Anyone switch from RH to LH due to eye issues?

[tpcollins]

I'm RH and left eye dominant but stayed shooting RH. During a recent eye exam it was found I have macula edema in the right eye - the crosshairs look wiggly. Steroid shots didn't close up the blood vessel that's leaking so on the 12th I start a series of shots injected into my friggin' eyeball . I've been told not to expect my vision to return in my right eye, just to keep it from getting worse.

So I'm contemplating switching to shooting left hand as that eye is sharp as a tack. My rifles are all rh bolt actions that could present difficulties, the red dot on my turkey gun shouldn't be a problem nor my muzzleloader, or shooting my scoped crossbows - not sure about the cartridges from my AR15 whizzing past in front my nose though.

So I'm wondering if anyone has had to switch in their later years and how it went? I was thinking of getting a BB gun or air rifle with a scope that I could practice with all summer to get used to the switch. Any recommendations would be appreciated.

[O4L]

I had a switch from LH to RH when I started shooting AR rifles.

I am right handed but always shot long guns left handed because I am left eye dominant.

I had no problem with the switch and using a red dot made even easier.

I have a bolt action shotgun I was given as a teenager and I could bust doubles with it shooting left handed. It just took practice.

[big al hunter]

I am right hand and right eye dominant. While I have not had the eye problem you have, I do have some encouraging experiences. I teach hunter education and as part of continuing training I attended a shotgun class. The instructor made us shoot to our non-dominant hand to create an awkward situation so we could relate to first time shooters. I learned that making my hands do things backwards was far easier than making my left eye do the right eyes job. Your situation is that your dominant eye will now do what it should have all along. It should be an easy transition.

I have a friend that is right hand, left eye dominant. He grew up shooting his dad's right hand bolt actions. He shoots on the left and turns the gun on its side to work the action. He is almost as fast as I am. A little practice and you should be back in business.

As far as your AR15 goes....I can give you the address to my FFL and you can send it to me care of them

[SSA]

I'm having trouble with my right eye. Switched to shooting handguns right hand, left eye. No problem.
Still using my right eye with scopes. A heavy crosshair and a fast focus eyepiece helps.

[T. O'Heir]

"...when I started shooting AR rifles..." Whatever for? Been shooting everything long(including MG's and assorted battle rifles) left handed for eons with zero bother. Laughed when I overheard a militia kid telling his buddy it was impossible to shoot a C1A1 left. Asked him how I managed to shoot expert with one.
"...contemplating switching to shooting left hand..." Only thing you can do is try it. It might feel odd for a while but you'll probably adapt without much fuss. Mind you, you may want to wait until you see what happens with the shots.

[Damon555]

I'm a mess.....I'm left handed but right eye dominant. I shoot rifles right handed but shoot handguns left handed but always sighted with my right eye.....As I've progressed in age (now 46) my eyesight, especially my right eye, has been going down hill.....the typical down hill, reading glasses are now almost always required for close up work.

Over the last few weeks I've been using my left eye when shooting my handguns.....I now actually shoot handguns better using my left eye....If you can teach yourself to shoot rifles left handed the eye dominance problem should not be an issue....switching eyes wasn't difficult for me any way.

As far as rifle shooting goes the hardest part of shooting left handed for me was the feel of the trigger with my left hand.....It's funny that it never bothered me with a handgun....but many (most) of my rifles have target weight triggers in them and I have a tendency to over power them with my left index finger.

Don't worry, switching can be done. Once you get used to it you'll be much happier.....being able to actually see the sights or cross hairs will put a smile on your face.

[chuckscap]

My oldest son found out he was left eye dominant when he was 16 so I bought him a LH BDL in 270. When he went into the Army he asked the drill sergeant if they had any LH M4s. The drill sergeant said "Sure they look just like the right handed ones" He did fine, 4 years in the rangers, now in college

[dakota.potts]

Sort of.

