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Posted: 7/20/2026 2:56:04 PM EDT
[Last Edit: TBone556][Edited]
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I got my wife a rifle and I’m trying to get her more into shooting. She cross eyed dominant, she’s getting into endurance stuff like 5k and she’s training for a half marathon and this rifle would be her half marathon completion gift. I’m leaning towards going with a red dot for her. The thought behind getting her a rifle is she might want to try to do the tactical games since a bunch of her friends are CrossFit types, or since she’s into runnning maybe a biathlon run n gun 5k type event. I know a lpvo is better in some of those matches but at the same time with her being cross eyed dominant and new a dot would probably be easier to learn on and she might do some 2gun matches with me where most stuff is 35yds and in and a dot makes more sense there. Does anyone have differing opinions on this? (Update) I got my wife to the range, I had her sit down at 25yds and shoot off a bench and she tried a MRO HD, Eotech, PA SLX 1-6, Trijicon credo 1-6 in both sfp and FFP. She preferred the dots and preferred them with a magnifier. Trying to close her dominant eye and use a scope gave her headache and she had difficulty getting behind it properly and avoiding scope shadow. She tried shooting left handed and hated it. I had her shoot at 10yds and did good keeping rounds in the small a zone on a vtac and credit card too. I had her at the 100yd and was able to hit a 12in plate on demand and hit a 6in plate with ease. For anyone dealing with a similar situation go dot and magnifier and keep them shooting with their dominant hand, not necessarily dominant eye. |
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Your reasoning is sound. Very. I deal with eye dominance issues in beginners shooting rifle/pistol/shotgun. Cross-dominance is especially common with women and youngsters (who often have shifting dominance). A dot, assuming binocular vision, is the best way to start with a rifle/carbine. I'd suggest a dot that doesn't break the bank - eg., Romeo 5. Have her work on shooting off both shoulders and binocular. As she progresses the mount will become more consistent. At that point she can learn to deal with eye relief and magnification. |
| We always have issues with cadets in the academy and are finding more and more cross eye dominate. Generally shooting on the dominate eye shoulder helps. Have had to switch one last year to complete off hand with pistols and rifles as he could not get lined up with his eyes all out of whack. |
| I'm left eye dominant and shoot right handed. I can't shoot pistols with both eyes open (irons or RDS), so I squint my left eye to force my right eye to take priority like when shouldering a rifle. I dry fire enough it's become muscle memory. When shooting clays the side I'm shouldering the shotgun from forces eye priority. |
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| I shoot pistols right handed but use my left eye due to a medical problem. Many years ago I noticed some blurry vision in my right eye but not totally clouded. After lengthy exams and tests it was determined that the right eye has a Renal artery occlusion. Basically it's like looking through holes in wax paper. I can find a clear spot but it takes too long for defensive pistol shooting so I changed to the left eye. As far as rifles I still use my right eye as most rifles are either red/green dot equipped and for iron sights I have changed to fiber optic. It works for me. |
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If she’s just learning, just have her shoot left handed. Only do right handed if she can’t do lefty. Unfortunately, I learned to shoot before finding out I’m cross dominant. So I’m kinda stuck, I just can’t do lefty well. So I close my left eye. For pistols I’m good enough with tilting the pistol a touch to line up with my left eye. |
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My son is right handed and left eye dominant. Rifles went on the left shoulder from day 1. There's no magic behind pulling a trigger with your dominant hand. It's not hard to develop trigger control with both hands. It's far harder to learn get a sight picture through your weak eye. Every shooter should be proficient working the trigger of rifles and pistols with either hand, anyway. Instead of thinking of it as a problem to overcome, just realize that the correct primary shooting position for any rifle with any shooter is shouldering the rifle in line with the dominant eye. |
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Originally Posted By Joedirt199: We always have issues with cadets in the academy and are finding more and more cross eye dominate. Generally shooting on the dominate eye shoulder helps. Have had to switch one last year to complete off hand with pistols and rifles as he could not get lined up with his eyes all out of whack. I am the opposite - when I went to the Academy, they did the eye dominance test and I came out left eye dominant, right-handed. My Class Sergeant told me I was going to shoot left-handed and I told him 1), no, and 2), I will turn in the highest score for the class. I did and I did, and in 24 years I qualify every year as either Expert or Distinguished Expert. That is handgun and long gun. See, when I started shooting, nobody knew what the hell eye dominance was. Now, having said that, yes, a dot is a fantastic tool for a long gun, but I would say that no matter what eye dominance you are. |
