davids3511 Posted February 18, 2016 Report Share Posted February 18, 2016 (edited) My son has just started shooting seriously in december. He's right handed but it was noticed in a recent gun fitting and training day that he's left eye dominant. The trainer suggested that he shoot left handed if he wanted to become seriously good or to stay right if he was shooting for fun. After a few hours training the trainer suggested to me that my son should stick right handed as he was extreemly awkward shooting left and if he continued, there was a risk he'd get fed up and leave the sport altogether. He's now shooting with a patch over his left eye. How limiting will it be to him to stick right handed? Edited February 18, 2016 by davids3511 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sishyplops Posted February 18, 2016 Report Share Posted February 18, 2016 Get another opinion , he can learn to shoot well right handed, I know pleanty of incredibly good shots who are right handed and left eye dominant Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davids3511 Posted February 18, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2016 Get another opinion , he can learn to shoot well right handed, I know pleanty of incredibly good shots who are right handed and left eye dominantI think he was talking absolutley top of the sport for going left handed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bakerboy Posted February 18, 2016 Report Share Posted February 18, 2016 Where are you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davids3511 Posted February 18, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2016 Where are you?South Manchester. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Poon Posted February 18, 2016 Report Share Posted February 18, 2016 Here's an excellent coach in your area http://www.clayshootingcoach.com, beretta off this forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamster Posted February 18, 2016 Report Share Posted February 18, 2016 (edited) My son has just started shooting seriously in december. He's right handed but it was noticed in a recent gun fitting and training day that he's left eye dominant. The trainer suggested that he shoot left handed if he wanted to become seriously good or to stay right if he was shooting for fun. After a few hours training the trainer suggested to me that my son should stick right handed as he was extreemly awkward shooting left and if he continued, there was a risk he'd get fed up and leave the sport altogether. He's now shooting with a patch over his left eye. How limiting will it be to him to stick right handed? His initial suggestion isn't too wide off the mark and plenty of people have taken that route and achieved great success eventually, he is also mature enough to go back on his own suggestion so there must be something very odd about the way your son tries to shoot from his left shoulder and it'd be interesting to find out what is causing this. People trying to force their face across the stock to line up their master eye with the rib can look very awkward but this is clearly not the case here so what is he doing so wrong that is proving hard to rectify at this early stage ? It might be worth getting a second opinion but IF he does end up shooting from his opposite master eye shoulder purely because it feels more natural, then fear not because plenty do with or without the aid of patches or dots on glasses. There are some fundamentals which need to be understood and applied but it is entirely possible to achieve results equal to if not better than same master eye/shoulder shots. Edited February 18, 2016 by Hamster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruno22rf Posted February 18, 2016 Report Share Posted February 18, 2016 IMHO it's going to take a lot more than a few hours to get your lad to feel comfortable shooting left handed but its certainly doable with determination. I lost my right eye 16 years ago and still sometimes throw the gun into my right shoulder if a hurried shot presents itself, but it took about 2 or 3 years before I could shoot as well as I did right handed (badly). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay404 Posted February 18, 2016 Report Share Posted February 18, 2016 I am right handed but left eye dominant.I shoot off my left shoulder now. It felt weird at first but now it's all i can imagine ever doing. It might be gun fit if he's using a right handed gun and trying to swap to left hand shooting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon R Posted February 18, 2016 Report Share Posted February 18, 2016 My right eye is stronger up to about 30 yards. After that my left eye is better. I have shot with a small dot on my glasses for nearly 30 years. When I look straight ahead, I use both eyes, but the minute my head hits the stock, I can only see down the barrel with my right eye. Other than being a pain in the rain, it is no handicap whatsoever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsonicnat Posted February 18, 2016 Report Share Posted February 18, 2016 My Grandson had exactly the same problem,after a few weekends,God only knows why, He was shooting very,very well. My sons tried it,just said they couldn't do it,neither could I.It was truly amazeing.. If he can get used to it let him,by the way it was a straight stocked right handed gun too. He is now seriously good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
100milesaway Posted February 18, 2016 Report Share Posted February 18, 2016 Here's an excellent coach in your area http://www.clayshootingcoach.com, beretta off this forum. +1 from Auntie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bakerboy Posted February 18, 2016 Report Share Posted February 18, 2016 (edited) +1 from Auntie. + another supporter of Beretta Edited February 18, 2016 by bakerboy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davids3511 Posted February 18, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2016 I am right handed but left eye dominant.I shoot off my left shoulder now. It felt weird at first but now it's all i can imagine ever doing. It might be gun fit if he's using a right handed gun and trying to swap to left hand shooting He gave him a straight perazzi to try, he barely hit the pattern plate. Its not the cast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salopian Posted February 19, 2016 Report Share Posted February 19, 2016 It is also dependant on the childs age. Many children changer eye dominance when they reach pubity. Many middle aged people change dominance as they age. Eye dominance can be trained , but you must persevere. Stance is crucial to good form and fit . IF he cannot get comfortable shooting left handed then let him continue shooting R/Handed and use a device to divert his left eye dominance. A very good coach will sort him out . