Cross Eye Dominance and AR/Rifle Shooting

[Field]

If anyone has had the issue of being cross eye dominant with rifle shooting please let me know what you did to optimize your marksmanship/performance.

Shooting through a scoped rifle wouldnt be quite as big of a deal but when using a shorter AR type weapon such as an M4 where you are potentially shooting on the move and having to quickly sight in on targets im not as confident on what would be the best method for dealing with the issue.

Using the non-dominant arm/hand feels unusual and is slower but then having only 1 eye open removes alot of peripheral vision and to really shoot at your best potential it seems like you would want to have your dominant eye doing its part with the sights.

If you or someone you know has dealt with this let me know what you did.

Edited September 24, 2010 by Field

[Graham Smith]

I am right handed and left eye dominant. With a red dot, it's not really an issue, I can shoot from either shoulder without any real problems.

Not quite as easy with a 1-4x scope at 1x, but not unmanageable.

With anything magnified, I have to close my left eye or at least squint. It's not really a problem because I keep both eyes open till I'm pretty much on target and ready to fire.

P.S. This is one of the big reasons why I've been asking so many questions about 1-4x and magnified red dots.

Edited September 24, 2010 by Graham Smith

[kellyn]

I am right handed and left eye dominant. With a red dot, it's not really an issue, I can shoot from either shoulder without any real problems.

Not quite as easy with a 1-4x scope at 1x, but not unmanageable.

With anything magnified, I have to close my left eye or at least squint. It's not really a problem because I keep both eyes open till I'm pretty much on target and ready to fire.

P.S. This is one of the big reasons why I've been asking so many questions about 1-4x and magnified red dots.

I am the opposite: left handed and right eye dominant. I shoot right handed.

[Field]

I am the opposite: left handed and right eye dominant. I shoot right handed.

i want to know how you decided to shoot right handed rather than use the non-dominant eye. this is the important part of the topic.

[GorillaTactical]

Left Eye dom. Right handed for everything.

Being that shooting left handed which I tried once was a complete flop, I just stuck with closing my left eye....some guys say you shouldn't but I've never really felt hampered by it...then again I'm no bigger winner either haha

[Captain Wheelgun]

In my case it's C - None of the Above. The reason for this is that while I am right handed, my right eye is useless for anything requiring detail vision (reading, shooting, etc...).I have tried shooting left handed, but it just doesn't feel right (no pun intended). What I do is set up my long guns so I can shoot right handed, but with my left eye. In some cases, this means lowering the comb on the stock. This, of course, is not an option on an AR. My AR has a fixed carry handle, I have a cantilever mount on it to hold a red dot sight. This raises the sight above the level of the irons just enough to allow the right hand - left eye trick to work.

Obviously this is not something I can recommend for everyone, but it works for me. If you have more-or-less normal vision in your right eye, I would try shooting right handed with your left eye closed or blocked.

[John Tuley]

I'm right-handed/left-eyed. My left hand is pretty dextrous as a support mechanism for small tasks, but I really can't shoot well with it. So I shoot everything right-handed. No big deal on a pistol, of course, except that I tend to shoot arrays left-to-right (gun is in the left half of my vision).

My AR has a 3.5x ACOG. That "Bindon Aiming Concept" that Trijicon talks about seems to work really well for me, but I haven't yet shot a match with it. When the scope starts to settle and the image isn't a blur of movement, my right eye just picks up the picture naturally and I line up and go.

The last time I shot "trap" (launcher on the firing line, not downrange) I noticed I started out with both eyes open, then when I acquired the target I focused on the sight and closed my left eye. Admitting that these were close targets, I hit 17+/25 with my 20" M2. (I've tried tape over the left eye, but then I'm too slow at picking up the targets.)

Short answer: my weak-side shooting is awful, so I continue to shoot strong-side as much as possible. While doing that, I keep both eyes open as much as possible, and only close the left if it's interfering with my sight picture.

-- John.

[Field]

for any of you who are left eye'd right handed do you find you are able to shoot more accurately with your weakhand only shots?

ive been paying some closer attetion to strong/weak handed shooting and ive noticed that with my left/weak hand i actually shoot more accurately and sights track straight up and down while with my strong hand they do not.

[warpspeed]

I'm right handed and right eye dominant but my left eye wants to take over at times, a condition called cross firing.

I tape the left eye just over the pupil so that only my right eye sees the front sight with both eyes open. The left eye still sees so my depth perception is good. I still find the need to close my left eye at times but when I forget to, the tape keeps ol' lefty from screwing things up.

[Lee King]

I guess it runs in my family. Both my Dad and I are left eye dominant. My Dad shoots everything right handed. He closes his left eye.

I was shooting rifle left handed for years and never knew I was "backwards". So i cant say i "learned" to shoot one way or another. I just did it based on what felt right when i was a kid. I shoot pistol right handed. I tape my right eye for pistol matches and kinda squint my right eye for 3 gun. I can switch when situations call for it (mostly 3 gun) but not with my eye taped.

