My kid is right handed & left eye
Equipment
My daughter is 5. She is really interested in shooting. I am not sure which way to get her to shoot. She is right handed. But is most certainly left eye dominant. What is the best course of action?
Same issue with a 6 year old. She wants to draw back right handed but then you can see her using her left eye.
My oldest boy is right handed and left eye dominant. When he was little he kept trying to lean his head all the way over the stock so that he could site with his left eye. I wouldn't let him do that so he switched to shooting left handed. Has worked very well for him and he has developed into a very good shot.
Training a kid to shoot LH is probably easier on the kid than making the transition after learning to shoot or as an adult. Some people do well shooting cross dominant but it was awkward for me, especially in hunting conditions.
Agree with the above. My wife and at least one child is right hand/left eye dominant. Teach them to shoot lefty.
My son is left handed and right eyed dominant. Hen shoots bow and rifle right handed and i good with both.
I am left eye dominate. Get equipment for a lefty, there is a reason for it as it helps with depth perception, eye tracking, etc.
For any rifle shooting, if they are right handed but left eye dominate, get normal right handed rifles. I have never shot a left handed one and think it would be awkward to do so.
Teach them to shoot with their dominant eye. Shooting a right hand rifle left handed isn't difficult. Just treat it like it's a single shot whether it's a bolt action or lever action unless a lh rifle is affordable.
Dominant eye is the key. I know several people who tried to shoot with their dominant hand but went to the dominant eye and shot MUCH better.
Switch her now instead of waiting until 53 when I switched. Lol
Ditto! Had a left handed son with right eye dominance. After checking with having him point to objects and having seeing which eye dominated, had him learn bow and gun right handed. Paid off! Shot "expert" in Marine Corp each time tested during his 5 year stint. (I figured that was more important than him enjoying his success at hunting, even though he hasn't missed yet.)
Teach them left handed while they are young. One of my best friends son Cade is right handed and does a lot of stuff that way but he shoots a bow and gun left handed and is an excellent shot. Shawn
I agree, teach them to their eye dominance. I shot left handed for 17 years before I knew about this eye dominance issue. I switched to right handed and my shooting improved quite a bit. The hardest thing about the switch is how I grabbed the bow, then arrows when I shot. Teaching them from the start would eliminate a switch over.
Agree with most everyone. Left eye dominant means teaching them left handed. It will be a little awkward at first, but a lot easier and better for them in the end.
I think I naturally picked up a bow (ambidextrous kids recurve) and rifle and shot it left handed. One day dad asked which hand I write with and said my right, then told to shoot the bow with that hand.
A few years later, switched to a left hand bow and have done it ever since. That was 30+ years ago. Have always shot a right hand bolt action lefty.
My oldest daughter, 29, is right handed and left eye dominant. From day one she shot left handed. This year she shot her whitetail buck on the run with a right handed Model 70 shooting left handed. Two shots in the chest before it went down, with her having to "cross over the top" to work the bolt. She didn't think anything of it....proud dad moment.
If just starting shoot with dominate eye.
I shoot with a 22 year old lady that is left handed and right eye dominant. She made the switch to shooting right and is amazing.
so was Howard Hill IIRC I read recently the NBA great Kevin Durant is left eye dominant and right handed I am too
My son is as well. He tried a right handed bow but after a month could not find consistency, so I decided to try a left handed bow. He and I do not regret it after 4 years. Last winter we took first place in a local archery league.
Go with his eye. My son is the same. He shoots rifles and bows both left handed and it's a natural to him as I am as a right/ righty.
I am right handed and left eye dominate, 54 years old and been shooting a bow since 1977. I am probably the biggest goofball when I try to do anything left handed so I never even tried the switch because I new what the results would be. I actually did not think it was that big of a deal but I just learned to shoot with both eyes open. I get way less eye fatigue and I still shoot with dominate eye. Been shooting this way ever since I started using a peep site 30 years or so ago.
Since your daughter is so young it might be better to go with dominate eye but I just wanted to let you know that you can shoot without switching sides of the bow.
Right handed/left eyed here. Dad and uncle figured it out when I got my first BB gun at 7 and was leaning over the stock. Quickly learned to shoot a gun left handed no issue and have shot either handed guns on the left side with ease for the last 23 years. Left handed shotgunners definitely have it better when waterfowling and rooster hunting. Always get the right flank! They let me choose with the bow though, and I spent the first 3-4 years shooting right handed, but instinctively. Eventually graduated to my first Hoyt and a peep sight. I’ve always just closed my left eye. Can shoot with both eyes open fine but chose the one eyed option and stuck with it. Never seemed like much of an issue with stationary archery targets. Doubt I’ll ever switch it up. Things have gotten better I’m sure, but finding left handed gear, especially used, seems like it was always a pain in the ass. Plus I always figured I could borrow a buddy’s bow in a pinch a lot easier than if I were trained left handed.
I’m left handed and right eye dominant. When I got my first bow, my dad made sure it was a right handed bow, learned from the beginning to shoot right handed to match my dominant eye.
I am 57 and I never heard about eye dominance until I was 21 in college. I'm right handed, and left eye dominant. I struggled with shooting my bow in my early years, but once I started to close my left eye I found I could shoot much better. My bow is right handed with a peep, and I always just close my left eye when I aim. At first I had to remind myself to close my left eye, but now it's just automatic. It's never been an issue even in the heat of the moment while deer hunting.
I'm cross dominant (left eye dominant but right handed) and shoot a bow right and a gun left . Transitioning to a recurve is impossible for me now.