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Belief is a thing. Shooters, new or old, often believe they cannot switch shoulders regardless of their cis or cross dominance. For the past 20 years I've disabused every one of that notion using an Aimpointed 10/22. Obviously, we're not discussing folks with a glass eye or with terrible uncorrected vision in one eye. Anyway........first they shoot binocular or monocular with dominant eye over comb. Then I cap the front of the Aimpoint and have them repeat. To their astonishment they a) realize they can shoot binocular and, b) they print groups every bit as good. Sometimes there's a slight POI shift, but it's not material. Next, they switch shoulders and repeat. Speed and accuracy after switching sides takes time, but they get it. Dots are a revelation. I don't know how one can minimize exposure in defensive scenarios involving corners without the ability to switch shoulders. |
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Buy an Eotech or Aimpoint red dot, and choose (or ideally build) her something lightweight and short (10.3-11.5 lightweight/pencil contour barrel), if she loses interest at least you'll have a good optic to use and/or it will have decent resale value. Spend a few hours a week dry fire training with her. My wife was also cross-eye dominant, but after a couple decades of shooting she is no longer cross eye dominant, and can bang steel and bust clays pretty good. We dont do dry fire together, the only practice is from actual shooting, but if your wife would be interested in training, she could get over cross-eye dominance quicker. |
| I’m right handed and left eye dominant. I think if someone had forced me to shoot left handed because of my left eye dominance I’d be crippled as a shooter... It’s much easier to overcome the eye thing than it is to make a right handed person do something left handed. |
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Left eye right handed here... 25 yrs ago I kept a bolt free mosin m44 by the recliner and practiced targeting things during tv commercials. I'm much better with my right eye now. I'm also very good both eyes open with a 2x optic, both the old aimpoint 2x and the new primary arms glx. I can still look awfully crossed up shooting pool however. |
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Originally Posted By 556Cliff: I’m right handed and left eye dominant. I think if someone had forced me to shoot left handed because of my left eye dominance I’d be crippled as a shooter... It’s much easier to overcome the eye thing than it is to make a right handed person do something left handed. Why is it better to use the dominant hand to pull the trigger than to aim, steady, and move the barrel when shooting long arms? |
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Originally Posted By CharlesRyan: Buy an Eotech or Aimpoint red dot, and choose (or ideally build) her something lightweight and short (10.3-11.5 lightweight/pencil contour barrel), if she loses interest at least you'll have a good optic to use and/or it will have decent resale value. Spend a few hours a week dry fire training with her. My wife was also cross-eye dominant, but after a couple decades of shooting she is no longer cross eye dominant, and can bang steel and bust clays pretty good. We dont do dry fire together, the only practice is from actual shooting, but if your wife would be interested in training, she could get over cross-eye dominance quicker. It will be an eotech of Trijicon MRO HD since I get discounts on both. the rifle is a Geissele super duty 16”. I agree typically a smaller set up but at the same time a 16” intermediate gas will be soft shooting. |
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Originally Posted By cttb: Why is it better to use the dominant hand to pull the trigger than to aim, steady, and move the barrel when shooting long arms? Originally Posted By cttb: Originally Posted By 556Cliff: I’m right handed and left eye dominant. I think if someone had forced me to shoot left handed because of my left eye dominance I’d be crippled as a shooter... It’s much easier to overcome the eye thing than it is to make a right handed person do something left handed. Why is it better to use the dominant hand to pull the trigger than to aim, steady, and move the barrel when shooting long arms? For me it just is. Holding a rifle left handed is as bad as trying to write left handed or throw a ball left handed... It was just never going to happen for me. I don't recall ever struggling at all with my left eye being dominant though. I believe with pistols ( though I haven't shot one in a while) I use my left eye half the time, but with rifles I just don't ever recall having any major issue using my right (non dominant) eye. But, I did grow up shooting a Crosman air rifle, so I have a lot of muscle memory from always holding a rifle right handed from about the age of 10. I'm also thinking that maybe the eye dominance thing could be a spectrum and some have it worse than I do? |
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Originally Posted By 556Cliff: For me it just is. Holding a rifle left handed is as bad as trying to write left handed or throw a ball left handed... It was just never going to happen for me. I don't recall ever struggling at all with my left eye being dominant though. I believe with pistols ( though I haven't shot one in a while) I use my left eye half the time, but with rifles I just don't ever recall having any major issue using my right (non dominant) eye. But, I did grow up shooting a Crosman air rifle, so I have a lot of muscle memory from always holding a rifle right handed from about the age of 10. I'm also thinking that maybe the eye dominance thing could be a spectrum and some have it worse than I do? Originally Posted By 556Cliff: Originally Posted By cttb: Originally Posted By 556Cliff: I’m right handed and left eye dominant. I think if someone had forced me to shoot left handed because of my left eye dominance I’d be crippled as a shooter... It’s much easier to overcome the eye thing than it is to make a right handed person do something left handed. Why is it better to use the dominant hand to