Anyone Ever Have to Shoot Opposite Handed?

[Sekora]

I have been a right handed shooter my entire shooting life. I am also right eye dominant. I am going through some vision changes right now that couldn't have come at a worse time. I have an elk hunt planned for next month and am losing my clear vision in my right eye. My solution is going to have to be to learn to shoot left handed with my left eye. It is very awkward being that all my rifles are left handed bolt guns with raised cheek pieces but I think it is possible. I was shooting very well and confident out to 500 yards a few weeks ago but I am not sure what this is going to bring. Has anyone ever been through this and how did it work out for you? I took a small rifle to the range yesterday and was able to shoot a 1 inch group at 100 yards this way but it was a struggle. My groups with this gun used to be much smaller.

 

[wyosteve]

I don't have to, but I shoot my pistols left handed (right eye dominant) regularly for practice. Seems to work fine, but then, I'm fairly ambidextrous.

 

[kota]

Sorry to hear that!

My right handed daughter switched over to shooting left handed when we found out she was left eye dominant. It wasn’t a big deal for a kid, but she didn’t have 30 years of shooting right handed and just punches paper.

Bird hunted with a guy in the same boat that switched as a teenager, and he didn’t have any issues on quail and chukar.

The upshot is it seems very doable, but I would guess the longer you have been shooting right handed, or the more right side dominant you are, the more practice you will need to get comfortable.

 

[LookinforDirt]

Give it time and practice. It will become natural enough to you. I'm a lefty that shot right handed bolt guns, right handed all guns, my entire life. I'm somewhat ambidextrous naturally but I don't think you need to be that way. My Dad is a lefty and found out in his 30's he was right eye dominant. Switched shooting shotguns to righty and improved his skeet and trap shooting dramatically. I think it will be more difficult going from righty to lefty because all the hardware is opposite for you. As lefties, that is just the way it was our whole lives. If we switch to righty, all the sudden the right handed world fits us.

 

[Go West Old Man]

YES! I had an unfortunate accident 40 years ago that messed up my right arm pretty bad. 9 surgeries in the first few years. Eventual result was that I kept my arm thankfully but my elbow has been in a “fixed” but usable 95’ish degree position ever since and I have limited radial motion in my forearm. I can’t shoulder a rifle or shotgun right handed because arm position doesn’t allow me to grip a pistol grip/trigger. I’m also right eye dominant. Simply started shooting rifles & shotguns left handed and it has worked out fine. I’ve only ever bought one left handed bolt action rifle, a 7 mag, in 1991. Still have it & shoots great. The other bolt rifles & auto shotguns that I’ve acquired since have all been right handed. You be surprised at the number of left handed shooters that buy & own right handed rifles! You can make the switch , & quickly it’ll feel just fine. Good luck.

Footnote: within a month of my accident I took my favorite Diawa Magforce reel, went to a friends pond, & started casting left handed. Lots of backlashes at first but eventually got good at it fast. Good enough that I consistently could put a Junebug colored Zoom lizard w/a bullet weight on a spot the size of a frisbee!

 

[SpringM1A]

I’m slowly making the same change. I started out with covering the left lens of my glasses with medical tape and kept both eyes open when looking at the reticle with my right eye. I’ve now gotten to the point (over the course of about 5 months) where I don’t need the tape and can shoot with both eyes open and the reticle stays clear.

 

[5MilesBack]

I'm LH and have always shot RH bolt rifles, I still cycle the bolt with my left hand. But I'm pretty ambidextrous with rifles. I prefer left, but can shoot right. I close one eye anyway when shooting. With handguns I shoot single RH for "practice only".......until I need to in real life.

 

[Sekora]

I had a really hard time yesterday but woke up this morning and practiced shouldering several rifles and getting on a target. I could not seem to get my head in the right position with the scope at the range yesterday but found out this morning that I need to close my right eye. It seems to be working out much better but long range will prove if I am on the right track or not. One thing that surprised me was when I did get a shot off yesterday my POI was very close to where the rifle was sighted in for. That will be a huge relief knowing I can shoot right or left handed. My right eye seems to work a little better in the morning before it gets fatigued. Hopefully I can get totally comfortable before my hunt shooting lefty and it will be a non issue. I have to admit though, the 7-08 bruised my shoulder a little for the first time last night telling me I need to work on my form.

 

[eaglemountainman]

Shot a few deer left handed that came in over my right shoulder, while I was resting on a log or rock. Wouldn't want to make a habit of it, though.

 

[Quicksilver]

I’ve done it in PRS matches where they try and shyster you by making you shoot on your weak side. This is with being in awkward positions too. After you’re able to pull it off you realize that with practice, it’s something that you could definitely to.

