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Shooting right hand, left eye dominant with scope
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Along with getting old, I have an eye disease (CSR) with causes small blisters on the retina. After several years of treatment, the eye is stable, but my retina has scare tissue, which distorts my vision, even with glasses. I am right handed, and have never shot a rifle left handed.

Do any of you shoot right handed with a left eye dominant? My other option is to start shooting left handed which would force me to get a new rifle (good), but may take some time. Any thoughts?

Thanks,
 
Posts: 551 | Location: utah | Registered: 17 December 2007Reply With Quote
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First, let me say I am sorry for the vision problems and hope they find a viable treatment to reverse it.

I have seen some young shooters with a cross dominance try to shoot right handed while sighting the left eye through a scope and the results were not good. I trained one to close the left eye and use the rt. to sight with and it helped some. He never was very good with a rifle but better than his first awkward shooting position. I would advise you to start shooting your right handed rifles left handed until the time you can obtain a left handed model so that you will learn muscle memory which will help you to shoot more accurately left handed. I believe if you train your reflexes this way and eventually become more comfortable with this you will become a better shooter than doing a cross-over. Hope this helps.


Dennis
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Posts: 1191 | Location: Ft. Morgan, CO | Registered: 15 April 2005Reply With Quote
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The theory is that it's easier to retrain your hand than the eye ! I did meet a woman shotgunner who was completing the transition. The transition was a nightmare as she had shot for years strong handed . This is , I assume ,mostly a muscle memory problem!
 
Posts: 7636 | Registered: 10 October 2002Reply With Quote
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I've always been like that. Trying to shoot right-handed is possible for me but exceptionally awkward, so I sympathize for anyone having to relearn anything like this.

Not sure why I am like that. Back in my school days, for the life of me I could not punt a football with the right foot. I'd about fall down trying. But off a tee, I could not do so with the left.


Bobby
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Posts: 9443 | Location: Shiner TX USA | Registered: 19 March 2002Reply With Quote
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I am right handed, left eye dominant. This is great for shooting handguns as it has sav d me from many hits to the forehead.

I have worked for many years to be able to shoot a long gun from either shoulder. It was difficult at first, but has become easy to do.



If ignorance is bliss; there are some blissful sonofaguns around here. We know who you are, so no reason to point yourselves out.
 
Posts: 2389 | Registered: 19 July 2002Reply With Quote
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I am right handed and left eye dominant. I shoot right handed and use my right eye. I don't think I could ever shot left handed.
 
Posts: 3811 | Location: san angelo tx | Registered: 18 November 2009Reply With Quote
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I am naturally right handed, ( was ) right eye dominant, and was shooting right handed until twelve years old when my right eye was surgically removed. For a few of my adolescent years I shot right handed but off my left shoulder useing my left eye. Less than ideal but somehow I made it work. Left handed rifles appeared around my young adulthood ( late 70's, early 80's ) and eventually I decided to force myself to shoot left handed with lefty rifles. I was pleasantly surprised by how little time this seemed to take and it soon felt completely natural. I don't know if similar transition would occur in more senior years but as one poster suggested I think first regularly practising left handed / left eye shooting with your right bolt rifles is worth trying to see if it is at least doable, and perhaps even better, training your muscles to become accustomed. Loss of some faculties is not total disaster as I believe the human body capable of a degree of compensation. Hopefully you might find this to be true. I am sorry to hear of your situation and am interested to know how things work out for you. Good luck.


Hunting.... it's not everything, it's the only thing.
 
Posts: 2108 | Location: New Zealand's North Island | Registered: 13 November 2014Reply With Quote
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I'm right handed/left eyed. I shoot rifles right handed with my right eye. I often have to close or squint my left eye though.

Shotgunning is a little trickier but I do OK shooting right hand and eye there too.

I also practice shooting rifles left handed.
 
Posts: 481 | Location: Midwest USA | Registered: 14 November 2008Reply With Quote
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I am a very right handed person who is very left eye dominant.

