odd problem while intoducing wife to ar platform

[LJ-MosinFreak-Buck]

Those who think that you can somehow train yourself to use your non dominate eye to shoot have no idea how hard that will be. It is really no big deal to shoot a rifle left handed, tons of people do it all the time.

No, it isn't easy at all. But eventually I got it down and am able to be quite accurate when I'm in my groove.

 

[68wj]

I'm left eye dominant and I can't even imagine how hard and unnatural it would be to RE-train myself to shoot right handed.

Fixed.

For someone learning a rifle for the first time, shooting left or right handed is equal in feel, but fighting to use the wrong eye is what is unnatural.

Here is how the USMC addresses the topic in reference to the ACOG

Those shooters that are cross-eye dominant, meaning they are using their non-dominate eye behind the optic, will experience a shift in POI when using both eyes open shooting. Encourage these shooters to transition to their dominant side. If not, they must learn to compensate for that shift by aiming in the opposite direction of the shift. For example; the shooter, with both eyes open, is hitting a target on the far left side. The adjusted aiming point would be the far right side. The only other option is to use the optic like a traditional scope and close the non-shooting eye. The disadvantage of this choice is it’s much slower in close quarters shooting.

 

[Elkins45]

I'm 48. I probably fired a rifle for the first time when I was eight. I would rather just buy left handed guns than train away 40 years of muscle memory that also happens to be supported by the normal functioning of my eyes/brain.

I think I've only fired a rifle right-handed once, and that was when I killed my first deer. The reason why I had to shoot RH is a long story but the end result was one dead deer, one broken pair of glasses and a whole lot of blood running down my face from a "magnum eyebrow".

I shoot handguns RH but I hold them in front of my left eye. I shoot a bow LH. There are some of us who are just born cross-wired and we have to learn to make do. I don't think I have enough hours left in my life to train out the last 40 years. In any sort of instinctive situation I would always mount a long gun against my left shoulder no matter how much someone tried to beat it out of me.

 

[Pyzik]

My wife has the same problem. I knew it though, noticed when she was shooting handguns and told her if it works, whatever.

However, like your wife she wanted to go with me the last time I took the rifles out and it didn't even dawn on me she would be trying to use her left eye. She kept missing and was getting frustrated saying she doesn't like rifles. I set her up again, gave her some pointers and said "one more time"... That's when I noticed he head cocked funny on the stock. Bingo, it him me like a truck, she's left eye dominant, duh.

It was really hard for her to keep her right eye open and left closed also. She got a few very improved rounds off and she ended up having an okay time.

It's going to take a lot of practice though.

 

[MachIVshooter]

Those who think that you can somehow train yourself to use your non dominate eye to shoot have no idea how hard that will be

It's going to depend on the person. As I said before, I'm not cross-eye dominant, but worked to train my left eye to be able to focus after a blink. If I simply bring the gun up and aim, I naturally go right eye. But if I shift the gun to where I'm aligning with the left eye and close my right for just a moment, the left will then focus when I open my right.

I'm not a doctor or otherwise an expert, so I won't presume to know that this can work for everyone. But as severely right-dominant as I am naturally (even visibly greater muscle development on the right), I would think that most people can do it.

 

[Andrew Wyatt]

handedness is irrelevent. eye dominance is what matters. have her shoot left handed.

 

[tryshoot]

My WIFE is left eye dom. and is right handed. She can out shoot me thru scope any day of the week. We cannot git her to change eyes. I do not want to stare down her barrell. 15 yds I would hide. But i'm scared of her anyway.

 

[lil dragon]

My wife's friend has the same problem. She was visiting us last weekend and her shots were all over the target with her PK380. I had her switch over to left-handed shooting and her groupings tightened up significantly. But... that's with a handgun and not a rifle.

 

[doc2rn]

There must be a God, because he made some of us ambidexterous! I shoot handguns lefty, rifle righty, throw a ball right, bat left, and can right nearly identical with either hand! But I feel your pain, and suggest a red dot scope or forward grip laser.

 

[SwissArmyDad]

My wife is right handed, but left-eye dominant. I wondered for years why she cocked her head in such a weird way to see down the bore. It was obviously due to the fact that she was closing her right eye. She very consistantly maintained that rifle shooting "wasn't fun" and she never had much enthusiasm for it like she did for shotgunning and pistol shooting.

That all completely changed when she started shooting left-handed, left eye open and her groups were as good as her shotgunning and pistol shooting groups.

Very easy transition for her. Probably helped that she started bulls-eyeing all the targets we had out, haha!

 

[Zerodefect]

I'm left eye dominant. Way left eye dominant. If your wife is also very dominant in one eye, aiming with iron sights will be impossible with the right eye for quite some time. Don't force anything on her. It may be easier to train to shoot rifles lefty than it is to retrain the right eye.

Have her shoot it lefty. The get an Aimpoint/Eotech and start her shooting left and right handed. Then maybe, maybe her right eye will come around and shoot irons.

I still have trouble with my right eye and irons. Bright optics are no problem.

I prefer shooting lefthanded with rifles, but can shoot ambi with no problems. I only shoot pistols right handed, left eye. I allways shoot with both eyes open.

 

[TITAN308]

As others have mentioned and eye cover of some sort.

I actually wear one simply to prevent eye fatigue.

Just take a pair of glasses and use black electrical tape (or similar) to wrap up the appropriate lens. Now you can shoot both eyes open and get the same effect as shutting one eye. Makes shooting for long periods of time much more comfortable.

 

[Andrew Wyatt]

or you could shoot from the appropriate side.

 

[Skylerbone]

If you opt for a red dot there is something rather easy you could try, mind you it won't add magnification but does work. Sight it in then use a lens cover (Butler Creek) and close it over the objective lens with the red dot on. With both eyes open her right eye will see the dot and her dominant eye will see the target but her brain will overlay the two.

I'm cross dominant and after 30+ years of shooting I can't shake the fact in everyday life but learned when shooting shotgun that squinting allowed me to judge lead as well as a piece of magic tape but it won't help someone who can't close their dominant eye independently.