I'm right handed, but left eye dominant. I'm having trouble aiming very well at even short distances with iron sites. Since all I'm comfortable with is right hand shooting, what should I do to help my aiming? Should I begin retraining to shoot lefty? Scout scope? Something else
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
Cross eye dominant shooting
- Thread starter Medic101
- Start date
I recommend learning to shoot left-handed based on more than 60 years of experience. I am right-handed and can do nothing left-handed except shooting rifles, shotguns and compound bows. I fear trying to lift a cup of coffee with my left hand. I certainly don't enjoy having left eye dominance while being right-handed but I am convinced that shooting long guns left-handed is much better than closing (or blocking) my left eye to shoot right handed. Shooting left-handed has enabled me to take many ducks, geese, pheasants, quail, rabbits, squirrels, pronghorn antelope, whitetails, a few Mule deer, one black bear and two 5 X 5 elk. I wish you good luck.
Wow interesting. How long did it take you, before you felt comfortable shooting right handed? I'm right handed and left eye dominant. I'm thinking of switching, to see what happens.The advice above is excellent. I’m left handed and right eye dominant.
After getting tired of shotgun shells and semi cartridges hitting me in the face, I switched. Now I’ve shot so much right handed that left handed now feels strange.
I'm an amateur at best - take this for what it is.
The issue with going lefty is not every rifle you will pickup is gonna be lefty or maybe even available that way - brass may be winging by your face or the controls may not make sense.
Many people who are not cross dominant still close their eye with any sight or scope and some shoot very well - the issue is more with speed of acquisition, or a lack of seeing what else is going on (or in the heat of the moment shooting poorly since you will tend to open both eyes under stress)..
One fix is ditch the iron sights, if needed just set the optic a bit higher than you would otherwise, and you should be able to look down it with your left eye on a right hand rifle. AR's make this more difficult because the bore is already low compared to the stock, so the ergonomics are worse and the optic needs to be further raised, other rifles might require no such added height. I was handed a scoped mini 30 the other day and instinctively I sighted up with my left eye and it all fit, no special setup needed on that one...
Another fix is learn to block out the image of your dominant eye - don't ask me how, I've tried and tried and just gives me a headache, but supposedly you can learn that too.
The issue with going lefty is not every rifle you will pickup is gonna be lefty or maybe even available that way - brass may be winging by your face or the controls may not make sense.
Many people who are not cross dominant still close their eye with any sight or scope and some shoot very well - the issue is more with speed of acquisition, or a lack of seeing what else is going on (or in the heat of the moment shooting poorly since you will tend to open both eyes under stress)..
One fix is ditch the iron sights, if needed just set the optic a bit higher than you would otherwise, and you should be able to look down it with your left eye on a right hand rifle. AR's make this more difficult because the bore is already low compared to the stock, so the ergonomics are worse and the optic needs to be further raised, other rifles might require no such added height. I was handed a scoped mini 30 the other day and instinctively I sighted up with my left eye and it all fit, no special setup needed on that one...
Another fix is learn to block out the image of your dominant eye - don't ask me how, I've tried and tried and just gives me a headache, but supposedly you can learn that too.
My younger brother has the same issue. He learned to shoot left handed. It took a while, but it made a big difference.
He tried to base his gun purchases on guns that were lefty friendly for a while, but even gave up on that. Most guns work well enough from either side. He bought one left handed bolt rifle but never liked it and now just uses right handed bolt rifles as well. As long as you avoid models with high rise cheek pieces that can only be fired from the right side it isn't a problem. With practice you can learn how to operate almost any of them from the other side.
He tried to base his gun purchases on guns that were lefty friendly for a while, but even gave up on that. Most guns work well enough from either side. He bought one left handed bolt rifle but never liked it and now just uses right handed bolt rifles as well. As long as you avoid models with high rise cheek pieces that can only be fired from the right side it isn't a problem. With practice you can learn how to operate almost any of them from the other side.
I'm right-handed, left eye dominant. I practice squinting my left eyelid. I can do it now pretty easily without affecting my right eyelid. When I'm using iron sights on a rifle (or shotgun) I keep both eyes open until just before the shot then lightly close the left eye lid forcing my right eye to take over. It may not be "textbook", but it has worked for close to 50 years of shooting.
I had to change from shooting left-handed to the right side (left eye started to go bad, but right eye was better than 20/20). This was back in the early 70's. I disciplined myself for the change over, and it didn't really take all that long, either. I just started with my old Ruger 10/22 with open sights and burned through enough ammo to get a comfortable "feel" on the new side. I was determined to make that switch, had a close enough place to shoot, and dedicated enough time to do it (.22 shells were still real cheap back then, too; not terribly bad these days, either). Now, it's just as though I never did shoot as a "lefty."
