Advice for left eye dominant son

snoodafruff · Jan 4, 2016

So I have a dilemma I need some advice with. My 11 year old son got a new bow for Christmas. Up to this point he has always shot right handed....bow, gun, shotgun. I never realized until this year when he was at scout camp that it was determined that he is left-eye dominant. He admits he can see better out of his left eye. The problem is he has become so used to shooting right handed, its very awkward for him to try switching to shooting lefty. And more so with his new bow. I can see he is having a hard time with it. I fear that he will get too frustrated with retraining himself to shoot with his dominant eye. I had actually bought his bow in right hand earlier in the year and when I learned he was left eye dominant, I scrambled and got him the same bow in lefty. He was given the lefty as his Christmas gift, but I still have the right hander. Should I continue to encourage him to retrain himself to shoot lefty or let him decide what he is most comfortable with? He has shot bows and guns quite a bit during his 11 years and has become pretty accustomed to shooting righty. Is it too late for him to learn to go left handed? I have asked many friends and family and it seems quite common (more so than I thought) that people are able to shoot quite accurately with their non-dominant eye. Common sense says to shoot with your dominant eye (especially when it comes to archery), but is he too far gone from shooting righty? Help!!

blazingsaddle · Jan 4, 2016

I too am left eye dominant and choose to shoot right handed bows. I have worked over the last few years to strengthen my right eye to "take over" which has worked to some degree, but I still have to squint or close one eye at times to make a single sight picture. When I am fatigued, I see double pins when I'm focused on the target.
From my research on the subject, the know it alls mostly seem to say switch him to a lefty and be patient. In time it will become easy for him. IMO you know him best, but have you thought about asking him what he wants to do? I have no doubt he can pick it up left handed with some time. If he helps make the decision, he's then some what vested in the situation.

Either way you guys decide, he will be able to shoot well with enough practice.
Heck we shot league with a young kid that was blind in his right eye, and shot right handed. He looked over his string through his left eye. Looked ackward and strange, but he was a good shooter.

Best of luck in your decision. He will have some sort of learning curve either way.

c3 · Jan 5, 2016

As a rule of thumb, you try to have kids shoot with their eye dominance. It helps them relax, starting with their eye and face muscles which allows them to hold steadier. It also allows the shooter to more easily learn to shoot with both eyes open which I believe is very important for hunting and outdoor 3d or field rounds.

Secondly, the bow arm is the most important function of the shot. Using the dominant arm to hold the bow is a good thing when it comes to aiming and fitness.

Thirdly, using the dumb hand on the release allows one to learn a surprise release more easily.

The only flip side is the first few days of shooting lefty. Also finding readily available LH gear as he grows and moves through the learning curve can be more of a pain in the rear.

I'd suggest borrowing a LH bow or getting an inexpensive recurve for him to try out for couple weeks to see if it doesn't become much more natural to him.

I helped coach at our local JOAD for a number of years and kids can get pretty frustrated when trying to get good when crossing their eye dominance.

Just my $0.02

Cheers,
Pete

Weiserbucks · Jan 6, 2016

Im no expert, but when I was a kid I was right handed , left eye dominant . My step dad had me wear an eye patch over my left eye shooting both bows and rifles . It worked for me , since then I've used my right eye with no trouble . I don't know if its sound advice , but we were way to poor to afford left handed anything and it worked for me !

trophyhunter · Jan 6, 2016

I grew up shooting right eye left Dom.....with a rifle but when I got older in the service switched to the left eye full time...you feel much more natural shooting and you can also see better lining up your sights or pins.....your son can make the switch it will not take him long to get the hang of it.....down side is my right arm is a bit stronger than my left so I lost a little draw weight.....up side is right arm being stronger help is holding the bow. Not as much left hand stuff out there mostly need to order equipment... left hand bow, sight etc......my wife also shoots lefty....got her a PSE good starter bow..

Good Hunting
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PeteJr · Jan 7, 2016

I have the opposite problem. I am left handed but right eye dominant. I shoot everything right handed, but I started that way when I was a kid so it comes natural.

When people have this problem with firearms, some people will suggest wearing shooting glasses with a small piece of tape over the lens on the dominant side, which forces you to use your non-dominant eye to focalize with. The theory is that over time, your non-dominant eye will become stronger and you'll no longer need the tape. But given that your son is still so young, I don't think it's too late to switch it up and shoot with his natural dominant eye. It will obviously be uncomfortable for a few weeks, but I think in the long run he will be better off.

I agree with the comment about using the strong side as the support arm; I think it helps.

Also, if your son ever gets into tactical shooting his speed reloads will be smoking fast!

snoodafruff · Jan 9, 2016

I wanted to follow up with my son's decision to stick with it & shoot lefty. First off thanks for all the insight & encouragement. Today we went & got him all fitted, set up & ready to go. Then we went & shot all afternoon. I'm amazed at how well he did & how quickly he is picking up shooting lefty. His form looks pretty darn good considering today was the first time he's shot that way. He's been so excited to get shooting. He made his own arrows & decided he wanted to shoot today rather than going skiing......which is already the right choice!! I started him pretty low on poundage & just during the time he shot I could see he was getting it back pretty easily so I turned it up a couple turns. He's still only pulling maybe 25 pounds or so & I'm fine with that. As he gets stronger & more used to it, I'll continue to slowly inch up the poundage. Kids are amazing!!....their ability to listen, be teachable, & trust is truly remarkable!! Keep it up buddy??

blazingsaddle · Jan 10, 2016

Very cool! He's excited and that's all that matters.

trophyhunter · Jan 13, 2016

Nice....glad your Son is getting into it......he is going to have a lot of years of fun and memories with you in the outdoors as well as hunting.....great memories for you both...

))))------->

Gator · Feb 18, 2016

Switched from right to left in the eight grade, doc told me I was left dominant, I can and have shot both ways. He will get to a point and be able to do it too if he has eyes that are the same vision like 20/20 with glasses. Still shot rifle and shotgun left and pistols right Bows both ways left and right helps when you have a shoulder.

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Bill_in_MI · Feb 21, 2016

Make the switch now to left handed.

DBLung · Apr 23, 2016

Ideally your kid could be a great shooter because of his situation. Definitely have him shoot left handed. The coordination thing will come to him a lot better and sooner than trying to force your weak eye to take over. Talk to anyone who shoots with their weak eye and they always have to take special steps to make it work, either an eye patch or closing it all together etc... Secondly You're better off holding the bow in your stronger arm. You'll be more steady and more comfortable once you get he hang of it. I shoot left handed. It's the best move iv'e made.