Left eye dominant

[Sundance]

I'm left eye dominant but shoot right handed.

Should I learn to shoot left handed?

Mainly shoot 25 yard bench rest, 10M air rifle but looking to venture into .22LR prone and perhaps 3P.

[Turnup]

Learn to shoot right eyed?

[Sundance]

I use a translucent blinder over my left eye.

[Clanchief]

Learn to shoot right eyed?

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[angrybear]

I'm left eye dominant but shoot right handed.

Should I learn to shoot left handed?

Mainly shoot 25 yard bench rest, 10M air rifle but looking to venture into .22LR prone and perhaps 3P.

I used to shoot right hand / left eye with a NV unit, raise the scope/sight, lower the stock comb & roll your head over the top a bit more.

[RobinC]

Left eye dominant, but is you right eye vision OK? If so use a blinder on your left eye as the majority of right eye dominant shooters do.

If your right vision is iffy, shooting left handed is a big step and not always successful, you can use a cross over sight adaptor such as the MEC SWAP, much better than shooting in a contorted position. I know two shooters that had eye problems and switched to the left eye very successfully using the SWAP, one air rifle shooter and the other prone small bore.

Best of Luck
Robin

[Stormdancer]

I am left eye dominant and shoot right handed, I use a flip out scope cover to block my left eye and shoot with both eyes open, MTC metal covers work best for me

[tim s]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^this^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^,,,,,,w hy is your left eye open

Because for many shooters it's uncomfortable, and strains the eyes.

As Robin said, if the vision in your right eye is good enough (corrected with glasses/ prescription lens if needed), shooting right handed will be easier, not requiring learning new muscle memory in your left hand. If buying kit, second hand right handed gear tends to come up more often than left handed.

The only point I'd add is that anecdotally a translucent blinder may not be effective. Although a dark blinder is not normally recommended as the imbalance of light strains the eyes, this is lesser evil if you can still see the sights through a translucent blinder.

[krisko]

it is matter of training = habit.

i was left eye dominant all my life, and changed it took me a year

just start using your right eye from now on, the more you shoot leke that, the easier it will get.

[Sundance]

Thanks guys, that gives me some options for testing.


I swapped over the rifle (Steyr LG110) this afternoon to a left handed configuration and it really felt odd. However, after some time and a few more adjustments I started to get some decent results.

Will continue practicing left handed and see where it takes me. It's good to hear that others have successfully made the change but also that there are some other right handed options still open.

[Kennyb]

I agree with krisko, you can train your eye. My wife took up shooting and archery this year and had the exact same problem and tried left handed (unsuccessfully), using a blinder (which helped a bit) and eventually just forced herself to shoot with her right eye. What really gave her the incentive was a conversation with a really helpful guy we met at a range we visited who suggested that you can "train the s**t out if it"! This memorable advice stuck and she did indeed force herself to train the s**t out of it to a point where it is now more or less second nature. You have to be disciplined and force yourself. The blinder did help to get her there though so is worth trying initially.

[raistrick]

I'm the same. I wouldn't change if there was no issue with the right eye. You can use a translucent blinder and all the other advice above.

Only time I had an issue was clay shooting because a left-to-right moving target meant I picked it up with my left eye, then had to close the eye to aim with the right. I just did a lot of practice aiming at a wall to get my mind to switch eyes when the gun was mounted and that seemed to work, I was marginally less rubbish after.

So, if the target isn't moving, I don't think it matters which eye you use provided it doesn't leave you with poor technique.

[hwtyger]

I'm left eye dominant but shoot right handed.

Should I learn to shoot left handed?

.

In short: yes
yr eye dominance is leading

Otherwise you'll need difficult peep sight set-ups to get it right
Especially with rifle cross-dominancy is quite difficult

[Jerry Cornelius]

I am in the same boat as you, but as far as I can remember have always shot left handed. It now feels completely wrong to handle a gun any other way.

I suspect it will be easier to get used to shooting left handed than right eyed, but YMMV.

[tim s]

In short: yes
yr eye dominance is leading

Otherwise you'll need difficult peep sight set-ups to get it right
Especially with rifle cross-dominancy is quite difficult

I would disagree. There is no immediate need to use outriggers to mount the sights over the left eye when shooting right handed. I know several successful rifle shooters who are cross dominant. At least one cross dominant shooter has become an Olympic champion; Sergey Martynov of Belarus won the 50m Prone match in London with a World and Olympic record score. He shoots right hand and right eyed, but is left eye dominant. His left eye is covered with card, often an old RWS R50 box.