I've been looking at videos ahead of my first skeet lesson this weekend. I did the test for eye dominance.

Looks like I'm left eye dominant. But, I am right handed. no wonder things look a little weird with both eyes open.

I guess I will have to learn how to deal with that.

So what’s your plan?

There are different methods to deal with this, some work for some people, others work for other people.
I use an occulder on my left eye, it works for me. A friend switched to shooting left handed, it works for him.
These are two of many different ways to deal with it, you need to find the method that will work for you.

My plan???? You think too much of me....

I'll do something, don't know yet.

I went through this when young. I wrote about it in a prior post about righty shooting lefty. Copied below. lots of other posters there.


I got my first shotgun just before my 7th birthday. I had a BB gun when I was 6. My dad was raised on the farm and was ex-military ( WWII ) so guns were a serious responsibility and not taken lightly. I shot doves and quail fairly well with my dad and family. My dad noticed when I was 9 that I was hunching over my guns. He took me outside one afternoon when we were at the farm and told me to point my finger at a fence post then close my eyes alternately. It was obvious quickly that I was a righty with a left eye dominance.

Dad started me out with the BB gun and a Pepsi can on a fence post. He started me with mounting the gun, acquiring the target, aligning the sight plane, then shooting. It felt weird, but I worked at it. I progressed to making a mark on the ground and walking to the mark without looking at the can, then acquiring the target, aligning the sight plane, then shooting. Then went to walking at the can while looking at it, stopping, mounting the gun, acquiring the target, aligning the sight plane, then shooting. After doing this for an hour a day over the course of a few trips to the farm, I learned to forget the gun and think about the target. The gun has to be a part of you. It all felt normal after that. My dad started throwing targets for me so I could learn to deal with moving targets. After I got the shotgun acclimated, I moved to the .22 rifle and soon was the scourge of the squirrels at the pecan trees on the farm.

I would encourage you to make the decision to adapt to left hand shooting, hunker down, and do the work. You will grow into it and be better for it. I have been a righty shooting lefty for 52 years. Shotgun, rifles, and pistols shooting doves, quail, ducks, small game, and deer. I don't hunt much anymore but I shoot targets and clays as often as I can when not fishing or doing chores.

JB

Because my master eye wanted to shift and I never knew when, I went to a patch just big enough to block out the muzzle when the right eye was closed. I feel like I can still see around it, so it isn't a handicap.

Here's something you can try for < $8 before you spend $$ on an instructor, more shells and other devices or gimmicks...

Go to a Staples store and get the "See-through/Transparent Removable Colored Dots" (<$8 for a lifetime supply).

The dot is positioned at upper left of your left lens (if right handed) so it disrupts the left eye's image of the barrel when the gun is mounted. (I try to get mine centered on the end of the barrel.) When walking around the range or a sporting clays course, I don't find it distracting at all -- not like a large piece of black tape would be. And when I shoot -- with both eyes open -- I don't even notice it and my right eye takes command. I do this when hunting too, as my peripheral vision in the left eye isn't gone (when not cheeking the gun), like a solid eye patch or piece of black tape would probably do. (That's an important safety consideration when in the field.)

My instructor had told me to use these and my scores -- and the fun! -- went up considerably when using the dots and now I won't shoot without them. I don't have true cross-dominance, but my left eye does "compete" with the right (especially on targets coming from the left).

With these dots in use, my shooting is more consistent.....

* Much BETTER than before using the dots!

* And REALLY GOOD on some days!



Try it, they might help! Good luck.

Old No7

Hold on now.. don't discourage me spending/wasting money. Last month I spent a couple thousand dollars on a shotgun and I didn't and still don't know much about them. Besides, if I spend all my money on this sport, then I have none to spend on more harmful vices.

Regarding the see through dots... Great tip. I'll try them.

Last saturday, I used a piece of transparent tape on my glasses. It was definitely better for me. So, I do know that there is some merit to this approach. If they are see through, that would be even better since I couldn't see through the translucent tape in that one spot.

Birds crossing from left to right took me a little while to pick up.

Good luck, the dots helped me on left-to-right crossers.

I was out hunting for ducks on Saturday and put a sheet of dots into my Blind Bag, since they work so well for clays -- I figured i'd use them on game.

Too bad it was too warm, and a blue bird day..................

Good luck.

Old No7