Can a leftie learn to shoot right handed?

[brian10x]

Let me preface this question by adding some background. I'm 61, and I've been shooting for most of my life. When I was a kid, my parents gave me a Daisy with the only instruction of "Don't shoot your eye out." Being left handed, and left eye dominant, I naturally took to shooting the Daisy left handed, and I've been shooting rifles as a leftie ever since. Funny thing, when my friends introduced me to pistols years later, I copied their right handed technique, using the Weaver stance to position the pistol in front of my dominant eye.
It would be so much easier if I could train myself to shoot rifles right handed. I wouldn't have to dodge flying brass as much, the operating controls would be on the correct side, and that darn AR-15 safety wouldn't rub my trigger finger!
Is this even possible? I can certainly train myself to hold a rifle on my right side, but what to do about my left eye dominance? It seems I'd have to contort myself in a seriously awkward position to use any optic.
And forget about bullpups!

 

[kenpoprofessor]

Buy a leftie AR, they sell them.


Have a great, gun carryin', Kenpo day

Clyde

 

[knockonit]

sure you can just takes desire to do so, way back i fubared my wrist shooting azhighcountrys 500 sw, right wrist couldnt take any recoil at all, so i began the arduous attempt to shoot leftie, and well, lets just say, while i was not mr annie oakley, one did not want to be inside of 75 yds when i was aiming at the target, i did well, took some getting used to, being a different eye dominant,
guess one could equate it to having a new wife or gal friend after decades of the previous situation. change can be good.
enjoy the trials to get'r done
Rj

 

[brian10x]

Buy a leftie AR, they sell them.


Have a great, gun carryin', Kenpo day

Clyde

The thing is, Clyde, I got a lot of righties that I really like. Replacements are not in the cards.

 

[brian10x]

sure you can just takes desire to do so, way back i fubared my wrist shooting azhighcountrys 500 sw, right wrist couldnt take any recoil at all, so i began the arduous attempt to shoot leftie, and well, lets just say, while i was not mr annie oakley, one did not want to be inside of 75 yds when i was aiming at the target, i did well, took some getting used to, being a different eye dominant,
guess one could equate it to having a new wife or gal friend after decades of the previous situation. change can be good.
enjoy the trials to get'r done
Rj

I'm just concerned with getting my dominant left eye aligned to a rifle scope on my right side. I'm not sure its physically possible.

I know what you mean by switching to your other girlfriend.

 

[pneuby]

I am RH, and left-eye dominant. Long arms, and archery, have always been done LH. With use of a scope, I probably could do okay from my right side with a 'normal' RH rifle.

 

[smithers599]

I am right-handed, and left-eye dominant. I shoot pistol right-handed and left-eyed.
I shoot rifles right-handed with my right (non-dominant) eye, but I have to close my left eye so it doesn't try to take over. Try closing your left eye; see if that helps.

(Pro Tip: try to keep at least one eye open.)

 

[QuangTri]

Yes, it can be done. Which eye is dominant? edit: I see left ey, that only complicates pistol. I still have to partly close my left eye shooting to ensure the correct eye is in charge.

Did it myself at a later age than you. Got tired of too many firearm features right handed.

Started with pistol, as my right eye is dominant, that went fairly easy and was imperative.

Rifle took a lot of air rifle practice to feel natural, but I got there. All in my back yard at low cost of course. Mostly training your hold and trigger control. Eventually want to get a bolt action and be free to chose the toy of interest. It does feel natural now, though most everyday stuff is still left handed.

Being a leftie, you are likely somewhat ambidextrous, so do not reject trying. I suspect a rightie would have a much worse time.

 

[brian10x]

I am right-handed, and left-eye dominant. I shoot pistol right-handed and left-eyed.
I shoot rifles right-handed with my right (non-dominant) eye, but I have to close my left eye so it doesn't try to take over. Try closing your left eye; see if that helps.

(Pro Tip: try to keep at least one eye open.)

I'm going to try that. I have several red dots on rifles, and I wonder if I can still keep both eyes open. I'm going to give it a try tomorrow.

 

[brian10x]

"A good way to start retraining right now is by putting a patch on the dominant eye and do crossword puzzles using only your non dominant eye for at least an hour or more a day."

Sound advice. I'm going to give that a try. I appreciate all the advice you guys have given me. This could work!

 

[Isnake]

We discovered my oldest son was right handed and left eye dominant when he started shooting SCTP. It was hard at first but he eventually went on to place 2nd in the 2015 sporting clay state championships. He now hunts with his rifle lefty and his AR too. All he did was lots of rounds down range and none of his guns are lefty, it was just a matter of getting used to it.

 

[DoubleAlpha]

Just to give you my personal experience, I worked on changing my dominant eye for competition reasons. I was skeptical at first but the ability of the brain to be retrained relatively quickly surprised me. After a few dry firing (or "dry aiming") sessions I could consciously switch from one eye to the other with no effort. Now, almost automatically, the relevant eye, that closest to the sights, picks them up. Magic...

 

[brian10x]

" Now, almost automatically, the relevant eye, that closest to the sights, picks them up. Magic..."

I would not have thought that was possible. Thanks for the story.

 

[freefly]

It would be so much easier if I could train myself to shoot rifles right handed. I wouldn't have to dodge flying brass as much, the operating controls would be on the correct side, and that darn AR-15 safety wouldn't rub my trigger finger!
Is this even possible? I can certainly train myself to hold a rifle on my right side, but what to do about my left eye dominance? It seems I'd have to contort myself in a seriously awkward position to use any optic.
And forget about bullpups!

You should just embrace the hand you were dealt (<-- see what I did there?), and appreciate the fact that you are not cross-eye dominant. I'm a fellow lefty with several "right-hand" pistols/rifles, and have no issues. It is MUCH easier to modify ("ambi-ize") your guns and/or adapt yourself to right-handed controls. Eye-dominance issues can be worked out. However, trying to train yourself to be "right handed" (and right-eye dominant) is something else entirely.

Also, sometimes being a lefty can actually make things better/easier/faster. For instance, mag changes on a 1911 (and several other pistol platforms) are more efficient and faster as a lefty. You actuate the mag release with your middle finger and the slide-release with your index finger. No need to break your grip and cant the gun to reach a mag button with your thumb. The only thing you need is an ambi thumb safety.

For the AR platform: You can fit extended bolt catches, ambi charging handles, ambi mag catches, and ambi thumb safeties (some with custom lever lengths/shapes for either side). If it's a Colt, you can simply take out the thumb safety and flip it around. Of course there are multiple options for factory LH rifles and ambi lowers out there as well. As far as "dodging flying brass" goes, it's never been an issue for me. Most modern AR uppers have brass deflectors, and they work as advertised. YMMV...

:handgestures-thumbup:

 

[admin]

Garand Thumb (Travis Haley's son) is left handed but shoots right-handed. He references it in several of his videos on YT. Not sure if he was trained that way from the get-go or if at some point he decided to force the switch out of expediency.

 

[Flash]

" Now, almost automatically, the relevant eye, that closest to the sights, picks them up. Magic..."

I would not have thought that was possible. Thanks for the story.

My master eye changes from left to right by itself whenever it feels the urge. This can really screw things up when shooting moving targets, so in order to stop the problem I got glasses that are Monovision.

What that means is that in my case, the right lens is set up for distance and the left lens is set up for reading.

So when the left tries to become master eye, it sees a blur and shifts back to my right eye.

Problem solved.