Trad Gang
Main Boards => The Shooters FORM Board => Topic started by: graybarkhunter on September 14, 2011, 08:57:00 PM
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anybody out there shoot this way? i do everything with my right hand: write, throw football,drill on teeth, use striker on a slate call, cast a bait and shoot a sticknstring. only thing i shoot left handed is shotgun. im left i dominant (as i cannot wink my left i and keep my right i open) and shoot bow RH, i shoot with both eyes open and pretty decent groups and it feels comfortable, but would it make more sense to try a LH bow, or just keep on keepin on with what im used to and have always done?maybe im thinking too hard about this??/// :banghead:
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You are thinking too much. If it aint broke don't fix it,LOL.
I have been shooting a bow for over 40 years and shoot right handed and am left dominant. Lots of archers are. Fred Bear was right dominant and shot left handed. Glenn St. Charles was right dominant and switched to left handed due to a bad case of TP early in his career. If you shoot instinctive and keep both eyes open it maters not which eye is dominant. Bunch of people will tell you to switch but there is no need if you shoot instinctive, now if you shoot gap or use the point of the arrow as a reference then you may have to switch.
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If you're happy with your performance on targets and game then why switch. Just have confidence in what you are doing. That said,I'm RH, LE as well and I just learned to shoot LH from the beginning so it always seemed natural to me. Maybe after hunting season go get a cheap/used LH bow at a light weight and give it try. Just commit at least a few weeks to the effort, it may surprise you.
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right eyed... left handed.. shoot right handed.. I recommend my students change if they can.. some can some can't.. I'm not going to throw them out with the bath water.. either way..
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Change now and never ever look back , Done that about 1993 . BEST THING I EVER DID FOR MY BOW SHOOTING! Still feels weird nocking arrows after all these years . Sell all you bows and buy leftys .
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I'm the same. I do everything left handed except batting a baseball, swinging a golf club and shooting a bow. I am left eye dominant but it just feels natural shooting a bow right handed. I been doing it that way since 1960 and I figure as long as I'm satisfied with my accuracy I'm not gonna change at this stage of the game.
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im like you as well, but... i shoot LEFT handed id say if your happy with your shooting then let it be. i personaly cant even think how weird it would be for me to switch. just dont feel right.
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Last week, I was at the achery club and my friend brought along his brother who had never shot a bow. My friend is a compound shooter and his brother tried that first but couldn't get the hang of it. So, he showed interest in the trad bow that were around. I got him set up with one and that is when he and I found out that he is a righty that is left eye dominant. I asked some of the other people for recommendations and they said let him shoot righty since he said he feels more comfortable. Some of these guys are ex. Nat'l champs and Olympic shooters, so I figured they would know.
He is a natural, and took to it right off, he took to Terry's form a clock right away and the rotational draw. He had a little trouble with his release but some trouble is to be expected.
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Right handed, left eye dominant. Shoot left-handed. Tried RH, but it feels just too weird now.
Enjoy what works.
Marco
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Oh, if you start shooting lefty, remember, the used bow market is not nearly as fun. So few used bows. It's a curse, really (or a blessing?).
Marco
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I am right handed also with a very dominate left eye. I never shot that good either. (still don't!) After reading an article that G Fred wrote about the subject I bit the bullet and bought a Wing Hunter left handed recurve off of a web auction and tried the business of shooting from the other side of the fence. Like I said earlier, I still don't shoot all that good but I sure do shoot better. Sold all of my righties and bought lefties. I will never go back to right handed bows again. YMMV.
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Originally posted by trad_in_cali:
Oh, if you start shooting lefty, remember, the used bow market is not nearly as fun. So few used bows. It's a curse, really (or a blessing?).
Marco
So very true and well said! If I still shot right handed I'd probably buy about half of the bows posted here!
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I used to have the same problem but it is possible to train your right eye to become your dominate eye. The best way I know to do this is with a rifle put shooting glasses on and put tape over the left eye. Eventually you will get to a point where your right eye takes over.
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Right handed...left eyed. I shoot left handed with no problems.
As I understand it...your dominant eye allows you to see straight ahead whereas your non-dominant eye is used for depth-perception. Accuracy is the end game.
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I trained my right eye as I had the same issue. I took an old pair of sunglasses knocked out the right lens left in the left. Shot it like that for about a month. Now I use nothing and shoot just fine.
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I am right handed and left eye dominate, I decided to try and shoot left handed. I will admit my ego took a hit when I had to shot a lighter bow; it took me awhile to build up that side of my body. It’s taking time and I am getting better. I do still have a way to go. But I am happy I went with my dominate eye. It just feels right.
So if you can take the time to build up your left side I would suggest you do it.
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I am a righty and left eye dominate. And I buy about every lefty bow that I see. My rifles are made for lefties so are my telescopes. Important things I seam to do left handed. Works really good for me.
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Would just getting perscription glasses even out your vision and present no problem shooting with both eyes open ?
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I'm going to go a little deeper into this . I'm not the best a explaining it but will give it a whirl . Plus I'm far from being an expert archer .
If you are shooting RH and are left eye dominate do the following exercise.
Pick up your Right hand bow , close your right eye ( you already know you are left eye dominant) now SLOWLY draw your bow until everythng lines up -the spot you picked -the arrow and you dominant eye . You should be about 4-6 inches from anchor . HMMMMMMMMM that might cause a short draw problem don't you think ?
