What to do?

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longhair

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I posted this here since it concerns handgun shooting. I know a young lady that wants to learn to shoot. she's shot a little before. she knows which end the bullet comes out, where the trigger is etc., but the one problem she has is she is righthanded & left eye dominate. She'll point a pistol and automatically close her right eye, therefore she is not seeing her sights. Anybody tell me how to solve/work around this problem?? Thanks

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fiat justitia



[This message has been edited by longhair (edited June 01, 1999).]
 
Being "cross-dominant" is no problem with pistols. A slight repositioning of the head will let her aim with her left eye. This becomes more of an issue with longarms. SHe will need to decide if she wishes to shoot from her left shoulder, so as to be able to aim with her master eye, or if she wishes to shoot from her right shoulder and keep her left/master eye closed and aim with the right/non-master eye.

Unless she has already pretty well ingrained shooting from her right shoulder, I would suggest having her shoot from her left shoulder from the start.

Rosco
 
Rosco, that's kinda what i was thinkin'. i have the same problem only the other way around. left hand/right eye and i do just what you said. it took some practice to make it natural, but now it's ingrained in my dense brain and is perfectly natural.I still shoot a long gun southpaw style though. trying to go righthanded just wasn't right for me. i was just wanting some feedback to see what everyone else thought. we'll try her out and see what happens... thanks

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fiat justitia
 
I had luck with that problem in two ways....one was using an isoceles stance, and the other is by rotating the gun slightly off center which allows you to use the master eye and master hand, although this is not necessarily target accuracy but works well for self defense.....fubsy.
 
Keep her from developing any bad habits and teach her to shoot with both eye open. Better target pick-up and better situational awareness.
 
I concur with Rob. Peripheral vision is important. With lotsa practice, she'll do nicely.

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Vigilantibus et non dormientibus jura subveniunt
 
it took me a while to get use to shooting w/ both eyes open, but once i did, it was amazing what your peripheral vision could pick up. once again, thanks!! :)

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fiat justitia
 
Get some Crimson Trace Laser Grips and her problem is solved - shoot with both eyes open and hold the gun over your head if you want - that's the beauty of laser grips! (I'm of course being a little sarcastic - if you are really intent on teaching her good form, then have her get used to keeping both eyes open) By the way - I'm not associated with CTC, but I've put their laser grips on my J frame Smith model 60 and it now shoots one hole ragged groups at 50 feet with a nice solid hold - I hold the gun near my hip with a solid 2 hand grip - This tells me that open sights are nearly impossible to shoot exactly the same every time - with the laser grip the gun shoots within 1/4 inch of the point of aim EVERY TIME! Mine is the 3" Smith model 60-10. My dad had identical results with the same gun.
 
The problem with laser sighted guns is that it teaches bad habits (looking at your target instead of your sights) and they are useless in combat or stress situations. Someone trying to pick up that red dot on the target is going to be A LOT slower than the shooter watching the sights. It might be good for a target shooter with bad eyes but it doesn't have any place on a self defense pistol.
 
I used to disparage laser sight too, and for the most part, I still do. They are a horrible replacement for learning good shooting technique and practice.
However, as my eyes get more presbyopic, I find that I simply can't pick up the front sight on my 642. My brother, who had given me the gun as a retirement gift, came through with a set of Crimson Trace grips. I had to learn an entirely different shooting technique, but at least the piece is effective for me.
 
We tried with a laser sighted Ruger pistol and several shooters on some dynamic courses of fire. Whoever (and we all took turns) used the laser could not keep up even closely to the other shooters. It was easier to shoot bullseyes under slow fire though.
 
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