I'm sure it's been discussed somewhere here, so I apologize for a repeat.
I either have no dominant eye, or am cross dominant. I am pretty much ambidextrous. I write with my left hand, but do most with my right hand (even fine detail work, I used to write with both hands but as I got older stopped.) Instinctively and comfort wise, I shoot right handed with both a pistol and a long gun. I am semi comfortable shooting a handgun left handed, but switching hands does nothing for my issue.
People for years give me the various different eye dominance tests with mixed results, and wind up just getting frustrated with me LOL However, as a photographer as well, I can ONLY use my left eye through the view finder. Which leads me to believe my left eye is dominant, regardless of the other testings.
Handgun shooting- I'm an instinct shooter. I can hit my target shooting from the hip, or from a draw almost every time. My problem lies in trying to aim. Especially at the range where I'm not allowed to draw and shoot. By getting in stance and trying to line up the sights, I'll go through a good 25 rounds before I ever hit the dang target. (Once I hit it, I can adjust my aim and then I keep a clean cluster) Scary huh? Frustrating as hell too! I even bought a Crimson Trace laser for my pistol in frustration, hoping that would help, but it just made things worse!
When I shoot right handed, I usually close my left eye because I can not close my right eye. If I could, I would just move the gun over a few inches and use my left eye. Almost everyone tells me to shoot with both eyes open then, but I just can't! When I do that, the sights are doubled and I can not see my target, it's all a blur. If I focus really hard on the target only, the (still doubled) sites are too blurry to make out. So I wind up closing my left eye and trying to adjust for the difference. After a few minutes of shooting, I have the worse eye strain headache imaginable!
I've seen a lot of suggestions for using an eye patch over the right eye. That makes sense for archery and the long gun for hunting, you can plan that ahead of time, and maybe even practice shooting, but what good does that do if I'm in a situation without a patch? "Hold on a minute Mr. Attacker Sir, let me get my eye patch on first. Ok, all set..proceed!" Fortunately for me, my instinct shooting will help with that. But does that mean outside of an emergency situation, I will always have to shoot with a patch on my eye? I haven't tried it yet, plan on it next time I'm out, so I don't even know if an eye patch would help or not.
With a rifle and scope, I can generally shoot keeping both eyes open. I'm fairly accurate using my right eye, but I do find myself turning my head at times to focus with my left eye. When I do that I'm even more accurate. Some people tell me if that's what is comfortable for me, do it. Others tell me it's not safe because I'm turning my face into the gun. If I'm going to use my left eye, then I need to shoot left handed.
Any thoughts? Suggestions?
I either have no dominant eye, or am cross dominant. I am pretty much ambidextrous. I write with my left hand, but do most with my right hand (even fine detail work, I used to write with both hands but as I got older stopped.) Instinctively and comfort wise, I shoot right handed with both a pistol and a long gun. I am semi comfortable shooting a handgun left handed, but switching hands does nothing for my issue.
People for years give me the various different eye dominance tests with mixed results, and wind up just getting frustrated with me LOL However, as a photographer as well, I can ONLY use my left eye through the view finder. Which leads me to believe my left eye is dominant, regardless of the other testings.
Handgun shooting- I'm an instinct shooter. I can hit my target shooting from the hip, or from a draw almost every time. My problem lies in trying to aim. Especially at the range where I'm not allowed to draw and shoot. By getting in stance and trying to line up the sights, I'll go through a good 25 rounds before I ever hit the dang target. (Once I hit it, I can adjust my aim and then I keep a clean cluster) Scary huh? Frustrating as hell too! I even bought a Crimson Trace laser for my pistol in frustration, hoping that would help, but it just made things worse!
When I shoot right handed, I usually close my left eye because I can not close my right eye. If I could, I would just move the gun over a few inches and use my left eye. Almost everyone tells me to shoot with both eyes open then, but I just can't! When I do that, the sights are doubled and I can not see my target, it's all a blur. If I focus really hard on the target only, the (still doubled) sites are too blurry to make out. So I wind up closing my left eye and trying to adjust for the difference. After a few minutes of shooting, I have the worse eye strain headache imaginable!
I've seen a lot of suggestions for using an eye patch over the right eye. That makes sense for archery and the long gun for hunting, you can plan that ahead of time, and maybe even practice shooting, but what good does that do if I'm in a situation without a patch? "Hold on a minute Mr. Attacker Sir, let me get my eye patch on first. Ok, all set..proceed!" Fortunately for me, my instinct shooting will help with that. But does that mean outside of an emergency situation, I will always have to shoot with a patch on my eye? I haven't tried it yet, plan on it next time I'm out, so I don't even know if an eye patch would help or not.
With a rifle and scope, I can generally shoot keeping both eyes open. I'm fairly accurate using my right eye, but I do find myself turning my head at times to focus with my left eye. When I do that I'm even more accurate. Some people tell me if that's what is comfortable for me, do it. Others tell me it's not safe because I'm turning my face into the gun. If I'm going to use my left eye, then I need to shoot left handed.
Any thoughts? Suggestions?