Shooting "weak side"

[Evintos]

Hello,

I'm right eye dominant and right handed. I can't seem to obtain a good sight picture while maintaining a good cheek weld while shooting (a rifle) from my left side. Some people have told me to cant the rifle such and such degrees ° but it screws up my cheek weld. Is there a better way to train to shoot ambidextrously?

Same for shooting a pistol.

(I shoot with both eyes open)

Does anyone have any books/tips/videos on how to shoot "weak side?."

Thanks in advance.

 

[fiddler51]

Interesting topic, and I'd also like to hear some responses from experienced shooters. I'm right handed, left eye dominant, both eyes open. I had right elbow surgery in May so when I was pretty well recovered, I started shooting left handed (.22 Ruger Mk 111). I found my accuracy to be very similar to my dominant side. "Things" being relatively equal, should I go with the eye or the hand??

 

[Geronimo45]

Rifles, couldn't say. As for pistols, it's easy - chin on/over the left bicep, so your right eye's in line with the left arm & hand.

 

[472x1A/B]

This is a very good thread. I started thinking about this 10 years ago. What if something happened to an eye, arm, hand, elbow. So after years of burning lots of ammo it's not really that hard to do. But this does take lots of practis and even more, concentration. Practis lots and have fun.

 

[Mickstix]

Sorry to hijack, but how do you determine which eye is your dominant eye??

 

[Evintos]

http://www.archeryweb.com/archery/eyedom.htm

That's what I did to determine eye dominance.

 

[Mickstix]

Thanks! That's pretty cool!! I kept tryin to trick myself into seeing it with my left eye, but I kept seeing double if I did that.. Darn tests..

 

[VegasOPM]

I cant the pistol at about 30-45 degrees. That serves 2 purposes: 1. It brings the sights more in line with my most dominant eye (I shoot one eye closed); 2. It places your arm in a naturally strong position that aids with recoil control.

 

[boilingleadbath]

I, too, have tried shooting weak sided with both eyes open.

I'll agree: shooting weak side does feel a bit weird at first. I got used to the weird "feel" of it pretty quickly.

Switching the rifle over to iron sights seems to help me - I think it works by eliminating the confusing visual overlay. Other ways to accomplish the same feat, I suppose, might include using a non-magnified (red-dot) optic or blinding the temporary eye somehow.

I suspect that if you got one of these flip-up lens covers and mounted it sideways, so the cover blocked the forward view from the strong-side eye, it might work pretty well. For me, with a interpupilary distance of 2.6", this would probably require a scope with 2.6"/1.5 = 44mm lens caps.

 

[Werewolf]

Shooting with both eyes open is a technique used because in a tactical situation closing one eye or the other diminishes your field of view and makes you less situationally aware. Being able to shoot with both eyes open is a neat and maybe life saving skill to have.

That said: It's a rifle and you're probably not shooting in a tactical situation.

Using a proper left hand hold just shut your right eye and aim with your left. It really is that easy - unless you can't shut your right eye that is. But then that's a whole other issue.

 

[threefeathers]

Red Dot. A EOTech, Aimpoint, MeOpta takes care of the problem immediately. My son's did a bunch of CQB in Iraq and now my Nephew's in A-Stan are doing the same. A red dot simply does away with the problem.

 

[OOOXOOO]

I'll have to agree on the red dot. It also helps because it gets the sight picture closer to your dominate eye. I still have a hard time with cheek weld but I don't practise shots on targets smaller than a torso or farther than 100 yards with this type of drill.

 

[Evintos]

To clarify because of the major oversight in my original post, I neglected to mention that I'm using iron sights (no optics). So I actually need help with shooting "weak side" iron sights.

(*side note: I figured it would be best to become fairly proficient with iron sights before moving to optics.*)

I like to keep both eyes open mainly because I feel like I'm straining my eyes if I close one of them, but I can close the dominant eye while shooting left (and vice versa), but the problem still exists with the sight picture when closing my dominant eye. I can't seem to line them all up.

 

[Werewolf]

I can't seem to line them all up.

...And that just doesn't sound right.

In most cases eye dominance is a brain thing. In some cases though, one eye is dominant because the other has something wrong with it.

Go see an opthamologist (eye MD - not an optometrist). Explain the problem. Have him check you out. There may be something going on other than just eye dominance.

 

[Evintos]

I might have to. The only thing I know of about my eyes is that I wear glasses (or contacts) and that I have internal astigmatism (according to optometrist).

I guess I will keep trying to focus on the sight with my left eye (kinda stubborn and don't feel like using some medical reason to explain my deficiency in this task; although there really could be a medical reason) and when I finally quit practicing, I may take your advice and go see an opthamologist.

 

[moooose102]

thanks, i never thought about doing that, at all. next time i go shooting, i will try shooting that way. you never know, in a self defense situation, if you get hit in your good hand, it could get ugly real fast.

 

[Creade]

Fantastic that someone posted this.
I am currently trying to teach myself to shoot left handed as well, and let me tell you, its not as easy as you might think to just switch hands!!

 

[AZAndy]

I'm right-handed and right-eyed and shoot pistols right-hand dominant. Oddly, I shoot rifles left-handed and left-eyed-- it's how I taught myself when I was a kid and now anything else feels awkward. Shooting left-eyed doesn't make me any less accurate, though I have to squint my right eye a little. I'm not personally convinced that eye dominance makes that much difference-- just squint or close the other one.