I shoot rifle and shotgun left - I tired shooting right handed was close to impossible. So now for 35 years I shoot left handed. It's the only activity I am comfortable do I no left handed.

I think transitioning after a certain age more that sight view thru optics one just has to get used to taking out years of muscle memory of doing things one way.

Mike
 
Posts: 13145 | Location: Cocoa Beach, Florida | Registered: 22 July 2010Reply With Quote
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quote:
I am a very right handed person who is very left eye dominant.

In your case, that's the least of your problems :-)
 
Posts: 20175 | Location: Very NW NJ up in the Mountains | Registered: 14 June 2009Reply With Quote
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Originally posted by Jon Beutler:
My other option is to start shooting left handed which would force me to get a new rifle (good), but may take some time. Any thoughts?

Thanks,


There are thousands if not millions of shooters who shoot left handed with right handed rifles including myself. Why do you suggest you would need a new rifle?

I would never change to a left handed rifle, I am so used to and practiced with shooting right handed rifles as a lefty and can operate such quickly and accurately on multiple targets if need be.
The advantage is I can shoot any rifle comfortably, and probably a left handed rifle would feel awkward to me, I've never had any inclination to try one.

Often it is said that being able to reload while the gun is still on the shoulder is an advantage, it doesn't take viewing too many videos of right handed shooters in hunting situations to see that invariably they take the gun down off the shoulder to reload or make a hash of reloading hurriedly while the gun is up on the shoulder.

Watch Buzz Carlton in elephant charging shots, he takes his rifle down off the shoulder to reload, another I have off this forum is both hunter and guide reloading with their rifles down off the shoulder as a buffalo presses on with its charge.

I hope you can find a good compromise but don't feel you 'need' a new rifle (unless you just want one).
 
Posts: 3928 | Location: Rolleston, Christchurch, New Zealand | Registered: 03 August 2009Reply With Quote
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Get the 22rf out and brick of cartridges and go and play. You know how to shoot, and the principles are the same for either eye and either hand. First couple of sessions will feel awkward, but persevere and suddenly the brain will work it out, muscle memory takes over and you will be able to shoot just as well off the other shoulder.

I would try and shoot little groups - you will just disappoint yourself. Use a breaking target - small clay pigeons or a steel gong and little and often wins the race.
 
Posts: 987 | Location: Scotland | Registered: 28 February 2011Reply With Quote
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I dont know what caliber rifle you like to use but this may not be very pleasant with a hard recoiling rifle but you could increase the drop and or raise the height of the scope and use your off side eye. i have thought about getting a tube gun and arranging the stock so that i could use my right eye. i am left handed and had shingles scar my left eye and am 62 yrs old and dont care to start shooting right handed. i can shoot a daisey b b gun left hand right eye.
 
Posts: 241 | Registered: 15 January 2010Reply With Quote
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For the last few years I have been trying to cope with loss of vision in my right eye. I have tried to learn to shoot left handed, but I have also attempted to modify one of my rifles to allow shooting off the right shoulder, but aiming with the left eye.

Using my Griffin & Howe Springfield, I modified the top slide of the side mount using rings meant for the M1C sniper rifle, with the scope offset to allow for clip loading the Garand rifle.

Using both techniques, I accounted for nine deer this season, six shooting left handed and three with the modified Springfield. It is sighted in at 100 yards, and the horizontal deviation at 150 yards is insignificant on a target the size of a deer. This is how it looks:


There is enough clearance to allow for clip loading, if I should so desire.

Since I have 10-12 rifles with Griffin & Howe side mounts, ranging in caliber from .250-3000 Savage to .450 Watts, this gives me a solution to the problem of how to make use of them.
 
Posts: 1748 | Registered: 27 March 2007Reply With Quote
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good idea xausa.i usually shoot right hand rifles but i only need to set up one rifle for this.there are probably quite a few people with this problem. i might try a picatinny base mount and stack some risers on if that can be done.
 
Posts: 241 | Registered: 15 January 2010Reply With Quote
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