Left Eye Dominant

[Target_Liberty]

I purchased a new gun this weekend, a Glock 17, and was able to get some range time in with some friends.

So I started shooting and much of the brass was hitting me instead of going off to my side. This was weird because 3 other people shot my gun without the issue.

It was pointed out that I was unconsciously bringing it more to the left side when aiming. This would make sense as I am strongly left eye dominant. I emptied three 17 round magazines with less than stellar results. Just to see how I would do I emptied one magazine left handed and shot MUCH better actually even though it was the first time shooting a handgun lefty.

Anyone else have experience with left eye dominant issues? Rather than retraining my eyes, I am considering switching to shooting lefty thinking it will more than make up for the difference in hand coordination.

 

[Billsail]

Many shooters do this. If it works for you...go with it!

 

[hy2rogen]

You should train shooting with either hand anyways.

What you're referring to is cross dominance. I had the same thing only reversed. After two months of shooting righty everything seems natural.

 

[LuvDog]

I'm cross eye dominant too... I just practice handguns using both/either hand.

 

[mpkeelee]

My wife is left eye dominant too. She shoots right handed, just holds the pistol a little left of center. As long as she can hit what she wants I let her do her thing.

 

[jerryhipp]

funny my wife is a righty who is left eye dominant and was just told she can never shoot a compound bow unless she switches hands and learns to shoot lefty. which also means she would have to strengthen her left arm also. they said it is impossible to retrain eye dominance. you have to switch arms! so i bought her a crossbow!

 

[TC McQuade]

I'm left eye dominant also and I've trained myself to use my right eye when shooting righty and my left eye when shooting lefty. Otherwise I can't hit the target.

 

[Target_Liberty]

Just so happen I got my daughter a compound bow for Christmas. We had to send it back for a lefty as she had the same problem as me. She picked up shooting it lefty really quick.

 

[Target_Liberty]

Ken , so you close one eye? I would do that but I can't close my left eye very well without closing the right. It seems lefty is the way to go. I have better eye sight in my left anyway.

 

[JGreen]

It's a gun....It doesn't care what eye you use to align the sights with the target. You shot better lefty because you pressed the trigger more slowly and gently because you were subconsciously "more aware".
Aligning sights with front sight focus is easy. Pressing the trigger correctly is the more difficult part.

 

[rudiewhitebwoy]

I'm cross dominant, right handed and left eyed. I shoot hand guns with either hand but more accurately leftie.
Long guns leftie only.

Lottsa Links on this;

Can't figure out my dominate eye!

Overcoming Cross dominance.

Changing dominant eye?

When your dominant eye doesn't match your dominant hand?

Can you shoot accurately with both eyes open?

All you lefty's out there?

 

[mikes45]

I purchased a new gun this weekend, a Glock 17, and was able to get some range time in with some friends.

So I started shooting and much of the brass was hitting me instead of going off to my side. This was weird because 3 other people shot my gun without the issue.

It was pointed out that I was unconsciously bringing it more to the left side when aiming. This would make sense as I am strongly left eye dominant. I emptied three 17 round magazines with less than stellar results. Just to see how I would do I emptied one magazine left handed and shot MUCH better actually even though it was the first time shooting a handgun lefty.

Anyone else have experience with left eye dominant issues? Rather than retraining my eyes, I am considering switching to shooting lefty thinking it will more than make up for the difference in hand coordination.

I'm also cross eye dominant. Try the Isosceles stance.

.

Mike

 

[ProGun]

I'm also cross eye dominant. Funny...my Gen 2 Glock 17 often ejects brass back towards me too, but that's the only gun I have that tends to do that.

 

[TC McQuade]

Ken , so you close one eye? I would do that but I can't close my left eye very well without closing the right. It seems lefty is the way to go. I have better eye sight in my left anyway.

Yup I close the eye that I'm not using. It's natural for me to want to shoot right handed and use my left eye but I can't hit the target, I found shooting Left eye/Lefty and Right eye/Righty works for me.

 

[Asaltweapon]

I'll be the first one to say "get rid of the Glock and solve the problem of being hit with hot brass".

I'm cross eye and never had an issue. Yes I do hit what I'm looking at.

 

[OfficerObie59]

I'm same as you, right handed, left eye dominant.

After a while, I learned to consciously shift the eye focusing. Takes practice, but it can be done.

 

[invaliduser]

I'm actually a broken lefty, a righty convert at a young age ~whenever 1st grade was.
I do random stuff half and half with either arm.
I shoot handguns lefty and rifles righty. However I am right eye dominant. Rifles obviously were being shot right handed anyways so right eye goes with it but handguns I end up offsetting a bit to the right and it seems to work for me.

