Question About Left-Eye Dominance

[Vol Texan]

I've been shooting with my daughter (5 years old) for several months now (she has a Crickett .22), and she's still not doing well hitting the target. She says she cannot see through the sights.

I showed this photo to my brother-in-law, and he suggested that she might be left-eye dominant:


My brother-in-law said he had a guy on his SF A-Team who was a horrible shot, but one day a range instructor noticed he was left eye dominant, and made him start shooting left handed. It wasn't long before he was one of the better shots on the team. He suggested that I try to confirm if his observation was true, and if so, I'd have to work on it with her.

Well, I think I confirmed it now.

She occasionally asks, "Daddy, can I touch your gun?". Taking the advice I read a long time ago on the Cornered Cat site (here is a link to the article), my answer is always, "Yes". She cannot touch it unless she asks, and I clear it, check it (and double-check it), but I let her do it every time. She usually holds it for 5-10 seconds, and gets bored with it, but I always use it as an opportunity to (a) teach important safety lessons, and (b) de-mystify it for her as much as possible.

But last night, I thought I'd check out this left-eye issue. I asked her to hold it up and look down the sights. I held my iPhone out above her and took this photo:


I'm pretty sure I've confirmed my brother-in-law's observation.

So...what's next? I welcome any input from some of the wise ones on this forum on how to teach her going forward. It's not that I'm 'worried', but I do want to help her adjust and overcome.

I assume I should just start her shooting left-handed, but perhaps it's too simplistic an approach. Any suggestions are welcome.

[Pawpaw]

Eye dominance is not such a big issue when shooting pistols. I know some excellent marksmen that are cross-eye dominant. A rifle, though, is a whole 'nuther thing.

At 5, she is just learning and you have time to do something. As I see it, you have two choices:

1. As you said, start teaching her to shoot left handed.

2. When you go shooting, put a patch over her left eye.

#1 gets my vote, for whatever that's worth.

[Jumping Frog]

Start her shooting lefty. Way easier and more effective than trying to change her orientation.

If she is left eye dominant, having her shoot with an eye patch simply ensures she can't use her best, easiest, fastest, and most natural vision to shoot. Why would anyone do that?

[The Annoyed Man]

In that first picture, you guys look like me and my wife at the range last Saturday. She hadn't shot her AR in at least a year, and she had to learn the manual of arms all over again. She is also right handed and left eye dominant. She just couldn't get the hang of shooting left-handed; but what she COULD do and it worked for her was to not squint and keep both eyes open. The sight on her carbine is an EOTech. When she tried to see the reticle with either eye, she couldn't find it because it was "off screen." When she opened both of her eyes at my suggestion, she was able to see it, and she shot 3-4" or so groups at 50 yards, unmagnified. That's not all that great, but she couldn't even get the shots on paper before that. Once she figured it out, she started having fun with it and wants to do it again.

[Vol Texan]

In that first picture, you guys look like me and my wife at the range last Saturday.

Your wife wears "I Love Mickey" t-shirts to the range also? Cool.

I can't take credit for being in that photo, however. That's my lovely bride with her, and me behind the camera.

When she opened both of her eyes at my suggestion, she was able to see it, and she shot 3-4" or so groups at 50 yards, unmagnified. That's not all that great, but she couldn't even get the shots on paper before that. Once she figured it out, she started having fun with it and wants to do it again.

We've been having the same issue. She can't hit the proverbial 'broad side of a barn' so far.

At 7 yards distance, she usually hits about five yards to the left and about 2 yard high of the target (which is to say she never hits it). She tells me she cannot see down the sights.

I try to see the sights, but the Crickett is sized for a child, so I can only see when I stand behind it and rest the end of the butt stock on my nose (think of the rifle sticking out of my face like Pinocchio's nose). It seems that the cheek on an adult is too big to let the eye get close enough to see both sights, even when pressed very tight against the stock.

For her smaller face structure, it should be sized perfectly, but since she’s using the other eye, she physically cannot get the left eye close enough to the stock to see the sights when shooting right-handed.

I'll probably try a little of both - right handed with both eyes open and left-handed shooting. As long as we're at the range together, it's a good day.

[Keith B]

She may not actually be left-eye dominant, but may have a vision issue in her right eye and the left eye is just stronger and focuses on the sights better, so she is trying to use it. Not sure if she has had a real optometric exam. If not, run her through some basic tests. Cover her left eye and ask her to tell you numbers on a page at different distances. Do the same with the right eye covered mixing up the numbers from previous test (you'd be surprised how easily kids her age memorize what they just saw. LOL) If she passes with both or if she has had a real eye exam and they say her sight is fine, then try the eye dominance test here to see if she really is left/right eye dominant. http://www.topendsports.com/testing/tes ... inance.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[oohrah]

My 2c from a left eye dominant. I write. eat and do a few other things left handed, so I shoot a rifle left handed, ever since Boy Scouts. I am left eye dominant. In the service, I had to carry a pistol right handed, so I learned to shoot right handed using my left eye. Shooting an M14 left handed is not fun with the ejections coming in your face, but you get used to it. I cannot shoot a rifle right handed and hit anything.

