Question about aiming

[Major Beef]

I have a question about eye dominance when aiming...

I'm nearsighted in both eyes, but my left eye is slightly stronger, so I've been turning slightly to the right to use my left eye when looking through the sights with a pistol.

However, when I'm using a rifle and resting my face on the stock, I'm forced to use my right eye when looking through the sights.

Should I correct my aiming technique when using a pistol? Does anyone else do this?

[BGutzman]

For some people and maybe not all you can learn to choose which eye is dominant.

I didnt realize I had this ability until the eye doctor said I had it and thus wasnt qualified for flight school for helos.

I am dominant left but my folks raised me as if I was right handed and we didnt figure out the truth until little league baseball.

I learned to shoot target rifle right eyed and right handed and apparently overrode what nature had planned.

[TheGoldenState]

I am right handed and can do nothing with the left. But I am LEFT eye dominant. I can switch tho and use either eye, but for the majority i use my LEFT eye when im shooting pistols (shoot right handed) -SAME AS YOU and use my RIGHT eye for rifles (being right handed of course).

[BGutzman]

Dont let convention or tradition stand in your way, if it works for you go for it!

[Major Beef]

I am right handed and can do nothing with the left. But I am LEFT eye dominant. I can switch tho and use either eye, but for the majority i use my LEFT eye when im shooting pistols (shoot right handed) -SAME AS YOU and use my RIGHT eye for rifles (being right handed of course).

I see I'm not alone.

I did see a video on Youtube of a woman you was right handed, left eye dominant and still somehow rests the left side of her face on the stock and shoots with her left eye. Talk about weird form...

[TheGoldenState]

Do what is most comfortable and brings you the most success, but i say, from personal experience in the same situation, use your left eye with pistols and learn to use your right with the rifles.

Like baseball, you may be right handed but ya have to learn to catch with the left.

Good luck.


Cheers

[m&p45acp10+1]

I was fortuate enough that my grampa spotted that I was left eye dominant very early. I learned to shoot lefty, and still do. I can shoot handguns very well right handed. Shotguns, or rifles not at all from right handed. I can shoot a bow right handed if I use a sight that allows me to keep both eyes open. If I use the peep I can adjust the sights to hit. If some one tha is right handed picks up my right handed bow they will shoot way to far to the right. (Fun entertainment. Buddy shoots bow a mile to the right and says the sight is off. I shoot it and hit dead on. Say it is just fine, Hey dude you need to go to the eyedoctor and get your vision checked)

[Jeremiah/Az]

My girlfriend is right handed & was a new shooter. I started her on straight away clay birds. She was missing them by many feet. Checking her eyes, we found her to be left eye dominant. She switch to the left side without any problem, being a new shooter, & does very well now.

[old bear]

I am right handed and can do nothing with the left. But I am LEFT eye dominant. I can switch tho and use either eye, but for the majority i use my LEFT eye when im shooting pistols (shoot right handed) -SAME AS YOU and use my RIGHT eye for rifles (being right handed of course).

I see I'm not alone.

No you are not, there are more of us than one would think.

For aimed shooting I use my left eye only, but for point shooting I keep both eyes open.

[Jo6pak]

And I thought I was special.

I am ambidextrous to an extent. I write with my left hand, throw with my right arm and kick a football with my left foot, but hold my hockey stick to the right. I can shoot rifles/shotguns either way with equal effect. But because most guns are set up for northpaws, I generally shoot right handed.

I am right eye dominant, but my left eye is better. so I use the same process of shooting right handed with my left eye over the sights.

[Sigma 40 Blaster]

I am now cross dominant after lasik surgery about five years ago (near sighted, right handed and left eyed). I do the same, I use the isosceles stance and tilt my head slightly to the right. I probably look funny, but I don't care...I got a gun in my hand

Same as you with rifles and shotguns. I'm just not very good with a rifle past 100 yards and am OK with a shotgun.

I tried shooting long-guns left handed but it just felt too weird.