I am left eye dominant and I believe it's because of astigmatism in my right eye (I have both, but significant in the right eye). I notice in every day usage that my right eye will try to be dominant but quickly becomes fatigue. Since this was caught when I started shooting, I just learned to shoot with my left eye. Left hand for rifles and shotguns, right hand for pistols, all with the left eye. The only downside is I get made fun of for being wrong handed.

[NoSecondBest]

A few years ago I decided to try shooting everything left handed for a while to see what it was like. Surprisingly, I adjusted quite quickly to shooting left handed even though I'm right eye dominant. Shotgun was a bit weird at first but after a dozen or so trips to the skeet field I was doing about as well left handed as right handed. It didn't even feel awkward after a while. We use our left hands a lot more than we realize. No one is actually completely limited to using just one hand over the other. I think you'll be fine after trying it for a while. Just stick with it.

[FITASC]

If you are left eye dominant, then shoot from that side/eye.

My rifles are all rh bolt actions that could present difficulties,

Why? I am LH/left eye and most of my rifles are RH bolts and semis, as are some shotguns. No biggie. In fact, I find it easier to keep the rifle in my LH by the wrist and work the bolt with the right hand.

[tpcollins]

Damon555 - "As far as rifle shooting goes the hardest part of shooting left handed for me was the feel of the trigger with my left hand"

Well I'm going to go to Cabelas tomorrow to get a Gamo Tac air rile on sale to learn to shoot left handed this summer. I'll probably pull the scope off and put on an old Redfield Illuminator I still have.

Funny thing about the shooting with the left trigger finger - in 2008 (I was at the hospital watching the Redwings win the cup) we were getting ready for new carpeting in the living room so I was cutting up the old to take it out in rolls. I had the old fashion trim knife and the razor blade slipped thru the front halves and cut the top half of my trigger finger down to the bone!

It's still numb and I can't feel anything in the top half. I do have to sort of roll that finger to get the bottom half onto the trigger. Maybe I'll be able to squeeze the trigger better with the left. I ought to be able to see better anyway!

[jmr40]

My brother has the same issue. He switched to LH years ago for long guns. He still shoots handguns with his right hand. There was a learning curve and a time where he shot worse from the other side. But once mastered he now shoots much better than before.

[NoSecondBest]

If you think that you're right handed and doing things left handed will be awkward, think about this: Do you shoot a bow? How awkward is it to hold the bow with your left hand and shoot it? Now it's awkward to shoot it in the other hand, isn't it? We train ourselves pretty easily to switch hands and if we don't dwell on it, it isn't that hard. When I switched hands with the shotgun for a while I ended up shooting some straights on skeet doing it that way. Stay calm and give it a bit of time. You CAN switch. My South African buddy told me I was "amphibious", I could do it with either hand....his private joke

[old roper]

tpcollins, I'm left eye dominant and right handed and I'll be 75 next month.

I don't ever remember anyone in my early years or anything that would make me want to change if I had known about it. I shot BR right handed. I use to rope and lot of team ropers are left handed but rope right handed and has nothing to do which eye is dominant same when I was in the Marines. You could shoot left handed but all rifle drills was based on right handed.

I learned lot over the years and I shoot bow left handed also have couple Ruger #1 that I can shoot left handed so I'm covered if something happens to my right eye. One of my 30-338mag is #1 and couple #1 use for varmints and those were good options for left handed for me.

[tpcollins]

I went down to Cabelas this morning and bought a Gamo TAC Whisper air rifle which I thought would be an inexpensive way to learn to shoot left handed - regularly $280 on sale for $150.

Got it home and took a look at the included 4x32 scope and then put that piece of junk right back in the box! So I mounted a Redfield 2-7 Illuminator I had and took a shot at the eye chart in the back yard that I've been using to check my screwed up right eye. 1st shot was 2" right, 7 1/2" low, so I adjusted for the MOA clicks based on the 15 yard distance. 2nd shot almost hit the V in the center I was aiming at.

I'll be a left handed shooting fool by this fall.

