Any cross eye dominant shooters out there?

[Steeliedrew]

There seems to be something to this both eyes open thing. I shot actully pretty decent yesterday. Shot maybe 6 or 7 rounds at 54 yards.

2nd to last group:

Last group...when I heard the sound of the 2nd arrow kissing the first I decided not to send a third as that can be a pricey decision.

I found yesterday that if I squint with my left eye while acquiring the target And then open my left eye fully as I start to execute the shot it seems to work best for me so far.


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[roadrunner]

Been shooting left handed as long as I remember. Also shoot a bow with both eyes open. When doing this, your dominate eye will always take over and two pins will become one. I draw with both eyes open while looking at the target which helps with target acquisition.

I also wish I could shoot a group like that!

 

[Steeliedrew]

Shot at 50 yards tonight for little while. Was a bit too caffeinated and felt a little off but managed a few decent groups. One resulted in a broken arrow unfortunately. I’ll keep at it. Enjoying both eyes open so far. Thanks for the replies everyone.

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[BackcountryBloodline]

My son and I are both cross eye dominant, he's left handed, right eye dominant and I'm the opposite so no hand me down bows for him. Luckily I found out I was cross eye dominant before I started shooting a bow, I had always wondered why I was fine shooting open sight rifles but hated using a scope. I realized it was because with open sights I could tilt my head and aim with my left eye but a scope forced me to use my right. From the research I did trying to figure out how we could both shoot a similar bow setup I gathered that while you can get used to shooting with your non dominant eye you can never re-train eye dominance and you'll always be more accurate with your dominant eye. Bit of fumbling around in the beginning nocking arrows with my left hand but I recently tried shooting my friends right handed recurve and that felt super awkward after a few years shooting lefty.

 

[CBECK61]

Make the switch. I grew up doing a lot of shotgun shooting and was taught by my pops to shoot right handed with my left I closed. I got competitive shooting shotguns and had several great shooters scold my dad for teaching me to shoot wrong. At that age I didn't understand the necessity to switch as I was hitting plenty of clays. I've since switched which was difficult but I do not shoot better especially in hunting situations. I switched to a lefty bow which as actually an easier transition and shoot with both eye open and after a few months my shooting greatly improved and my sight picture is far better for hunting situations. Still need to switch my handgun shooting but I kinda dread it. I'll probably always shoot a scoped rifle right handed though.

 

[Steeliedrew]

Make the switch.

Next time I’m in a bow shop I’ll definitely try shooting left handed.




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[CBECK61]

Next time I’m in a bow shop I’ll definitely try shooting left handed.




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Mentally its pretty tough at first and buying anything in LH in the bow world is a pain in the butt but once you get use to it you will defiantly be a better hunter. Having both eye open at full draw while a bull is coming in give you a big advantage. I try to buy the very best accessories I can so that I can use the same sight/rest/quiver for years on end.

 

[Steeliedrew]

Mentally its pretty tough at first and buying anything in LH in the bow world is a pain in the butt but once you get use to it you will defiantly be a better hunter. Having both eye open at full draw while a bull is coming in give you a big advantage. I try to buy the very best accessories I can so that I can use the same sight/rest/quiver for years on end.

I’m with ya. Buy once cry once. I shoot a 2014 Carbon Spyder Turbo which I bought new. I feel it’s still fully relevant today. Just put a Hamskea Trinity Hunter Pro rest on it this year. Even though she’s 5 years old now it’s still enjoyable as heck to shoot.


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[jb79]

I am all jacked up, right handed, right eye dominant but shoot a bow and rifle left handed as I can only close/blink my right eye. I was taught young to shot with one eye closed which is not how my kids will learn! I can shoot with both eyes open pretty well to 30 yards but any further my right takes over and I get the double sight picture as mentioned above and if you pick the wrong one it’s not good on your arrows! Tried shooting a right handed bow couple years ago at the bow rack and it wasn’t pretty, didn’t even let the arrow fly as I could get on target!!! Figured I shoot well out to 70-80 with one eye closed so just stuck with what I knew, now this thread has got me thinking I should give it another try.


