Choosing Between Left Or Right Hand

[Kiddo]

Hey guys! Heres my situation. I've been shooting every weekend for a year now. My primary shooting hand is right. I am also right eye dominant. But, I write and do other things more with my left hand, thus my left hand is stronger.

Recently, I've been pondering on the idea that I should switch my primary shooting hand to my left since it is stronger. But, I also counter myself by thinking that shooting right handed would also be an advantage since if a BG were to see me doing tasks on my right, then suddenly I shoot with my left, it would kinda put him off guard.

Although in competitions, having my actual strong hand as my support hand in shooting would be an advantage if there was a stage with support hand only shots right? Holsters and other firearm related things would also be easier on righties than on lefties. What do you guys think? Am I making sense at all?

Thanks.

[Chriss Grube]

Stop thinking and shoot. I am left handed for most sports except shooting. When I started shooting all the guns around were right handed and so was my uncle that taught me. This was all reenforced on P.I. (everybody is right handed or the D.I.'s will make you right handed) You're right eye dominate so why complicate the matter and try retraining and buying all new gear? If you are not having some type of major problem just shoot and enjoy. As far as all that BG crap you've been thinking forget it...most of them aren't smart enough to even try and figure out which hand is doing what.

[Steve Moneypenny]

First most criminals aren't smart.... that's why they are criminals.... i wouldn't worry about that aspect at all.

Look at it like this.. you don't have a weak side. Strength in your support hand grip is a great thing to have just practice lots and don't think about it. Cross dominant vision is much harder to over come than shooting the way you are from what I have experienced.

Shooting right handed you have quite a few good points..

1. most stage designers are right handed and design stages that can almost always be shot best for a righty.

2. all of the gear you find is for right handed

3. all of the guns are set up for righty's

4. no jokes about your gun being on the wrong side

happy shooting be it right or left handed

[tnroadrunner]

I've been right handed all my life, but lost my sight in right eye. So when I started shooting in 2000 I did all my shooting left handed. And that's where I am now shooting lefty but doing everything else righty.

[jasmap]

My opinion is to continue to shoot right handed if that is how you are most comfortable. It's always a great idea to work on your support side shooting though. I really believe the eye dominance issue is a huge factor in this. It should never be a problem to have a strong support side. You may have to work at it but it's not a problem.

[Lee Dimaculangan]

I can actually relate to this topic. I'm right handed - always shot right handed whether it was an open dot gun or fiber-optic / iron sights. The thing is.. I'm left eye dominant. For me, my weak hand (left hand) is REALLY weak. So I've been able to train my right hand/left eye coordination to a point where it has absolutely no effect on me.

If you're left handed / right eye dominant ---- try shooting left handed - when you hold your gun up, you'll find your arms slightly shifted to center right - so your dominant right eye can align the sights. You'll probably shoot a lot faster and more accurate shooting w/ your dominant hand.

In short - my advice is to use what you got. Train with it - and trust me it'll work to your advantage.

Just about 6 months ago, I picked up my first rifle in basic training. Now it's pretty hard to shoot a rifle right handed/left eye even in supported positions (prone, kneeling-supported). So the only way I could engage the targets w/out having to close my left eye... I just switched hands... shot the rifle left handed / left eye. All I had to do was train my left hand more on trigger control. With rifles/shotguns where the sights are pretty much 2 inches away from your face... I had to be left-handed... but on pistols, with the sights at arms length, I keep both eyes open and adjust my right eye to the sights - completely negating any disadvantages I might have w/ cross dominance.

hope that helped you a little and not confuse you more, hehe

[38superman]

This is as simple as it gets.

If you are right eye dominant you shoot right handed unless some other factor makes it impossible.

Tls