Left eye open or not

[Bob Moran]

Dan,
I also am right handed and left eye dominant - probably why I'm a crappy shotgun shot! I found that with practice I am able to "force" myself to focus with my right eye, even while keeping both eyes open. It helps to keep the bow canted a bit so your right eye is over, and looking down, the arrow shaft. Keeping both eyes open is important for depth perception - especially important in archery.

You can all get out your whips and chains, but here goes.  I have a friend that has cataracts in his dominant left eye, bad enough to mess up his aim.  I bent up a site with yellow coated wire to loop and taped in on his bow so he could aim with his good eye.  That sort of worked but it was sticking way out and bendy.   His next step was to go to a right hand bow with an SRF sight, that worked even better.  Just a suggestion to maybe shorten the learning curve.   http://www.3riversarchery.com/srf-sighting-system---luminescent.html

[J-dog]

I am crosseye dominant as well, been shooting right hand all my life with a left dominant eye. I will stand beside most anyone shooting and do just fine.
My daughter is another story, she is either way, right or left don't matter (cant remember what that is called?? but Grandfather was same way) but she does better with left. Her bows will be lefties. She writes with her right but all shooting sports she does better wit left.

J

One suggestion is try and eye patch, will seem awkward at first but when I was starting out it was a huge help. A Marine Corps Father made me wear it for a LONG time shooting or not! LOL - but it worked, course I was a youngin too.

[Gordon Jabben]

Interesting subject for me as I have been struggling with this.  I'm right handed and at one point very right eye dominate due I think to a cataract in my left eye.  Now that the cataract has been removed, I feel I have slowly become left eye dominate and catch myself closing my left eye as I draw the bow.  I guess I need to consciously force myself to keep both eyes open while target practicing until it becomes engrained again.

[johnnyk71]

hate to pile on, but your best bet really is to trade for/buy a left-handed bow. you need both eyes for distance judgment, so closing one hurts your depth perception.

if it's an in-demand type bow, you should be able to trade for something comparable.

[Shadowhnter]

Originally posted by Pat B:
If you are shooting instinctively eye dominance doesn't matter. I'd keep both eyes open for binocular vision and depth perception.

X2....this is an undeniable fact.

[Thumper Dunker]

Originally posted by Shadowhnter:
 

Originally posted by Pat B:
If you are shooting instinctively eye dominance doesn't matter. I'd keep both eyes open for binocular vision and depth perception.

X2....this is an undeniable fact. [/b]

Ditto
I'm left eye dominance and shoot right handed. I can't even see the bow when I draw back nothing but fuz. Just point and shoot.

[Dave Worden]

I guess I just don't see the issue.  If you're shooting instinctive, both eyes open.  With both eyes open your dominant eye will always be the controller.  I shoot rh most of the time; lh when I feel like it.  My first lh shot will be 3 ft left, next 18" left, next in the target.  My biggest problem lefty is that I don't do it enough to groove in my form.  If you shoot with a sight, again I see no issue.  It should be consistent with the dominant eye.  LE - LH; RE - RH.  UNLESS you have physical reason that you can't do that.  Then close/cover the dominant eye.  With a sight you "should" be shooting with the eye closest to the string.  Not that you CAN'T do it differently.  There are always exceptions.

[Shadowhnter]

You are only talking about a distance difference of 2 1/4"- 2 1/2" between the eyes. There is just as much difference or more, where people anchor effectively at..some under the jaw, others use ring finger to corner of the mouth, yet all shoot great. With instinctive shooting, the mind will make allowance for that 2 1/2", and you will never know the difference in shooting. Its the same as hitting at different yardages, and based on having done it before and the mind reacts. With instinct shooting, you hit where you are looking,so who cares which eye leads? My son has been shooting only for 3 years instinctive. He is heavily left eye dominant and right handed, and is shooting right handed. Id put his shooting up against many long time shooters. The boy is a fantastic shot.

[CoachBGriff]

Wow! I never realized how common this was.  

I'm left handed and left eyed, so I have a slight bias... the more left handed shooters, the more left handed bows floating around for me to buy cheap in a few years...

Just kidding.  Good luck.

[Danny Rowan]

LOL, do not think anyone would tell ole Thumper Dunker he has to switch to left hand shooting, that man is a killing machine on yotes, rabbits and squirrels. As I said before, do what you want to do.

[nd chickenman]

these question are like asking if you should put salt in your soup, Taste the soup, if it needs salt, put some salt in there. It's all about the individual. Most important thing is to keep it fun!! BTW, I'm left eyed, RH shooter! lol

[Scott Barr]

I am right handed and right eye dominant.  However, recently I lost most of the vision in my right eye. My brain made the shift and I am now  left eye dominant shooting right handed bows.  I found that by keeping both eyes open, opening my stance to face the target more and canting my bow to open up my sight picture helps tremendously.  Canting the bow also moves my arrow slightly to the right of target making up for my left eye wanting to shoot left of target.

[TacoBobbo]

Check out Jeff Kavanaugh on YouTube.

[JamesKerr]

I am one of those people who's blessed to not have a very strong dominant eye. Based on everything I've ever read or done I am slightly left eye dominant but I do everything including shooting my bows right handed. Due to lots of practice I can switch to being right eye dominant whenever I am shooting my bow or anything else that requires me to be right eye dominant, such as looking through a rifle scope. With some practice it becomes second nature to switch eye dominance.

I don't know about y'all cross-eyed guys, but both of my eyes are always open when I am shooting!

Bisch

[J-dog]

Should have said both my eyes are open. Did wear that eye patch for a long time though. I believe my Dad's thoughts were to basically MAKE me go right eye? took the left eye out of the equation.

Not saying this is what you should do. Just saying if you get out there and shoot, keep strong emphasis on the whole picture (form and all) you will be fine.

J

[the rifleman]

I've gotta agree w yaderhey. For me depth perception and binocular vision are incomprehensible terms.  My vision in my right eye is and always has been very bad.  Shooting left handed ( I am rh dominant) was the answer for me.  Eye dominance is relative-- for some the difference may be minimal, but for me it is huge.  Having recent cataract and glaucoma surgery I now see things I never knew existed and thank God every day for my vision!  If your left eye has that much of an edge over your right eye you would do well to switch to lefty.