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Posted: 9/27/2013 10:06:21 AM EDT
My girlfriend and I are relatively new shooters (at about a year of pistol shooting and 2 months of rifle shooting). We are both right handed and left eye dominant. Pistol shooting it has never been a huge deal, we both shoot right handed.
For rifle we have both been shooting right handed and I just close my left eye (the dominant eye). After reading a bunch of threads here the people that professionally train and give classes generally seem to suggest shooting left handed if you are left eye dominant. What we shoot: Pistol: M&P 40c, M&P 22 and S&W SD9VE Rifle: 16" AR with Iron Sights Assumptions I wanted reaffirmed: 1) Since we are left eye dominant, we should be shooting rifle left handed. 2) It isn't necessary to shoot left handed in regard to pistol. 3) I should probably think about ambi-controls for the AR. Right now it is built for a righty. Thanks for your time and advice! |
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[#1]
I'm in the same boat. Been shooting for over 50 yrs. I shoot everything right handed, just close my left eye. If you can train yourself to be coordinated enough to shoot left handed, that would be ideal. I have stared aiming with my left eye when pistol shooting by canting my head to the right and moving the gun slightly to the left. Biggest issue is shotgun, can't master it and too old to learn to be left handed.
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[#2]
Same here. With iron sights I have to shoot lefty because of the scar-tissue in my right eye. My go-to rifle has a red dot and I can shoot it proficiently right-handed with both eyes open. I train both ways. I'm faster and more coordinated right-handed, but more accurate left-handed.
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[Last Edit: GunGuyMP]
[#3]
Just to clarify our goals are more target oriented with good form... as in being tactical isn't high on the list of priorities right now. We are also trying to shoot irons only and possibly moving to optics down the road.
Noob red-dot question: When using a reddot you can look at it from any angle... it is always on target, correct? That seems impossible when I try to work it out in my head, but for some reason I remember a buddy of mine who was an operator mentioning that. Maybe that is only with quality optics (aimpoint, eotech, etc)? |
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[#4]
Originally Posted By ltcnav:
I'm in the same boat. Been shooting for over 50 yrs. I shoot everything right handed, just close my left eye. If you can train yourself to be coordinated enough to shoot left handed, that would be ideal. I have stared aiming with my left eye when pistol shooting by canting my head to the right and moving the gun slightly to the left. Biggest issue is shotgun, can't master it and too old to learn to be left handed. View Quote I do this. |
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Think of GD as Vietnam and the registration process as the Ho Chi Minh Trail
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[#5]
Yeah I went shooting yesterday and shot left handed. It was mega uncomfortable and my groups were obviously worse. I switch back to my right and my groups tightened right back up. I am torn about what I should do... keep shooting right handed or suck it up and learn how to shoot left handed...
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[#6]
I am also right handed and left eye dominant, also of note, I cannot close my left eye independently (I can close my right eye or both eyes). As far as what the experts teach, I think it is wise to listen/learn from those more experienced than yourself. I also think it is (more) important to learn what works best for you - I think the smartest shooters conform the gun to them, not try to conform themselves to the gun when their anatomy does not allow it. Your goals are a little different than mine, but in regards to the situation at hand I think it is 1. important to learn to shoot with both eyes open, both for situational awareness but also to alleviate eye strain/fatigue and 2. important to be able to shoot all types of weapons from either strong or support side.
With all that in mind, here is what I do: I shoot pistols right handed I shoot iron sighted long guns left handed I shoot long guns with optics right handed In adherence to #2 above, I do take the time to shoot all types from both sides and am comfortable shooting either side, and that comfort is partially the result of a process that has taken years. It took quite a while for me to figure out what worked best, and I got a lot of practice from both sides in just trying to figure out which was most comfortable. At one point I was like you, looking for advice and trying to find some rule that applied to my situation that I could follow. What I found was that my situation is unique to me and likewise my solution must be unique to me as well. My advice to you would be: try what the "experts" suggest, and not just one time at the range, spend some time shooting from both sides. Spend even more time shouldering/drawing your weapons at home and dry firing. You may find it awkward at first, but you also may find with time that one side works best for certain types of weapons. But don't forget that you are the only expert on yourself and you are the best person to decide what works best for you. That was a whole lot of words to basically say, try a bunch of shit and see what works best for you. |
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[#7]
I know that based on what I was told at a highpower class held by the US Army Marksmanship Unit a few years back, one of the first things they do with new shooters is check their eye dominance, and have them train to shoot with their dominant eye. After the adjustment period, their scores invariably went up. Closing one eye causes the other eye to try to close, resulting in eye strain if you force it to stay open. I know my eyes get tired enough looking through the sights at 600 without trying to close one eye.
