Eye dominance and shooting a bow?

[ajr5406]

Thinking about getting a bow, for hunting but also because i have a backyard where I can shoot a bow at targets, and it looks like fun!

Here is my dilemma: I am left-eye dominant, but right handed, and I shoot my rifles and shotgun right handed (some would argue that I should have started left, but I am very comfortable shooting right handed). If I get a bow, should I stick with a right hand bow, or shoot left? I imagine it would be weird to shoot a gun right handed, but a bow left handed?

Any advice is appreciated.

[Wild one]

Same deal here

My opinion and many agree go with eye dominance

I can shoot firearms and archery right handed but my accuracy is even greater lefty

[VLD43]

I would suggest your best bet is to wear shooting glasses and put a small dot or piece of translucent tape on the left lens over the left eye. This will force your right eye to take over, and still allow for you to retain your peripheral vision. Closing your left eye will work, but you lose peripheral vision. We do the dot/tape thing all the time with trap and skeet shooters.

[ajr5406]

I would suggest your best bet is to wear shooting glasses and put a small dot or piece of translucent tape on the left lens over the left eye. This will force your right eye to take over, and still allow for you to retain your peripheral vision. Closing your left eye will work, but you lose peripheral vision. We do the dot/tape thing all the time with trap and skeet shooters.

Good tip. That would mean I would still shoot right handed for both?

[Brez]

I went through the same thing many years ago (like 1980) and switched from right to left hand shooting on everything. It was a chore! Even though I believe I am pretty good atshooting a bow left handed, I feel that if I'd staying right handed I would have been better. It was more natural for me. In fact, I am now starting to shoot right handed again, though more for the flexibility in case of injury. I can still shoot a rifle adequately right handed and you never lose that. As a child I was taught to close the eye I wasn't using when shooting and that is what I do most of the time whether I shoot lefty or righty. In my opinion, peripheral vision is overrated when shooting.

[ajr5406]

I went through the same thing many years ago (like 1980) and switched from right to left hand shooting on everything. It was a chore! Even though I believe I am pretty good atshooting a bow left handed, I feel that if I'd staying right handed I would have been better. It was more natural for me. In fact, I am now starting to shoot right handed again, though more for the flexibility in case of injury. I can still shoot a rifle adequately right handed and you never lose that. As a child I was taught to close the eye I wasn't using when shooting and that is what I do most of the time whether I shoot lefty or righty. In my opinion, peripheral vision is overrated when shooting.

Right handed by left-eye dominant as well?

[moosecaller]

I shoot rifle right handed , it just feels right. And I started at 8 years old shooting a stick bow left handed, it just felt right (comfortable) I also shoot pool and hockey left I can do both but it feels strange going right on my natural feel left stuff. I have been doing it this way for over 50 years and have got lots of game and hit many bull eyes during my life, it feels good and natural to do it this way and I have not experienced any problems so my 2 cents is if you do well with it the way it feels good stick with it. I still blame the nuns for whacking my hand when I tried to write left.

[scottym]

I'm in the same boat right hand ,left eye dominant. I often thought about switching but other
archery styles don't have sights on the bow ? Don't give up.
Form and practice are important

[JKerr]

Same issue here, from the replies it doesn't sound too uncommon actually. I shoot right handed, and I squint my left eye when I'm shooting, if its dark I find if I just quickly wink my left eye it will switch over to the right, doesn't work as well if its light out. Some people wear glasses where the left eye is tinted or something so it forces you to use your right eye. Don't get used to just shooting with your off eye closed, especially if you want to learn for hunting, its pretty important to have it open, and its just something you'll have to relearn later. If you can get your hands on a couple bows try both, and go with whatever one you feel more comfortable with, when I first started shooting I was in a JOP club, as we had both, as I said above I went with the right, and I think most go that route.