[Damon555]

Yes sir....even with the loss of feeling in your trigger finger I don't see why you won't be able to train you left hand to handle the action. It sounds like you are already making progress.....that sure didn't take much!

[FITASC]

Just remember that most air rifles have a two-way recoil which regular scopes cannot handle for any period of time.

[lefteye]

I am RH and left eye dominant. I'm 70 and switched to left hand long gun shooting more than 60 years ago. The result was like magic and allowed me to enjoy many years of hunting. I also shoot my compound bows left handed. I can't do anything else left handed. (I always pick up my beer bottle with my right hand.)

[Mobuck]

Other options?
Last fall, I was contacted by a hunter who was losing the sight in his right eye but wished to continue to shoot from his right shoulder. I guided him through the mods to make this happen.

[tpcollins]

[QUOTE]Mobuck - Other options?
Last fall, I was contacted by a hunter who was losing the sight in his right eye but wished to continue to shoot from his right shoulder. I guided him through the mods to make this happen./QUOTE]

What exactly were these mods?

[Mobuck]

"What exactly were these mods?"
Basically an offset sight(scope or red dot) that aligns with the still functional eye with the rifle/shotgun mounted of the opposite shoulder. Dates back to the 19th century using a severe cast off stock bend.
This is an off-shoot(no pun intended)of my design for assisted sighting mods for blind shooters.

[tpcollins]

[QUOTE]"What exactly were these mods?"

Basically an offset sight(scope or red dot) that aligns with the still functional eye with the rifle/shotgun mounted of the opposite shoulder. Dates back to the 19th century using a severe cast off stock bend.
This is an off-shoot(no pun intended)of my design for assisted sighting mods for blind shooters./QUOTE]



I have a pair offset rings coming from china - mainly used to mount a light on the side of an AR15's rail but the offset is about an 1" from the bore. I'm going to see if it will work mounted on one of my crossbows that uses a Zeiss XB75 scope, and allow me to shoot right handed and looking thru the scope with my left eye - sort of like "The Pigman".

There's not a big problem right now with a standard plex reticle, the problem exists with a fine vertical crosshair with numerous chevrons like in crossbow scopes and the RX-800 bdc reticle in the Zeiss I just bought.

[Mobuck]

That may work for you, if you get the spacing right. The key is getting things lined up so your sighting eye is pretty well looking through the center of the optic. Adjusting the horizontal spacing may be accomplished by using "scope riser" spacers but care must be taken to keep the number of "interface" connections to a minimum. Tolerance stacking can put you beyond the adjustment capability of your optic.
The mods I used for blind shooters are/were precision made in a high tech machine shop and were as close to parallel as possible. These assisted sighting devices made shooting @ 300 meters workable.

[Road_Clam]

I am currently training myself to shoot ambi. My traditional shooting is RH, right eye dominant but my right eye is much poorer than my left vision wise. I have extremely poor eyesight but I am learning to overcome and shoot reasonable. I shoot optics RH very well and I am forcing myself to learn irons shooting LH. Sighting irons with my left eye I am ok out to 300 yds then things get too fuzzy. I tried shooting my M1A at 600 yds and that was a no go. I only hit paper 2 out of 5 shots (but at least I was close). Changing shooting holds will be initially very frustrating as everything feels all wrong at first but after trigger time things will start to feel more at one with the rifle. I had to make some ambi control mods to my AR-15 to shoot LH but it can be done. Shooting ambi is a great skillset to learn and not many shooters can perform well. You don't necessarily have to use your right eye for RH shooting. When I shoot my K98 Mauser with the optic, the sight line of the scope is very high. I've learned to simply use my left eye shooting RH and it works excellent for me. Same goes for my offset scope mount for my M1 Garand. Shoot RH, sight with my left eye.

[lefteye]

Road Clam, I wish you good luck! I can't do anything left handed but learned to shoot long guns left handed because my left eye is dominant. Oops, I also shoot compound bows left handed. I NEVER shoot a handgun left handed.