rifle for left eye dominant child

[Revolver Ocelot]

I bought a cricket rifle for my child last year, she is still to young for it, but it was on sale so I picked it up as an investment.

Trouble is she has developed into a lefty, and I now know she is left eye dominant. Problem is, it is a right handed rifle.

Should I scrap the right handed rifle and buy her a left handed one or should I just teach her on the right handed rifle anyways?

 

[MrCleanOK]

Just teach her on the rifle you already have. She'll be growing out of the cricket eventually anyway, and you can get her something more appropriate for a lefty then if she's still interested in shooting.

 

[goalie]

Teach her on the rifle you have, it isn't that hard to shoot lefty on a R handed bolt.

 

[Sam1911]

Unless the rifle is a thumb-hole stock model, you should have no trouble at all teaching a left-handed person to shoot a "right-handed" bolt gun. Many find them quite easy.

Teach her to shoot long guns with her dominant EYE, regardless of which hand that will put on the trigger. (Left/Left should be quite simple.) Teach her handguns with whichever trigger finger she naturally wants to use, but to stick to that dominant eye.

 

[Revolver Ocelot]

she'll get a few years out of it I imagine, she is a little too young now but she'll get to shoot it when she can show me that she understands the safety aspects and can operate the rifle as such. But she has expressed a desire to shoot it, she asks me almost everyday if she can see it and asks questions about this and that. She also has told me she would like to get the rifle finished in a theme involving a certain cat. naturally I wouldn't want to drop the money for that on a rifle that she'll end up being at a disadvantage for learning on because it is a right handed rifle.

 

[peacemaker45]

Crickett makes their chipmunk rifle in left hand, and Savage makes a youth model of their lefty .22.

Now as to what you should do:

Yes it is quite possible for a left hander to learn to shoot a right handed gun. Even to do it well. But it's still a nuisance. If a left hand model is available, why not get it for her? You've got a little time in hand, and selling the RH gun and buying the LH, shouldn't cost more than about $50. If you want her to shoot with you, then you'll want her to enjoy shooting. She's more apt to enjoy it if she's not fighting a wrong handed gun. I can't imagine anyone giving a right handed kid a lefty gun to learn on, and just suggesting they deal with it. Why do it to her?

Anyhow, it's a small thing to do, it'll make life easier for her, and make her feel good that you considered her needs. All that adds up to a better chance that she'll grow up to be a happy, enthusiastic shooter, instead of the kid whose dad took them to the range a few times, but didn't like it and quit.

 

[Sam1911]

Even to do it well. But it's still a nuisance

It may be. It may not be. A lot of precision rifle shooters are switching things up this way and find they prefer having the loading port on the opposite side from traditional rifles. It certainly isn't the end of the world and as a very young shooter she won't have the pre-formed opinions and expectations that might get in the way of enjoying what she has.

If nothing else, you could let her enjoy the rifle you have and then when she's 8 or 9, let her try out a few youth sized rifles and see if she prefers a true lefty rifle then.

 

[CarJunkieLS1]

I'm 28 yrs old and have been a left handed shooter since I was 10. Every gun that I own is a right handed gun that I shoot lefty except for one my lefty ar-15. I've found that I prefer right handed bolt actions. I've learned on right handed guns and would have to relearn to use a lefty. In fact a lefty bolt gun just feels awkward to me.

 

[Outlaw Man]

I'd just like to give you props for figuring this out at the beginning. My wife is cross-eye dominant (left eye, right hand), and while I appreciate her father teaching her gun safety, encouraging her to shoot right-handed only created bad habits and awkwardness down the road.

I also know of several lefties that shoot "right handed" rifles all the time. For a long time, there weren't many other options.

 

[Revolver Ocelot]

I had noticed she was a lefty and didn't think much of it until I thought to myself she'll just learn to shoot with whatever hand is on her dominant eye side.....which one is her dominant eye? Ran a few test by her and every time it was left eye.

There aren't a lot of options out there for youth 22's, especially if you want a pink synthetic stock. It occurs to me that maybe I should let her decide which one she likes better. I have a friend at work that says he'll let me borrow his sons chipmunk, she won't be shooting it today, but she can at least tell me which is more comfortable for her.

 

[303tom]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XY61XmDJ-1w

 

[jmr40]

My brother shoots lefty. He prefers right handed bolt rifles. Most everything else is pretty easy to shoot from either side anyway. The high monte carlo style stocks don't work well, but most any traditional classic styled stock works fine.

 

[TCBPATRIOT]

I'm cross eye dominant and learning to shoot was a little difficult but I went ahead and decided when I was still young that I was going to shoot lefty. Because my finger was trainable my right eye isn't.

 

[HankR]

I'd stick with the Cricket for now, and keep her eye dominance in mind for the next rifle. I'm left eye dominant, and working a right handed bolt gun, even while slinged up, didn't become an issue until my glasses grew bifocals and then my rifles grew scopes.

I think of a Cricket as a "crew served" weapon, with dad doing the cocking after the sights are on the target, so no reason for her to not use the right handed version. When my daughter learned to shoot, it was much more about the process, examining the spent brass, asking to ceasefire or "go cold" so that we could look at the target every three shots, etc. Reaching across the work the bolt wouldn't have even been noticed (she had a break open, with an ejector, so she had to take it off of her shoulder after every shot anyway).

 

[Revolver Ocelot]

my daughter got to handle both a left hand version and right hand version of the same rifle today, she says she likes the bolt on the right side. Guess I have my answer, I appreciate everyone input on the matter.

 

[Jesse Heywood]

With most bolt actions, it's a matter of training. My only issues came with empty cases that slapped my face. Hot brass can cause flinching, which lead to bottom ejecting shotguns and lever action rifles.

 

[RetiredUSNChief]

Hmmmm...I'm of two minds on this one.

One says that the Cricket is not an expensive rifle and to go ahead and get her a lefty version.

The other says that she can still learn how to shoot on the one she has and will soon enough move onto a larger rifle as she grows.


However, it's easy enough to settle. If she's old enough to learn to safely handle and shoot a rifle, then she's old enough to develop an opinion of her own about it. So talk to her and see what SHE wants to do.

Knowing kids the way I do, I'm betting she's going to want to keep this one for now, which means you simply deal with this on its own terms until she makes the transition to her next rifle when she's older. Remember...not only is this rifle HER rifle, it's also her FIRST rifle. There is no substitute for this in her eyes!

For an adult, this could be a major issue and would likely detract from the enjoyment of shooting the rifle. But for a child, this is new territory and is very exciting...it will be a long time before she reaches the stage where this would detract from her shooting enjoyment, and by then she'll have long since made the transition to her next.


EDIT:

Whoops! Missed post #15. Looks like you've already resolved this!

 

[stargeezer]

I'm pushing 60 and have been shooting left eye dominate since I was 5yo. M16s, AR's M1A, M1, Bolt guns of all kinds, every semi auto pistol you'll find in a gun store along with a number of different single shot hand guns. Not a bit of a issue with any of them. The only problem child are those obscure antique handguns called "revolvers" and then the only problem is reloading.

Just because you have a problem understanding how your little girl can shoot from the wrong side of the gun doesn't mean that it won't work for her.

As rare as "lefty" guns are today, believe me, it was impossible to find one sitting in a gun store thirty years ago. The reason this has changed is that enough of us complained to the gun makers about being ignored - our dollars spend too. I try to buy a gun of some kind each month, if I didn't buy guns that were made for "righties" I would buy far fewer guns.

Relax, let her be a little girl and figure this out with your help. Being a lefty is not a disability - I can't figure out how you shoot right handed, but I'm sure you do OK.