Mixed Dominance Re-visited

M

maximus001

New member
I've read everything on this site re: Right handers with Left eye dominance and am wondering if there are any new ideas out there.

I've tried squinting a bit with the left (seems to work) and am looking into sights that make the sight visible in the periphery of shooting eye only. HiViz Magni-Optic Sight http://www.browning.com/products/catalog/accessories/detail.asp?value=005J&cat_id=128&type_id=42757

I've heard there are things that you can apply to your shooting glasses that work well also. I'm not about to shoot off the left shoulder ...this old dog can't learn new tricks.
 
I am guessing you are cross dominant? I just wanted to be sure.

Why the gimmicks? Train yourself to shoot correctly. If you ever need to use a gun to defend yourself, are you going to ask the attacker to pause so you can get your fancy shooting glasses on? Proper form and technique trumps gimmicks and tricks every time. Trust me, I tried it with golf. It doesn't work. Train yourself to use your left eye and shoot left handed. Ignore your right eye, but keep it open. When you do it enough, you can switch vision between eyes without trying. It will become second nature.

I have the same problem. Right handed for handguns, lefty for rifles and shotguns. You can't throw money at a problem to make it go away, our government has proved that over and over again. Put in the time and effort and you will see the results. It isn't really that difficult. An old dog can learn a new trick, if it wants.
 
lpl, thanks, that was a good article. His solution of closing the dominant eye for a few micro seconds (blinking) just before the shot is basically what I was calling squinting and has worked pretty well for me. That figure of 40% being cross or mixed dominant is pretty sobering. There's a lot of us out there with this issue. I was interested in the sight cause it could help train the brain to use the non dominant eye (in my case the right eye). Putting the gun on the left shoulder just doesn't feel right for me.

What I'm going to experiment with is to follow the target with both eyes open and then gently close my left eye just before the shot.
 
If you wear corrective lenses, it's actually fairly easy to get set up for monovision and 'correct' cross eye dominance issues.
 
My career was making prototypes,models,and molds.Lots of close touch off work on mills and lathes and grinders..I had always been right hand,right eyed,but,over time I became ambi-eyeball.Which ever eye could see best,took over.

I became incredibly good at missing things with a shotgun.Placing a shotgun before my right eye told my left eye to look around it.

Older brother,wise about shotguns,suggested a British side by side technique.My left hand,under the forend,index finger points at the target.My let thumbsticks up,beside the bbls.

As the left thumb occludes the left eye,the right eye remains master.
 
My career was making prototypes,models,and molds.Lots of close touch off work on mills and lathes and grinders..I had always been right hand,right eyed,but,over time I became ambi-eyeball.Which ever eye could see best,took over
Click to expand...

Yep, I spent my early career as a watchmaker / bench jeweler and have the same situation. I have just learned the wink technique. I keep both eyes open until I acquire the target, then as I begin to track I close my left eye. Lord knows, I have shot up a lot of ammo and burned a lot of range time trying to shoot with both eyes open. It just ain't gonna happen for me. I have read that a lot of good competition shooters do this, so I guess we are in good company.
 
Roscoe

Now,when I go one-eyed,I turn into a rifleshooter and that is another fine way to miss with a shotgun.I know them all!!:-)

Just putting that thumb up on the left side of the barrel works for me,and I can keep both eyes open.

Try it!!Put your palm and index finger uder the forend,relaxed,no contortions.Your index finger is a pointer,then,if your thumb is relaxed,not gripping,it will stick up like a hitch hiker.

If you have any miller moths,flies,june bugs,etc buzzing around,....
 
Right handed, left eye dominant. I never tried any techniques, just started shooting. In the Academy they told me I would shoot left handed, and I told them I would shoot right handed, AND turn in an expert score. I qualified expert, highest in the class. Years of shooting helped there.
For rifles, my newest bestest buddy is my EOTech, that helps!
 
try scotch tape

a litttle piece of tape, placed on your shooting glasses will blurr the bead of your dominent eye. but still leaves you with your perf. vision. after a couple of hours you won't even notice it. I run mine vertically.
 
Tape, fuzzy dots, a dab of vaseline, differing scrips for lenses, among many others, are all ways to help this. I got into shotguns after a lot of years shooting rifles for fun. I always shot one-eyed. While I do not have cross dominance - I was losing half the sight picture the binocular vision for depth perception.

I look at the target with both eyes, and while I am working on keeping both eyes open the whole time, I still find myself closing my off eye just as I pull the trigger. At least now, I am using both for the important part.

If that isn't working, there are folks who can make cross-dominant stocks (they really look funny, but they work)
 
for a shotgun you can get a vent rib mounted off to the side. I imagine you could do this for any gun, but I have actually seen it on competition shotguns.
 
Went shooting sporting clays yesterday with my son. I noticed that when I mounted the gun properly my right eye took over so, although, I'm clearly left eye dominant I was aiming where my right eye was looking most of the time.

Almost shot 50% which for me is pretty good. Shot 19 of 50 the first half and 27 of 50 the second half.
 
Max,care to advise the key points of "properly" that you believe helped?
Oh,BTW, do wear glasses,and,for me,the magic marker spot,piece of tape,rubbing my left lense with the thighbone of a Colonel Sanders chicken leg and all the suggestions that have to do with placing something that will annoy me and cause me a headache are not an option,and also,I would not do that to a young or beginner shooter.
However,the thumb accomplishes exactly the saame thing!!
Good luck,all
 
I use the scotch tape method and it works. I tried shooting left handed and my eyes just switched. It doesn't seem to matter how I mount the shotgun....I see cross-eyed barrels either way. I guess they call it ambi-dominance(?) I use the smallest piece of tape I can to make me see the rib. With pistols, I just swing the pistol to my left side and close my right eye. With rifles I shoot right handed, and close my left eye. Works best for me this way. If I shoot bows traditional method, I use a left handed bow. If using a peep sight, I can get away shooting right handed. With bows, I can honestly say I'm just as bad left handed as right handed!

My wife and I are 4-H Shooting sports advisors and we try to get the kids to shoot with their eye dominance, but occasionally I get an ambi-eyed kid like myself and we use the tape method. The other obstacle we run into is.....parents!!!! "but I just bought a right handed bow or gun!" I tell them that kids may change eye dominance, but it will be handicapping them now if they insist on going against their eye dominance. Good luck, it's a controversial subject, you have to decide what's best for you.
 
I've been trying the thumb and the scotch tape method and have to say the spot of tape works extremely well.

I've had less success with the thumb technique. For me it's a very un-natural position and it doesn't seem to really block the left eye from interfering with target aim.

The other day I was out shooting trap and just relied on getting the gun mounted properly, holding a comfortable position, and following through. I hit 21 of 25 using a full choke at 16 yds with both eyes open (no squinting, tape or thumb). Maybe my right eye is beginning to take over.
 
They make tape spots for this very thing that will not leave the glue residue - from those I shoot with who use them, they get good reviews.
Someone mentioned trying to see the rib - if properly mounted, you should not be seeing any rib, or even the bead(s). The only thing you should be seeing is the target flying and letting your eyes work with your pointing arm to act like the sights to move with the target and hit it.
 
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