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This is my signature. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
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[#8]
If you are left eye dominant, then your left eye is stronger. Shooting left handed will allow you to see the targets and sights more precisely.
If you can see the targets and sights clearly, then there is no issue. Where a real difference is felt is during tactical styles of shooting. Especially during reflexive fires. In these cases, your left eye will pick up the front sight post first, and if you are shooting right handed, it can throw you out of alignment. As far as red dots go, you are correct, and I can go into the specifics in another thread if you want. One thing to note is that most red dots are parallax free after 50 meters. This means that within 50 meters, you can throw your shot off by not having the same sight picture. This isn't really a problem unless you are trying to sight in a rifle at less than 50 m. |
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[#9]
Originally Posted By WBlacklidge:
My girlfriend and I are relatively new shooters (at about a year of pistol shooting and 2 months of rifle shooting). We are both right handed and left eye dominant. Pistol shooting it has never been a huge deal, we both shoot right handed. For rifle we have both been shooting right handed and I just close my left eye (the dominant eye). After reading a bunch of threads here the people that professionally train and give classes generally seem to suggest shooting left handed if you are left eye dominant. What we shoot: Pistol: M&P 40c, M&P 22 and S&W SD9VE Rifle: 16" AR with Iron Sights Assumptions I wanted reaffirmed: 1) Since we are left eye dominant, we should be shooting rifle left handed. Optimally, you would want to train yourself to shoot left handed, so that you can view the sights with your left eye. If you don't, you are going to find yourself trying to aim with your dominant eye whether you want to or not. Some people do attempt to mitigate this by using patching techniques to make shooting from the non-dominant eye more natural, but in the end of the day, you really want to be shooting from your dominant eye. 2) It isn't necessary to shoot left handed in regard to pistol.If you attempt to shoot off of your non-dominant eye, your going to find that you are looking at the sights, even on your pistol, very differently than you would with your dominant eye. 3) I should probably think about ambi-controls for the AR. Right now it is built for a righty. Thanks for your time and advice! View Quote |
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[#10]
Right handed left eye dominant here. I decided to switch from righty to shoot everything left handed during a try out for my high schools rifle team. The coach, a MSG told me to try lefty after he did a eye dominance test. Best decision i could have made and shoot much better because of it. It took about 6 months of shooting non dominant to feel natural but now when I pick up a gun its like I was a lefty all along.
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[#11]
Right handed, left eye dominant. For the last 40 years, I shoot pistols RH, and long arms primarily LH. I can shoot long arms RH as well, but prefer LH, as it produces less eye strain.
It has driven more than a few coaches to lunacy adjusting my movements to accommodate my eye/hand orientation. |
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The stupid, it burns...
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[#12]
Instead of closing your left eye and to lessen facial fatigue, Put a piece of dark tape over the left lens of your shooting glasses. You can relax your face and keep both eyes open.
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I teach my daughters to shoot because a restraining order is just a piece of paper.
Author: unknown |
[#13]
I am right handed and left eye dominant. I shoot righty on everything. Usually I keep both eyes open. If I am on a rifle with iron sights, I may close my left eye.
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[#14]
Since you are strictly talking about target shooting I would say do whatever you are more comfortable and get the best results with. I am Right handed and left eye dominant. When I first learned to shoot rifle and shotguns I couldn't close my left eye to shoot right handed so I started shooting long guns left handed at the age of 4 so I am just used to it. As for pistols I can either close my left eye, right eye or turn my head to the left to use my pistol which I shoot right handed unless I am doing single handed drills. I don't think any one way is the best, it just really matters what you are comfortable with and what works.
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