right handed left eye dominant

[Melman]

its a little soon but my 4 year old is right handed in everything he does, but he is left eye dominant. if I hand him telescope or anything to look thru he naturally puts it to his left eye. he will shoulder a gun right handed but leans across the gun so he can look through the scope with his left eye. any advice on how to proceed. should I try to get him to shoot left handed or to shoot right handed and just close his left eye and look thru the scope with his right? any guys out there who are left eye dominant but shoot right handed?

 

[rideold]

Teach him to shoot for eye dominance. It's a lot easier to start early. I'm cross dominant and I'm glad I took the time to force myself to shoulder a gun on my right. My shotgunning is better for it.

 

[teej89]

I do it, shoot everything right handed but a shotgun (except hunting turkeys and squirrels where I close an eye to aim). My dad knew I was left eye dominant from the get go. Make sure he's left eye dominant with looking through your hands trick. Maybe he's actually lefty but sees how you grab a gun and mocks what you do. Couple years ago I trained myself to shoot my RH bow with both eyes open, getting my right eye to focus wasn't that tough and both eyes open increase my accuracy like no other.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

I'm cross eye dominant and shoot everything left handed rifles, bows, shotgun. I didn't learn how to shoot anything until I was an adult and I found it impossible to try and use my right eye or to shoulder guns of the right side. I tried all kinds of "tricks" to train myself to shoot right handed but nothing worked. Since you are starting him out young you might be able to get him to train his eye but honestly I don't see the point at all. I have right handed actions on all my rifles and can work the bolt or pump, and or reload, better than any of my buddies because my dominant hand, with better fine motor abilities is doing the work. I did get a left-handed right action stock for my primary rifle but that was just because I was upgrading anyway and figured might as well.

I would encourage you to teach him to shoulder with the same shoulder as eye dominance because it is more natural and simply because that is what every shooting teacher I have ever talked to recommended.

 

[noharleyyet]

Teach him to shoot for eye dominance. It's a lot easier to start early. I'm cross dominant and I'm glad I took the time to force myself to shoulder a gun on my right. My shotgunning is better for it.

Absolutely this....

 

[Melman]

thanks everyone

 

[1_pointer]

Same thing with both of my boys. They are learning to shoot left handed. It wasn't apparent to me until the oldest got a BB gun. Couldn't hit crud! Even though awkward at first, once we switched him to shooting lefthand his accuracy and precision got much better. Though options for lefties are not near what they are for righties, there's now a good amount of options out there now. In the next couple of years both boys will probably be getting Ruger rifles in 243. A semi-custom in something a bit larger will be waiting on them for when they graduate high school!

 

[Gerald Martin]

It was night and day difference for my cross dominant eye daughter when I taught her to shoot left handed. I am cross eye dominant and taught myself to shoot right handed because I didn't know any better.

 

[ElkHunter11]

I too am right handed and left eye dominant. I was taught at an early age to shoot left handed and have never looked back.

 

[Sytes]

repetition, repetition, repetition... I am rt. eye dominant and lft handed. I shoot rt side for long arms. I am a LEO and frequently shoot and qualify with long arms and pistols. Best to shoot the long arm fitting the dominant side - of course this is just my opinion.