Hello all! Brand new member here.....I have recently discovered the Appleseed project through a Ron Paul forum. Im hoping to make the July 4 even in Ramseur. I shot on a smallbore rifle team in high school but have only pulled 15 or 20 triggers since then (high school was 15 years ago). I just purchased a gently used 10/22 and looking forward....!
I am right handed but left eye dominant. Honestly, I dont remember how I shot back in the day but I know it was right-HANDED. I have read about a few ways to tackle this, but unsure what might be best. Seems like going lefty might be best. Ive not really tried but want to start practicing correctly.
Any thoughts/advice appreciated.
I saw a guy at Ramseur this weekend with a black eye patch over his eye (only while shooting) and I never asked why he did that. Could be he also has this issue and solve it by forcing himself to use the right eye. Maybe he can chime in here if reads this thread.
Close your left eye. That is how I do it.
Quote from: ornell on April 21, 2008, 01:37:07 PM
Close your left eye. That is how I do it.
And how I do it - left eye dominant but I shoot righty. I also have a Weaver K7 scope on my Liberty Training Rifle since my prescription isn't the best for iron sights. You could also, if you wear glasses, put a piece of black tape on the left lens, or talk to your optometrist - he might have a shield that you could have to slide over the lens while shooting.
For pistol shooting, now, I just cock my head to the right so that I can only see the sights with my left eye. Sounds awkward, but if you practice it for just one afternoon, it'll be an ingrained habit and you will never again have to think about it.
IMNSHO, the 4 best ways to deal with it are:
Close your dominant eye.
Use a Patch.
Use a scope.
Learn to shoot left handed.
You obviously only need to do one of them, but, they ALL work.
I'm same as you: Right hand, left eye.
On an iron-sight rifle that permits it, I would shoot left handed.
If it's a right-handed bolt gun, it gets a scope so I can shoot it right-handed. The scope does a good job of letting the weak eye take control, for the most part. The dominant eye still does occasionally try to rule the roost, resulting in some mighty strange sight pictures as the non-magnified picture it sees is superimposed on the magnified picture that the weak eye sees, but this only happens when I get very tired and is easily managed by closing the strong eye for a moment.
If a rifle is scoped but can be shot left handed (that is, it's not a bolt gun), I will probably shoot it right-handed anyway, and reserve left-handed shooting just for iron sights.
Clear as mud? :)
You should probably listen to the smart guys. I just make this stuff up as I go.
What Nickle said. Any of the four will work.
I've had the best success among my trainees with the "patch" method, a piece of masking tape over the left lens of your shooting glasses is so quick and cheap that it's probably the one to try first.
I am cross-dominant as well.
I use "Scotch" tape on the left eye of my shooting glasses. I think this works better than opaque tape or an eye patch, because it lets light through without letting the left eye focus on anything. This lessens fatigue because the eyes are not trying to coordinate their dilation for one bright environment and one dark.
Swampfox
Swampfox may have the ultimate answer. Use whatever minimizes extra stress and fatigue, because you have so many things to think about in a short period of time anyway.
Sight alignment/sight picture, breathing, focus, squeeze, deciding ahead of time to hold the trigger back and take the mental snapshot.
If it were easy, everyone could do it the first day. As is, almost everyone can do it, but they have to work at it.
Good luck!
Wow! Thanks for all the responses. Seems Im not as alone on this as I thought. :)
Sounds like most tend to favor retaining a rightHAND stance and working with the weaker eye. I was under the impression that it was somewhat imperative to use the dominant eye and keep both eyes open, but apparently not. Shooting lefty would be the only way to do that I reckon. BTW, How do lefties handle bolt actions?
Thanks again all. I plan on shooting a bit this weekend and will post back what seems to work best for me.
We found out this weekend that my wife is cross eye dominant.
She went from having no hits on the target (or the backing for that matter) to getting 7 out of 10 once she realized how to compensate. She ended up shooting with her left (dominant) eye closed, she did have to concentrate on keeping it closed at first. By the afternoon's end it was almost second nature.
This was our first Appleseed as well.
Thanks again didactic!
QuoteBTW, How do lefties handle bolt actions?
Cover or close the dominant eye, or use a scope.
I recall reading of South-paw or cross-dominant shooters who work a bolt gun "wrong handed" by reaching over the rifle from the other side. I don't know if that's truly practical--haven't tried it.