pull the trigger than to aim, steady, and move the barrel when shooting long arms? For me it just is. Holding a rifle left handed is as bad as trying to write left handed or throw a ball left handed... It was just never going to happen for me. I don't recall ever struggling at all with my left eye being dominant though. I believe with pistols ( though I haven't shot one in a while) I use my left eye half the time, but with rifles I just don't ever recall having any major issue using my right (non dominant) eye. But, I did grow up shooting a Crosman air rifle, so I have a lot of muscle memory from always holding a rifle right handed from about the age of 10. I'm also thinking that maybe the eye dominance thing could be a spectrum and some have it worse than I do? Do you shoot a rifle with one eye closed? Some people do have stronger eye dominance than others. It can also be trained. It's happening in your brain, after all. |
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I am super right dominant. When I mount a red dot on my left shoulder the red dot still appears in my right eye out in space. If aligned with the target I get appropriate hits. I can not “train this away”. I just embrace the reality. I would encourage having them shoot lefty. |
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Originally Posted By cttb: Do you shoot a rifle with one eye closed? Some people do have stronger eye dominance than others. It can also be trained. It's happening in your brain, after all. Originally Posted By cttb: Originally Posted By 556Cliff: Originally Posted By cttb: Originally Posted By 556Cliff: I’m right handed and left eye dominant. I think if someone had forced me to shoot left handed because of my left eye dominance I’d be crippled as a shooter... It’s much easier to overcome the eye thing than it is to make a right handed person do something left handed. Why is it better to use the dominant hand to pull the trigger than to aim, steady, and move the barrel when shooting long arms? For me it just is. Holding a rifle left handed is as bad as trying to write left handed or throw a ball left handed... It was just never going to happen for me. I don't recall ever struggling at all with my left eye being dominant though. I believe with pistols ( though I haven't shot one in a while) I use my left eye half the time, but with rifles I just don't ever recall having any major issue using my right (non dominant) eye. But, I did grow up shooting a Crosman air rifle, so I have a lot of muscle memory from always holding a rifle right handed from about the age of 10. I'm also thinking that maybe the eye dominance thing could be a spectrum and some have it worse than I do? Do you shoot a rifle with one eye closed? Some people do have stronger eye dominance than others. It can also be trained. It's happening in your brain, after all. My left eye is usually squinting or closed to some degree when shooting a rifle. However, if I really focus I can have both eyes open and still be locked in with my right eye looking down the sights. On the eye dominance spectrum I might actually be closer to eye dominance ambidexterity with a slight left eye dominance bias. |
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Originally Posted By 556Cliff: I’m right handed and left eye dominant. I think if someone had forced me to shoot left handed because of my left eye dominance I’d be crippled as a shooter... It’s much easier to overcome the eye thing than it is to make a right handed person do something left handed. Nah. I switched and it doesn’t take long at all. I shoot pistols right hand and just turn head a shade to line my left eye up. Long guns I shoot left handed and the only one that is a little harder is reloading an M1 Garand on the move. Other than that I think lefty is better. |
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Originally Posted By cttb: My son is right handed and left eye dominant. Rifles went on the left shoulder from day 1. There's no magic behind pulling a trigger with your dominant hand. It's not hard to develop trigger control with both hands. It's far harder to learn get a sight picture through your weak eye. Every shooter should be proficient working the trigger of rifles and pistols with either hand, anyway. Instead of thinking of it as a problem to overcome, just realize that the correct primary shooting position for any rifle with any shooter is shouldering the rifle in line with the dominant eye. Big Bingo. Looking through the eye is already ingrained and burnt in. Shooting is whole new pathways anyways. |
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| I'm left eye dominant and right handed. For me, it only come into play with pistols, red dot and irons I sight down with my left eye. With rifles be it red dots, lpvo, scopes, or irons I shoot all right eyed with no issues. For rifles the closer distance of focus forces my right eye into focus where pistols and bead sight shotguns being further away my left takes the lead (for bead sights I have to squint my left eye to change focus, or swap shoulders). |
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My brother is left handed, but right-eye dominant. His rifle shooting (via an RDS) is fine, however for eons, his pistol shooting was not very good. This summer, he decided to try an RDS for his pistol and he showed some improvement. He still had the issue of his dominant eye fighting to see the dot, vs his left eye. So, we made him wear an eye patch over his right eye and his shooting improved dramatically. I told him to wear the patch full time for two weeks and see if he could 'reprogram' his brain to make him left eye-dominant. The goal being him shooting with both eyes open and no conflict between which eye to pick up the dot. As of now, he reports that it seems to be working. |
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