Eye Dominance Problem

[Airic]

Im helping a friend who has never shot a pistol, in our first session, I notice he has an eye dominance problem (right handed, left eyed)

He holds the pistol straight in front of him, but cocks his head to the right to get his left eye in line with the sights. I suggested he change this to tilt the pistol a little to the left to bring the sights to his eye so he doesnt have to move his head.

Whats the normal way people get around these type of problems?

[blackdragon]

I'm the same way. Just let him shoot as he will! ( Both eyes open!) It will work out!

Ivan

[AlamoShooter]

Let the guy hit targets, it is very easy to over do the instruction. Ballance, sight and triger controle. keep it simple. make it fun, even get him to take his best target with him. when you are finished.

But yes less head off center is best. I mostly move my hands to my eye. for sub 1 second steel shots I will cheet my head over slightly to the right.

His head / her head should be in the same place as if you held a $1,000 bill up in front of them. That will always put the head and eyes in the proper position.

But what could I know I left eye right handed.

Jamie F

[GRR]

I'm left handed, right eye dominant. I just turn my head to the left a little. Never felt that it was an issue. However, I shoot long guns off my right sholder.

[HSMITH]

Whatever you do put the gun under his dominant eye, whether it be a hand gun or a long gun. Start with what feels OK to him, get him hooked and THEN shake it up if the situation needs it.

[Calamity Jane]

I agree with LET HIM SHOOT. As a woman, I know that too much advice too soon is not much fun. Sometimes we all need, "A little less talk, and a lot more action."

However, I too am a right handed, left eye dominant shooter. Here are some tricks that have helped me on my journey.

1. Scotch tape on the shooting glasses to the right eye

2. Isosceles shooting stance. For me this means feet shoulder width apart and my left foot back about 4 inches.

3. Find your natural point of aim.

When I changed my feet (left foot back a little) I found my natural point of aim. There is no sweeter feeling than to bring your gun up from a draw and be right on target

If your friend really wants to know more...let me be the first to say....buy him Brian's book.

[Genghis]

Rifle shooters who are cross-dominant are taught to shoot based on eye dominance. That is, a left eye dominant/right handed shooter should shoot left handed. It's easier to learn to shoot with the wrong hand than to learn to shoot with the non-dominant eye.

Your friend is lucky he's shooting pistols. All he has to do is turn his head or move his grip a little.

+1 on natural point of aim. He should move his head to where he naturally points the gun, so he's looking down the sights. If he tries instead to move the gun to where he's looking, he's going to be holding the gun in an unnatural position using muscle power. Bad idea.

[edited for clarity]

Edited February 15, 2006 by Genghis

[blackdragon]

The only trouble that I have is shooting an iron sighted rifle. Left eye dominate, right handed

( School system screwed that up for me!) It can get a little blurry!

Ivan

[xuxupecheur]

I'm also crossed eyed and wear progressive lenses. A mess!

I'll try Calamity Jane's advice, meantime, is there anybody out there wearing "custom made" shooting glasses? I know the topic has been covered but cannot find it.

[PaperHater]

I'm also cross dominant. Matt Burkett recommends that you just scoot the pistol over rather than cocking your head. It works for me.

It would be better to be right eye dominant but it's not too bad.

[crday]

I have the same issue; right-handed, left-eyed.

With the pistol, just let the left eye take over and make the slight grip adjustment. Early on, I found that paying some attention to a 'push' with my left arm forced the gun into line with the left eye. Now it happens without thinking.

As an aside, I've been teaching some women's handgun classes the last few months and we find that fully 30% of the students are cross dominant.

Now, for shotguns the story is different...

[Jman]

....ok try this....i'm ambidextrous, it's called confused dominance

today which sounds sort of umm... anyway i shoot, bat, throw etc with both hands and no preference. my left eye is dominant. when i took up combat shooting two thousand years ago i bought a holster. a leather bianchi model 92 (i think). of course it was a right hand model. it didn't matter. just shoot naturally. no tension. no closing this or tilting that. just draw, aim and shoot.

Edited June 16, 2006 by JimmyM

[Mistral404]

Left eye, right handed.

I try to keep my head centered and striaght.

I drop my right foot back a tad more on draws.

I move the gun to my eye way more often then moving the eye to the gun.

A couple times a year, I screw up on a stage and shoot it with my left eye closed. But for the most part both eyes are open and the left one just takes over.

You can always put your ear protection under you chin and around your neck to practice not moving your head so much. It also helps in getting the reloads to occur higher.