Do what you gotta do and make it work

 

[Bonesinium]

The brass hitting you sounds more like an issue with the pistol then your eye dominance. Your shooting better left handed does seem like an eye dominance issue. Actually, you say the brass was hitting you shooting right handed but not left handed, nor did it hit others who shot it? Maybe your shooting stance was a factor. When shooting handguns while using the opposite eye, you can simply turn your head slightly to shoot without having to alter your stance. This wouldn't cause the brass to hit you. Though this again would seem to indicate that your pistol like to eject the brass stupidly.


I, like many here, am cross eye dominant (left eye, right hand). I'd love to be able to do stuff left handed, but am pretty left hand retarded.

 

[kid_fisto]

I'm cross dominant and use modified weaver and don't have problems with brass in my face.

rifle is a different issue. Still trying to figure out how to shoot lefty.

 

[shapiroeric]

I shoot lefty with hand guns and am right eye dominant...long guns is right handed....I think my question is what your stance is?

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

 

[Target_Liberty]

I shoot lefty with hand guns and am right eye dominant...long guns is right handed....I think my question is what your stance is?

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

I haven't focused on stance much. I just did what was natural which ended up being left foot forward a bit. I am not too worried about the brass issue and didn't have a problem when shooting lefty. I am sure I have some work to do on the stance and such I haven't gotten much range time in the past year so I need some practice.

 

[white feather]

No need to shut your eye, just put a little scotch tape on the left lense of your shooting glasses. The other eye will take over if the dominant eye can't see very well.
White Feather

 

[dessert1st]

Cross eye dominance can become an issue when shooting rifles. Tough to get those 'bow tucked when you're craning your neck over the stock of the gun in order to get that left eye sighted.

I need glasses bad. After 30 yards, using my rifle with my right eye results in a blur of front post sight and impossibly fuzzy target beyond it. If I briefly switch my focus to the target, I lose my front sight. I am near sighted and have a lazy eye. Shooting is the only reason I am going to an OP doc to see if glasses would help! Go figure.

 

[mac1911]

Man I feel for you "kinda left handed folk" om left eye dom and left hand. Growing up I was rourced I mean taught to shoot righty.
If your shooting targets or looking for small groups try a strip of sctotch tape across your non aiming lenses ofcyour glasses. The opaque style. I tape the top 1/3. Of my lenses. This will allow you to shoot with both eyes open with out straining to keep one eye closed or squinted. This blocks the vission of my non aiming eye when shooting but leaves enough lens clear to function walking around.
I have always ended up shooting lefty, writing, golf, what ever it is I do better lefty. Although growing up with the fourced right hand teachings I do pretty well righty also.

 

[Rider]

The funny thing with shooting is that when people are 'cross-eye' dominant, they cook up solutions to work around it. In archery, because of logistics, they just tell you to shoot lefty or righty depending on eye dominance.

As a lefty living in a right-handed world, I do some things lefty and some righty, and I don't understand the fixation that 'I am xxxx-handed and so I must do everything this way' even when your body is telling you otherwise. Do what works best for you and don't fight nature.

My perspective on this is that my bride is left eye dominant and right-handed. When she was taught to shoot, they just sort of told her to aim funny. When she started taking archery lessons, they said, 'yeah, we're gonna have you shoot lefty.'. By her second lesson she was texting me pictures of bullseyes, which is better than she does with a gun.

 

[white feather]

Man I feel for you "kinda left handed folk" om left eye dom and left hand. Growing up I was rourced I mean taught to shoot righty.
If your shooting targets or looking for small groups try a strip of sctotch tape across your non aiming lenses ofcyour glasses. The opaque style. I tape the top 1/3. Of my lenses. This will allow you to shoot with both eyes open with out straining to keep one eye closed or squinted. This blocks the vission of my non aiming eye when shooting but leaves enough lens clear to function walking around.
I have always ended up shooting lefty, writing, golf, what ever it is I do better lefty. Although growing up with the fourced right hand teachings I do pretty well righty also.

Tape... Sounds familiar.
White FEather

 

[Terminator03]

This is an interesting thread to me because the same thing happened to my wife the first time I took her to my indoor range to learn to shoot my SR9c. This was a few years back, and was her first time ever shooting a real gun, so I was focused more on safety, and hand position to keep her from getting slide bite so I didn't notice which eye she was aiming with. She is primarily left handed, but like many here was forced to write with her right hand when she was younger (Catholic school), so she is somewhat ambidextrous. She did get hit with every ejected case, and one went down her shirt. I realized that they were bouncing off the side baffle then hitting her, but never figured out "why" since that never happens to me. This discussion gives me better insight into it since she may be left eye dominant and that is causing an altered shooting position causing the angle of ejection to be slightly different than mine. Unfortunately she's not into guns at all, so I haven't taken her more than a couple of times, and the last time we were outdoors shooting rifles, but I will have to pay more attention to what eye she is aiming with next time.

 

[Bendad97]

I have been left eye dominant all my life. I am a right handed person to the core, but when it comes to shooting or batting, I am a lefty.