I had a short draw problem - was diagnosed as Traget Panic -it went away when I started shooting LH ( left eye dominate ) I feel it was due to not shooting with the dominate eye and everything lining up correctly .
I feel lots of people think they have target panic but are shooting with the wrong eye and afflicted as I was .
I'm real strong willed and opionated ( at least my wife says so) an wasn't willing to change for years until I shot a Left handed bow for about 30 minutes . I had shot guns left handed from the start . I couldn't hit a baseball until I changed to LH .
I still have problems nocking arrows after all these years and certin things feel weird. I drew a RH bow a while back and the old short draw is still there :) Who would have thunk it ;)
Good Luck and don't be a knucklehead like myself and give it a whirl . Best thing I ever done for my archery .
Jack a righty whos shoots lefty
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I have shot right handed for years with a VERY dominate left eye....shoot both eyes open and have little issue...always thought that I probally shoud shoot left handed but never have had the guts to switch...... :dunno:
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I have the same issue but have shot right-handed for so long, and am so much stronger and coordinated shooting right handed I'd never switch. I have shot quite well right handed so I guess it wasn't as big of a deal as I once thought! Might have been with sights but hasn't seemed to matter much to me shooting instinctively!
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WELCOME ALL OF YOU FRUSTRATED LEFTYS!WE NEED MORE OF YOU.I AM A COMPLETE LEFTY AND I APPRECIATE THE COMPANY.I INSTRUCT A NUMBER OF YOUNG BEGINNING STUDENTS AND BEFORE I BEGIN A SESSION THE FIRST THING I DO IS GIVE THEM AN EYE DOMINANCE TEST.IT IS SURPRISING HOW MANY OF THEM ARE RH/LE DOMINANT.I ENCOURAGE THEM TO SHOOT A BOW MATCHED TO THEIR DOMINANT EYE.IT IS MUCH EASIER TO ADDRESS THIS AT A YOUNG AGE WHEN THEIR COORDINATION SKILLS ARE STILL DEVELOPING.BACK IN THE STONE AGE WHEN I WAS IN SCHOOL SOME TEACHERS WOULD DISCOURAGE USING THE LEFT HAND EVEN TO WRITE.
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jason at hh archery shoots rt is left eye dominate got 5 th or 6th place at the big longbow shoot in michigan . ihad to switch to lefty because my left shoulder gave up . i can pull good with it.anyway im starting to come around at the indoor range but it sure felt weird at first.
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RH shooter, left eye dominate and do very well at it. Shooting left handed feels odd but sighting feels more natural. I'm sure with some practice I would get used to it. I haven't made the jump for shear monetary reasons.
I bought my daughter a cheap fiberglass bow to see if she would like archery. She has the same affliction as ole dad. I let her shoot about 10 arrows right handed and they were everywhere. Checked her eye dominance and then placed the bow in the other hand and her shot placement was much improved.
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Originally posted by bigugly1:
I trained my right eye as I had the same issue. I took an old pair of sunglasses knocked out the right lens left in the left. Shot it like that for about a month. Now I use nothing and shoot just fine.
This may not be the most popular method around and I usually stay out of conversations concerning it because of very animated opinions by opposers of this opinion. But this is the philosophy that I also believe in, in most cases. Maybe not the exact method of training, but the idea behind it.
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im rt handed and iv switched to left because of shoulder problems .im starting to plce arrows in the center of the target however it was a bummer at first.
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I'm RH w/ left eye strongly dominant. A sports medicine therapist got me alternating LH and RH shooting on alternate days due to neck/back issues. Slow progress at first but now no problem from either side. I don't really keep track but think I am just slightly better from the left side.
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Seth, I am RH and left eye dom. and did OK in my backyard, but in the field I was real bad. I think I was so used to my yard I was doing adjustments that I was not aware of. I can honestly say that I shot better in two days with a LH bow. I was MUCH easier than I thought. You will never reach you true potential unless you shoot with your proper eye. I switched when I was around 50 yrs old. Just try it for a few days.
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my son who is 5 i think is left eye dominate is right handed when he shoots with me he misses a most of the time gets discouraged but if he shoots left handed he does better but can't pull the string back all the way is there any thing you think i should do or just give him time
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Howard Hill was left eye dominant and shot right handed. He was pretty good with a bow and arrow. :)
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I to am right handed and left eye dominant. If it has sights I shoot left, I shoot trad fight handed and have tried it both ways. right is better for me.
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I started shooting only about 3 weeks ago and I am left eye Dom but right handed. I right off the bat started shooting left handed and I have to say it is very comfortable. I shoot both eyes open and I have been doing pretty well so Im told.
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im right hand shooter and right i dominant but shoot with both eyes open. at first i could not figure out why all my shots were 3-4 left of bulls eye. i now look instictively at the target from the right side the string at full draw with my right eye dominant and it fixed the problem.is there another way?? im no lefty.
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I shot close to 30yrs right handed, left eye dominate. If it has sights,scope, or your gapping/using the arrow point as a sight eye dom is irrelavent. However when I went to trad just a few years ago, I shot average at my league and had ocasional flyers that I couldnt explain. I tried a left handed bow and instantly got better. Im now amoung the top shooters in my league, and have been shooting left handed trad about half the time I shot right handed. Your brain picks which eye is dominate based on which eye has better vision. You can fight eye dominance all you want, but for me, Im gonna use the eye that has the best vision. 8^)