Confusion?

S

shermanrm

New member
My grandson has been shooting since he could hold a gun. Back then dust meant it was a good shot. He has always been left eye dominant,open sights,scope. He shoots right handed and can aim with his left but it is slowww. So I put an adjustable stock on a 10-22 with a red dot-use both eyes right. He is pretty deadly this way.
Now for the confusion-he is now 10 and wanting to try something bigger. I borrowed a youth model 243 with a scope and took him out. He has never set down and tried to shoot a group before.
After the third shot-not a bad group I started paying attention to his technique. Imagine my surprise to see him using his RIGHT eye. When I asked him when he started doing that his response was " Since you put that red dot on"
Never fussed with the eye dominance thing, just tried to accommodate it. Quess it worked itself out. Loves the 243 by the way.
 
Only time ive ever noticed a difference in eye domination was reflexive fire with a pistol. Shooting weak handed (left for me) i have always still used my right eye, with very good success btw. I had one instructor insist that i use my left eye when left handed. All of the sudden i couldnt hit crap. With training and practice it might be the “proper” technique, but it didnt work for me a bit!
 
According to studies, eye dominance can and will change for a number of reasons. Age is one of them. Apparently it can shift at certain times, like puberty, middle age, etc.

It can change because of some eye defect that subconsciously causes the brain to shift to the better functioning, or clearer eye. It also appears to be something that can be learned.

Eye dominance has really exploded onto the scene in recent years. As a firearms instructor we have been aware of it for quite sometime and use it to help improve someone's accuracy.

Hand dominance can also be a factor. Most schools force kids to be right handed when their brains are more predisposed to be left. I had a friend, who was not only a left handed bandit, but was also dyslexic. He could change hand and eye dominance at a moment's notice, in fact, most of the time, he did it subconsciously. I used to laugh watching him bowl because from frame to frame you just never knew what hand he was going to throw with.
 
Originally Posted By: pyscodogI have several friends that can shoot righty or lefty because the can close either eye.

That's me, but still at a big disadvantage with a shotgun. Right
eye dominant, left-handed. A moving critter is more safe with
me using a shotgun than it is if I have a rifle. Go figure.
 
Most books/articles on shooting I have read recommend shooting with both eyes open. One of the main reasons given is that closing one eye places a strain of facial and eye muscles.

One trick used by target shooters is to place a piece of opaque Scotch tape on the non-dominant shooting glass lens. This admits an equal amount of light to both eyes and IMO reduces eye strain. After a while, it became easy to just "tune out" the non dominant eye w/o the tape. I shoot both irons and scopes w/both eyes open.

Have found the ability to "select dominant eye" useful since cataract surgery has improved my dominant eye vision to the point that I can see irons again for first time in 20 years and my left (non-dominant) eye vision is terrible.

Regards,
hm

 
I shot tournament archery for years and I shoot a bow with both eyes open. I shoot scoped rifles the same way....most of the time. Sometimes I have to squint a little to get a clear picture. Usually if I'm shooting someone else's rifle.
 
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