Teaching Cross-Eye Dominant 7 year old

[Rackmastr]

Hey All!

Found out in the past couple weeks while shooting some BB gun and archery with my 7 year old that she's cross eye dominant. We tried to set her up to shoot LH with the BB gun but she said its super uncomfortable. She uses her left eye in a really weird position to shoot the BB gun and has been shooting a bow last fall a bit and a bit this spring. Until I had her on the BB gun I couldn't figure out why she always hit to the left with the bow, but now it all makes sense.

Thinking of getting her a LH recurve to fling some arrows and see if she can shoot LH instead of RH.

If that DOESNT work, then obviously shooting both eyes open would be a start, but very hard for her as she gets double vision trying it. When I block her eye with a patch she can shoot with her right eye and very accurate.

Thoughts? Many people been through this with a kid?

 

[dgc1963]

cross eyed dominant shouldnt be an issue if she closes one eye doing that make the open eye dominante by default
I shoot a right handed bow and shoot very well had a box full of trophys from yrs ago
and shoot a gun left handed and do this well also, so eye domination has never been an issue for me at all
keep working with her with the eye patch at 7 she will adjust and do fine im sure

 

[johnrr65]

cross eyed dominant shouldnt be an issue if she closes one eye doing that make the open eye dominante by default I shoot a right handed bow and shoot very well had a box full of trophys from yrs ago and shoot a gun left handed and do this well also, so eye domination has never been an issue for me at all keep working with her with the eye patch at 7 she will adjust and do fine im sure

cross eyed dominant shouldnt be an issue if she closes one eye doing that make the open eye dominante by default I shoot a right handed bow and shoot very well had a box full of trophys from yrs ago and shoot a gun left handed and do this well also, so eye domination has never been an issue for me at all keep working with her with the eye patch at 7 she will adjust and do fine im sure

+1

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

I’m cross eye dominate and shoot everything left-handed.

I never was much for shooting growing up, in part because it seemed like black magic because all the other kids could hit the target and I never could. As an adult I finally figured out the issue and started shooting lefthanded.

Never understood why would you try to retrain your eye... what’s the point?

 

[Labman]

I am right handed and left eye dominant. Felt the same way about shooting left handed stuff, it wasn’t comfortable. When I was younger I couldn’t squint my left eye to just close that one. I remember using a piece of tape to tape that eye lid shut. Eventually I became able to wink just my left eye and everything has been fine, and it has been 30 years now. I do wear an eyepatch when looking through a spotting scope for extended periods of time just to cut down on the strain from squinting for hours at a time.

 

[1_pointer]

Follow the eyes!! Both my sons are cross dominant and shoot LH. One of the best teaching aids I used were NERF guns; cheap, safe, and can practice a ton in the house plus many are down right cool. Made them use them left handed and they used them lots until they were used to it. At her age, it won't take too long for her to get used to using the different hand, just have to be adamant that she does it.

 

[Pucky Freak]

Make the switch to LH weapons, but make it fun and easy, and no rush. You mainly have to train the muscles to do new movements, it can work.

In college I switched to playing table tennis left-handed as a “handicap” playing against my friend so we’d have a more even game. Well, after several weeks and dozens of matches I was better with my left hand than my right. I switched back eventually, and today I can play with both hands equally well

 

[30338]

I'm left eye, righthanded. So is my wife, son and daughter. Everyone is shooting lefthanded with excellent results. So I vote follow the eyes.

 

[Nameless Range]

Ran into a similar issue with my son about a year ago. He’s right handed but left eye dominant. Because of advice on this forum, I just taught him to shoot left handed.

After months of being frustrated and not understanding why he couldn’t figure shooting out, we started shooting left-handed and everything just fell into place. He’s 6 and a crack shot with his Red Ryder

 

[VAspeedgoat]

I agree about 99% with everyone to teach them to shoot left handed. That is what I have done with my daughter. However, with my son, we started out going left and then suddenly one day he declared he wanted to go to right handed and has never gone back. Can't explain it, don't care to. My point is to maybe stick with single shots for now before you invest in a left handed gun they may not use.

 

[brnsvllyjohn]

When my son was around 5 years old it was obvious he was left eye dominate. I tried and tried to get him to shoot left handed. It became a real battle and I finally gave up. He was always a great shot with a scope but he struggled for a year or two with a shotgun. He would have great days then terrible days. By the time he was 12 he had it figured out. He is now 40 and is one of the best shots I know with a shotgun. He even shoots some small sporting clay events and does very well. Yes he still shoots right handed.
My advice is if you can get her to shoot left handed I would do that in a heartbeat but if it becomes a battle and takes away all the fun of shooting then let her have fun. I know a lot of others who have done well shooting with the wrong eye so I wouldn't get too upset about her shooting right handed if that is how it works out.

 

[buffybr]

In the past 40 years I've shot A LOT of Trap and Skeet shooting. The best solution that we've found for shooters with a cross dominate eye is to put a small patch of frosty "Scotch" tape on the lens of their shooting glasses of their cross dominate eye. The tape should be placed on the lens in line with the pupil of their eye and the front sight of their shotgun. The tape blocks that eye from seeing their sight or the target, but still allows their peripheral vision, and their other eye will take over and focus on the target.

This is a fix for shotgun shooters, but I don't see why it also wouldn't work for bow shooters.

 

[44hunter45]

I am lucky enough to be Left hand/Right eye dominant. At least I have a better selection of rifles. My wife is Right Hand/Left Eye dominant and REFUSES to shoot left handed. We have worked out some things pistol shooting, but rifles and shotguns are still a problem. Two sons are RH/RE, one son is RH/LE. The latter shoots exclusively left handled. He was like the OP's 7 YO. I was draconian making him shoot the Red Ryder left handed until it felt natural to him. Interestingly, he is the best shot-gunner of all of us. That's actually not saying a lot. I bought him a Browning BPS bottom dumper for his 18th birthday.

