Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Advice for shooters that are left eye dominant

I just got a true left hand stock for my 101 shotgun. What a revelation, it reduced the fringe hits and most birds were bouncing they were hit so hard. I was using the center of the pattern instead of the fringes. The difference in a rifle is less dramatic but is still significant.

Like others have said, closing the left eye and shooting right handed is no big deal. That’s what I did growing up and had no issues with archery, shotgun, pistol, rifles with open sights or scopes.

Also, eye dominance can change over time. My right eye is stronger than my left, both have the same prescription though. I wouldn’t force it either way.

What Utah708 said. Do what the eye wants, and please stop trying to justify otherwise. There are plenty of left-handed rifles and shotguns available, and if all lefties spoke up, there would be more.

Go with the dominant eye. I did this with my daughter. When she was 3 or 4 and I started her shooting right handed she was clearly right handed. However, she instinctively "crawled over the stock to align her left eye". At first I kept trying to correct her form until I realized, she was left eye dominant. I switched her around to the other side of the rifle. Problem solved. She has been shooting left handed rifles her whole life. As to both eyes open, I agree, it is best. However, I disagree with those who say that "everyone can do it". Well, I can't. I've always believed it was the proper way to shoot and I've tried everything. Frankly, I get double vision and can not focus trying to keep both eyes open. The best I can do is squint through my off eye. Even as an instructor for years and years, I instructed shooters to keep both eyes open, if they could.

Don't force him, but by all means try to teach your grandson to shoot from the same shoulder as his dominant eye. [Both my sons are right handed but left eye dominant. I caught that at a young age when they were playing with an old Fisher-Price toy camera. It's easy to check eye dominance, even with young children.]

I am 100% lefty shooter. I have shot virtually every gauge, action and caliber of right handed long gun from my left shoulder - that includes flintlock rifles. Of course, handguns are a different animal. I still prefer and am much more comfortable with a left handed firearm.

For the most part, it doesn't matter in terms of function whether it's a right or left handed long gun. I've learned to overcome the right hand safety, bolt releases, and other controls. Levers and break opens are almost ambidextrous. Bolts actions, and to some extent semi-autos, are another issue. Shooting a RH bolt from the lefty side does put the shooter at some risk. I have never witnessed it, but should a catastrophic case failure occur (chamber obstruction, case rupture, etc.), a RH bolt rifle vents gases on the right side which is directly in front a left's face. Obviously, we should all be wearing safety glasses at all times.

It's very difficult for a lefty to complete a follow-up shot from the shoulder while using a RH rifle. For me, the reach-over bolt action technique never worked. As you could imagine, a lefty hunting dangerous game with RH rifle would not be recommended.

Believe me, I feel your pain in searching for a left hand bolt action rifle. Supposedly 16% of the population is sinistral. You surely wouldn't know it when it comes to left handed firearms. However (current gun buying issues aside), the selection has improved in the past 50 years. We all pray things get back to normal soon. When they do, Savage and Ruger both offer some great choices in relatively affordable true left hand action RF and CF rifles. Not knowing the level of interest for my boys when they were young, I purchased a T/C Contender, a youth stock and carbine barrels in .22LR, 7/30 Waters and .45 cal muzzleloader chamberings. The Contender is still going strong and will likely be my old man rifle. There are other single shot, break-open options available.

For the most part, those of us in the shooting fraternity want shooters, especially new ones, to enjoy and perpetuate our sport. Without new shooters - our sport and rights will die. Talk to other shooters. Often they'll let you borrow different firearms to try. See what works for your grandson.

Further, if at all possible, teach new shooters to shoot both eyes open, even with a scoped rifle. It's most important for instinctive archery and moving targets (i.e., shotgun games). There are many terrific one-eyed shooters but it's much easier to use your God given binocular vision - with less eye strain - for tracking targets.

Good luck, good shooting and be well. DJB

My son is left handed and probably left eye dominant but I never cared. Most firearms are designed to be used more easily by a person using their right hand as the dominant hand. With this in mind I taught my son to shoot right handed, and it hasn't caused any issues.

I have seen instructors try and change a left eye dominant person who is right handed to a left handed shooter, it does not go well. Manipulation of the firearm is easier when done with the hand that the person naturally uses or has learned to use.

Eye dominance is over rated, most people do not shoot with both eyes open. Regardless of what eye is dominant it does not come naturally to shoot with irons or a magnified optic with both eyes open. It is a skill that has to be learned, a good place to start is a non magnified red dot. When teaching a child to shoot eliminating this confusing factor makes the basics of marksmanship easier for them to learn.

I shot right-handed until I was twenty-five years old and shot with both eyes open. I was a good shooter too. Do to an injury, I was forced to switch to shooting left handed. I would say it took me about two years to get really comfortable left-handed and was, again, able to shoot with both eyes open. I don't think I ever got to the point I was quite as good as I had been but I was OK. Fast forward 46 years and I have had lens replacement in both eyes and my left eye is screwed up. I can barely see well enough to see the reticles in my scopes. I am now faced with the choice of getting some more surgery on my right hand to see if I can go back to right handed shooting or hope they can fix my damned eye. I've built left handed stocks for some of my rifles so I would have to replace them. I have left hand shooting jacket and vests. The bottom line? every shooter should do what is comfortable but everyone should work at being ambidextrous. GD