Right Handed Left Eye Dominant

[15Truckman]

Took my daughter out shooting the other day, and learned that although she is right handed, it turns out she is left eye dominant. She really has not had enough shooting practice to have a set technique yet, so she's still easily moldable.

Suggestions? Is it better to have her learn how to compensate for and aim with the left eye while shooting right handed? Better to have her learn and practice shooting lefty? Work with her to learn to use her right eye?

[Mitch10mm]

I recently posted about the same thing. My opinion is right hand and compensate to use the left eye.

[BucksCountyBob]

+1

The advice I've read (and I use myself) is to learn to turn the head slightly and use the dominant left eye while shooting right handed. It's worked for me and vastly improved my accuracy.

Regards,

BCB

[Capt Quahog]

Interesting!

I'm left handed and right eye dominant.

[Metz]

I'm left eye dominant righty.

Ideally she shoulld learn how to shoot left-handed. It's too much for mme at this point, so I compensate by moving a handgun slightly to the left, so I can aim with my left eye.

Doesn't work for carbine/rifle, thought, so I've had to learn how to shoot it with my left hand. It still feels weird, but I can live with it.

[Soldat222]

I, like your daughter, am right handed and left eye dominant. Since I was a kid despite being right handed I have held my handguns with my right hand but have held my rifles left handed (I partook in extensive toy and stick gun operations as a child). I only actually found out I was for sure left eye dominant a couple years ago, until then I was just holding it how it felt best I guess.

Anyway, with a handgun its no worries , you can just easily hold it with your dominant right hand and use your left eye to aim.

With a rifle shooting lefty I find to be an actual advantage. Sure many weapons are made ergonomically to cater to those who are right handed, but you learn how to compensate and do work them as a lefty. Because of this practice shooting lefty, with my natural right handedness and the ergonomic advantage to right handed shooters I find I can easily use rifles with either hand now and "switch hit" when the situation calls for it. Being in the military comes in handy when at shooting from around cover on either side or when walking in tactical formations.

On weapons like the AR platform it really does not matter at all, I find it equally easy from both sides especially. But I have no problem working bolts, working my SKS, I had no trouble with an M60.

I say let her shoot lefty, she will be all the better for it and probably be able to fire well from either arm in the end. To me firing a rifle lefty feels natural as could be, and after a bit of practice in the last few years right handed it does as well.

[heili]

I'm right handed and left eye dominant. I shoot right handed, and either use left eye or both eyes for handgun. Rifles with scopes, I shoot right eye and sight them for the difference (which means nobody else is accurate with my scope settings). Iron sights on a long gun, I found the difference and compensate for it.

I couldn't get used to left handed, so I work around my eyes. Also means I don't have to look for left-handed equipment, which is always harder to find.

[freesoul]

I am also left eye dominant, right handed. I need to work on this at the ramge

[FUNDAMENTALS]

If a shooter is determined to be cross eye dominate, there are a few things a Firearms Instructor should do:
1. Modify the shooting stance to bring the dominate in line with the sights,
being careful not to unlock the wrist or cant the shooters hand at an angle.
This can be best achieved by turning the shooter head on its axis. (this
method cannot be accomplished effectively with shoulder weapons).
2. Instruct the shooter to keep the dominate eye closed when shooting.
3. Instruct the shooter to learn to shoot with the non-shooting hand, which
will be on the same side as the dominate eye. (This technique should only
be used with the firing of shoulder weapons, and as a last resort.)
Ref:0ffice of Human Resource Training, Firearms Instructor, Department of Homeland Security/United States Secret Service. Note: I attended the
F.I.T.C. (Firearms Instructor Training Course, at the Secret Service Training
Facility in 1984).

[15Truckman]

Thanks for all the replies! I guess I should've mentioned that we were shooting a rifle. She's 10 years old.

To use her left eye, she had her head cocked in what looked to me to be an uncomfortable and unnatural position, and she wasn't even on the paper. We'll play around with different positions and see what feels most comfortable and natural to her.