Eye Dominance Problem

[twitchynik]

So it looks like I could have a problem with my left eye starting to get in the way and affect my shot tracking. I've been checked by three different instructors and I'm defo right eye dominant and shoot right handed.

 

I had a problem in the early days and had to close my left eye once I'd picked the bird up. Never been a problem since then but my coach picked up something today. So we tried shooting with the left eye always closed and quite quickly we saw a marked improvement in pick up and tracking with much less wobbling and a more direct mount to the target.

 

At the moment I don't seem to mind keeping the eye closed but that's obviously going to reduce my field of vision. One thought is to put a small bit of tape on the left lens of my shooting glasses to see if that disrupts the eye enough. Will try again another day and see if it carries on but if it does, and perhaps also as a training aid, does anyone have any thoughts on how to work with this?

[HDAV]

try a dab of vaseline on glasses to start with there are some over priced film dots you can buy but vaseline works as well and is cheaper...

 

http://www.shotspot.co.uk/

 

You could also try an easyhit sight? http://www.sportsmanguncentre.co.uk/product/164b2a6053d1705363892532/Champion+Easy+Hit+Sights/

Edited April 17, 2011 by HDAV

[100milesaway]

Dim your left eye just before you pull the trigger, from Auntie

[Greenhunter]

I use a combination of an easy-hit sight and a (left eye)

just as I mount the gun. Gives full view to pick up target then

reinforces right eye dominance.

 

GH

Edited April 17, 2011 by Greenhunter

[Catamong]

If you really are right eye dominant and you shoot right handed, I don't see that you've got a problem..?

 

Is anybody telling you different..??

 

Cat

[mister_g]

I have central vision, I was told by a coach to hold the forend with the index finger and the thumb along the barrel so your thumb hide the end of the barrel from your left eye. I use that with combination of easyhit(not sure that one help) and it seems to do the trick.

Good luck

[wymberley]

Have the same problem. A small spot of Tippex to block out the left eye view of the barrel when the stock comes into the shoulder (check you've got all target types covered, especially overhead) sorts it. Am assuming you have the same gun as when the three different instructors checked you out as a low comb can cause the same effect. This does work and you can forget about blinking, winking, closing the eye and buying all the gimmicks and you maintain 3D vision until you are about to pull the trigger. Stress can effect the dominant eye - ladies can suffer from this regularly - and shooting can be so when done competitively.

Just don't drive while wearing the glasses!

[Hamster]

If you really are right eye dominant and you shoot right handed, I don't see that you've got a problem..?

 

Is anybody telling you different..??

 

Cat

 

 

Same thought here , if you`ve definitely been tested as right eye dominatnt and are right handed then you should have no problem. If tiredness leads to switch over then that`s different. I`m left eye dominant and shoot right handed with both eyes open without much to worry about. You need to to train yourself to avoid switch-over.

[twitchynik]

Thanks all - especially Wymberley as it's always good to hear someone else having the same affliction...!

 

I've always been right eye dominant in all the sports I've played (cricket, golf, tennis) but what seems to be happening with shooting is that my left eye is intefering occasionally. This tends to show itself once I've picked up the bird and start to track, mount then shoot (both "Method" and maintained lead) and even more so with crossers - an area I mostly struggle with. So what I've been taught to do is close the left eye once I've picked the bird up and mounted - as Auntie said. Same gun with two instructors - first gun was too low on the comb but eye dominence tests before using the gun had me right eye.

 

However, I tried keeping the left eye closed all the time for a number of shots and I felt (and it also looked) like a better pickup, mount and shot. It's early days and I'll have a proper session at this at the weekend but it sounds like I have quite a few things to try out

[HDAV]

See if the direction of the crosser has an impact? I am left eye dom and strongly so, so much i now shoot left handed, everything else is RH and i do from time to time get a blur of barrel from my right eye and see 2 ribs. This seems to happen when i focus on the rib not the bird....

Edited April 18, 2011 by HDAV

[timps]

I was left eye dominant and managed to change my dominance by training my brain.

 

One routine that can help (no good if you shoot FITASC though) is before you call for the clay is to mount the gun, shut your left eye and aim at an object such as a tree or even into the sky for a few seconds, focus hard with the eye but not looking directly at the bead but aware of the bead (this is helped if you have a tru glow or equivalent type of ‘glow’ bead but not essential) then drop the gun and call for the clay, or if you shoot pre-mounted open your eye again.

