"weird" eye dominance?

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SleepyDave

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So, some time ago, a friend of mine, who works at a local gun counter, told me my eye dominance was weird. See, working a rifle or a shotgun, I'm apparently HK stance, right eyed, which is normal, but when I'm working a pistol, like most Americans, I'm Modified Weaver stance, but I switch to my left eye. ;) (If Weaver and HK stance even mean anything, any more)

Given that he has been shooting twice as long as I've been alive, I'm willing to take him at his word that my eye dominance is weird, but I also have 25 holes center mass on a USPSA cardboard target from 7-yards with a Sig P226 and an M4 that say its not a big problem for my hopeful profession.

Anyone else have weird eye/hand dominance when they shoot?
 
That is weird. Very weird. I guess you are both eyes dominant or no eyes dominant depending on how you look at it.

Lucky for you you're not left eye dominant holding a rifle right handed. That doesn't work too well. Try to keep both eyes open, you get a better field of vision.
 
I'm the same way. Right eye dominant for rifle/shotgun and left eye for handgun. Everyone I tell that to looks at me funny and goes "really?" I can hit my target so I don't worry about it much.
 
So in theory you could shoot a small rifle in one hand and a pistol in the other simultaneously and hit both targets at the same time. Cool. Just kidding you a little but it does sound strange. Are either of you posters ambidextrous?
 
I've read that some people can change...they must have bigger brainz than the rest of us.
 
Folks can have eye dominance that switched back and forth - there are simple tests you can do yourself to see if you are LH or RH eye dominant. Women tend to be more cross dominant than men, but both sexes can have switching issues
 
It's not terribly strange, just less normal ;)

Try switching it up, too. Many of us do this with our weak hand, and it's a good practice with the eyes, too.
 
So in theory you could shoot a small rifle in one hand and a pistol in the other simultaneously and hit both targets at the same time. Cool. Just kidding you a little but it does sound strange. Are either of you posters ambidextrous?
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Nope, I'm right handed. I shoot everything right handed but I have seriously thought about getting a left handed bolt action rifle to try messing around with.
 
btw, my eyes switch dominance depending on which eye is closest to or has more direct line of sight to the object. I'm technically right handed but my left hand is bigger and stronger and can do everything except writing and shooting(and I'm not so sure about shooting) better than my right hand can.
 
I'm cross-eye dominant which definitely was disheartening when I first started shooting. I'm trying to train myself to close my left when shooting to strengthen my right eye. My pistol shooting has gotten better but I still need to put ally of work into my rifle
 
I'm cross-eye dominant which definitely was disheartening when I first started shooting. I'm trying to train myself to close my left when shooting to strengthen my right eye. My pistol shooting has gotten better but I still need to put ally of work into my rifle
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The way I teach cross eye dominant folks with a strong dominant hand bias is to shoot both eyes open with handguns and let the dominant eye take over, but to use the dominant hand and close the dominant eye when shooting rifles. The weak eye can focus fine with the other closed, and it's much easier than training the hands.

I have seriously thought about getting a left handed bolt action rifle to try messing around with.
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Southpaw rifles work very well for right handed shooting from the bench. Much easier to manipulate without breaking your hold on the rifle.
 
I have a similar problem when shooting pistols. I'm right handed, right eye dominant, and have always naturally shot well like that. And I always shoot pistols with both eyes open. But recently, when I bring my pistol into a firing position, my left eye has been the one focusing on the front sight instead of my right. I have to force my right eye to focus instead of my left. It's frustrating, especially when I'm trying to get a quick sight picture.
 
Well, I wouldn't say its a problem. I'm still a fairly decent shooter, scored Expert on Navy pistol quals, sharpshooter on rifle, and managed to impress a couple of the local cops, so I don't think this is really something I would need to fix, unless someone just wants to push me out of my comfort zone, which I don't take too well.
 
My problem is that I don't seem to have any (eye) dominance. My dominant eye will switch with the sights lined up. When I bring a handgun up or shoulder a long gun, I have no idea which eye it will be.

My favorite 1894c always comes up right. But, I have no clue until it gets there whether I'll need to shut my left eye to see the target until it's there.
 
This is a copy of a similar post in this forum with additions. I used the triangle finger test for dominant eye when I began seriously shooting pistols two years ago and began shooting using my left eye. After two years a good friend noticed every shot going left by about 2 inches and suggested I shoot right eyed. I had noticed the same thing. I shot with my right hand only using my arm extended to test. I was far more successful that way than doing the same thing using the left.

My friend also recommended the instinctive style keeping both eyes open shooting the pistol using the modified Weaver stance because it controls recoil on my Ruger P345 better. So far I can keep both eyes open but put a paper patch over my left eye because my sighting jumps back & forth if I don't. With that method I'm hitting the targets consistently, although much more practice will be necessary to take off the patch and keep sighting with my right eye. Meanwhile I practice sighting at home by pointing my finger and lining up a target in the house.

At the same session another guy there let me shoot his Ruger 10/22 with a leupold scope at 50 yards and I was 8 for 10 in the 8.5x11 paper target. Scope shooting is very different than iron sights and for anything other than my Mosin Nagant I'd probably prefer them. With my Mosin Nagant and iron sights I can't hit anything beyond 50 yds yet but now that I'm learning to shoot with both eyes open that will improve (?).With my Mosin Nagant and iron sights I can't hit anything beyond 50 yds yet but now that I'm learning to shoot with both eyes open that will improve (?). I practice with my pistol much more than my rifle because it is closer at hand if trouble comes. More challenges to conquer!
 
I am right handed with a dominant left eye. I shoot pistol right handed and close my right eye. I just lean my head to the right a bit. I'll never be a bullseye shooter but I'm not too bad either. I started shooting trap and skeet last year. Mostly right handed with left eye closed. One eyed shooting clays is definately a handicap. I don't feel like I have the coordination with my left side to shoot left handed. I'm going to continue shooting the shotgun right handed and try tape on the left lens of my glasses. This seems to work for a lot of cross eye dominate shooters. I also just found out my 11 year old daughter is also cross eye dominant. Must be genetic?
 
I'm ambidextrous and ambiocular to the point where I always see two sight pictures and can use either eye to shoot from either side (with handguns, anyway). I just have to be sure to know instinctively which to use, which has never been an issue--as long as I position the gun with sufficient precision, the sight picture in the middle of my field of view that is already close to alignment would obviously be the one to use.

The one caveat in my case, by the way, is that my left eye has noticeably sharper vision--both are still better than 20/20 (even though I'm nearly 40 years old and have stared at computer screens every day for 30 of those years :eek: ), but my left eye is definitely sharper, while my right eye is for some reason slightly more sensitive in low-light conditions. :scrutiny: For shooting it doesn't really matter, so I ignore these differences, but I often switch eyes depending on the type of celestial object I'm viewing in astronomical telescopes--left for resolving tiny features on planets and right for viewing dim deep-space objects. :)
 
Eye dominance isn't an issue for me with handguns. I don't focus on the front sight. It's uncomfortable for me to do that and still see the target. So I focus on the target. Therefore, I see two sets of sights. I just use the left set if I'm shooting righty. I use the right set if I'm shooting lefty. Maybe I'm ambi-eyed, but it seems to me that anyone should be able to do this.
 
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I am right handed & left eye dominant. I use my left eye to shoot pistols. When I shoot a rifle I close my left eye & just use the right. It seems to work out fine.
 
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