[Brez]

Right handed by left-eye dominant as well?
yep. As I said I am now (in my 60's) trying to get proficient right handed again...at least with bow and shotgun. The rifle shooting never seemed to go away. I have shot more than a few animals right handed when caught flat-footed. When shooting a bow, it was much more natural for me to shoot right handed. Very steep learning curve to switch.
A great point stated above is to try both left and right handed bows and go with what feels best. You will be quicker and more accurate when most comfortable.

[VLD43]

Good tip. That would mean I would still shoot right handed for both?

Yes you still shoot right handed. The other symptom which is quiet common is cross dominance. This is when your right eye is dominant sometimes, and then your left eye takes over. Another poster mentioned peripheral vision as over rated. Could not be further from the truth. I shot one eyed for about 30 years. Keeping one eye closed will reduce peripheral vision. I switched over to two eyes with a patch or dot on my left eye. When shooting doubles, I am now much quicker at acquiring the second target than I was as a one eyed shooter. My depth perception has also improved using this method. Would strongly suggest, based on 40 plus years of trap and skeet shooting, you use the method I suggested earlier. Start by using a set of cheap safety glasses, and test drive this method. If it works for you, which it most likely will, then explore buying a set of Decot or Randolf Ranger shooting glasses. They will probably set you back $200 - $300 , but will be well worth it.

[ajr5406]

Yes you still shoot right handed. The other symptom which is quiet common is cross dominance. This is when your right eye is dominant sometimes, and then your left eye takes over. Another poster mentioned peripheral vision as over rated. Could not be further from the truth. I shot one eyed for about 30 years. Keeping one eye closed will reduce peripheral vision. I switched over to two eyes with a patch or dot on my left eye. When shooting doubles, I am now much quicker at acquiring the second target than I was as a one eyed shooter. My depth perception has also improved using this method. Would strongly suggest, based on 40 plus years of trap and skeet shooting, you use the method I suggested earlier. Start by using a set of cheap safety glasses, and test drive this method. If it works for you, which it most likely will, then explore buying a set of Decot or Randolf Ranger shooting glasses. They will probably set you back $200 - $300 , but will be well worth it.

Good advice - appreciate it!

I have shot bows right handed and it feels much more natural than trying left (even though im left eye dominant). I like the idea of training my brain to use my right eye as you stated. I dont want to go through the effort of re-learning later on, so would prefer to start the right way from day one if possible.

Cheers

[VLD43]

Good advice - appreciate it!

I have shot bows right handed and it feels much more natural than trying left (even though im left eye dominant). I like the idea of training my brain to use my right eye as you stated. I dont want to go through the effort of re-learning later on, so would prefer to start the right way from day one if possible.

Cheers

Hope it works for you. Have seen many people find success using the method. Stick with it, and it will become very natural.

[Brez]

Yes you still shoot right handed. The other symptom which is quiet common is cross dominance. This is when your right eye is dominant sometimes, and then your left eye takes over. Another poster mentioned peripheral vision as over rated. Could not be further from the truth. I shot one eyed for about 30 years. Keeping one eye closed will reduce peripheral vision. I switched over to two eyes with a patch or dot on my left eye. When shooting doubles, I am now much quicker at acquiring the second target than I was as a one eyed shooter. My depth perception has also improved using this method. Would strongly suggest, based on 40 plus years of trap and skeet shooting, you use the method I suggested earlier. Start by using a set of cheap safety glasses, and test drive this method. If it works for you, which it most likely will, then explore buying a set of Decot or Randolf Ranger shooting glasses. They will probably set you back $200 - $300 , but will be well worth it.
Where were you 35 years ago? lol.

[RoscoeP]

I just had eye surgery a week ago and got my eye sight back after 3 months of no vision in my right(dominant) eye. I tried shooting a couple of times using my left eye and it was pretty hopeless, about 2 1/2" - 3' left at 20 yards, I gave up and waited for the surgery, all good now.

[Brez]

Another big plus for shooting a bow right handed is selection and selecting in particular. It's a chore to dig up enough left handed bows to try out to find the right one. No problem for right handed. A lot easier to buy and sell a right handed bow as well. Just going to the range for a day will give you lots of opportunities to try right handed bows.

