Shooting...left eye dominant yet right handed

[Greymatters]

Hello, my name is GreyMatter, and I am a also left-dominant eye/hand but raised right-handed. 

I have a disturbing image of everyone sitting in a circle of chairs...

 

[Blindspot]

I head somewhere (I think it was Dr. Oz  ;D) that the norm is one side handed, other side dominant eye. Try this out:

1. Grab a piece of paper or cardboard and poke a hole through it with a pencil.
2. Hold the paper up a couple feet from your face and focus on an object across the room through the hole with both eyes open.
3. Keeping the paper stationary, cover one eye with your hand. If the object shifts out of view through the hole, this is your weaker eye. (The eye that retains a visual on the object is your dominant eye)

 

[Greymatters]

No... I dont think so... 

The norm is for everyone to do things right handed, so unless someone spots your actually left-orientated, most lefties learn to do things the right-handed way. 

Prejudice! We've been marginalized!

 

[armchair_throwaway]

When most people focus on an object close to their face (say a thumb), they tend to go cross eyed. For me, I also see double when I have my thumb at arms length looking at a far away object. I can also change which eye I'm using at will without covering it up (so I won't see double) when my thumb is out. Does that mean both my eyes are dominant or ambi ocular (from google)? If someone here has the same or similar condition, how does it affect your shooting?

 

[Jarnhamar]

I've always had problems doing the whole gunfighter shoot with both eyes open stuff.

I just found out I'm a left-eye dominate, right handed shooter.
I think that's what makes getting the correct sight alignment hard for myself and others in the same boat.

Does anyone have any tricks or ideas on how to work around this? 
As far as pistol shooting goes (I have a harder time both eyes open with a pistol than rifle) I've considered just starting to use a pistol left handed but that might be a bit extreme?

 

[George Wallace]

Ummmmm.  We've done this Left Eye Dominant thing before.

 

[Jarnhamar]

Crap I totally missed that thank you very much!

 

[muskrat89]

In Arizona, you are allowed to hunt big game starting at 10 (supervised by an adult). My daughter drew a javelina tag so I bought her a .223 single-shot rifle. Until this year, she had been trying to shoot a .22 with no success. She "claimed" she couldn't close her left eye properly (she's right handed). Several shooting sessions (pellet gun and .22) had ended with both of us very frustrated.

When I took her to the range before hunting season, I tried a different tack - I just let her shoot left-handed. She put her first 20 rounds into a 3-inch group at 100 yards. Prior to that, it would have been unusual for her to get all of her rounds on the paper. For now, I'll let her stick with that.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

My wife has this problem and we just drifted the sights on her guns so she could use her right eye. Works fine for her.

 

[GAP]

When I took her to the range before hunting season, I tried a different tack - I just let her shoot left-handed.

That's exactly what the Marine Corps did to me, only......in not so nice a way....

 

[blacktriangle]

I've always had problems doing the whole gunfighter shoot with both eyes open stuff.

I just found out I'm a left-eye dominate, right handed shooter.
I think that's what makes getting the correct sight alignment hard for myself and others in the same boat.

Does anyone have any tricks or ideas on how to work around this? 
As far as pistol shooting goes (I have a harder time both eyes open with a pistol than rifle) I've considered just starting to use a pistol left handed but that might be a bit extreme?

I'm in the same situation and aside from my first range ever, I have always used my left as the control hand for both rifles and pistols. As for pistols, I just find it is easier to use my left hand as that is the hand that naturally reaches for a holster during transition.

 

[nickinguelph]

LOL
Never thought much about this, till I read this thread, and oh boy I am a mutant too!  Right handed, shoot rifles left handed and pistols right....  I am such a weirdo!

 

[Kat Stevens]

Not really, I'm left eyed, shoot left handed.  My right hand is basically useless for anything requiring even minimum coordination.  I bat, golf (poorly), and play hockey, all right handed.

 

[ex-Sup]

Wow, there are more people with this issue than I thought. I am fairly proficient shooting right handed (though I could certainly use some refresher time at the range) but I think I need to spend some time shooting left handed. I'm pretty good with my left hand (not quite ambidextrous) so this might work for me. I know that when I hunt, I need to make a conscious effort to keep my left eye closed (contrary to the rule of keeping both eyes open with a shotgun). I will get excited, forget and wonder why the hell I missed...duh! I know that the only thing that will be a pain is that I hunt a lot with my Dad's 1952 Mossberg bolt .410; great gun, but working that bolt left handed will be awkward. Oh well, maybe I can pretend I'm the sniper from SPR  ;D

 

[Kat Stevens]

I find bolt guns are pretty easy to work left-handed, but I was taught by a lefty (my dad) since I was kid.

 

[ex-Sup]

I find bolt guns are pretty easy to work left-handed

It's a pretty decent gun, but the bolt is a bit like a Mauser, so it takes a bit of effort to work it. Also, chambering shotgun shells isn't as smooth as rifle cartridges (as you can imagine). Definitely no camparison to my No.1, Mk III 

 

[Bass ackwards]

Wow, there are more people with this issue than I thought.

You can add me to the passenger list of that boat as well: right-handed but left eye dominant. Plus the added bonus of having poor vision in my left eye (something like 20-200).
I had a hard time learning how to close my left eye (to this day, even so much as winking with my left -as opposed to right- eye feels odd) but I've always been reasonably proficient shooting right-handed.

V's original post stated that he was told shooting right with a dominant left eye would cause problems with open sights. I never had that problem until my eyesight started going.

I admit to not having tried any shooting at all with both eyes open, though. 
 

 

[ex-Sup]

I find bolt guns are pretty easy to work left-handed

I went through the effort of taking a picture, then I found a picture on the net...thank you Google (also found a site that sells parts  ;D).
http://www.box54.com/model183d.jpg
As you can see, the bolt throw is 90 degrees, which takes some effort to work. I'd have to practice a bit bunch to feel completely comfortable using this gun left-handed. If I was just target shooting, I'd probably use my Lee-Enfield. I don't hunt as much as I used to, but one day I'd like to invest in a new gun, something with a bit more pop (I do have a 20ga, but it is also a bolt). Maybe something like a Browning BPS (bottom eject  )...too bad they don't come with a composite stock in 20ga.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

US Patent 5056909 - Contact lens for compensating eye dominance crossover

http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/5056909/description.html

There are also gun stocks called 'crossover' stocks. Very expensive.

 

[ex-Sup]

The especially adapted contact lens improves visual accuracy in connection with such activities as shooting with a rifle, shotgun, pistol or bowling

No wonder I suck at bowling! My friends always though it was my ineptitude and I blamed the beverages, but the answer was simply scientific; I couldn't aim straight! PBA tour here I come  ;D
(the lenses sound like a great idea btw)