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshwarrior Posted February 19, 2016 Report Share Posted February 19, 2016 Sound to me like your coach know what he's doing. It's best in theroy to go with the master eye, however some people the master hand will not allow the change. The change of shoulder can take a long time. There are simple techniques/cheats to get around the differing levels of eye dominance. As mentioned above teenagers eyes change a lot in pubity so the issue can also fix its self in a few weeks, it can also get worse again in the months to come. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David30 Posted February 19, 2016 Report Share Posted February 19, 2016 Hi All, I too am right handed and left eye dominant, and learnt to shoot off my left shoulder. A good few coaching sessions later it felt natural enough and i shoot to a reasonable standard. ATB David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shalfordninja33 Posted February 19, 2016 Report Share Posted February 19, 2016 I'm left handed and right eye dominant. I had corrective surgery on my left lazy eye when I was younger. I shoot left handed and just close my right eye. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDAV Posted February 19, 2016 Report Share Posted February 19, 2016 I am right handed but left eye dominant.I shoot off my left shoulder now. It felt weird at first but now it's all i can imagine ever doing. It might be gun fit if he's using a right handed gun and trying to swap to left hand shooting +1 takes some practise but doable I did it, the miraculous improvement in scores hasn't happened tho...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wymberley Posted February 19, 2016 Report Share Posted February 19, 2016 My right eye is stronger up to about 30 yards. After that my left eye is better. I have shot with a small dot on my glasses for nearly 30 years. When I look straight ahead, I use both eyes, but the minute my head hits the stock, I can only see down the barrel with my right eye. Other than being a pain in the rain, it is no handicap whatsoever. +1 I don't shoot clays but as I have to wear prescription glasses anyway, this is the easiest and simplest solution. As this is the Clay pigeon forum, then there's also the safety benefit of wearing them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buze Posted February 19, 2016 Report Share Posted February 19, 2016 I've read multiple, conflicting things on the benefits of shooting with both eyes open. Despite the obvious advantage for target acquisition, there is also a case for /not/ keeping both eyes open when the gun is mounted, as many people eye dominance can change with tiredness, stress, light etc and it's easy to throw the shot if that happens. Also, one post I've read was very interesting in saying that once the target is acquired (with both eyes) the brain no longer really /need/ the extra information to follow/lead the target anyway, so you can dim/close the extra eye without issue. My wife's shooting (right eye dominant, right shoulder) has improved VASTLY once she started using the piece of semi-opaque tape on her left glass, despite the instructor saying she should be able to keep both eyes open all the time given her eye dominance. It's likely I'll try the piece of tape myself soon, and perhaps keep it permanently on my safety glasses if it works out... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davids3511 Posted February 19, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2016 (edited) It is also dependant on the childs age. Many children changer eye dominance when they reach pubity. Many middle aged people change dominance as they age. Eye dominance can be trained , but you must persevere. Stance is crucial to good form and fit . IF he cannot get comfortable shooting left handed then let him continue shooting R/Handed and use a device to divert his left eye dominance. A very good coach will sort him out . He's 14 so while the coach didnt discount it changing, he didnt think it was likely at this stage. He worked alot on stance and mount with him in the session and modified his shooting glasses with a patch over the left eye. He says it is best to shoot with both eyes open and thats why he should learn to be a leftie if he wants to get to be the very best. I hope i dont sound like im disparaging the coach, i like and trust the guy. Im just looking for outside opinions. Edited February 19, 2016 by davids3511 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davids3511 Posted February 19, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2016 +1 takes some practise but doable I did it, the miraculous improvement in scores hasn't happened tho......I laughed at this, thanks for the reality check. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamster Posted February 19, 2016 Report Share Posted February 19, 2016 I'm starting to think puberty ain't what it used to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SirDread Posted February 19, 2016 Report Share Posted February 19, 2016 (edited) Right handed, left dominant. I use "Red Kite Master Dot Eye Dominance Correction Spots" which are a cheaper version of optical foil (Find them on the auction site). These don't create a blank spot in your field of view more of a frosted circle. The dot itself does not hamper your peripheral vision, only corrects your dominance and it is small enough so you don't notice it all when shooting. Once your head is down on the stock job is done and you get to keep both eyes open. I was told by my eye specialist eye dominance can change and I am sure I have also read someone that you can change it through training exercises. Personally I don't subscribe to changing shoulders to shoot, next thing we will be telling left eye dominants to drive left hand cars only Edited February 19, 2016 by SirDread Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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