Dominant Eye issues, not shooting well

[Pappabear]

I took my nephew shooting this past weekend. I have taken him rifle shooting and he does well for his experince level. He shot my AR15 just fine.

He is left handed and right eye dominant. He was hitting way low and off to the side. I think low and to the right? I mean 16 inches off from 10 feet- off! I had him try both eyes open, he could not do it. I had him try closing the left then the right ......he couldnt shoot it in the ocean.

He is a great athelete. Good hand eye control. Shoots skeet well, hit the 100 plate with an Aimpoint M4 red dot off hand, no problem time and time again.

Help me help him! What can I try?

[Robb Jensen]

Have him shoot right handed if he's right eye dominant. The level of dominance varies in people. I'm left eye dominant and and primarily shoot handguns and long guns right handed. Only when I get really tired shooting does my right eye start to strain while using RDS optics. When shooting with highly magnified optics I shoot left handed because my right eye will strain very quickly.

[BushmasterFanBoy]

I took my nephew shooting this past weekend. I have taken him rifle shooting and he does well for his experince level. He shot my AR15 just fine.

He is left handed and right eye dominant. He was hitting way low and off to the side. I think low and to the right? I mean 16 inches off from 10 feet- off! I had him try both eyes open, he could not do it. I had him try closing the left then the right ......he couldnt shoot it in the ocean.

He is a great athelete. Good hand eye control. Shoots skeet well, hit the 100 plate with an Aimpoint M4 red dot off hand, no problem time and time again.

Help me help him! What can I try?

I'm going to assume that since he's hitting with the AR and does skeet well that trigger control is not an issue. (Though shots low and to the left for righties/low and to the right for lefties usually indicates this) Even with sights misaligned, you can get much closer than 16 inches at 10 feet. I remember beginning to shoot handguns a few years ago, I was literally 3 feet off the target as close as 20 feet because of poor trigger discipline, but I had shot my .22 rifle well until that point.

If you can ensure its not trigger control issues, let him modify his stance slightly. I'm right handed/ left eye dominant, and I have no issues shooting pistols, I simply bring the gun in line with my left eye, its a very minor difference. As for both eyes open, let him do what's comfortable for now. You're building the fundamentals, and quite frankly, two eyes open is a lot easier to learn AFTER you're familiar with the sight picture and the way the gun points, etc. I spent years shooting one eye open, and two eyes open can be learned very quickly, especially after he is able to bring the gun up to his dominant eye quickly and is familiar with getting sights on target.

[ra2bach]

I'm guessing this is trigger issues. a way to check this is to have him hold and aim the pistol with his finger out of the trigger guard. then you put put your finger in the guard and slowly press the trigger. if the shot lands where it's supposed to, his sight is fine.

[rat31465]

My Father was also cross eye Dominant and I have a step-brother who is truly Ambidextrous.
While this can be a tough problem to overcome...use this as a training oppurtunity to teach the boy to shoot Ambidextrous.
He will develop a stronger side but will also retain the ability to shoot with either hand.
My weak hand pistol shooting needs work..but I shoot a rifle nearly equally well with my left hand side.

[larry0071]

I am right handed and left eye dom, If I hold right handed with a rifle I can not hit the broad side of a barn at 10 yards. I have tried, but I just can not make a right handed hold and forced right eye to work. Let him try left and right hand holds and see if one falls naturally into place. I get shit all the time for the south-paw hold... but it is what works. For pistols, I can hold right handed and still use the left eye and have no negative effect. So I am lefty with long guns, righty with pistols, lefty with bow. Wierd huh?

[Pappabear]

Thank you and keep it coming. I will try these ideas for sure. Also, I will have him shoot the .22 Ruger target pistol to make sure its not trigger control.

[FromMyColdDeadHand]

Running the risk of sounding dumb in public, I have always had a hard time shooting two eyes open, so I've been a 'pirate' shooter, almost unknowingly keeping my left eye closed. With two eyes open to me, when focused on the target, there are two ghosted guns of about equal intensity. If I focus on the front site, there are two equal targets. Depending on point of focus, I shoot with the gun on the left and at the right target both eyes open, trying not to shoot one eye closed. I wear glasses, but my left eye is stronger than my dominant right eye, which might explain why neither seems overly dominant.

Been practicing since I took a class and realized how much I was one eyeing it. Static shooting and the Steel and bowling pins I've shot I haven't missed the binocular vision. Been doing a lot of draws and sight picture aquisition practicing. I think that is the only answer, I think. My brain is starting to ignore the other images it sees.

[ToddG]

Cross dominance is not a problem unless we make it into one. If we absolutely insist the student holds his gun in exactly one spot, or positions his head in exactly a certain way, etc., then yes we can be forcing him to screw up.

If you have him hold the gun in his dominant hand and aim the gun at the target, he's done. It's not more complicated than that. Start from a bench with sandbags or a similar rest. Eliminate recoil issues, etc.

If it helps, have him close the non-dominant eye. While closing one eye is less than ideal, there are certainly some talented shooters who do so and manage quite well.

As for a left-handed shooter getting low-right hits with a handgun, that would generally be seen as indicative of trigger jerk possibly combined with recoil anticipation. Unlike others in this thread, I would not immediately assume that someone who can handle a big heavy AR -- especially if it has a tuned trigger -- would automatically be able to do the same with a handgun.

Personally, I'm opposed to the "learn to shoot with the other hand" approach. As KLD pointed out, eye dominance switches at various times for various reasons ... handedness does not, as a general rule. So take advantage of the dexterity you've got in your strong hand.

[Hunter Rose]

I've always found this topic interesting, since I am right handed but left eye dominant. As with most things, I think the internet makes it into a bigger deal than it is.

Shooting rifles, I have an aimpoint, so problem solved. Shooting pistols, I cant the gun slighty to the left or cock/turn my head slightly to the right. Perfect form, maybe not, but it works for me, and in shooting IDPA find I am still as fast or faster than my "correctly dominant" blessed friends.

I have never understood the "learn to shoot left handed argument". Maybe if I were 10 and learning to shoot it would work, but I have been right handed for many years and don't see myself ever being as proficient at manipulating a weapon left handed as I am right handed. I also don't think the gains are worth the trade off.

My 2 cents.