[45freezer]

I have the same issue, when I found out I was left eye dominant things finally started making sense...when shooting a pistol or rifle with open sights I've always tilted my head to the right in order aim with my left eye and have always hated rifles with scopes, now I know why. Never even experimented shooting a bow right handed, was told it's ALWAYS best to stick with the dominant eye so I started out left handed and stuck with it. Hardest part was getting used to nocking arrows with the left hand but it doesn't take long to get used to. Have seen people shooting with eye patches for ages, seems a lot easier to just spend a couple months getting used to nocking arrows and clipping in your release with your non-dominant hand than wearing an eye patch or tape on your glasses to every archery event for the foreseeable future but that's just my $0.02!

[VLD43]

Where were you 35 years ago? lol.

Good one. I was shooting pretty good back then, so wasn't listening to well. Took a while, but now I am paying attention and shooting even better scores. Just takes some of us a little longer i guess

[Andrewh]

I am right handed, play every sport with either a right hand or foot as my dominant. I am left eye dominant though and found this out when I was looking at archery equipment. I got into a left handed bow and it took a little bit (a few days) to get used to it and now I would never go back to right handed. You want to shoot with both eyes open so you MUST listen to your dominant eye when buying a bow. If you don't believe me, try guessing 20-30 yrd targets with one eye closed...

Don't let 'lack of choices' or 'smaller used market' keep you from getting into the right equipment for you.

[OutsyderBC]

Dominant eye almost always wins.

You can try and get over it but it won't go away and is constant adjustments easier than a reset?

Boring generic advice again, clubs/proshops are your friend now, use them and try switching using someone else's gear for a session, 5 minutes of that will tell you more than 5 weeks of the internet. You will know then if you can.

[Brez]

This is all good stuff. Take it all in try it all and go with what is best for you. We are all individuals and if there is one thing that I have learned, with regards to archery, everyone has thir own method that works.

[ACB]

I'm left handed but right eye dominant,when I first was learning to shoot because I was left handed I was told this is how a left handed person mounts a gun, on the right side. Well trying to shoot a 22 with iron sights I kept trying to get it so I could look down the barrel with my right eye until someone said hey, try the gun on the other side, EUREKA! Been shooting right handed over 50yrs. now. Always played sports right handed, throw a ball right handed, hit right, but in ping pong or tennis had to serve right handed but could switch hands, so no back hand. Thank god that I could shot righty, being left rifles are more expensive.

[ACB]

This being a bow thread, I do shoot my Excailpur Crossbow righty.

[Ry151]

I’m left eye dominant, write left handed but shoot right handed just fine. 3d targets don’t seem to be an issue at all but small dots on targets at 50yrd are a bit blurry but it’s starting to get better, almost like I’m becoming right eye dominant. One thing I’ve always liked about shooting this way is I can look through a spotting scope with my left eye for hours and if I go to my rifle scope my right eye is fresh and not fuzzy or hazy. Works for me but what Evers feels best for you. just get a bow and hit a local 3D course and you’ll be hooked!!

[Carrollizer]

Try out both left and right handed bows and see what your body tells you is most comfortable

[Hunter gatherer]

Same,left eye dominant shoot right. I found I have to tell myself to keep my left eye closed after the shot or I pull the shot a bit.

[Taylor329]

Right handed, been shooting guns on the right side with my right eye my whole shooting life, 20+ years. Until I looked into archery I had no idea about eye dominance. Turns out I'm left eye dominant, so I shot a right handed, and a left handed bow side by side in the Cabela's shooting range. Immediately I felt more comfortable with the lefty bow! I ordered my first bow in left handed, and will continue to shoot a bow left handed. I will however continue to shoot my guns on the right side since my mind/body was able to overcome and adapt to doing it for so long. Plus who wants to sell and re-buy all their guns in a different hand configuration, right?