User Panel
Posted: 2/11/2006 11:49:13 AM EDT
I'm right handed but left eye dominant. Not a big deal with a handgun but when I'm holding an AR I feel most comfortable with it on the left shoulder. How many of you are cross dominant and how do you shoot. Do you just go with it or try to shoot off the uncomfortable shoulder? If I'm shooting prone I can shoot off my right shoulder without much trouble but if the gun has a pistol grip I shoot off the left.
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With open sights I just force myself to use my right eye.
But the best way for me is to use a Red Dot and Keep both eyes open. |
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I am right handed but left eye dominant. An Aimpoint solved my problems.
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My dad is, he shoots anything with optics left handed, anything iron sighted he shoots right handed.
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I'm left eye dominant/right handed and I just shoot rifles right handed.
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I have the same problem, and shoot shotguns and iron sights using my left shoulder. If I am using a scope, Aimpoint or Eotech I can shoot eather way with the same results.
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Right handed as hell and left eye dominant as hell. I practice A LOT to try and train my brain to utilize my right eye, but I still have to close my left eye from time to time to ensure that I am using my right eye. For my ARs the red dot/holo sight solves my problem there.
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I shoot rifles with irons left handed. With Aimpoint etc. I shoot right handed. This is very common.
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same here but I am ambidex, so I can shoot the same with eiter hand. My old man is former SF from the veitnam days and as a kid he forced me to learn how to shoot with both hands. Now its just second nature for me. practice and you will get it sooner then you think.
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I'm left eye dominant, I just force myself to use my right eye.
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Using a reflex optic is easy with both eyes open, for me.
Using irons, I just squint my left eye a bit. Using a magnified optic, I completely close my left eye. I need to train more with shooting a rifle from my left shoulder, but I will always be dominant with my right shoulder (it just feels natural, even though I'm a lefty with a pistol). Weird I know. |
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Girlfriend is right handed and left eye dominant. Optics work best for her.
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I am right handed but stongly left eye dominant. I shot handguns with my right hand but all long guns are shot off my left shoulder. I have always shot this way so it feels natural.
When I hold a long gun off my right shoulder, I cannot line up the sights. For whatever reason, I cannot close just my left eye. In other words, when I close my left eye, I have to close my right eye as well. This is not the case when I close my right eye. Kind of weird I guess. |
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I'm right handed, but I can't see worth a damn out of my right eye. It makes shooting awkward as hell.
That's why I buy bullet hoses and shoot from the hip. |
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Its good to see some of you saying that optics really helped. I plan on buying an Aimpoint and was curious how well it would work.
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Right-handed and Left eye dominant (very much so). With the EOTech I keep both eyes open. With the iron sights I squint the left eye. With a scope I close my left eye. I don't think I could shoot a rifle from my left shoulder - and I'm way too old to learn now.
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I shoot handguns sighting with my left eye.
Rifles with the right eye. |
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Same here...My Drill Instructor beat it into me to do it this way (less problems with brass in the face since deflectors don't always deflect) although a friend who is also an instructor tells me he'd like to see me try to shoot both eyes open next time out. There was another thread not too far back on this where another shooter recommended placing tape down the center of the left lense of the glasses, forcing the right eye to take over. Haven't tried it yet, but there it is. |
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It almost seems like you guys who are cross dominant have it a little easier when it comes to learning to shoot ambi. I am left eye/hand dominant, and I find it incredibly hard to shoot (well) right handed. At least for you cross dominant guys, half of the equation is always dominant for you (hands or eyes). When I try shooting ambi, I'm using my weaker eye and hand. Anyone have any suggestions for me when it comes to using my non-dominant side for shooting.
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FWIW british have had shotgun shooting schools for rich folks for more than 100 years.
They place lots of importance on eye dominance and they also keeps good records. So I was interested in the subject and I bought many british books on shotgun shooting. Some stats: About 16% of men and women are left-handed 30% of men are cross-dominant 90% of women are cross-dominant |
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I am right handed and left eye dominant. When shooting handguns I hold them right handed and use my dominant eye, however, when shooting rifles I shoot right handed and have to force myself to use my right eye. FWIW, I shoot handguns much better than I do rifles.
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Same problem
Shoot pistols left eyed, rifles right. I just cope and do it, usually with left eye shut. Will have to try the Aimpoint that several have suggested. |
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As you stated, handguns are not an issue. For me, rifles have not been a major issue but that's mostly because I've never used a rifle to shoot at moving targets (where you really want both eyes open for the best FOV and situational awareness). With open sights or a scope, I just close my left eye. That does make it harder, not only because of the FOV issues, but also because I can not see\focus as well with my weak eye but it is do-able. Eotechs (and I guess Aimpoints) are sweet because I can use them with both eyes open but I'm so use to closing my left eye when I mount a rifle that I find I have to remind myself to open it when using my Eotech. Shotguns have been the most problem. I like to go clay shooting and you really want to have both eyes open for that. I've tried shooting left handed but I am a complete spazz doing anything left handed (yes, even that! ). A lot of clay shooters in the same boat recomend putting scotch tape on the lens of your shooting glasses over the dominant eye. Thoery being you can leave that eye open but because the tape blurs that eye's vision so much, your brain will automatically switch dominaice over to the weaker eye. Great in theory and it seems to work for a lot of people but not for me. |
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I guess my brain isn't working right now because I can't picture it. Can you post a picture showing how you would hold and fire a rifle in the Isosceles position (other then maybe gangsta style)? Thanks |
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An Aimpoint greatly increased my speed, and I am now able to have a greater peripheral view (as opposed to squinting my left eye). |
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Like others, I shoot handguns with my left eye, but force myself to use my right eye when firing rifles.
