Cross dominant, or standing funny?

wogpotter · June 1, 2011, 12:43 PM

Mods* even though this is in regard to a revolver the same should apply to a self-stuffer, so I put it here. Feel free to relocate if you can find a better fit*.

Seriously, I've never come across this till recently & never seen a thread on the subject.

Do you think you may be cross dominant (left eye right hand, or vice versa)? If so you may want to re think your stance, especially if you wear corrective lenses. Sounds daft doesn't it, I thought so too till I tried this & it fixed the problem.

Let me explain a bit. I mainly shoot rifle & am right eye/right handed, OK all's fine there, but recently I was practicing dry firing at a mirror with a revolver & noticed I was cocking my head & using the left eye to sight with.

After doing some checking it turns out I was cocking my head so I could look over the top of the frame of the left lens so I could get a sharp front sight picture & didn't even realize it. The cure was to switch from a 45 degree foot placement to the firing line & a rigid right arm to a parallel foot placement & Isosceles arm position. What this did was change the relationship between eye, optical portion of the lens being used & the sights! I'm no longer cross dominant for 2-handed pistol shooting. Worth checking out IMHO.

aarondhgraham · June 1, 2011, 12:51 PM

Have someone take a video of you shooting,,,
What I thought was "perfect" stance,,,
Looked like I was on drugs.

Aarond

wogpotter · June 1, 2011, 12:54 PM

The range video (with a remote camera, no-one downrange) was how I confirmed I did this for real.
You're right I did look like there was something *ahem* "Challenged" about me

aarondhgraham · June 1, 2011, 01:05 PM

That I am teaching to shoot,,,
Actually I'm not so much teaching as facilitating,,,
Anyways, she asked me to take a picture of her shooting my Bersa.

I was a professional portrait photographer for over 13 years,,,
"This shouldn't be a problem." said I,,,
Until I looked at them.

A NRA certified instructor taught her the Isosceles stance,,,
This was in her Intro to Handguns class I paid for,,,
She took right to it and does it correctly,,,
But it looks really ungainly in print. :barf:

To take a good picture (suitable for framing) of her lovely armed self,,,
We had to revert to the hand on hip bullseye stance,,,
Then we did some Tomb Raider shots as well.

It's not like archery,,,
With a bow, if you are doing it correctly,,,
You just naturally look all graceful and majestic.

With a handgun,,,
If you are doing it correctly,,,
You have a strong resemblance to Quasimodo.

Go figure.

But in all seriousness,,,
If anyone wants to improve their stance,,,
Having someone shoot a quick video of you will be a great help.

Aarond

CDH · June 1, 2011, 03:14 PM

I'm having a hard time trying to visualize what the OP is describing in the changed stance, but one thing that helped my wife was to modify her stance to incorporate the Center Axis Relock stance.

I've added C.A.R. positions to my defensive possibilities and find that I can get on target faster, and shoot more accurately even if cross dominant.

Here's a vid that gives you a better idea what I'm talking about:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbg-Qo8djOA

9mm · June 1, 2011, 03:22 PM

Right hand shooter, left foot foward right foot back. Right arm all the way forward and locked, left hand lose.

g.willikers · June 1, 2011, 04:06 PM

The C.A.R. technique is surely something different.
Thanks for the post and link to it.
Like the fellow said, it's primarily for very close quarters.

wogpotter · June 1, 2011, 05:07 PM

Quote:

Right hand shooter, left foot forward right foot back. Right arm all the way forward and locked, left hand lose.

You went to the same school as I did, & with the same caliber as well.

Basically you lock the right arm rigid, like a stock, pull back with the off hand & align along the strong arm. Unfortunately this cocks the head when you go for a weld to the upper strong side arm.
Standing more square on & using both arms rigid removes the cant of the head so the glasses lenses are proportionally much higher up in relation to the sights.

Mobuck · June 2, 2011, 08:03 AM

I've never attended a "class" but I've shot quite a lot. After my hand surgery I shot lefty using the right eye holding the pistol straight out from my body with the left hand and right cast. It worked as well with either hand/eye combination. One hand bullseye works equally well with cross eye dominance. One of my Grandsons has hand/eye dominance issues and gets into some strange contortions trying to shoot. When he gets a little older and has more established preferences, I'll work on him to choose one side or the other. As a past shooting coach, I've found that some things work themselves out once the shooter gets more comfortable with the gun. This doesn't condone poor shooting habits but I've seen some nonconformists shooting very well.