[cletus9mm]

I'm left handed and right eye dominant. If you compete and or just want to become the best you can be, my suggestion is to start practicing with your weak hand. It will absolutely be slower now but with practice you'll be a better more rounded marksman by shooting with your weaker side. I'm one of the few that toiled through in order to shoot with my dominant eye. I originally did this for pistol but figured it would be in my best interest to carry my practicing over to rifle as well. I'm a little biased towards this though mostly because it is more difficult to find left hand friendly gear. This was some extra motivation for me. I started by buying a right handed holster and drawing from it on a nightly basis.it did not take as long as I thought for the draw to feel "normal ". I did the same thing with a shotgun but with less frequency. I shot trap (and was pretty terrible ) for a while while doing this. I might mention that I'm still not very good but shouldering the shotgun feels second nature at least. Really it boils down to practice and how bad you want it. I'm glad I took the time to practice. My pistol shooting would not be where it is today had I not.

[twodownzero]

I have the same problem and I've resorted to just closing my eye. I'm not sure, but I think that I open my eye when running/transitioning, and close my eye when sighting.

I'm not sure because whatever I do, it's so natural that I no longer think about it.

That said, my cross eye dominance has driven me nuts for as long as I have been shooting. It's very annoying because most people (outside of this forum) don't understand and haven't experienced it at all.

Switching to a dot on the AR might help. I'm playing with one now, but I don't get to shoot enough rifle to have any conclusive evidence.

[Modoc]

good topic guys. My son is cross eye dominant (we think). At least he shows right hand tendencies and left eye dominance. I will be watching this and looking for Ideas on starting him since he is 5 and just starting to shoot.

[patrickbeijer]

I am crosseyed dominant and with the rifle and zeiss scope on the 1,1 can shoot it like a aimpoint (it has the same reticle ) when i switch to more then 2x magnification i have to close my left eye off.

I tend to have more problems with my shotgun ,there i use a fiber frontsight but it takes rather long for me to pick it up with my eyes and i always have to close my dominant eye.

Same for handgun iron sights but for open i shoot with both eyes open and use the dominant eye

i am righthanded and left eye dominant and i really hate this because i really see it as a handicap in the shooting sports

[DanielW]

I'm left handed and left eyed (but dominance is not that strong). I shoot pistol left handed and left eyed....but rifles and shotguns right handed and right eyed. The reason for this is that I am ex British army - and due to their use of the SA80 bullpup rifle, I had to learn to shoot from my right shoulder (you can't shoot from the left, unless you fancy getting your teeth knocked out by the reciprocating charging handle!). After 12 years of that, it is now natural to me to do, so I still consequently shoot long guns right handed by choice. Incidentally, I also swing a golf club and eat right handed....mixed up, eh!

Re the cross eye dominance - I find if I'm in a situation where I am able to focus on the target, i.e. with a 1x scope, red dot or similar, or when 'pointing' my shotgun with fiber optic sight, I have no trouble at all keeping both eyes open and picking up the correct sight image. Similarly, with iron sights, I can keep both eyes open at very short range, so long as I maintain a target focus, and look 'through' the iron sight picture, I can get hits that 'will do'. If, however, I'm using any kind of magnified optic, shooting at longer ranges, or with irons need to focus on the front sight for greater accuracy (so at any range other than very close in), I have to close my left eye - I just seem to do this automatically as required.

Edited September 28, 2010 by DanielW

[Cold Absolute Zero]

for any of you who are left eye'd right handed do you find you are able to shoot more accurately with your weakhand only shots?

ive been paying some closer attetion to strong/weak handed shooting and ive noticed that with my left/weak hand i actually shoot more accurately and sights track straight up and down while with my strong hand they do not.

Yes, I have found that my eye dominance has helped my WHO strings. I am right handed but left eye dominant. When I first started shooting, bullseye shooting, I learned to shoot left handed in the traditional bullseye stance. I am still able to shoot better SHO than WHO, though I would say that my WHO shooting is slightly more advanced than my peers within my classification. Because I shoot rifles left handed, I feel that I give my left trigger finger a bit more repetition than most people do.

I'm left handed and right eye dominant. If you compete and or just want to become the best you can be, my suggestion is to start practicing with your weak hand. It will absolutely be slower now but with practice you'll be a better more rounded marksman by shooting with your weaker side.

I agree completely. I think that running a rifle left handed if you are left eye dominant but right handed has a lot of benefits.

1. The strong hand is bearing most of the weight and controlling the rifle. You can drive the gun harder and control recoil better with your strong hand
   
2. If you have a pump shotgun, you are using your strong hand to manipulate the slide.
   
3. If you are shooting an AK you can work the bolt and safety with your strong hand while maintaining a firing grip on the pistol grip with your left.
   
4. More left trigger finger practice
   
5. If you do not have a sling on your rifle, and you need to perform some kind of transition to your pistol, the secondary presentation process is easier if you are already operating the rifle with your left hand.
   

I learned to shoot rifles from the Army so for me I felt it was very important that I could shoot two eyes open all the time. I could not do this with my right eye so I learned to operate the AR as a lefty. I was unsuccessful in shooting off my right shoulder with my left eye, even with a RDS. After a bit stern practice and forcing my body to repeat and adopt the new manual of arms, it was actually quite easy and now it feels very natural. I suggest giving it an honest try, I think you'll also find that its not as difficult as it appears.