Peeps really help with the issue of shooting a compound with the non dominant eye and really can be managed easily however if a guy EVER wants to pick up a trad bow he's /she gonna wish they started using dominant eye for their peeped bow as well
there are quite a few reasons as those have said to shoot with her left eye dominance.
1. shooting both eyes open relaxes the face and neck allowing you to hold more steady
2. holding the bow with your dominant hand allows you to aim steadier in a more relaxed way
3. using a release with the dumb hand prevents target panic. people who shoot like this rarely ever have an issue with panic as they aim so much better from the get go.
The only drawback is that LH equipment is harder to find for testing out. Cheers, Pete
I am that way - my dad boughy me a lefty bow and I still shoot that way 36 years later!
My Wife is left eye dominant and right handed. Tried to get her to shoot right handed, way back when we were dating, and she could never get it right.
Switched her to a Lefty bow a few years back, and she is shooting 3D tournaments with me now, and shooting very well.
Best of Luck, Jeff
My daughter is right handed/left eye dominant. She initially tried shooting both a bow and a gun right handed and really struggled with accuracy and didn't really enjoy it. A couple years ago she wanted to try a bow again. We tried a couple left handed bows at very low poundage and she got the technique down quickly. Now she loves to shoot and pulling left handed feels very natural for her.
BTW, my son is right eye dominant and right handed for everything except he throws a baseball and shoots a basketball left handed. Goofy kids but they keep life interesting!
My two older boys were right handed/left eye dominant. I trained them to shoot lefty. My youngest boy is right/right. He shoots righty.
As vast majority have said, start them according to dominant eye (lefty bow in your case).
I have a friend who shot all his life righty even though he was slightly left eye dominant.
He had a construction injury that crushed his right hand so he was forced to switch to lefty. It took him a little while, but he told me he now shoots better than he ever did, and he was an excellent shot before the switch! He said he wished he had done it years ago.
my son is rt handed and left eye dominate. shoots everything left handed and does it well.
Switching L to R or vice versa in archery is quick and easy, compared to most other things that are L and R oriented, especially for a youngster. I switched from R to L so as to better utilize my dominant left eye when I was in my 50's. Not much of a problem, and it only took a couple of shooting sessions to feel good at it. I still shoot both L and R, I just close the dominant eye partially when aiming when I shoot RH. Comes in handy when you get old and have an off and on bad shoulder that will only let you shoot one way.
My best friend was born blind in his right eye and is right handed. It's never bothered him to shoot left handed. Best results when you start young I expect.
Im cross dominant as well. I shoot right handed fairly well but do have moments where clarity isnt the best. Even with both eyes open i have to almost max my windage out to the left...cant shoot Spott Hogg multi-pins for that reason.
I am left eye dominant and shoot my compound right handed and I have trouble shooting good groups beyond 25 yards. I have been bow hunting/shooting for about 16 years now and I am considering making the change. For the guys that switched to lefty later in their "career" what steps made it easier to switch?
I am right eye dominant and left hand dominant. I am more comfortable shooting a bow right handed and a rifle/shotgun left handed.
I shoot a bow with both eyes open and the gun with right eye closed...not a big deal.
I have ZERO problems with accuracy. Just let the youngan shoot the way they are comfortable.
I'm right handed but left eye dominant. I shoot guns left handed but I shoot my bow right handed. I'm able to focus on the target and open my left eye slightly for depth perception and such without screwing myself up. Took lots of practice to maintain focus and if I don't do it for a while I sort of lose the ability for a bit. I agree with most others, especially because of the age. Just shoot left handed. It will be so much easier in the long run.
There are some safety concerns for shooting right handed(bolt action)rifles left handed. I have two daughters and one grand-son that are right handed and left eye dominant and taught them all to shoot(bows+guns) from the left side.
I'm right handed and left eye dominant. I shoot a right handed bow and always have. I really don't understand the issue if shooting a compound bow - you look through the peep with your right eye. As far as depth perception goes, I usually try to use a rangefinder, or am looking with both eyes before the actual shot. When I shoot a recurve, I do have to close my left eye, but that isn't exactly a hard thing to do.
I will offer differing advice from many here. My son was also R hand L eye. I asked a similar question here years ago, got the same advice and had him start shooting L handed at 6 years old.
A that age, he struggled a bit both ways and never really became proficient with his bow. He did fine with a scoped rifle, but I went L handed there too as I didn't want to confuse the issue.
As he got older, he needed glasses, but still remained L eye dominant. Last year, he signed up for his school trap league and on the second day his coach (apparently a past Olympic trap shooter) asked why he was shooting L and switched him on day 2, taped his shooting glasses and his shooting immediately improved and he actually shot what was his best score ever at that point the very first round he shot R handed. She told me she ALWAYS has cross dominant kids shoot to their strong hand and tapes or cards the off eye. I took him to a local bow shop that weekend and he tried and preferred the R hand bow and has been shooting much better that way since. I think, that his R eye was the weaker of the two, and now with glasses the difference in his eyes is not as great as it had been.
Now I have a L hand bow and .243 collecting dust in the closet. For him, I wish we had left him right handed as I think he struggled with it enough that he lost quite a bit of interest in archery for several years. He loves to hunt, and this year with a R handed bow and shooting much more confidently he finally had an interest in bowhunting at 12 years old. If there is any advice in this story, I guess i'd make sure to figure out at 5 years old if there is a vision issue going on before you start making a decision on what hand she might shoot with and even then, if she does OK R and struggles L listen to her.
