Cross eye dominant

D

Deja vu

New member
I have been helping a friend of mine learn to shoot rifles. He is a Hand gun guy. He kept complaining that he was having a hard time with the scope.

After some talking to some other guys at the range they sujested to us that he should see if he is left eye dominate. As it turns out he is. He is too set in his way to switch to shooting left hand.

He "can" shoot decent (for an indoor range) if he closes his left eye but he is no military sniper. I would think he would have a hard time hitting a deer farther than 75 yards away.That works for having fun at the indoor range but he wants to get in to hunting.

Is there any thing I can do or have him do to help? I really feel bad. Honestly I think he is a better shot with a hand gun than he is with a rifle with a scope because adjusting of cross eye dominance is easy with a handgun.
 
i shoot left handed but am right eye dominant, when using a scope i squint my right eye a little which is more relaxed than having it completely closed and still leaves me with the peripheral vision but allows my non dominant eye to focus better. i do the same with shotguns. see if it helps him any.

The biggest thing though is probably time behind the rifle. the more he shoots the more he should improve and find a technique that works for him
 
The BEST thing is to shoot from the dominant side - in this case, his left. The sooner he starts, the easier it will become - we see it all the time on the shotgun fields, especially with females who tend to be more cross dominant than men.

The other thing that shotgunners do is use some form of "fuzzy" tape or similar on the wrong eye to force the dominant eye to take over while still allowing the use of both eyes. I'm not sure how using a rifle with a scope would be as much hassle as handgunning or shotgunning - both require the use of both eyes for depth perception more often it seems to me
 
The biggest thing though is probably time behind the rifle. the more he shoots the more he should improve and find a technique that works for him
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probably true. HE says he shot a lot as a kid but that has been about 20 years ago. He now shoots handguns a lot but has been talking about getting in to hunting. At this point I think he would do better with a hand gun than a rifle but hopefully we can change that.
 
I spent 33 years shooting left-handed. Then I said "what the h-e-double hockey sticks", and started shooting right-handed. It doesn't take long to get proficient if it's on your dominant side. The hardest part is gun familiarity, and muscle memory.
 
Deja vu wrote:

I have been helping a friend of mine learn to shoot rifles. He is a Hand gun guy. He kept complaining that he was having a hard time with the scope.

After some talking to some other guys at the range they sujested to us that he should see if he is left eye dominate. As it turns out he is. He is too set in his way to switch to shooting left hand.

He "can" shoot decent (for an indoor range) if he closes his left eye but he is no military sniper. I would think he would have a hard time hitting a deer farther than 75 yards away.That works for having fun at the indoor range but he wants to get in to hunting.

Is there any thing I can do or have him do to help? I really feel bad. Honestly I think he is a better shot with a hand gun than he is with a rifle with a scope because adjusting of cross eye dominance is easy with a handgun.
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Deja vu,

I'll try to help. I can speak from some experience and in generalities, just remember your friend could be an exception.

1) Generally your right - Its maybe easier to shoot a handgun CED that it is to shoot a rifle and its much easier to shoot a rifle CED than it is to shoot a shotgun!

2) Your friend maybe "too set in his way to switch to shooting left hand" but keep reminding him that is his choice! You can relate this story to him:

I have a skeet shooting buddy that lost the sight in his right (dominate) eye. He however loved shooting and loved shooting competition with his grandson. I went to the range by myself one day years ago and he also showed up with a new left handed shotgun, so I got to shoot with him on his FIRST left handed round of skeet. Yes, he was bad! But driven to shoot again with grandson. Two years latter and many pratice rounds he is now shooting at the same "B" class level he had as a righty and still enjoys shoots with a grown-up grandson!!!

Bottom line - He CAN switch to lefty.
 
dominant eye

Fastest, easist remedy: automobile window tint over left lens of shooting or presdription glasses: try it, it works.
 
The BEST thing is to shoot from the dominant side - in this case, his left.
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+1
When I was a kid and didn't know I was cross dominant, I always felt the urge of tilting my head over the butt to aim with my left eye, but I was always learned to shoot right. When I found out I was cross dominant, I changed to left handed shooting with rifles. In the beginning, it feels a little bit awkward, but every time I picked up a rifle or crossbow, I forced myself to shoulder it left handed. A few weeks later I felt better when using a rifle left handed then right handed.

I still have problems with left handed bolt operation. If your friend has issues with this too, let him try to operate a right handed bolt from the left shoulder, that worked for me.

Overall you should just make him accustomed to shooting rifles from his left shoulder. In his spare time, when watching tv etc. he could shoulder the rifle and find a comfortable shooting position.
 
Don't know how old he is but there is no way I would even contemplate switching to shooting predominately left handed.(not talking about emergency or some odd one arm scenario shooting practice).
I'm cross dominant and it doesn't bother me.....maybe I shoot enough to overcome the majority of whatever issues it presents. I close my left eye, which is how I was taught 40 years ago, and that's the way it is.
Lately I've been practicing some with both eyes open, with a 1-4 scope, and it doesn't bother me there either altho it's a bit odd using magnification, to have both eyes open. If he has inaccuracy issues I don't see how it could be because his left eye is closed. More practice maybe, but trying to make an adult switch shooting sides if he doesn't want to switch is probobly gonna cause a bigger issue.;)
If he's totally new to shooting, maybe learning from the other side makes sense, but if he's my age it would be about like trying to golf left handed....and it isn't happening. I don't believe my golf score, or group size, is suffering all that much that I want a set of left handed golf clubs.
Switching is worth a try, but nagging might cost you a shooting partner.
 
