Eye dominance

[cyberslider]

Anyone have what I call "opposite eye dominance"? That is, left eye dominant and right handed or, right eye dominant and left handed?

My wife is left eye dominant and she is right handed. Now, she can hit an 8" X 11" target from 20 to 30 feet away but, she is all over it. She is getting very frustrated because we've been shooting for a couple of years now and she wants to have better groups but, she is not improving.

Anyone know of a trainer or some workouts, etc. that we could try? Any advice?

 

[n8thegr8]

I am right handed and cross eye dominant. When I shoot I turn my head ever so slightly to the left and my right eye takes over.

This is what I do (right handed, left eye dominant), but i turn to the right. I find I strain less that way. Also, i have slightly better vision in my left eye.

My advice is have her practice acquiring proper sight picture until the head turn is reflexive, and make sure she's focusing on that front sight. When i started doing that, my groups tightened up significantly.

 

[jspurgeon]

I'm with nate, I swing the handgun in front of my left eye and let it drive.

 

[turkeyrun]

Get some safety glasses (should be wearing when shooting anyway) . Cover the left lense with electrical tape. Use right eye to sight with, it is the only 1 that now works. She will eventually train her right eye to be dominant.

My oldest son was left eye dominant - When I was certifying for Texas Hunter Safety Instructor, an Ophthalmologist in class suggested this remedy. It took about a year, he still can't out shoot me but he doesn't have the dominance problem.

 

[0311]

I'm with nate, I swing the handgun in front of my left eye and let it drive.

Same here. I'm used to it.

 

[NightShade]

I guess I am kinda weird then, my dominance shifts while shooting. I am right handed and generally my right eye is in focus while sighting in a target but while sighted my vision will swap and my left eye will fall in to focus and my right will be blurred. Sometimes this will be a shift for only a few seconds but can last much longer. I have to close my left eye and force my right eye to take back over to continue.

In normal life it doesn't cause a lot of problems and while driving I can spot a dime on the road at 75 miles an hour.

 

[twoguns?]

I guess I am kinda weird then, my dominance shifts while shooting. I am right handed and generally my right eye is in focus while sighting in a target but while sighted my vision will swap and my left eye will fall in to focus and my right will be blurred. Sometimes this will be a shift for only a few seconds but can last much longer. I have to close my left eye and force my right eye to take back over to continue.

In normal life it doesn't cause a lot of problems and while driving I can spot a dime on the road at 75 miles an hour.

Your left eye dominant!
.
Putting tape over your glasses was a trick in topgun, Whichever eye is Dominant ..Will Always be dominant, but you can learn to shoot it takes lots of time , doesnt change dominance though...per my eye doc

Im ambidextrous ,right eye dom, so I always use the stronger contact lense in my right eye, I was telling my eye doc what I was doing.
He changed my prescription and put the weaker lense in my right eye, now all I can see is the front sight (and it helps with reading too... )
If I squint my left eye,, just a little, I can still cover my left side , but my left hand doesnt try to take over.



.and Practice a lot, not just shootin but bringing the sights up to your eye


. OH an I can out shoot ...almost nobody, ( its my hands that are the problem)so take it for what its worth to ya.... Good Luck

 

[TerryMiller]

With regards to aiming, if she is shooting with a handgun as opposed to a rifle, I'd say to ignore sighting and just point the barrel. My wife has an issue where she is right handed but can't sight with the right eye. When she shoots with her handguns, she just points. And, to be really truthful with you, I think she gets better groups than I do by sighting. In his western novels, Louis L'Amour used to write that women could pick up a handgun and by just pointing instead of sighting, they could shoot the bad guy to "doll rags."

Now, my issues are fixing to change as I've already had my right eye operated on for cataracts. It now has a Toric lens, which is for astigmatism. Tomorrow, I'm having the left eye operated on and will be receiving a Crystalens in it. The Toric seems to be one that is limited in the area in focus, leaving me with fuzzy vision for reading and for distance. The Crystalens is supposed to work for focusing with most all ranges except reading. So, I'll have to have prescription glasses for reading and possibly some prescription glasses to use for shooting and for photography.

Time will tell as to whether I have much success with either kind of "shooting."

 

[Commander Keen]

I'm cross-dominant (right handed, left eyed). I don't have the coordination to shoot left handed...

 

[ProBusiness]

I don't believe you can 'change' your dominate eye, your dominate eye will always be your dominate eye excluding an accident. BUT the Natl Skeet Shooting Assoc's study found that during a shoot eye dominance can change due to being tired.


How far off is her accuracy?

does she miss pretty much in the same spot? or are misses all over ( u may have already quoted this)

the problem may not have anything to do with eye dominance.

What caliber does she shoot?

I would recommend shooting several mags of .22 and compare the accuracy to her larger caliber gun. I think you will see the groups tighten up with the .ww which would mean it is not the eye dominance but something else.