Thread: shooting with the non dominant eye.

Hello lads
so tonight , looking to improve my shooting , I came across the dominant eye test.
Low and behold I found myself to be left eye dominant , after all these years using my non dominant eye and right hand for the trigger , left to the front of the barrel.Where I should be the other way around.


is anyone else wired this way , how hard is it too change and should I bother. I get pretty good results the way I am so do I change it up or do I stay the same.

Kinda confused to be honest

Its an interesting situation to be in.

My brother and i were both in this position around 25 years ago - both right handers but left eye dominant.

He stayed shooting right handed, while i shot left handed. The end result was pretty similar, with both grabbibg national clay target titles.

We can both shoot of either shoulder, but i find shooting off my weaker shoulder becomes an issue after a couple of hundred targets.

My suggestion is to go with what works. Try both, but it sounds like what you are doing is working

i'm right eye dominant for rifles but can shoot archery either way.

I shoot right handed, but am left eye dominant. I have this weird ability to shut just my left eye.

Pistol shooting is more interesting, if I shoot one-handed with outstretched arm then I use my left eye, which is an advantage as it moves my eyes further from the sights. If I shoot two-handed, I just keep both eyes open, the sights just align with left eye just like when you did your eye dominance test.

Like said above, play. Why not teach yourself to shoot left and right handed? But it always feels daft to shoot a right hand bolt action left handed, I cringe every time I see Ian Gun Jesus do it on Forgotten Weapons.

I'm left eye dominant but shoot right handed thanks to an informative childhood and a grandfather who was opinionated in that regard. Nowadays I can shoot either side equally poorly but still have to close my left eye off the right shoulder or I get the wrong sight picture.

I'm right handed, left eye dominant, and shoot left handed on a right hand rifles.

Confused? I'm not.

@Cyclops Is that left hand/finger pulling the trigger ?
The reason I am confused is I have using my right eye for sighting for along time , it feels unco sighting around the other way with the gun .

Originally Posted by Jusepy

@Cyclops Is that left hand/finger pulling the trigger ?
The reason I am confused is I have using my right eye for sighting for along time , it feels unco sighting around the other way with the gun .

Left hand for trigger, right hand for bolt. Left eye for scope.

Do what works for you.

Originally Posted by Cyclops

Left hand for trigger, right hand for bolt. Left eye for scope.

Do what works for you.

Thank God for semis. Eh...

I'm the same as Cyclops, I use a right handed rifle on my left side. My right eye doesn't see much so what else is a right handed lad to do... It works.

Originally Posted by gonetropo

i'm right eye dominant for rifles but can shoot archery either way.

If you are left eye dominant and shoot archery right handed you will be sighting across the arrow unless you shut your left eye?! This is why I swapped to left hand with a bow and started shooting well. Unfortunately this led to left handed rifles.

Bring back semis...

Well I’m right I dominant, right handed but left footed? I was taught to shoot with both eyes open? Is both eyes open not common?

Left handed...left eye dominant.....practice often right handed using right eye......results are varied but have surprised myself several times,on long range shoots doing just as good right handed as opposed to being naturally left handed.As stated above,I keep both eyes open,very seldom close one

I’m required to have vision tests every 6 months,there is a difference between the left and right eye(normal),not a lot,and for that very reason I practice with both left and right shooting positions...

Quote: Unfortunately this led to left handed rifles.

Lol...yeah a dilemma for you ....be interested to know % of lefties or righties amongst this group....

This is an interesting discussion. I am right eye dominant and while I can shoot scoped rifles with both eyes open my preference is to close my left eye. I have tried a great deal to use the both eyes open technique when shooting pistols but I just cannot do it as I see two very clear side by side sight pictures and although I know that it is the left most sight picture that is true to target I just can’t achieve quick target acquisition when shifting between targets so I shoot pistols with my left eye closed. It pisses me off because I have spent countless hours trying to get both eyes open to work for me and closing my left eye slows me down when transitioning targets from right to left.