Sooo, im in the military and am cross eye dominant. I shoot right handed and with my right eye but am left eye dominant. I have tried to shoot left but am too uncoordinated to shoot well with pop up targets and we dont really get enough reps on the range to improve much. I qualify expert and dont seem to have a problem but everyone seems to say what a big deal it is... so my question is am i screwing myself? is it really such a bad idea like everyone says? what say you?

I'm cross eye dominant. I've shot both left and right handed to qualify and done well.



It is not that much of a biggie with pistols, but with rifles and shotguns, you really should develop your non dominant eye.



Do you shoot with both eyes open?



 

If you are doing well with the method you are currently using, I wouldn't mess with it.  
I think that people make way too big of a deal about the cross-dominance issue.  
Practice with the goal of developing the non-dominant eye, but I wouldn't stress too much about it.

"All The Way"

I am righty and left eye dominant as well.  With your situation I would recommend you shoot right handed using your right eye.  You may have to partially close your left eye to get a good sight picture.  It may not be completely optimal,  but given limited training time it will likely produce the best results for you.  That's the most important part.

If shooting right handed allows you to accurately engage targets and is comfortable for you stick with it

I'm no expert marksman, I'm here as one of the newbies to learn from you all.

However, I do have a degree in Exercise and Sports Science, and took many classes in Anatomy, Physiology, Neurology, Motor Behavior, etc.  I can tell you that much research has shown that it is MUCH easier to re-train large muscle groups that do gross-motor movements (like a leg or arm) than small muscle groups that do fine motor movements (like the eye).  The eye muscles are much more finely regulated with many more neurons than the large muscles of the arm.  

What this means is that although it feels more awkward, you are much more likely to be successful in getting your left arm to "learn" the movements it needs to handle your weapon than to get your non-dominant eye to become dominant.

There were two Navy SEALs in my Motor Development class.  One was a sniper, the other demolition.  Because my wife and I are both right-handed but left-eye dominant, I decided to bring the subject up to them.  The second I said, "I am right-handed but left-eye dominant..." they cut me off and said, "Shoot left-handed."  The sniper was in the same boat as me, and he shoots lefty.

While everyone will have their opinion on what is best (I'm sure there are many serving in the military who would disagree with those two SEALs), I know just from a scientific standpoint that re-training your eye instead of your arm will be much more difficult.  

I have chosen to shoot pistols right handed (I still end up just naturally lining up my sights with my left eye) and rifles left-handed.  I figure I will have the added benefit of being able to switch to my right-hand with little effort should the need arise.  However, like I said, I'm fairly new to shooting, so I didn't have to "re-learn" any right-handed rifle techniques.  I just started from scratch with my left.

Just my 2 cents...

I'm left eye dominant and shoot right handed. I use my right eye for rifles and left eye for handguns. I found that it makes more of a difference with handguns. I qualify expert on all my weapons systems to include M9, G23, M4 and M24. Use what works for you. If you're shooting fine, then keep doing it.

I've spent my life shooting right handed, but I'm left eye dominate also.  It doesn't bother me with rifles and shotguns.  Scoped guns are easiest for me, and I do ok with shotguns.  I struggle with pistols, and I'm about to start training as a lefty to see if it helps.

On your shooting glasses, why don't you try using a piece of tape over your left lens. This will train your right eye.



You could turn your head 15-20 degrees to the right, and use your left eye.



 

I used my weak eye in order to use my strong hand successfully for 35 years.
3 years ago I decided to use my dominant eye with iron sights to make it easier. The transition was easy, I'm a better shot because of it.
About 2 months ago I started shooting my scoped rifles left handed. Now I can shoot just as well left or right handed, and others can use my scoped rifles since they aren't focused for my weak eye.

I'm left handed but right eye dominant.  I shoot pistols left handed using my right eye, and I shoot long guns left handed with my left eye.  The first time I picked up a rifle when I was 14 I shot left handed, left eye.  The only problem is I have to shoot long guns with my right eye closed or I can't hit shit.  Handguns I don't have a problem.

Keep in mind the varied degrees of experience posters have.  This is no way a slam against anyone.  Some folks found what works and they stay with it.  Others played around with different things until something worked.  Yet others have yet to find a good solution.

I cannot speak to degrees of dominance, however degrees of training or solution seeking will always vary.

Thats my situation.  I've had instructors try to correct me on it but I've done it for too long, and it works for me.

I'm right-handed but left eye dominant.  I can shoot either side, but am more comfortable shooting rifles left handed and pistols right handed.  I'd say go with whatever is most comfortable for you, but keep practicing both.  I shot a moose a few years back right-handed just because that was the only way to get the shot off in the position I was in.  Definitely a good skill to have.

I'm left eye dominant, write and eat lefty, but shoot and throw righty.  I can actually switch strong sides for shooting pretty easy which makings dealing with obstacles easy....

It ended up being of some small benefit in my military days.  Using the M4 with the CCO, the CCO was pushed out far enough to allow both eyes open shooting and negated the dominance issue.  Furthermore, when running at night with 14's....I never lost adjustment to the dark with my dominant eye but had zero trouble navigating and aiming through the 14/CCO.

Just like shooting, it's about how much you practice and what becomes second nature.

Right hand, left eye here. Pistol is used right handed both eyes open lefty taking charge. Rifle is ambi (left eye squint if shooting right though). I remember during training back in the day i found natural reaction under stress was to shoot right hand if i needed to move fast, yet left if i needed ultimate precision. Their is no rules in this game pal. Do what you don't have to think about. If it goes where you want it to go, your doing it right.

Good quote on the topic: "‎Just deal with the raw data and trust yourself. Nobody is smarter than you are, and what if they are? What good is there understanding doing you?" - TM