and older brothers. So I was taught mostly the right-handed way. And that included shooting.

Today, I was at the range. The weather was on the chilly side with winds, and I was handling milk jugs with water. So my fingers were getting a bit numb. Then one of my triggers bit my right index finger.

I was done with the semi-autos, and I wanted to use up some 20 rds. of 38 Spl. With nobody else at the range, I decided to shoot my LCR left-handed. I don't ever recall shooting with my left hand.

I was really surprised at how well I shot out to maybe 7-10 yds. With a snubby. Left-handed. And it really felt natural. :)

Next, semi-autos! :D

Anyway, thought I would share some of my silliness!
 
I'm left handed but right eye dominant. I learned shooting from a right hander and used to shoot Bullseye, right handed, back in the '80s and 90s but took up High Power and let the pistol skills slide. My right handed pistol shooting is no longer anything to brag about but it still scores higher than shooting left handed. I assign it to muscle memory and I could maybe learn to shoot as well with my left hand as my right, since my left shoulder is in better shape than my right as of today, anyway.
Anyway, 7-10 yards? Not much difference between my right and left hand pistol shooting. 25yds and 50? Big difference in the slow and rapid practiced arm and the un-practiced one.
We have a pretty good shooter at my club that shoots all his military guns wrong handed: Garand, Carbine, 1903, 1911. Keeps us on our toes.
 
Yeah, it's really all about eye-dominance. I'm a lefty (usually), and shoot pistols lefty with both eyes open. Oddly, I shoot rifles and trap righty, and I have to close my left eye. It's odd, but it works.
 
oneounceload said:
As another LH, what took you so long to discover the "right way" to shoot? :D
Click to expand...
Don't know really. I will work with this in handguns, and see where it takes me. :)

MutinousDoug, I too, am right eye dominant. But it didn't feel strange to aim shooting left handed. Agree, 7-10 yds. ain't much to spit at.

As for rifles, I'll skip that. I remember lefties in the Army, shooting M-16s with those brass deflectors. I always would think to myself that I was glad I could shoot right handed. I did qualify as sharpshooter.
 
Im righty, but i grew up practicing with both.
My dad thought Murphy was an optimist, and so I was schooled to shoot weak handed as well.
Left still doesnt come real natural.
It'd be awesome to really be ambidextrous!
 
Another southpaw. My family was all right handers, but when I was a kid, I had a heck of a time learning to tie my shoes. My fingers didn't work the way I was being taught, it was all mirror image opposite. Neighbor down the road was a lefty, having the same issue teaching her right handed kid. The adults swapped kids for the day, and we both learned how to do it as it felt natural with our dominant hand.

I've never been forced to do anything right handed, but some of it did feel more natural that way. I shoot best left handed, but can shoot right handed. I don't practice it near as much as I should. I played guitar right handed. Left handed felt so unnatural. I do golf left handed, bowl left handed, bat left handed, shoot pool left handed. I'm no good at any of those activities anyway, so I don't embarrass myself further by trying to do so right handed.
 
Blessed with a left handed father who was forced to do things right handed, then cursed with a teacher that wanted all students to write with their right hands I've had the best and worst of both worlds.

When it came time to learn to shoot dad handed my a Red Ryder and I just shouldered it left handed. Been doing it that way ever since regardless of what the military wanted. Even as late as the Viet Nam war they were still trying to force all to shoot right handed.

I can report that things are better today, at least in the USMC. Both of my boys are lefties. They knew how to shoot when the went in. They knew how to shoot much better when they were discharged. Sniper school will do that to you.:)
 
I can shoot handguns with either hand but riffles right side. Been shooting mostly right handed until I tried lefty. Now I shoot with either. Sometimes it takes a bit to switch eyes.
 
I'm a righty, but trained to shoot both for many years. Now that my left shoulder is bone-on-bone, I don't shoot lefty much.
 
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