 

[MNDroptine26]

I have been a right handed shooter my entire shooting life. I am also right eye dominant. I am going through some vision changes right now that couldn't have come at a worse time. I have an elk hunt planned for next month and am losing my clear vision in my right eye. My solution is going to have to be to learn to shoot left handed with my left eye. It is very awkward being that all my rifles are left handed bolt guns with raised cheek pieces but I think it is possible. I was shooting very well and confident out to 500 yards a few weeks ago but I am not sure what this is going to bring. Has anyone ever been through this and how did it work out for you? I took a small rifle to the range yesterday and was able to shoot a 1 inch group at 100 yards this way but it was a struggle. My groups with this gun used to be much smaller.

My brother has done this all his life, I don't see how it's possible but then again, I give him a hard time a lot for missing!

 

[30338]

I shot righthanded with my left eye closed for 30 years. Had an eye issue and have a hard time focusing now with it. Switched to lefty archery and rifle and never shot better. I am left eye dominant though. I can still shoot righty but accuracy is much improved lefthanded. I picked up archery fast lefthanded. I'd think you could do the same with a month of hard work.

 

[Unckebob]

I am right handed and left eye dominant. A few years ago, I decided to try shooting left handed. I had no problem adjusting to stabilizing the rifle or the trigger squeeze.

The only reason I still shoot right handed is all my semi auto rifles are right handed and eject at me if I use them left handed. On my bolt actions, I am sure i could learn to work the bolt quickly with my left hand if I practiced.

If you have a stock problem, can you buy a new stock without a raised comb in time? If not, I would see if I could buy/borrow something like a Ruger American or Winchester XPR just for the trip. You could sell it after the hunt until you had a more permanent solution.

 

[AkMtnRunner]

I had a rib injury on my shooting side right before a hunting trip and had to use my weak side. It went fine. The shooting fundamentals are the same so as long as your brain knows them, they can control the weak side accordingly. You just have to accomplish it more consciously.

 

[Sekora]

Thanks for all the input. I think I am going to be ok but might not be able to stretch the shot out as far. The stock problem I originally thought I had went away when I closed my dominant eye. Working the action is not ideal, but with all the time I have in this gun with load development and verifying drops, I really want to practice and make this work. Hopefully I can get to the range this week and do a little more practicing. I've been wanting to work up a new load for my 7-08 and this might be the perfect opportunity to get some left handed trigger time in.

 

[GunsAreFun]

I do it for practice sometime, and I also had to do it for a couple extended periods when I had a hand injury. That said, I’m somewhat ambidextrous, and the dominant eye thing doesn’t mess with me very much.

The only thing that feels a bit weird are may changes on weapons that don’t have ambi controls.

 

[vtmooser]

I'm right handed but left eye dominate, but growing up with a left handed older brother who I would go target practicing at an early age would always tell me I was holding the gun on the wrong shoulder! So 60 yrs latter I'm still shooting left handed. But that be said I also have shot
many deer right handed. Just take your time and follow your same routine with your strong sight in eye. By the way I use a right handed bolt cycled with my right hand without taking the
gun off of my shoulder. Good luck and practice, practice and then practice some more !

 

[49ereric]

I had to shoot lefty once on rack buck that came strutting by it worked but felt odd and he was close.

 

[madcalfe]

grab the old .22, couple boxes of shells and practice lefty.

 

[JRMiller]

YES! I had an unfortunate accident 40 years ago that messed up my right arm pretty bad. 9 surgeries in the first few years. Eventual result was that I kept my arm thankfully but my elbow has been in a “fixed” but usable 95’ish degree position ever since and I have limited radial motion in my forearm. I can’t shoulder a rifle or shotgun right handed because arm position doesn’t allow me to grip a pistol grip/trigger. I’m also right eye dominant. Simply started shooting rifles & shotguns left handed and it has worked out fine. I’ve only ever bought one left handed bolt action rifle, a 7 mag, in 1991. Still have it & shoots great. The other bolt rifles & auto shotguns that I’ve acquired since have all been right handed. You be surprised at the number of left handed shooters that buy & own right handed rifles! You can make the switch , & quickly it’ll feel just fine. Good luck.

Footnote: within a month of my accident I took my favorite Diawa Magforce reel, went to a friends pond, & started casting left handed. Lots of backlashes at first but eventually got good at it fast. Good enough that I consistently could put a Junebug colored Zoom lizard w/a bullet weight on a spot the size of a frisbee!

Similar. always shot pistols right handed, till an accident where I had limited use of my right arm for about 1-1/2 years, so switched to left. Now I shoot just as good on either hand.
Now on rifles', i'm left eye dominant, but I have always shot RH rifles left eyed/left handed. I have just always shot that way since little so its like nothing to me.