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I am Left handed and Left Eye Dominant. I have been a Cop most of my adult life and we are required to shoot both strong and weak handed with pistol, shotgun and rifle. [The reasons are probably obvious] Practice is the key.

I find that the easiest of the three is rifle, with the scoped being by far the easiest to adapt to, probably because there is that great visual equalizer sitting there on top of the rifle.

I find that I do kind of a "lazy eye half squint" with my left eye when shooting right.

I have both left and right handed bolt guns in my collection and find that I usually shoot them [the right handed bolts] left handed off the bench but right handed off handed [probably for the ease of operation]

Scores with the shot gun and pistol are always better for me shooting my dominant side, but the rifle [especially scoped] just doesn't seem to make as much of a difference.

Practice is the key I think.

Mike
 
He can overcome his left eye dominance with practice. I shoot scoped rifles with magnification anywhere from 2x-20x with both eyes open. Took me a while to get to where I can focus my right eye through the scope without closing my left eye but, with PRACTICE, I was able to do it and now don't have to worry about fatigue in my left eye from trying to keep it closed while enjoying long sessions at the range...
 
I am left eye dominant, and extremly right handed, doubt I could brush my teath with my left hand without poking an eye out. I shoot rifles, shotguns, and such right handed, open sights I use both eyes, scope I use just my right, seems to work for me.
 
I'm also left eye dominant and right handed. For handgun tape over the left eye of shooting glasses, or tilting your head can be done to angle your dominant eye down the site. Also squinting your dominant eye works. As for shooting a bolt rifle i have my flip up scope covers flip off to the left side blocking my left eye allowing me to use both eyes behind the rifle. It greatly helps your non dominant eye take over on it's own later down the rode, acts as muscle memory in a sense. I've yet to pick up a an aimpoint for my AR but i imagine it will be harder for me to focus with it.
 
I wish I had learned about cross eye dominance BEFORE I bought my gun. I'm left-eye dominant, right handed, but I own a right handed rifle. at this point, i've gone through the expense of buying my rifle, so i'm not going to switch to a lefty any time soon. either way, there are ways around this as everyone has mentioned. I don't think it's so much about having to switch to a left-handed firearm as it is to adapting.
 
I am right eye dominant, but i can shoot both ways. Obviously I am more comfortable and shoot better right handed.


I highly recommend that he shoots on the side of his dominant eye. I will take him a while to get used to shooting lefty. Just have him shoot left handed, it will be much better for him.
 
Not being able to hit a deer at 75 yards is a big problem, bigger than just CED. I think your friend is dealing with mulitple issues that only proper instruction and practice can fix.
 
Agreed

I agree with oneounceload

The BEST thing is to shoot from the dominant side - in this case, his left. The sooner he starts, the easier it will become - we see it all the time on the shotgun fields, especially with females who tend to be more cross dominant than men.

The other thing that shotgunners do is use some form of "fuzzy" tape or similar on the wrong eye to force the dominant eye to take over while still allowing the use of both eyes. I'm not sure how using a rifle with a scope would be as much hassle as handgunning or shotgunning - both require the use of both eyes for depth perception more often it seems to me
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I've tried both and I generally found that I shoot better and have less hassle when I use my dominant eye to sight. Even though I'm right handed it feel awkward and weird to shoot right handed. I can do it with the long gun in hand, but when I imagine doing it in my head I can't quite picture it.
 
Not being able to hit a deer at 75 yards is a big problem, bigger than just CED. I think your friend is dealing with mulitple issues that only proper instruction and practice can fix.
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I agree and I worrie about that a lot. I try to help him but I think I may be in over my head. HE is a great guy and he is as good as any body with his hand guns. But there is some thing wrong with his shooting of rifles. I think he was taught some bad habits as a kid but I am not sharp enough to see what they are. If he had more money I would recommend him take some shooting classes.

I think this falls hunting season I am going to talk him in to hunting with a handgun if I can not get this issue fixed.
 
I'm also left eye dominant and right handed. For handgun tape over the left eye of shooting glasses,
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I shoot High Power in the master class with a service rifle. I use a black out patch over my left eye on my shooting glasses. I am also a marksman for my department. A scoped rifle is not a problem. Practice and trigger time is the key as others have suggested. EDITED to add, I use the black out patch when shooting the service rifle in competition, not when shooting a scoped rifle.
 
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Dad had it, so does the boy

My Dad was cross dominant, we/he never caught on to it 'till I was an adult and a bit more experienced. He missed a BUNCH of game. Repeat, a bunch, shots that should have been EASY. He would not change, and kept missing. He had some other bad shooting habits also, and combined they made it tough to connect.

I saw it in Bamaboy early on, and switched him over to his left, off shoulder PDQ. Kid does great. A right handed bolt is awkward, we don't own a lefty, yet, but the rascal doesn't seem to need more than one shot anyhow.

Hey........a good excuse to by a Ruger N0. 1 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sure Babe, its for the boy!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
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