With enough time and determination, and with an open sighted .22, you may find the change-over way less difficult to accomplish than you think. I believe it'll be well worth your while to give it an earnest try (IMO).
With enough time and determination, and with an open sighted .22, you may find the change-over way less difficult to accomplish than you think. I believe it'll be well worth your while to give it an earnest try (IMO).
"Cross eye dominant shooting
Mostly a problem for shotgun shooters. For rifles, blur the dominant eye's lens of the shooting glasses and move on. For handgun shooters, simply use the dominant eye.
When shooting an open sight handgun, I shoot right handed using my left eye since it's a bit better w/o using prescription glasses.
Mostly a problem for shotgun shooters. For rifles, blur the dominant eye's lens of the shooting glasses and move on. For handgun shooters, simply use the dominant eye.
When shooting an open sight handgun, I shoot right handed using my left eye since it's a bit better w/o using prescription glasses.
Not that long. After about 3 shotgun shells in the face, the transition was instant and permanent. Probably 6 months to get ‘almost as good’.Wow interesting. How long did it take you, before you felt comfortable shooting right handed? I'm right handed and left eye dominant. I'm thinking of switching, to see what happens.
One thing I did notice was with a rifle, if I took my time in the prone position, I seemed more accurate shooting right handed almost immediately, but it felt weird for a while.
What kind of iron sights are you using? Typical 'V' and blade irons are not the best thing for anybody. They're put on because they're cheap to make. A peep rear will be better as you just look through the rear sight, not at it.
"...shells and semi cartridges hitting me in the face..." That's not caused by shooting a backwards firearm. Been shooting everything, SMG's and LMG's included, left handed for eons without ever having a case come close to my face. Did have an M1 clip exit straight up and come down on the bill of my hat though.
Oh and I'm left eye dominant. Shoot a long gun left. Hand guns right handed with both eye open.
"...shells and semi cartridges hitting me in the face..." That's not caused by shooting a backwards firearm. Been shooting everything, SMG's and LMG's included, left handed for eons without ever having a case come close to my face. Did have an M1 clip exit straight up and come down on the bill of my hat though.
Oh and I'm left eye dominant. Shoot a long gun left. Hand guns right handed with both eye open.
I have very poor eyesight, extremely near sighted. Right eye dominant, typically a RH shooter but my left eye is much stronger than my right. I've learned to shoot ambi. Handgun is not an issue as it's been easy to learn to shoot RH and sighting with my left eye. Shooting rifle optics I still shoot RH sight with my right eye as quality optics correct even the worst vision. Shooting irons has been the issue. It's been a long and frustrating road to learn to shoot LH but been forcing myself to shoot irons for about the past 4 years and i'm now at a level where I feel comfortable in my shooter hold. With my left eye I can comfortably shoot out to 200 meters, which is all I need to accomplish. My goal is to be proficient enough to shoot in my club's Garand matches. It is possible to shoot optics cross eyed but you need to set your scope up very high until you can obtain a nice sight picture. Good luck !
Last edited:
All my life I was right handed and right eye dominant. Then I lost the sight in my right eye. That left me right handed and left eye dominant. I couldn't make shooting long guns work...tried all kinds of sights...no go , so I stopped shooting....Until the day at the skeet range with my son's Boy Scouts troop . The fellow running the machine says come shoot some...I tell him I can't hit anything and explain circumstances...He says " shoot left handed" , I say what ? He takes me to the line, faces me as a left hander would stand, puts the gun to my left shoulder and says " shoot like this !" I'm thinking ...this will never work...he says keep the gun up and call pull when your ready... I say pull and as soon as I see the clay bird pull the trigger...I look and see nothing...I had powdered that bad boy, first shot !I'm right handed, but left eye dominant. I'm having trouble aiming very well at even short distances with iron sites. Since all I'm comfortable with is right hand shooting, what should I do to help my aiming? Should I begin retraining to shoot lefty? Scout scope? Something else
So here's the deal , shooting left handed is a lot easier than you think , squeezing a trigger is not like writing your name , it comes very easy.
The hard part for me is I tend to carry a shotgun or rifle in my right hand...the hard part is remembering to mount it on my left shoulder.
The answer is simply , shoot left handed...now even mounting a gun to my right shoulder fells strange . It's not hard to learn and believe me it's the simplest way to go.
Gary
Don Fischer
New member
Left eye dominate, shooting right hand all my life. Close your left eye!