I shoot expert with both rifle and pistol btw. I recommend go with what is natural and learn using the body's natural inclinations. Other wise, you are always forcing it to do something it doesn't want to do.

[JSThane]

As the others have said, this is a correctable condition. I'm opposite your daughter - left handed, but right eye dominant. I went and screwed it up further by being slightly farsighted on the left side, and nearsighted on the right (with astigmatism). So, my dominant eye is on the wrong side of my face, AND it cannot see the target that easily. My good eye doesn't like to focus on the sights; they're too close. Topping it off, my right hand does not have anything like the dexterity of my left; I'm merely klutzy with the left, but downright clumsy with the right. I've gotten better with typing, but my left hand still covers 2/3 of the keyboard. Shooting dedicated right-handed was, and still isn't, an option, although I have gotten better with it.

What has helped me immeasurably is learning to cross my eyes. Sounds weird as anything, I know, but as I kid my mother showed me how, and I, as is my habit, took it "too far." I started with the "hold object in front of face, bring closer to nose while watching it" technique, and then started moving the object left and right, up and down, until I could move and focus either eye semi-independently. (Made a great trick for throwing off the teachers' trains of thought in high school! ) The end result is that I'm ambidextrous with pretty much any long arm, but I never did get the manual dexterity to shoot pistols right handed all that well. For me, changing "handedness" with my eyes was far easier than changing it with my arms.

[rtschl]

I am left eye dominant and right handed. I have a "lazy" right eye that is not correctable. I shoot rifles left handed but shoot handguns right handed. I do have to compensate for sight correction. I have thought about switching to left hand, but I would really need to build up strength and speed in my left hand (plus buy new holsters ).

Here's another thread on it: viewtopic.php?f=58&t=67727&hilit=left+eye

Ron

[C-dub]

I'd get her eyes checked first. Then if she's still left eye dominant I'd probably start teaching her to shoot lefty. I don't know if that would be better than having her shoot righty and just learn to use her right eye or not.

I didn't learn I was right eye dominant until I was about 45 years old. I'd been shooting off and on since I was about your daughters age. However, since I am right handed I never tried shooting a rifle with my left eye. And to make things worse, I never realized I always shot a handgun using my left eye until I was 45y. I don't know if I would be a better shot today if I'd know this all along and learned differently from the start or not.

[LeonCarr]

Teach her to shoot with both eyes open. This lessens the effects of cross dominance.

Also in the photo the stock appears to not be firmly in her shoulder pocket, which could contribute to the "goose necking" on the stock and not being able to line up the sights.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

[apostate]

Here's a way to see which eye is dominant. Close or cover your non-dominant eye and ask her to look at your open eye through a triangle made by her hands at arms length. You may be able to see both eyes but likely one will be centered in the hole. Then ask her to slowly make the hole smaller, while looking at your eye. The eye you continue to see is dominant.

[Jumping Frog]

I need to weigh in again. Eye dominance is deeply wired into the brain. People who are trying to say "just learn to use the other eye" don't truly appreciate this.

If she moves on in life to ever compete in the shooting sports, she will always be able to achieve a sight picture the quickest and easiest using her natural eye. It is choosing whether to swim downstream or upstream -- go with the flow.

Learning to use the non-dominant hand as the trigger finger is WAY easier.

I was naturally left-handed and left eye dominant. I learned to shoot left handed and was a good shot.

At age 26, I lost the sight in my left eye, so I had to learn to shoot right handed with my right eye. My right hand trigger finger adapted easily. In fact, I became an NRA Distinguished Expert in both rifle and pistol shooting right handed.

Shooting is a very visual sport. I see zero point in trying to make her switch to shooting right handed if she is left eyed.

[WildBill]

I am left eye dominant and right handed. I have a "lazy" right eye that is not correctable. I shoot rifles left handed but shoot handguns right handed. I do have to compensate for sight correction. I have thought about switching to left hand, but I would really need to build up strength and speed in my left hand (plus buy new holsters ).

Here's another thread on it: viewtopic.php?f=58&t=67727&hilit=left+eye

Ron

I am left handed and left eye dominant, but shoot rifles and handguns right handed. This was due to the way I was taught using right handed guns. My dad was left handed, too, but I think he got taught to shoot right handed in the military.

I can shoot pistols pretty good left handed, but don't feel comfortable drawing from a left handed holster. I am not good left handed with a rifle or shotgun.

Since Vol Tex's daughter is so young, I would serious think about getting her a left handed gun. I think that would be the best thing for her.

[C-dub]

Here's a way to see which eye is dominant. Close or cover your non-dominant eye and ask her to look at your open eye through a triangle made by her hands at arms length. You may be able to see both eyes but likely one will be centered in the hole. Then ask her to slowly make the hole smaller, while looking at your eye. The eye you continue to see is dominant.

[ Image ]

That's pretty close to how I was shown my eye dominance situation. The difference was that, while holding my hands at arms length, I focused on an object and then slowly brought my hands to my face keeping the object in view. As they drew closer they moved toward my left eye.