Cross eye dominate question

[zacattack]

Yes save him years of frustration and let him shoot left handed. We always just shot right handed no matter what. In my twenties I found out I was cross eye dominant, started shooting left handed and the difference was night and day for me.

 

[Voyageur]

Hi all. So my kid is 4.5 years old and definitely left eye dominate. From what I can tell, he’s right handed. So for you cross eye dominate folks, should I teach him to shoot rifles and bows left handed?

Based on personal experience with my son........yes.

 

[TSAMP]

Exact same for me.

Same here. You guys all want to start a gang?

 

[ODB]

Same here. You guys all want to start a gang?

hell yeah man.

the Cross Dominant Curmudgeons.

I’ll start drafting the charter as soon as I can get my self outta this easy chair and shoo those kids off my lawn…

 

[LostArra]

The influence of eye "dominance" in archery is not really clear cut. "Aiming" eye and "dominant" eye don't have to be necessarily the same. Left handed shooters at the top level of competition are far fewer than expected based on numbers. If 1/3 of the population is left eye dominant why are 99% of Olympic archers shooting right handed?

If archers like Jake Kaminski and Brady Ellison are tested left eye dominant but shoot right handed then accuracy is definitely possible shooting your dominant hand. One Olympic recurve coach mentions that proficiency with a bow is not based on aiming but consistent shooting form. He teaches beginners to shoot to their strong/comfortable hand and has methods of training the non-dominant eye to become the aiming eye if the handedness and aiming eye are not the same.

I think starting a young person down a left handed path can work well if you are willing to accept the availability issues of left handed gear.

 

[HuntHarder]

I would have said complete opposite of this thread. I used to be left eye dominant when shooting rifles but was able to "cure" it pretty easy by putting a patch on my left eye for a few shooting sessions. I was around 10 or so when I did this. My dad had me do it because he wanted me to not have to go thru life looking for left handed bows and rifles.

Out of curiousity, why would most everyone say not to do this? Seemed easy enough for me but now you got me rethinking it if my kids are cross eyed dominant.

 

[Broomd]

Hi all. So my kid is 4.5 years old and definitely left eye dominate. From what I can tell, he’s right handed. So for you cross eye dominate folks, should I teach him to shoot rifles and bows left handed?

Yes, that's about when I started, maybe a year or two later. The transition was easy and natural at that age.

 

[wmd]

When my older son was 7-8 he picked up a gun a put it to his left shoulder, he is right handed. Asked what he was doing, he said it felt natural, checked he is left eye dominate. He shoots left handed and has no issues. Let him shoot the way that is natural for him.
wmd

 

[MountainTracker]

Same here. You guys all want to start a gang?

I always assumed we were better shots then “regular people”


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Billogna]

I'm blessed as well to be cross eye dominant. Left eyed ** and eared BTW** /right handed. Learned to shoot lefty as a youngster. Another side benefit was my dominant arm steadying the weapon, which when I was younger helped out more than most folks realize with off hand shooting.

 

[P Carter]

I have the same situation with my son, I've been having him shoot ambidextrous weapons so far (single-shot .410, lever action .22, haven't yet gotten a bow) and am looking for a lefthanded rifle. Which is a PITA but I want to get him started on the right foot.

 

[TxxAgg]

Tagged

 

[tcpip95]

Same here. Left eye dominant. I write left handed, throw a ball right handed, swing a bat right handed, play ping-pong left handed, play tennis right handed. I tried shooting right handed, but couldn't shoot reliably. Switched over to LH and never looked back. Whenever possible I get LH weapons (LH SA shotgun, Ithaca M37 shotgun, LH AR-15, LH Browning BAR, LH Savage Weather Warrior). Teach him to shoot LH now and don't look back. He might get discouraged if he's missing shots RH.

 

[P7M13]

Right handed, left eye dominant.
Did everything right handed until ~four years ago, then started the switch.
On switch to shooting rifles LH, my accuracy and precision went up markedly. I would not have thought it made a difference on glass, but it does.
30+ rifles, four are left handed. Except for a thumbhole stock on a 22LR, shoot all of them lefty, and prefer to shoot a RH bolt rifle as a lefty. You can cycle the action faster. People look at me funny when shoot my RH flintlock as a lefty. It never bothers me.
Started the switch to pistols last year, what a PITA, but my accuracy and sight acquisition speed have improved also.
Bow is an old Matthews Helium, set up so I can shoot right or left handed, and I practice both.

Your son is 4-1/2. Over the years, I'd teach both strong and weak side, dominant and non-dominant eye shooting.

 

[Mighty Mouse]

I have the same situation with my son, I've been having him shoot ambidextrous weapons so far (single-shot .410, lever action .22, haven't yet gotten a bow) and am looking for a lefthanded rifle. Which is a PITA but I want to get him started on the right foot.

No need to limit him to only ambidextrous or left-handed guns. I shoot left-handed but grew up with all RH guns. Not always ideal, but you adapt and get used to it. Working a RH bolt is awkward but doable. Handedness doesn't really matter with a pump, lever, breakover, or automatic except maybe for operation of the safety. Even now all the guns I own but one (a LH bolt action) are RH, although I have put ambidextrous safety selectors on all my RH AR's.

 

[VernAK]

When I taught shotgun, I encountered CED often especially in women. I started by putting Scotch Matte Finish Tape on the glasses of their dominant eye forcing them to utilize the passive eye. Some were able to overcome their affliction after a summer of frequent trap shooting.

 

[Broomd]

When my older son was 7-8 he picked up a gun a put it to his left shoulder, he is right handed. Asked what he was doing, he said it felt natural, checked he is left eye dominate. He shoots left handed and has no issues. Let him shoot the way that is natural for him.
wmd

Yep, my dad handed me a bb gun and then said, "why are you shooting lefty?" I told him I couldn't see as well with my right eye, it wasn't sharp like my left. He told me to roll with it and I shot lefty all of my life.

 

[Ralphie]

Both my kids are right handed and left eyed. They do everything right handed except shoot. They just shoot right handed guns. My daughter does have a left handed bow.

 

[tdot]

Left eye dominant, right handed. I've shot pellet guns and .22's since I was 6 or 7, everything was right handed and I didn't notice anything unusual. At no point did I ever consider shooting with my left as everyone around me shot as a righty. It wasn't until I was at a hunter safety course in my early 30's that I found out I was left eyed dominant. Teacher said lots of guys find out that way and he hadn't noticed a correlation with cross dominance and bad shots. I'd let the kid decide. What's comfortable for him?

 

[roadrunner]

Teach 'em to shoot left handed with a right hand rifle.

Less gun finding stress later on in life.