Am I LH or RH!

[mrgeoff]

Hi, I need to shoot a rifle LH, as I can only see from my left eye.

I also shoot a bow LH for the same reason, BUT I'm normally a RH person, such it took me quite a while to master a bow LH.

So for a pistol, I naturally want to hold it in my RH again, as I'm RH but use my left eye. Is this the normal way to shoot a pistol? It feels completely natural to me. Does it matter?


Thanks

[ikarma70]

Pistols I'm left handed but right eyed and I do quite well.
If you can hit the target with your style then what does it matter?!

[Iain D]

I also shoot pistol r/h but use my left eye. I shoot a FWB65 and managed to get a set of Rink grips that through a 7 deg offset angle to square up the line of sight more suited to my left eye.

Iain D

[gingernut]

I have a duff right eye but with some vision and I shoot pistol RH with both eyes open.

[blooregard]

As long as you can shoot consistently it doesn't matter.

I shoot a rifle right handed with my right eye, I shoot a pistol left handed with my left eye.

I shoot a bow right handed (held in the left hand) and use my right eye. I have known of top archers who change hands after years of shooting.

I used to shoot a pistol right handed (in the days before the pistol ban) and returned to airguns after switching to archery, now I shoot pistol left handed.

[Minuteman]

Count your blessings?

It's a lot easier to shoot a pistol with conflicting eye dominance than a rifle that's for sure

EDIT: If you want a challenge it is possible (I think I recall) that you can train yourself to shoot with the other hand, but I doubt I would be so inclined as I think it might be a long road!

[lesj]

Count your blessings?

It's a lot easier to shoot a pistol with conflicting eye dominance than a rifle that's for sure

EDIT: If you want a challenge it is possible (I think I recall) that you can train yourself to shoot with the other hand, but I doubt I would be so inclined as I think it might be a long road!

I'm left-handed and left-eyed, and shoot pistols double-handed with a bias for left-handed and left-eyed. However, several months ago I bought a target pistol with right-hand ergomonical grips, and had to use it with my right hand and use my right eye. I used a frosted clip-on cover for the left lens of my safety glasses. As the pistol is light weight with an easy match-trigger, palm shelf etc, I found it fairly easy to discipline myself to shoot right-handed until it felt quite natural. Recently I bought left-hand grips for it, but now find it awkward to use left-handed. So now I've got go through the process all over again to re-discipline myself to using it left-handed. Ive still maintained the left-hand-left-eye grip for double-handed though.

[Minuteman]

I'm left-handed and left-eyed, and shoot pistols double-handed with a bias for left-handed and left-eyed. However, several months ago I bought a target pistol with right-hand ergomonical grips, and had to use it with my right hand and use my right eye. I used a frosted clip-on cover for the left lens of my safety glasses. As the pistol is light weight with an easy match-trigger, palm shelf etc, I found it fairly easy to discipline myself to shoot right-handed until it felt quite natural. Recently I bought left-hand grips for it, but now find it awkward to use left-handed. So now I've got go through the process all over again to re-discipline myself to using it left-handed. Ive still maintained the left-hand-left-eye grip for double-handed though.

So you managed to train hand and eye - total switch over - mental (really mental I know).

It's a funny old world, I'm R/E R/H and anything in the left hand or looking with the left eye just feels so damn alien - I imagine it's more difficult to train the hand, and finger than the eye.

One question remains though, now you have trained yourself to shoot with the proper hand, why on earth would you want to go back?

[lesj]

So you managed to train hand and eye - total switch over - mental (really mental I know).

It's a funny old world, I'm R/E R/H and anything in the left hand or looking with the left eye just feels so damn alien - I imagine it's more difficult to train the hand, and finger than the eye.

One question remains though, now you have trained yourself to shoot with the proper hand, why on earth would you want to go back?

Ha ha... I've been "cackhanded" for 57 years. If I find I'm no better shooting single-handed with my left hand, then I might resort to going R/H again. If I do,and have an "off" day/bad shoot, then I can use it as an excuse. Strange thing is..... when I went through my "Golfing" phase, I used normal R/H clubs.

[peteswright]

Hi, I need to shoot a rifle LH, as I can only see from my left eye.

I also shoot a bow LH for the same reason, BUT I'm normally a RH person, such it took me quite a while to master a bow LH.

So for a pistol, I naturally want to hold it in my RH again, as I'm RH but use my left eye. Is this the normal way to shoot a pistol? It feels completely natural to me. Does it matter?


Thanks

Don't know if you've seen any "hickok45" videos on youtube, but he is left eyed/right handed and shoots rifles and pistols just fine. Maybe it would help to have a look! I think he mentions this in "shooting basics part 1.(stance)" Watch some of his rifle vids. Good luck. Pete.

[lesj]

Ha ha... I've been "cackhanded" for 57 years. If I find I'm no better shooting single-handed with my left hand, then I might resort to going R/H again. If I do,and have an "off" day/bad shoot, then I can use it as an excuse. Strange thing is..... when I went through my "Golfing" phase, I used normal R/H clubs.

When I first changed to using my R-hand, I was still inadvertently using my left eye. As this was causing merriment among the "purists", I had to further discipline myself to using right eye as well. However, I'd had no difficulty using my left eye when shooting right-handed...... it was just a simple case of minor adjustment of the rear sight.

[Minuteman]

Don't know if you've seen any "hickok45" videos on youtube, but he is left eyed/right handed and shoots rifles and pistols just fine. Maybe it would help to have a look! I think he mentions this in "shooting basics part 1.(stance)" Watch some of his rifle vids. Good luck. Pete.

To be fair Mr Hickok45 is nearly ambidextrous though

When I first changed to using my R-hand, I was still inadvertently using my left eye. As this was causing merriment among the "purists", I had to further discipline myself to using right eye as well. However, I'd had no difficulty using my left eye when shooting right-handed...... it was just a simple case of minor adjustment of the rear sight.

I do think it might be a case for a 'your mileage may vary' warning but kudos to anyone managing it - it is always a case of; if you don't try it you will never know, I suppose.