bob_dobalina
Handloader
- Oct 6, 2009
- 344
- 50
Well my kid appears to be left eye dominant. Is it true, without a doubt, he should shoot lefty?
Eye dominance
- Thread starter bob_dobalina
- Start date
HodgemanAK
Beginner
- Oct 23, 2020
- 240
- 220
Yes...always shoot to eye dominance regardless of hand preference.
You'll save yourself a ton of headaches.
You'll save yourself a ton of headaches.
Yes.
My son, who is now in his 30's is left handed in everything he does except shooting. When he was around 8 yo we determined he was right eye dominate and so we taught he to shoot right handed. Glad we did, as Hodgeman said, saved ourselves a ton of headaches.
My son, who is now in his 30's is left handed in everything he does except shooting. When he was around 8 yo we determined he was right eye dominate and so we taught he to shoot right handed. Glad we did, as Hodgeman said, saved ourselves a ton of headaches.
DrMike
Ballistician
- Nov 8, 2006
- 37,503
- 6,508
Shooting to favour your dominant eye will always produce superior results. It is not that you can't learn to shoot with the subordinate eye, but it would require considerable practise with no guarantee of an equivalent ability.
Ridgerunner665
Handloader
- Oct 28, 2008
- 2,516
- 298
With rifles yes.
With handguns shooting right handed and left eyed is no problem.
My wife does, Hickok45 does, my son used to (his eye dominance switched on its own for some reason).
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With handguns shooting right handed and left eyed is no problem.
My wife does, Hickok45 does, my son used to (his eye dominance switched on its own for some reason).
Sent from my SM-G986U using Tapatalk
Definitely, train them to shoot with their dominant eye and properly oriented equipment, whether it be firearms or archery.
Easier to learn and train muscles than trying to overcome eye dominance.
He will acquire his shooting skills quicker, with better success, which will equate to more enjoyment!
Eye dominance is usually settled by the age of 5.
Typically, the only reasons eye dominance may change is due to eye disease or injury.
As mentioned above by DrMike, you can train to be able to shoot with your non-dominant eye, but it takes real concentration and focus, and time, to be able to learn to get your non-dominant eye to acquire the focus and maintain it when you open your dominant eye again.
Took awhile, but I did learn to do this, and it takes constant practice every year to be able to retain this ability. I did it just so I would be able to switch my rifle from strong to weak side (in relation to eye dominance only as I am right handed and left eye dominant) and still be able to shoot with a scoped and/or open sighted rifle. Did it to be able to defend myself in bear country should I ever have something happen to me , like getting a stick in the eye or some such injury on a hunt, and need to protect myself and/or others on the way out of the bush to get medical help. Or if I was sitting in the bush and needed to shoot from the weak side if an animal came on from the other direction and I needed to shoot without making too much movement and not get busted trying to get into shooting position.
It did prove to be useful in the instance where I shot a bear that charged me.
First shot with the lever action rifle was left handed, but as the bear turned after being hit at 5 yards with the first shot, I had to step past an obstacle, switch the rifle to shoot right handed for the follow up shot as the wounded bear was going away at about 8-9 yards. The bear was wobbling pretty good at about 15 yards, when it presented a good broadside shot, which I took left handed, as I had time to get to a clear shooting lane and had a moment to switch back to the strong side while waiting for the proper opportunity for the finishing shot. The whole scenario took only a few seconds from start to finish, but having trained to be able to shoot a charging bear, and shoot from either side, with either eye, was definitely a worthwhile endeavour that proved useful in the field!
Better to be prepared and not need it, than need it and not be prepared!
Easier to learn and train muscles than trying to overcome eye dominance.
He will acquire his shooting skills quicker, with better success, which will equate to more enjoyment!
Eye dominance is usually settled by the age of 5.
Typically, the only reasons eye dominance may change is due to eye disease or injury.
As mentioned above by DrMike, you can train to be able to shoot with your non-dominant eye, but it takes real concentration and focus, and time, to be able to learn to get your non-dominant eye to acquire the focus and maintain it when you open your dominant eye again.
Took awhile, but I did learn to do this, and it takes constant practice every year to be able to retain this ability. I did it just so I would be able to switch my rifle from strong to weak side (in relation to eye dominance only as I am right handed and left eye dominant) and still be able to shoot with a scoped and/or open sighted rifle. Did it to be able to defend myself in bear country should I ever have something happen to me , like getting a stick in the eye or some such injury on a hunt, and need to protect myself and/or others on the way out of the bush to get medical help. Or if I was sitting in the bush and needed to shoot from the weak side if an animal came on from the other direction and I needed to shoot without making too much movement and not get busted trying to get into shooting position.
It did prove to be useful in the instance where I shot a bear that charged me.
First shot with the lever action rifle was left handed, but as the bear turned after being hit at 5 yards with the first shot, I had to step past an obstacle, switch the rifle to shoot right handed for the follow up shot as the wounded bear was going away at about 8-9 yards. The bear was wobbling pretty good at about 15 yards, when it presented a good broadside shot, which I took left handed, as I had time to get to a clear shooting lane and had a moment to switch back to the strong side while waiting for the proper opportunity for the finishing shot. The whole scenario took only a few seconds from start to finish, but having trained to be able to shoot a charging bear, and shoot from either side, with either eye, was definitely a worthwhile endeavour that proved useful in the field!
Better to be prepared and not need it, than need it and not be prepared!
noslerpartition
Handloader
- May 26, 2018
- 1,021
- 396
I can only second what's been said.
My elder son is left eye dominant and shoots bow, rifle and shotgun as lefty. He is right-handed though it was unclear at younger years.
A friend of mine has to wear an eye-patch shooting shotgun, which looks rather funny when hunting and depth-perception is limited.
I can shoot rifle, shotgun and bows right hand d to a certain degree, but not nearly as good as left handed and I have to close the dominant left eye.
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My elder son is left eye dominant and shoots bow, rifle and shotgun as lefty. He is right-handed though it was unclear at younger years.
A friend of mine has to wear an eye-patch shooting shotgun, which looks rather funny when hunting and depth-perception is limited.
I can shoot rifle, shotgun and bows right hand d to a certain degree, but not nearly as good as left handed and I have to close the dominant left eye.
Gesendet von meinem Pixel 3a XL mit Tapatalk