 

This routine helped me when I was training my brain over and the left eye was still having an influence.

It reaffirms the dominant eye you want to use to the brain.

I still use this routine occasionally just to make sure, but when my dominance switched to central vision I would do it before calling pull on every clay and it did work for me.

[twitchynik]

I was left eye dominant and managed to change my dominance by training my brain.

 

One routine that can help (no good if you shoot FITASC though) is before you call for the clay is to mount the gun, shut your left eye and aim at an object such as a tree or even into the sky for a few seconds, focus hard with the eye but not looking directly at the bead but aware of the bead (this is helped if you have a tru glow or equivalent type of ‘glow’ bead but not essential) then drop the gun and call for the clay, or if you shoot pre-mounted open your eye again.

 

Cheers timps

 

That's pretty much exactly what I do at at the moment. Always pratice a mount, close left eye, check allignment, focus out to where bird will fly, drop gun a bit, open left eye and call for the bird. What I'll start trying now is keeping the left eye closed and see if that helps

[Catamong]

It's never a good idea to shoot with one eye shut, I don't know a single good clay shot who does it that way.

 

You've got to shoot with both eyes open, if you've got a problem with crossers, (and who hasn't..??), then shoot some skeet.

 

It'll help your Sporting no end.

 

Cat.

[timps]

When you have checked your eye dominance has it always been with your right hand ?

 

I only ask because when I was going through this when I checked my dominance with my right hand I was right eye dominant, but when using my left I was left eyed. Also with the gun mounted swinging from right to left I was left eye and from left to right it switched again. No coach I have seen (not saying this applies to every coach) actually asks you to check left handed and then right handed. I was not strictly central vision as one eye was always slightly dominant which fooled the casual tests but not an in depth geeky one done by me .

 

But during this stage when I was shooting comps I would dim an eye as blocking vision from one of my eyes was the only solution until I shifted my dominance to my right eye completely.

[twitchynik]

It's never a good idea to shoot with one eye shut, I don't know a single good clay shot who does it that way.

 

You've got to shoot with both eyes open, if you've got a problem with crossers, (and who hasn't..??), then shoot some skeet.

 

It'll help your Sporting no end.

 

Cat.

Thanks Cat. This is why I've asked around as I don't want to restrict myself by having to always have one eye closed.

 

Regarding skeet, I had heard this was a good thing to do and have started on it - Cupid Green is handy for me being close to work and home However, first sporting session after a good few rounds of skeet the previous day would indicate otherwise... :yp:

[twitchynik]

When you have checked your eye dominance has it always been with your right hand ?

I've tried both myself a number of times and always get the same - right eye. But I will go try and mount the gun in both shoulders tonight and see where I'm pointing at. Or think I am...

 

The different swings thought is interesting. I had thought this after one of my local shoots when I looked at my score card which suffered on a couple of crossing stands. However, I couldn't then (and still can't now) find a pattern. My only theory was I was struggling to find/spot the line and mount to it as I hardly have any problems with incomers or aways. Weirdly enough the closed eye method seemed to resolve that yesterday..!

 

I suspect it will be a long case of trial and error but I do like the idea of those ShotSpots....

[HDAV]

Stick at it, I am ( i find oh high driven targets my eyes start trying to swap about) right to left quartering i struggle with! (well that and many others) what is your vision like in each eye? I have a feeling your brain has learnt which eye to trust when, I have the same dominant sid eas my better eye (girlfriends the same) If i close my left eye everything gets a bit blurrier, if i close my right the image stays the same but we are talking peripheral vision where the same doesn't apply do the eye dom test with 2 hands......

 

I have a mate who is so central vision he ends up with the CD touching his nose and still centred between his eyes (both eyes open he cant hit a thing!) one eyed he did pretty well!

[Salopian]

Twitchynik, correctly identified a situation that some people have, that is their dominance changes dependant upon which hand is pointed.This normally identifies a person with indeterminate eye dominance.

It is very important to correctly identify your dominance to improve your shooting or to start with a correct foundation.