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[LostArra]

I'm cross eye dominant. I retrained my eye dominance for shooting, both shotgun and bow.

I started by squinting the left eye just enough for the right to take over. Gradually squint less and you will retrain the eyes. It took me a couple of months.

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Same as jmez but my lasix surgery 20+ years ago helped a lot with the retraining.
I shoot much better with a single vertical pin (vs multi pin) sight on compound slightly squinting left eye. Both eyes open with recurve.

 

[Vandy321]

I cant see the peep with both eyes open, my left eye (RH shooter) is too dominant. Have to close my left. That was the advice of the local pro shop too...maybe worth starting with a squint...I'd really like to be able to shoot a bow with both eyes open as well.

Shoot rifle, pistol and shotgun with both eyes on, no problem.

 

[HookUp]

I'm left eye dominant and shoot right handed both bow and gun. I do not get lefts and rights from squeezing my left eye shut while shooting my bow. Arrow falls behind the pin. My biggest complaint is re-finding my target with my right eye. I also wing shoot with my right eye closing off my left. Maybe I'll change at some point but I am on a 20+ animal kill streak including a 6 point bull, cow elk and countless bucks. I have not lost an animal and have never had one not drop within a few yards. Maybe I'm just lucky but taking the time to switch eyes has never been an issue.

 

[Steeliedrew]

I’ve tried shouldering my Muzzleloader a few times lately left handed and it seems I can’t even line up with the sights like that unless I squint my right eye. That’s making me second guess wondering if I should shoot left handed. I’ll still shoot a lefty bow next time I hit the bow shop though just so I know. It seems to be getting easier and easier the more I shoot both eyes open with the bow though. Sometimes thin pins will disappear though and I’ll have to squint to get them to pop back up.


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[Buzby]

Left handed, right eye dominant. I shoot right handed, both eyes open. Shoot with your eye dominant side. Both eyes open seems like a huge advantage to me.

 

[Minnesotamulisha]

I'm left eye dominant, but shoot rifles, pistols and shotguns right handed. I write with my right hand and shoot a hockey puck left handed.

I'm completely new to archery and am now looking at purchasing a bow. When I do, it will be a south paw model just because of my eye dominance.

My son is the same way, and he's been shooting NASP for a year. This year we are going to start shooting together and I'm looking forward to him teaching me a few things.

 

[gfreidy]

Great thread. I am a right handed/left eye dominant shooter. Shooting with both eyes open is optimal for archery/shotgun, helps with pistol, but less with a scoped rifle. Switched to a left handed bow and it has been all the difference. Took a little time to develop the muscle memory but now it is natural.

in addition our eyes can be trained to quickly focus on our sights and then shift to the target. This will help you quickly acquire the target in a proper sight picture. I use what is called a Brock string which are moveable 5-6 beads on a long string that you tie the far end off and hold the other end to your nose. The object is to quickly focus on each bead and then shift to the next bead. It works! I initially learned this from my wife who is a developmental eye therapist but separately was taught by a former Navy SEAL shooting instructor. Our eyes need exercise too!

 

[Steeliedrew]

Great thread. I am a right handed/left eye dominant shooter. Shooting with both eyes open is optimal for archery/shotgun, helps with pistol, but less with a scoped rifle. Switched to a left handed bow and it has been all the difference. Took a little time to develop the muscle memory but now it is natural.

in addition our eyes can be trained to quickly focus on our sights and then shift to the target. This will help you quickly acquire the target in a proper sight picture. I use what is called a Brock string which are moveable 5-6 beads on a long string that you tie the far end off and hold the other end to your nose. The object is to quickly focus on each bead and then shift to the next bead. It works! I initially learned this from my wife who is a developmental eye therapist but separately was taught by a former Navy SEAL shooting instructor. Our eyes need exercise too!

I’m gonna look into that Brock String. Thanks for the tip! I’ve still been shooting right handed both eyes open. Some days I can get touching groups at 50 and other days the groups open up but I think that’s more inconsistencies in form causing that. I’ll make it to the archery shop eventually and try a lefty bow just to see how it feels.


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