Brian Pfleuger
Moderator Emeritus
Don Fischer said:Left eye dominate, shooting right hand all my life. Close your left eye!
Me too.
In fact, I'm so left eye dominant that my brain virtually ignores my right eye if I have both open. My right eye amounts to peripheral vision. I *can't* see sights in my right eye if both eyes are open. If I try to look through a scope with both eyes open, all I see is a faint "peripheral" view through the scope and mainly a crystal clear view down the left outside of it.
When I shoot handguns, I leave both eyes open and shoot right handed, left eyed... by tilting my head. It's not "proper" and I don't necessarily recommend it, but it works fine for me. I didn't even realize I was doing it for a long time.
When I first tried skeet shooting, the instructor was ADAMANT that we all shoot with both eyes open. After about 3 weeks I never hit more than 5. I was by no means a new shooter, and had ALWAYS shot right handed with my left eye closed. I asked the other instructor about it. He said "do what works". That week I hit 11. By the end of the class I was routinely hitting high teens and finished with 21 the last week.
Now, I have often considered simply shooting left handed. Honestly, I can't even tell you why I never switched. I *CAN* shoot left handed just fine. I've killed quite a few deer that came from the wrong direction, just by switching hands. I don't know why I never switched... too lazy I guess.
A shooter probably needs to keep both eyes open when shooting a handgun, rifle, or shotgun without a scope in order to perceive the depth of field. When shooting with a scope, the eye that is not aligned with the center of the scope is almost irrelevant to the accuracy of the shot. I suspect the depth of field vision is far more important when hunting than it is when shooting stationary, non-living targets.
bamaranger
New member
go lefty
I'd suggest going off the left shoulder if at all possible. I've posted before, my Dad was cross dominant,and so is my son bamaboy. Dad missed a ton of game, and I attribute it to that issue. As soon as I spotted it in bamaboy, age 5-6, I swapped him over to his left shoulder, and he has shot that way since.
He sees the spent case when shooting AR's, , but it is not really an issue. He reaches over the top to run a bolt rifle, works best off a support, but he can manage it unsupported as well. He sees the bolt finger hook (?)on the Garand and the AK, and it is a bit distracting he says. There are no left hand rifles in the house.
One issue is any sort of butt cuff or ammo caddy on the right side of the buttstock is a problem. He cannot get a cheek weld. It is also a good way to keep him from shooting my favorite rifles.
I'd suggest going off the left shoulder if at all possible. I've posted before, my Dad was cross dominant,and so is my son bamaboy. Dad missed a ton of game, and I attribute it to that issue. As soon as I spotted it in bamaboy, age 5-6, I swapped him over to his left shoulder, and he has shot that way since.
He sees the spent case when shooting AR's, , but it is not really an issue. He reaches over the top to run a bolt rifle, works best off a support, but he can manage it unsupported as well. He sees the bolt finger hook (?)on the Garand and the AK, and it is a bit distracting he says. There are no left hand rifles in the house.
One issue is any sort of butt cuff or ammo caddy on the right side of the buttstock is a problem. He cannot get a cheek weld. It is also a good way to keep him from shooting my favorite rifles.
bamaranger
New member
over the top
What I meant to describe regards "over the top" was that the boy keeps the rifle shouldered with his left hand at the pistol grip, and reaches back from the forearm, and runs the bolt with his right.
For some reason, I was thinking he ran the bolt left handed, but that is not the case.
What I meant to describe regards "over the top" was that the boy keeps the rifle shouldered with his left hand at the pistol grip, and reaches back from the forearm, and runs the bolt with his right.
For some reason, I was thinking he ran the bolt left handed, but that is not the case.
I'd never shot a rifle left-handed until one day, when deer hunting, I climbed into my home-made tree stand just to rest a bit. Didn't bother to remove my sling, just laid the rifle down on the stand. Then, I pulled out my deer call and blew it a couple of times. About a hundred feet up the hill, I heard a deer approaching, so picked up the rifle. The deer ran left to right, just behind the tree my stand was against, then stopped about 25 yards away to my right, at a couple of scent pads I'd placed and turned broadside. I picked up the scoped rifle, and mounted it, but couldn't get my finger into the trigger guard because the carry strap was across it. After the second try, I realized the problem and flicked the strap away, but the buck saw me move and immediately started running directly away, heading for a woods road. I mounted the rifle and, with the crosshairs perfectly centered on it's backbone near the shoulder, fired the .270 and the buck tumbled down, less than 40 yards away. That was the only time I've ever mounted, let alone fired a rifle left-handed, but it seemed perfectly natural. I think I could get used to doing it, if necessary.