The best way to identify your dominance is to look through a hole about 12mm in diameter in a card with both eyes open with the card held out at arms length, focus on a point that you can see through the hole, and then slowly bring the card back towards your face maintaining focus on the distant object. The card will come back to the face with the hole aligning with the dominant eye. If it aligns with your nose you are central vision.

If you are cross dominant, wear a pair of shooting glasses, mount an unloaded gun and focus on a aiming point with your 'off' eye closed. Open your 'off' eye and get a friend to place a small disc (4mm) on the lense to blank out the pupil.

THEN (here comes the clever bit) with a felt tip pen dot the lense allround, allover, the remainder of the lense. Remove the paper disc. Then go shooting. The visual disturbance caused by the dots blocks out the 'off' eye, but allows you to shoot with both eyes open.

Visual blocking felt tips are available by post from me for £29-99 + P&P

Edited April 18, 2011 by Salopian

[psych4shooting]

I had the same, the first solution I did was a smear of vaseline on the glasses, so I could not see down the rib, but still had some peripheral vision. In the end I changed shoulders, but that took alot of thought process and training, but I can shoot ok off it now.

[HDAV]

I had the same, the first solution I did was a smear of vaseline on the glasses, so I could not see down the rib, but still had some peripheral vision. In the end I changed shoulders, but that took alot of thought process and training, but I can shoot ok off it now.

really? While i found it felt odd to start with in under 6 months (of not practising as much as i should) i was better off the left than the right, different if you've been shooting off one shoulder for 20+ years but under 2 years easy to swap if you put your mind to it. (basically dry mount the gun 10 times a day for 2 weeks without firing a cart then start off slow on the beginner stands... a few shots at a time 25-50 max to build up the muscles while regularly practising dry mounting.

[Kermit the frog]

Dear Twitchynik,

 

Used to shoot with a fellow, right handed, right eyed and an experienced above average shot.

 

When he shot skeet at the local club, he nearly always missed low 1 and low 2 by a yard in front,

 

Left eye! well we thought that when the clay came from a poor background going left his left eye would see it a millisecond before the right one.

 

So we painted the front of the trap house white, don't think he ever missed another one.

 

Not saying this is the answer, but bear it in mind.

 

kermit

[VicW]

I get migraine attacks and can now tell if an attack is imminent because it is forecast by suddenly not being able to hit anything.particularly crossers.

I discovered that what is happening is a change in dominance from right to left and back again in quite quick succession.I confirmed this using the 'hole in a card' method.

I have tried fibre optic sights and dots on my glasses but neither help presumably because the condition isn't permanent.

I then go home before my brain starts to hurt!

 

Vic.

[timps]

 

The different swings thought is interesting. I had thought this after one of my local shoots when I looked at my score card which suffered on a couple of crossing stands. However, I couldn't then (and still can't now) find a pattern. My only theory was I was struggling to find/spot the line and mount to it as I hardly have any problems with incomers or aways. Weirdly enough the closed eye method seemed to resolve that yesterday..!

 

I suspect it will be a long case of trial and error but I do like the idea of those ShotSpots....

 

The little exercise I used to do was pick an object such as a tree trunk or telegraph pole, stand with the target at 12 o’clock and mount the gun at 3 o’clock, then whilst looking straight down the barrel with both eyes open swing the gun slowly towards the target and stop when it looks like you are aiming directly at the target, then shut your off shoulder eye to see if the sight picture moves.

 

Repeat the process at 9 o’clock and then also try increasing the speed.

 

In my case it did affect the sight picture doing this, but if your sight picture does not move and you are always stopping on target I guess you have different issues to mine.

 

I just kept doing this routine trying to stop the gun using both eyes open until my sight picture was consent no matter what side I came from.

[twitchynik]

The little exercise I used to do was pick an object such as a tree trunk or telegraph pole, stand with the target at 12 o’clock and mount the gun at 3 o’clock, then whilst looking straight down the barrel with both eyes open swing the gun slowly towards the target and stop when it looks like you are aiming directly at the target, then shut your off shoulder eye to see if the sight picture moves.

 

Repeat the process at 9 o’clock and then also try increasing the speed.

 

In my case it did affect the sight picture doing this, but if your sight picture does not move and you are always stopping on target I guess you have different issues to mine.

 

I just kept doing this routine trying to stop the gun using both eyes open until my sight picture was consent no matter what side I came from.

 

Thanks fella, that's really useful!