 

[44hunter45]

To add a little. There has to be a reward at that age. If it's easy and fun and they are hitting where they aim, that's the reward. Pushing my son past his discomfort with a left handed stance cost me a lot of bribes to "just do it until we are done today..." He was sucker for a dollar bill. It was worth the investment.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

In the past 40 years I've shot A LOT of Trap and Skeet shooting. The best solution that we've found for shooters with a cross dominate eye is to put a small patch of frosty "Scotch" tape on the lens of their shooting glasses of their cross dominate eye. The tape should be placed on the lens in line with the pupil of their eye and the front sight of their shotgun. The tape blocks that eye from seeing their sight or the target, but still allows their peripheral vision, and their other eye will take over and focus on the target.

This is a fix for shotgun shooters, but I don't see why it also wouldn't work for bow shooters.

I get it... but it’s totally impractical for hunting. You will never convince me that anyone should where a patch in the field. With the exception of handguns how does handedness even matter to shooting a gun or a bow.

Where is the performance benefit?

^ Sorry tone of this sounds antagonist... but I don’t know how to fixed.

Legitimately asking, your teaching someone to hunt upland grouse... eyepatch is better than just using your left hand?

 

[AggieHunter]

I was the same way having to learn sooting left-handed with a bb gun and now just have left-handed rifles.

 

[mevertsen]

My daughter is cross dominant. She has a pse razorback left handed. She has upgraded tons compound for hunting, and no longer uses the recurve. PM me you address and I will drop it in the mail either monday or Thursday.

 

[buffybr]

I get it... but it’s totally impractical for hunting. You will never convince me that anyone should where a patch in the field. With the exception of handguns how does handedness even matter to shooting a gun or a bow.

Where is the performance benefit?

^ Sorry tone of this sounds antagonist... but I don’t know how to fixed.

Legitimately asking, your teaching someone to hunt upland grouse... eyepatch is better than just using your left hand?

Not that I do it, but everyone should wear eye protection when shooting any firearm, probably not as critical if hunting with a bow while in a stand or blind.

If I am going to do a lot of glassing with a spotting scope, I put a black eye patch over my left eye, because if I close that eye for any extended time, the surface of my eye will wrinkle (like your fingers after a long time in a swimming pool), and that eye will not immediately focus when I open it. The frosty tape on shooter's glasses is less than 1/2" in diameter and only covers a small portion of the lens. You still have full peripheral vision in that eye. I would hate to try to walk in the field with a patch completely blocking vision in one eye.

The older we get, the more "handedness" is ingrained in us. Just try writing your signature with your "off" hand. A younger person or someone who would shoot for the first time would find it easier to do than those of us that have something ingrained in us for decades.

Being right handed, I will occasionally shoot a rifle left handed at the range, just in case I get in a hunting situation where I couldn't shoot right handed. One time we had a Turkey Shoot at our range where we had to shoot 10 shots with each hand with a pistol. I was surprised to see that my left hand score was not too far off my right hand score. I think that I would have a very hard time shooting a bow left handed.

"Legitimately asking, your teaching someone to hunt upland grouse... eyepatch is better than just using your left hand?"
If you are holding your left hand over your left eye, you only have your right hand to hold your bow or shotgun.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

Not that I do it, but everyone should wear eye protection when shooting any firearm, probably not as critical if hunting with a bow while in a stand or blind.

If I am going to do a lot of glassing with a spotting scope, I put a black eye patch over my left eye, because if I close that eye for any extended time, the surface of my eye will wrinkle (like your fingers after a long time in a swimming pool), and that eye will not immediately focus when I open it. The frosty tape on shooter's glasses is less than 1/2" in diameter and only covers a small portion of the lens. You still have full peripheral vision in that eye. I would hate to try to walk in the field with a patch completely blocking vision in one eye.

The older we get, the more "handedness" is ingrained in us. Just try writing your signature with your "off" hand. A younger person or someone who would shoot for the first time would find it easier to do than those of us that have something ingrained in us for decades.

Being right handed, I will occasionally shoot a rifle left handed at the range, just in case I get in a hunting situation where I couldn't shoot right handed. One time we had a Turkey Shoot at our range where we had to shoot 10 shots with each hand with a pistol. I was surprised to see that my left hand score was not too far off my right hand score. I think that I would have a very hard time shooting a bow left handed.

"Legitimately asking, your teaching someone to hunt upland grouse... eyepatch is better than just using your left hand?"
If you are holding your left hand over your left eye, you only have your right hand to hold your bow or shotgun.

I meant why is walking around in the woods with a restricted field of view preferable to just using your no dominant hand to shoot?

I will say I shoot a pistol right handed... that seems to be more fine motor and harder for me to do left. Shotgun was weird for a bit, bow and rifle were really easy.

 

[brnsvllyjohn]

I can only speak from my experience with my son regarding a very small patch on the shooting glasses. We did that for about 1 year possibly part of 2 years when he was 10 to 11 years old. I think his muscle memory or something enabled him to shoot with no patch on his shooting glasses after that.
Since this is actually in the Archery section I should mention that he is a great shot with his bow and he shoots a 70 pound compound right handed. I think the sight helps him use his right eye. After all the pin must be centered in the peep and he can really only get that done with his right eye and not have the string remove his nose.

Once again if you can get a new shooter to shoot with the dominate eye the shooter is better off but when your wife pulls you aside and tells you all you are doing is making your child not want to shoot at all you might change your mind.