Posted: 6/30/2004 7:38:59 AM EDT
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Teach him to shoot left handed. I'm right handed and left eye dominant. I found that out in Basic Training. The DS told me I had two choices. Learn to use my right eye to sight or shoot left handed. It was much easier and more expedient to switch sides, than to train my right eye. |
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Didn't you read the qoute about them always watching, The kid already has enough of my bad habits!! Oh...What color panties? Clean or dirty? and what are we gonna arm the hummer with? hinking.gif |
DoubleFeed is right. In my case I have no choice. I'm right-handed but have a lazy right eye (amblyopia) - Useless for reading, shooting, or anything else that requires visual acuity. Shooting left-handed is not difficult for a right-hander. You get the advantage of using the stronger right arm to steady the rifle. I shoot pistol right-handed but crossed over to sight with the left eye. The relative scarcity of left-handed bolt action rifles led into the wonderful world of autoloaders because a right-handed bolt rifle is a major PITA for me to use effectively. |
| I have the same. He's young teach him to shoot lefty now. I shoot handguns righty using my left eye. But in prone or off a bench I shoot lefty much better. Actually I've been doing a lot of shooting lefty lately, standing, sitting etc. Its not feeling so foreign to me now. At this last IDPA match you had to shoot one stage left handed. I shot it clean. I can shoot left handed with handguns but since I carry I don't want to be really slow so I train lefty and righty both and carry righty. Look into the Cricket .22 available from Walmart for about $100.00 |
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This is one of the reasons why as a left-eye-dominant righty I chose not to shoot left handed. I find that squinting the left eye works fine for me. Any attempt I have made to shoot left handed is unbelievably awkward. |
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Quit worrying about it. Have him close his left eye. I have the same problem and its much to do about nothing (NRA service rifle master and IDPA 4 gun master but I cant shoot a shotgun to save my life!). Eventually, if he gets seriously into competition have him block out the left lense of his shooting glasses to prevent the eye fatique that comes from long matches or shooting sessions with your left eye closed. After youve shot for awhile your brain just learns to ignore the 'problem' - I now shoot pistol mostly with both eyes open unless I'm really tired or the target 25 yd +, then I have to close my left eye. Some shooters have used biofeed back techniques to strengthen their hand dominant eye overcoming the right handed, left eye dominent 'problem' and have had good sucess with it - Ive never felt the need to try it so I cant speak from personal experience about it. |
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I don't know how hard it would be to teach a kid to shoot with both eyes open because it was a long time ago when I taught myself. I could't stand trying to shoot left handed so I just trained myself to concentrate on my site picture with both eyes open. It also has the added benefit of seeing surrounding area simultaneously. (Great for hunting) I've used about every type of gun site there is with out any problems. The down side is if you take too long to get off a shot the cross eyed blur thing happens and you need to blink both eyes to "reset" picture. The brain can do some amazing things when forced to. (Well mabey not my brain, but I've heard tell) h.gif GM |
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I grew up shooting out in the woods, mostly by myself, from the time I was about 8. Not until I was 20 something did I learn that I was left eye dominant while being right handed. Even then, it wasn't until a couple of years ago that I learned from here on ar15.com that it was a "problem" and detrimental to my shooting and that to correct this "problem" I should learn to shoot left handed. Honestly, I think that forcing someone to shoot with their less dominant hand is rediculous. It is much easier for someone to overcome the eye dominance factor than it is to use their weak hand. In fact, it was so easy that I learned how to do it all by myself without even knowing that I was doing it. It only takes a little concentration and after a little while training takes over and it becomes just another natural movement. I'd have your son close or squint his eye if he can't concentrate enough to focus using his right eye. With age will come more cooridination and it will be easier for him. Or, you could put him at the disadvantage of being a left handed person in a right handed world with brass flying in his face and bolt handles on the wrong side. For me it would be an easy choice. |
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This is another problem that is a matter of degree. Dominance just means that one eye is stronger than the other. If he is legally blind in the right eye (can't pass a BMV vision test with that eye), teach him to shoot lefty. Otherwise, it sure wouldn't hurt to try to teach him to be ambidextrous with a rifle. It helps to be able to shoot right handed, especially for the prone stages of Highpower matches. |
Not to hijack the topic, but that is true. I used to puke whenever anyone said Finestein. Now my bran can work past it, and I can just chew it back.  I have the same issue [left-eye dominance], and it is FAR easier to work right-handed than to try to convert to lefty. I found that I can shoot with either eye, it doesn't make much of a difference. |
Crap... I'm a Left Eye Dom./Right Hand shooter too... I didn't know there was something "wrong" with it. I'm not a bad shot, but could use improvement. Me thinks I'm gonna try the right eye this weekend and see how it goes. 
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I shoot right hand & left eye with pistol, and left hand + left eye with rifle as I'm now blind in my right eye. It's no problem but bolt action is a pain is the ass. I also find the stronger right arm supporting the rifle is a great help in accurate shooting. Andy |
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FYI right handed/left eyed or left handed/right eyed is the normal thing for most people. This is because the nerves that are connected to the right and left sides of the brain actually cross over at the base of the skull. So if you are right handed, that is controlled by the left side of your brain. But the nerves coming from your eyes do not cross over so the Left eye would be dominant. Now in my opinion, I would teach him to shoot from both eyes and both hands. Most people can be flexible to learn this. I don't really have any problem, but I don't really shoot competitively. |
Yup same w/me. |
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In general disscussion of Camp Perry record holders of the past several decades, service Sniper stats, 30+years of marksmanship shooting with other master class marksmen etc. The dominant eye will always be behind the majority of champions and many close behind. Gary Anderson (CMP director)was a former long range champion. Left eye dom with a right handed bolt rifle (shooting left handed) 1000 yd champ. Top shooters do there best to eliminate eye strain. And shooting the same side as their dominant eye (left or right) is usually the norm. Many right handed shooters shoot right because it feels right to shoot right hand, same for a left handed person. The dominant eye gives you a more natural aim. Many trap and skeet shooters leave both eyes open, but they use their dom. eye to see the claybird. Hence that is also their trigger hand. Read a book on marksmanship tips, see what it says on which eye to use. |
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Same here, kept a MN91/30 by the easy chair and aimed at the TV commercials for frequent practice at training the other eye. Both closing the other eye, and looking with both but paying more attention to the right. And shooting a semi-auto with brass flying in front of me creeps me out.... I'd just chop a stock down on one gun, and glue extensions on as he grows. |