Quote from: Wayne Conrad on April 21, 2008, 07:55:40 PM
I recall reading of South-paw or cross-dominant shooters who work a bolt gun "wrong handed" by reaching over the rifle from the other side. I don't know if that's truly practical--haven't tried it.
I am a rightie without the use of my right eye. I learned to shoot leftie with a rifle when I was barely past a toddler. I shunned bolt actions for that reason for most of my life (I'll be 35 this month). When I was in my early 20's I discovered the method mentioned above and it works fine. Watch the sniper in
Saving Private Ryan for a good example. It doesn't work so well with a Mosin-Nagant, but I can't even use one of those right-handed. Darn short arms! But yes, it is truly practical. I'll challenge any rightie to a speed contest with a bolt gun.
Clod
Closing the dominant eye will work, for a while at least.
People often report a nasty headache after doing this, since it makes the muscles work extra hard to keep the dominant eye closed while the non-dominant eye is open. Yes, this can be trained away, but most people won't put up with the headache while doing the training.
Switching to shoot on the side of the dominant eye works, but is best for kids caught early. It is very hard to retrain someone over 25 -30 unless they are VERY interested.
A scope will work, but it is not learning the "Rifleman Method" with iron sights, which every shooter SHOULD know.
Using a patch will work just fine, but some people report fighting it and not liking the loss of peripheral vision from that eye.
As someone suggested, and since we are ALL wearing glasses on the line,(everyone is, aren't they?) you can try Scotch Tape, Onion Skin Paper/Tracing paper or a section of plastic milk carton (the translucent ones, not the solid colored ones) to block forward vision without hurting side and peripheral vision.
Buckshot
What Nickle said, EXCEPT for the patch. I close my weak eye anyway.
Really depends on the dgree of dominance. You may be able to train-up a weak eye,,,but if the weak eye is truly defecient, as in defective, go with your good peeper,,,and don't look back.
I've been shooting for over 30 years with cross dominance with out any problems. I didn't even realize it was a problem until a few years ago someone told me it was a problem. >:( I just close my dominante eye. In fact I have come to believe that it is actually an advantage because if I need to see something in front of me while I'm shooting I just open my dominant eye and look. I don't have to break my position to do it.
A Rifleman will adapt and overcome.
Todd
Thanks all! I never imagined I would get so many responses. :) I swear when I shot in high school I must have had enough room to cock my head over and look through my left eye. I just want to get started and not have to unlearn bad habits.
The scotch tape method is good but a patch made out of a peice of milk jug can be fashioned with heat to fit over your glasses. Easly removed at cease fire and reinstalled during the prep period.
Clodhopper
As you can see from my handle, I fight the same issue. I'm rapidly approaching 50 and wear bi-focals too.
I'm a left eye dominate right hander. My solution is very low tech, I close my left eye and shoot rightie. Since most rifles are designed for the right handed, I'd have to reverse engineer it to shoot leftie. I can still focus pretty well on the front sight, probably from my bifocal reading lens and just aim at the six o'clock of the blurry target image.
I'm have hit my rifleman score yet, but it is more of a six step issue than a visual one. I've heard about the scotch tape over the dominate eye trick but have not tried it.
Great ideas here. Like Xeyed said, it is probably best to stay right HANDED if at all possible. I really do feel more comfortable right handed but sure do want to look out my left eye. I dont wear glasses and have an aversion to sunglasses but the idea of letting light into my left eye makes sense. I sure see how closing an eye for prolonged periods can cause discomfort. Im just excited to start shooting (again)!
EDIT: Im probably making much ado about nothing. ;)
Quote from: clodhopper on April 25, 2008, 12:32:16 AM
The scotch tape method is good but a patch made out of a peice of milk jug can be fashioned with heat to fit over your glasses.
That's one of those "Why didn't I think of that?" things. I'll have to try and fashion something like that this weekend.
Thanks for the suggestion.
Quote from: luke-gr on April 25, 2008, 11:18:51 AM
Great ideas here. Like Xeyed said, it is probably best to stay right HANDED if at all possible. I really do feel more comfortable right handed but sure do want to look out my left eye. I dont wear glasses and have an aversion to sunglasses but the idea of letting light into my left eye makes sense. I sure see how closing an eye for prolonged periods can cause discomfort. Im just excited to start shooting (again)!
EDIT: Im probably making much ado about nothing. ;)
Luke-gr,
What do you mean you don't wear glasses? You have your safety glasses on, don't you? They are MANDATORY most places.
Buckshot
Nuff sed.