Would you suggest buying her a left handed bow?
I shoot both eyes open and think it's a simpler way of shooting but I am not a fundamentally sound archer either.
I'm left eye dominant and shoot my compound right handed and just (@52) started shooting my shotgun left handed.
Firstly,make sure she is indeed left eyed dominant.As an Optometrist I can vouch for people not doing the test correctly and will do it 10 times before confirmation.
Recurve or any instinctive shooting would be best left handed for sure.
One son was cross dominant and since he just shoots a compound with a peep I never switched him....so don't go overboard about the issue if preference is right handed with a compound,just add a peep and move on.
If she sis young and just learning either will work. Just pick one and stick with it!
I shot right handed for about 18 years. Once my vision started going a bit I decided to switch to my dominant eye and switch to lefty. It is the single best thing I have ever done to improve my shooting. It allowed me to shoot with both eyes open which is essential if one learns to just focus on the target and let your pin disappear.
Genesis can correct me if I am wrong but shooting with both eyes open will allow one to shoot in lower light conditions, gives you better peripheral vision and better overall balance. Also...it is just more comfortable and natural to have both eyes open. When I described it to my NASP kids I would ask one of them to close an eye and then just carry out normal tasks. It is not comfortable to walk around with one eye closed.
That said,I would take a LH batter over RH no matter eye dominance and made my sons that way.....
Bowfreak,not really,you can "tease" your non dominant eye to take over by semi squinting/training it.
If multiple children and they are all compound shooters I would probably add peeps and shoot them RH if they were all RH.Easier on the pocket book and trading bows...etc.
Before I switched to lefty I did a lot of practice training my right eye to "dominate" for lack of a better term. I got really good at it and had pretty much "mastered" shooting with both eyes open. Fast forward it to the spring when I missed a gobbler at 6 yards by 3 foot. Yikes! I had no idea what happened until I went to practice on my target. First shot....right in the dot. On the next draw I noticed my peep didn't turn properly. I started sighting through the peep and realized it had turned a bit but went ahead with my shot. I missed by 3 foot. What happened was the peep turned just enough for my left eye to take over.....hence the bad miss. I have never had this issue shooting with my dominant eye and assume that should it happen shooting with my dominant eye that my dominance wouldn't switch.
As Genesis says though lefties have a hard time selling used bows and you pretty much just have to order a bow sight unseen. Trying one is out of the question as nobody stocks them.
way better in the long run, more accuracy thus more enjoyment. Especially for traditional shooting and shotgunning!
2 out of 3 of my kids are cross eye dominant. Started them right off on dominant eye and no issues. I've seen people switch later to dominant eye and all had wished they started out that way.
If you have her cross train, then she will develop poor form. She will have great difficulty learning to shoot with both eyes open. Both eyes open improve low light vision, increase the field of view and are generally a good idea.
I see people cross dominant and they look uncoordinated and inept. Don't get your daughter ridiculed. That, and inconsistency from having her eyes fighting each other, would increase her chances of quitting.
I have amblyopia in my right eye, so southpaw was a given for shooting. That's me.
Granted, I'm a stickbow guy. I play with a Bowtech Constitution a bit trying to get used to it. So far, just sad. My grandsons laugh when i pull it it to play with it. My one boy can pick up a RH bow, shoot it, put it down, and pick up any lefty I got and shoot without missing a beat. I hate that boy.
My other has been righty from day one.
I would tell you that the best way to ensure you are on the right path with her is to let her show you.
Everybody can make suggestions, but the best advice is gonna be watching her shoot. To this day, I'm amazed at my two grandsons, and the things they show me by just shooting with them.
Whatever you do, keep it fun, for you and her.
Lee
The only way I would buy her a right handed bow is if she isn't strong enough to shoot lefty. My daughter started this way. She is left eye dominant. Coordination isn't an issue as it is just as easy to learn lefty as it is righty, but my daughter absolutely could not pull back enough weight left handed so I started her with a right handed bow for target shooting and hunting. Now that she is old enough and strong enough, she will switch to a lefty bow.
BTW, I have a left handed Diamond Atomic with pink limbs if you want it. I will make you a deal and I am buying her a new one for X-Mas.
Elk_Thumper - thank you for the offer...however I think I am going to get her a Diamond Infinite Edge.
She is 9 but stronger than my 11 year old son. And a helluva lot sweeter.
I sure wish she was right eye dominant! It's going to cost me in shotguns and bows (at least I hope so!...as right now she does it to be with me more so than loving to hunt or shoot).
When someone is just starting out, especially at a young age, it's a no-brainer. Muscle memory and strength will develop just as fast on either side. Sighting is much more important, the rest is learned just as easily on either side.
Fortunately for me,my non dominant eye (shooting eye) developed a little nearsightedness and now it is much clearer at near (pins) than my dominant eye.
Now the non-dominant eye is my dominant eye at near.I use the principle daily in my practice with bifocal contact lens.
The brain is a fantastic adaptor and suppresion in the visual cortex is common for everyone on a daily basis.Shooting a peep with the non dominant eye is just another expression of that ability.
Whatever you decide makes sure you get your child's eyes checked as the dominant eye may be the most blurred and that will be counterproductive in every way
Is this correct? I have the person point at a distant object with both eyes open. Then close one and see what happens, them open both and look and point at distant object again closing the other eye and see what happens. I don't do it 10 times but I do do it at least three times to confirm.
The eye where the pointing finger remains on the same distant object as with both eyes open is the dominant eye.
"The brain is a fantastic adaptor and suppresion in the visual cortex is common for everyone on a daily basis."
I look at our hair covered super computers and just marvel! And in the wisdom of man people tell us this is the product of Time, Chance and Beneficial Mutations. You go R. Dawkins. It's a shame we're teaching our kids this nonsense in school.
It helps the tester to face the subject and let them point to your nose that way you can see what eye they are using and not have to rely on the subjects interpretation....with kids this is vital.
I'm with Joehunter and Tndeer- start her lefty, especially because she is young. You/she won't regret it!
The bottom line is teaching a spouse to shoot opposite handed of their eye dominance will only lead to conflict. We tried that. Match eye dominance with the same hand and it's a marriage BUILDING experience.