CAZ

[AlamoShooter]

my left eye is dominate and I am right handed. I shoot handgun left eye right hand, shooting rifle right eye is not a big deal as for longer smaller shots even with my hand gun i will partially close my 'off' eye. shotgun flying targets are the biggest challenge -IF- the target comes from the left, = thin I have to wait for the target to be picked up with my right eye. in Sporting clays the time is not a big deal, in 3 gun time is score.

For Rifle I thing a good left eye is an advantage as for the close targets I can shoot them with -Target Focus- with my left eye and leave my scope turned up to 4 power for the longer shots.

I am not a top shooter , But I do OK and i am learning something new at every match.

JF

[Glock3422]

I am right handed and left eye dominant.

My first shooting was hunting and I have always shot long guns left handed. I have always shot handguns right handed, given the option.

In later years, I have needed corrective glasses to read. My left eye is corrected for the front sight of my handgun. The right eye has a very slight correction for distance.

This works great for handgun and fine for shotgun. Iron sights on an AR complicate things a bit, but I can shoot them without too much trouble. The front sight is just the wrong distance after the correction for handgun. I am moving toward optics on the AR for competitive reasons given my eye sight. I would probably shoot irons better with no correction, since my distance vision is fine for all purposes. The issue arises between the near and mid-distance for me.

I can and do shoot long guns right handed/right eyed, but it is more difficult. I need to close my dominant (left) eye or be shooting at a very close target.

I practice shoulder transitions and shooting with each eye.

I think I am better shooting the handgun left handed than I would otherwise be, since my left hand is very familiar with pulling the trigger. I still adjust my point of aim for the handgun to the left edge of the zero. I started doing that after practicing on a plate rack at 20 yds.

I just wish I had started shooting when I had 20/15 vision in both eyes.

[SMSI]

I am right eye dominant and right handed. Good thing, since I have a blind spot in my central vision in my left eye (occular histoplasmosis). Shooting a rifle lefthanded at any distance is hopeless for me.

However, I have one son left handed, right eye dominant and another son right handed left eye dominant. My left hand son shoots everything right handed, and does very well. I think he is a little ambidextrous. My right handed son also shoots everything right handed. He uses his left eye for pistol, but right eye for long guns. He struggles a little with the long guns. I encouraged him to shoot long guns right handed due to the way they are set up. I question that now. This is a good thread. Dads and instructors should pay heed.

[AlamoShooter]

I am right eye dominant and right handed. Good thing, since I have a blind spot in my central vision in my left eye (occular histoplasmosis). Shooting a rifle lefthanded at any distance is hopeless for me.

However, I have one son left handed, right eye dominant and another son right handed left eye dominant. My left hand son shoots everything right handed, and does very well. I think he is a little ambidextrous. My right handed son also shoots everything right handed. He uses his left eye for pistol, but right eye for long guns. He struggles a little with the long guns. I encouraged him to shoot long guns right handed due to the way they are set up. I question that now. This is a good thread. Dads and instructors should pay heed.

I can shoot sporting shotgun left hand = its a good teaching tool to use with a student. its can be good for a few bucks too, in a long bird bet.

Most shotguns are set up for right hand loading , including Over and Unders , patianc is the key for a left eye dominat shooter shooting right eye right hand. = wait untill the target crosses the bridge of the nose , or the Tape on the glasses works good too. But I would rather stay home and mow the yard thin have tape on my glasses.

[SMSI]

Occular histoplasmosis + laser surgery = tape on the glasses. But you don't need the tape or the glasses and its permanent.

[CC712400]

If ambidextrous controls were more prevalent, I would probably opt to shoot left handed to make use of my left eye dominance. With an AR that's set up for right handed operation, I'd rather forgo the little bit of clarity in favor of more familiar and consistent controls.

I find that at close range (with a red dot on my AR) the issue of clarity doesn't seem to be a big deal, and while shooting at long range I close my dominant eye.

[PacMan]

I'm righty with left eye dominant. It took a while but I learned to shoot with both eyes open. With 1-4 optics but my brain finally learned to use right eye for rifle and shotgun then switch over to left eye when I shoot pistol. Rifle iron sight is another matter, I have to close my left eye most of the time in order to get a proper sight picture...too weird I know

[pjb45]

I usually shoot with the non-dominate eye with a scoped rifle or shotgun. If I needed to do a long shot with iron I would problem switch eyes because I have mono-vision.

The cool part is shooting around obstacles on the left is not a problem because I just switch shoulders.

I was at the range yesterday with a left handed shooter, shooting off of bags. I just settled right into his setup and pounded the target shooting weak sided.

In conclusion being cross dominate and with mono-vision is just a pain in the ass. I just adopt whatever shoulder/eye combination that works for the given situation. And BTW: I am a rookie at 3G.

[Field]

ive been doing the tape on the saftey glasses and it feels pretty good. i enjoy the comfort and lack of strain keeping both eyes open provides.