June 1, 2011, 12:43 PM	#1
wogpotter Senior Member Join Date: September 27, 2004 Posts: 4,811	Cross dominant, or standing funny? Mods even though this is in regard to a revolver the same should apply to a self-stuffer, so I put it here. Feel free to relocate if you can find a better fit. Seriously, I've never come across this till recently & never seen a thread on the subject. Do you think you may be cross dominant (left eye right hand, or vice versa)? If so you may want to re think your stance, especially if you wear corrective lenses. Sounds daft doesn't it, I thought so too till I tried this & it fixed the problem. Let me explain a bit. I mainly shoot rifle & am right eye/right handed, OK all's fine there, but recently I was practicing dry firing at a mirror with a revolver & noticed I was cocking my head & using the left eye to sight with. After doing some checking it turns out I was cocking my head so I could look over the top of the frame of the left lens so I could get a sharp front sight picture & didn't even realize it. The cure was to switch from a 45 degree foot placement to the firing line & a rigid right arm to a parallel foot placement & Isosceles arm position. What this did was change the relationship between eye, optical portion of the lens being used & the sights! I'm no longer cross dominant for 2-handed pistol shooting. Worth checking out IMHO. Last edited by wogpotter; June 1, 2011 at 12:52 PM.

June 1, 2011, 12:51 PM	#2
aarondhgraham Senior Member Join Date: December 1, 2009 Location: Stillwater, OKlahoma Posts: 8,638	Wanna really be scared?,,, Have someone take a video of you shooting,,, What I thought was "perfect" stance,,, Looked like I was on drugs. Aarond __________________ Never ever give an enemy the advantage of a verbal threat. Caje: The coward dies a thousand times, the brave only once. Kirby: That's about all it takes, ain't it? Aarond is good,,, Aarond is wise,,, Always trust Aarond! (most of the time)

June 1, 2011, 01:05 PM	#4
aarondhgraham Senior Member Join Date: December 1, 2009 Location: Stillwater, OKlahoma Posts: 8,638	One of the young ladies,,, That I am teaching to shoot,,, Actually I'm not so much teaching as facilitating,,, Anyways, she asked me to take a picture of her shooting my Bersa. I was a professional portrait photographer for over 13 years,,, "This shouldn't be a problem." said I,,, Until I looked at them. A NRA certified instructor taught her the Isosceles stance,,, This was in her Intro to Handguns class I paid for,,, She took right to it and does it correctly,,, But it looks really ungainly in print. :barf: To take a good picture (suitable for framing) of her lovely armed self,,, We had to revert to the hand on hip bullseye stance,,, Then we did some Tomb Raider shots as well. It's not like archery,,, With a bow, if you are doing it correctly,,, You just naturally look all graceful and majestic. With a handgun,,, If you are doing it correctly,,, You have a strong resemblance to Quasimodo. Go figure. But in all seriousness,,, If anyone wants to improve their stance,,, Having someone shoot a quick video of you will be a great help. Aarond __________________ Never ever give an enemy the advantage of a verbal threat. Caje: The coward dies a thousand times, the brave only once. Kirby: That's about all it takes, ain't it? Aarond is good,,, Aarond is wise,,, Always trust Aarond! (most of the time)

June 1, 2011, 12:54 PM	#3
wogpotter Senior Member Join Date: September 27, 2004 Posts: 4,811	The range video (with a remote camera, no-one downrange) was how I confirmed I did this for real. You're right I did look like there was something ahem "Challenged" about me

June 1, 2011, 03:14 PM	#5
CDH Senior Member Join Date: August 18, 2005 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 941	I'm having a hard time trying to visualize what the OP is describing in the changed stance, but one thing that helped my wife was to modify her stance to incorporate the Center Axis Relock stance. I've added C.A.R. positions to my defensive possibilities and find that I can get on target faster, and shoot more accurately even if cross dominant. Here's a vid that gives you a better idea what I'm talking about: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbg-Qo8djOA

June 1, 2011, 03:22 PM	#6
9mm Senior Member Join Date: January 9, 2011 Location: Land of the Free Posts: 2,834	Right hand shooter, left foot foward right foot back. Right arm all the way forward and locked, left hand lose.

June 1, 2011, 04:06 PM	#7
g.willikers Senior Member Join Date: September 28, 2008 Posts: 10,442	The C.A.R. technique is surely something different. Thanks for the post and link to it. Like the fellow said, it's primarily for very close quarters.

June 2, 2011, 08:03 AM	#9
Mobuck Junior member Join Date: February 2, 2010 Posts: 6,846	I've never attended a "class" but I've shot quite a lot. After my hand surgery I shot lefty using the right eye holding the pistol straight out from my body with the left hand and right cast. It worked as well with either hand/eye combination. One hand bullseye works equally well with cross eye dominance. One of my Grandsons has hand/eye dominance issues and gets into some strange contortions trying to shoot. When he gets a little older and has more established preferences, I'll work on him to choose one side or the other. As a past shooting coach, I've found that some things work themselves out once the shooter gets more comfortable with the gun. This doesn't condone poor shooting habits but I've seen some nonconformists shooting very well.