Of course since focus on the front sight post is very critical to consistent accuracy, it's harder. I've thought about getting shooting glasses with a frosted left lens; has anyone here tried that? |
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Hey SD, can you post a picture of how you shoot a rifle for the isoceles stance.
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My brother shoots kinda weird.
He shoots pistols left handed and shoots rifles with his right, but he uses his left eye to look through optics. He writes left but in a lot of things he seems to be indifferent about which hand he uses. |
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Nothing wrong with shooting leftie with the rifles as long as its not a bullpup lol.
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Awesome thread. When I was in the academy I had an instructor that would hammer us cross dom guys about keeping both eyes open. Wasn't much of a problem for me because I have been shooting since I was a kid, but some of the guys had a pretty hard time.
Handgunning has never been a problem for me and when I'm using rifle irons I close my left eye like many here (got pretty good with the thousands of hours I logged in my back yard with my Crossman BB gun), but through a scope I've always had a problem with the cross hairs (tell me if this is normal) - I line them perfectly horizontal/verticle with my right eye, but everyone that shoots my rifle tells me my scope is canted. hrough I'm glad to hear that the reflex sights work well, I wasn't sure how that would work for me. Do the Aimpoint style with the longer tube seem to work better for cross doms or the EOTech open style?? |
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"shooting Isoceles` is the best way for cross dominate eye shooters to work with the handgun or the rifle, keep your rifle and handgun stances the SAME." I can see how that will work with a light or low recoiling rifle but I just don't see it with anything much above 7mm. Correct me if I'm wrong but I see issues there with check weld. But perhaps the use of a reflex sight makes that less important. Also a RH shooter, Left Dominant eye. Never was a issue for me once I figured it out in my youth. I've always shot isoceles with pistol and it was very natural. MB |
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I'm left eye and right handed but I can shoot just about as well either way
Invisible soul |
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I am right handed left eye dominant. I shoot pistols right handed and rifles left handed. When most people see that they think I am crazy
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Same here with most shooters, ambidextrous rifle shots aren't difficult, and I simply shoot righty with the ACOG. irons, lefty |
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I'm left handed and was left eye dominant. I was raised to shoot right handed (no special left handed bolt rifles or flintlocks for me). I have a hard time shooting left handed anymore. Just doesn't feel natural. 10 years of shooting right handed in the army may have something to do with that also. It's all in how much you work at it and how much time you spend at the range. I still eat and write left handed tho.
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thanks to stag truly left ar's i dont have to worry bout being right handed left eye dom.
i can buy their lefty upper and modify to my needs with out worry. |
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thats my problem right there i cant close my left eye can close the right. so i said fuck it i will make rifles work for me instead of me working for them. it may cost me a little more for a left handed rifle but im more accurate with it. |
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I'm also right-handed but left-eye dominant. I also have some astigmatism which makes things even more complicated.
With rifles, regardless of scoped/irons/red-dot, I close one eye, usually the left eye. I can't do the two-eyes-open thing it seems. With handguns its a non-issue. If I'm taking a slower carefully aimed shot, I tend to close my left eye like I would for a rifle with irons. But most of the time, I go with the "point and shoot" instinctive thing with both eyes open and not really using the sights, and tend to do well with it. |
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I am also right-handed/left-eye-dominant.
When I went in for my Lasik Plus eye surgery, I talked this issue over with the surgeon beforehand. He reccomended a procedure that makes one eye purposefully near-sighted so that there is no need for reading glasses (I'm 47). This is usually done to the non-dominant eye. In my case, he suggested that we do it to the dominant eye -- leaving my right eye with good distance vision. Well, it's been less than 60 days so far, but it seems to have worked well. My right eye has 20/10 accuity and with both eyes open, I can see 20/20. But the best part is that my mind has decided that the best picture is comming from my right eye and is adjusting to that. It's kind of like putting vaseline on the dominant eye side lense of your shooting glasses. It forces you to use the non-dominant eye, because the other is out of focus beyond arm's length. If I don't like this multi-focal approach, I can have my left eye re-focused to distance vision at no additional charge (I have 3 years to decide). Before this, the Aimpoint was the best solution. |
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This is a problem faced by many. I have been shooting guns of many kinds since I was 14 or so. I have shot skeet 3 days a week for the last 20 years. In the past 4 months or so I have started to get in volved in the black rifle. (Colt M-4 with an aimpoint ML-3 ) Yes the Aimpoint makes the left eye domminice go away, But other than that the only other option is to go with a translucent patch over your left eye of your shooting glasses. Only problem here is that when all goes wrong you may not have your glasses. The people that say that they just make themselves use there right eye really do not have a severe dominice problem, as there is no way to "make" yourself do it. Get a Aimpoint or continue to close the left eye.
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I am also left eye dominant right handed. One of the reason's is I cannot for the life of me close my left eye and leave my right eye open. I also wear corrective lenses. My left eye is slightly better than my right. Anyway, since I was young and shooting BB guns it has been that way. Learned to live with it. Working the trigger safeties on normal grip shotguns is alittle tricky. I leave them right handed to prevent anyone else from having an AD if they use them. Easier to sell as well.
Shotguns with pistol grips are the easiest since you can use your thumb to disengage the trigger safetry. Easier to reach and more natural. Get an AMBI safety for an AR. Also, I have gone piston to keep gas out of my face and they tend to throw the brass to the front vs past your face. Not a big deal but it makes a difference if you shoot alot. For pistol I am more comfortable with the modified weaver with my head cocked and cheek slightly resting on my right shoulder but head up. Works fine. Transition from rifle to pistol is easier for me as well since I drop the gun to the left hip and immediately draw from the right. Stays out of the way. Good luck and have fun. T |
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I went to the Kentucky police academy with a good friend that had the cross-eye dominance problem. He wore a patch on the strong eye to train his weak eye to aim for his strong hand.
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