Shooting handguns

regularjoe · Mar 9, 2015

This post has nothing to do with hunting and I apologize for that but, I know I can get some real world answers/direction to my question by posting here. I ask this question from the POV of competition/action shooting and CCW/defensive hand-gunning.
Here's the deal: I am left-eye dominate. I shoot rifles and shotguns left-handed but, shoot a bow right-handed. I write left-handed but, do most everything else right-handed. The reason I shoot a bow right-handed is because my right arm is the stronger of the two so I made the choice to shoot it that way. Along with the strength comes better dexterity and fine motor skills in my right hand. I know I am not ambidextrous and I don't that I fit the definition of being "cross-dominate" either. So my question is, am I better off to learn to shoot a handgun right-eyed/right-handed (it feels better drawing and manipulating a handgun with my right hand) or to learn to draw and manipulate a handgun left-handed?

TOPGUN · Mar 9, 2015

LAST EDITED ON Mar-09-15 AT 01:16PM (MST)[p]From what you're saying I see no reason why you shouldn't go the right handed route with the handgun. That is only because it's you and already doing things from both sides. Normally, I would advise a beginner to go with their dominant eye side, but I think you'll be fine if you can shoot a bow righty with no problem.

dz · Mar 9, 2015

I would go shoot with both hands as the lead. Paper will tell you what works the best. I used to have one on each hip as I walked through the sage chasing Jack rabbits. I can't say that my right, dominate hand, out shot my left. When a rabbit took off I had 10 shots in each hand and it usually was enough.

DZ

sageadvice · Mar 9, 2015

"...When a rabbit took off I had 10 shots in each hand and it usually was enough"

I can vision how that might be enough for me too, lots of fun! Were you ever shooting at them with both guns going at the same time?

Joey

"It's all about knowing what your firearms practical limitations are and combining that with your own personal limitations!"

dz · Mar 9, 2015

Yes I would walk with them in holsters and when they would make a run I would draw and shoot one from each hand till the rabbit dropped or I ran out of shells. There were a lot of rabbits back in the day in Southern Idaho. A brick didn't cover me most days.

Great memories, DZ

sageadvice · Mar 9, 2015

Cool! we did the same but mostly with ground squirrels, but one gun at a time. It was better than fair practice.

Joey

"It's all about knowing what your firearms practical limitations are and combining that with your own personal limitations!"

WVHUNTER · Mar 10, 2015

I would think you would want to do everything with your dominant eye. I have a brother-in-law that struggled for years with trying to get bow sites to line up and find animals in scopes. He finally decided he was right handed with a left dominant eye. He switched and after about a week he could shoot better than he ever could before.

People that are right handed with a left dominant eye are usually that way because they see better out of the left eye. You are going to acquire targets with your dominant eye and I'm not sure you are going to change that without putting a patch over your dominant eye.

When you are looking at a target you will be looking at it with your dominant eye and when you pull a scoped rifle to your shoulder the target should automatically be in the scope.

You can teach your muscles to do things but you can't teach a blind eye to see.