[BfloBill]

I found out I was left eye dominant when my dad was teaching me to shoot birds. I couldn't hit anything until I shot left handed. Now I shoot pistol right handed with my head slightly turned, rifle and shotgun lefty. I can shoot right handed with long guns if I have to and have taken deer that way, but learning to shoot left handed was not that hard. Do what works for you.
You mentioned pistol and rifle, how do you do with a shotgun on birds/clay birds right handed?

[MARINE1]

I have the same problem. I'm right handed and left eye dominate. shooting a pistol like this is easy just use your left eye to shoot with. I qualify expert with my pistol every time. As to rifles I have to shoot left handed. Shooting left handed helped me my raising my score from a sharpshooter to an expert badge. It just took a bit of getting used to shooting this way.

[Major Beef]

You mentioned pistol and rifle, how do you do with a shotgun on birds/clay birds right handed?

I'm new to shooting and only recently started on rifles and handguns, so I haven't had the pleasure of shooting a shotgun, but I'm sure I'll shoot it right handed if given the chance.

As to rifles I have to shoot left handed. Shooting left handed helped me my raising my score from a sharpshooter to an expert badge. It just took a bit of getting used to shooting this way.

That's gonna be really tough to do. The right side of my body way more dominant. I can't do anything left handed.

[siggygirl]

I'm left eye dominant and strongly right handed. Unless I'm holding a gun, my left hand almost hangs there in a lobster claw fashion (I'm overstating ). I tried to learn shooting with the left eye. It felt unnatural to my body. I retrained quickly right handed, right eye. Much better. Just figured I was weird.

[HellBillySuperstar]

My dad is right handed but shoots left because of his eye sight. I always thought he was weird too, but hey, at least you're not alone!!

[TheGoldenState]

im left eye dominant and strong right handed.

i shoot right handed with left eye (pistols) and right hand right eye with rifles.

[Nnobby45]

Should I correct my aiming technique when using a pistol? Does anyone else do this?

Probably not.

I used to be cross eye dominate and used my left eye for pistols. I used the right eye for rifles---same as many others have done.

I developed a problem in the left eye and became right eye dominant, which solved the problem, though being cross eye dominant like many thousands of others was never that big a deal.

Your dominant eye seeks out the pistol sights, so you move your gun in line with it.

With rifles and shotguns, you really can't move anything. You're stuck with the right eye. As long as you can see reasonably well with the non dominant eye, you're fine--especially if you use a scope.

[Win_94]

I learned to shoot right handed long before I found out I was left eye dominant. What I do now is...

With an iron sighted rifle, I'll shoot left handed.
With scoped rifles I'll shoot right handed.
With a pistol I still shoot right handed; but since I shoot with both eyes open, it makes no difference.
With a shotgun I shoot right handed since both eyes are open and my muscle memory reflexes are already set for right handed.

[Nnobby45]

With an iron sighted rifle, I'll shoot left handed.
With scoped rifles I'll shoot right handed.
With a pistol I still shoot right handed; but since I shoot with both eyes open, it makes no difference.
With a shotgun I shoot right handed since both eyes are open and my muscle memory reflexes are already set for right handed.

LOL, Well, I'm glad you found a simple solution to solve the problem.

[Win_94]

LOL, Well, I'm glad you found a simple solution to solve the problem.

My solution is simpler than the post indicates; I've only changed one thing. "With an iron sighted rifle, I'll shoot left handed."

If I hope to hit an 8" target at 400 yards, I need to be able to see the target; I can't see that target with my, (evidently,) submissive eye.

[Terry A]

I'm right handed, left eye dominant. In fact, I'm legally blind in my right eye (20/200 vision). I shoot my handguns right handed b ut use my left eye. All the long arms, I shoot left handed.

Funny thing is that I prefer right handed bolt action rifles rather than left handed models. I've shot right handed rifles all my life and when I handled a left handed bolt action a few times, it felt so odd!