Changing shooting hands.

[Matthew Bolton]

I am originally a left handed person but when I broke my arm when I was 5 I learned to write and do pretty much everything. As you can imagine, this makes me left eye dominant as a right handed shooter. This doesn't make me super inaccurate but after two or three goo shots I start shanking my arrows left until I have to force myself to refocus everything.

Once the season is over I plan on starting to shoot left handed. After getting a bow that's a much lower draw weight and such what else do I need to do? Any input is appreciated. Thanks fellas

[McDave]

Don't disagree with your plan to shoot left-handed.  I learned to shoot left-handed several years ago just for fun, and to help heal tennis elbow.  After a few days or a week of feeling awkward, you learn to adapt.  You may need a left-handed quiver and tab; gloves seem to work fine either way.

I should say though that your symptoms are the same as a right-handed/right-eye dominant shooter whose form starts breaking down after a few shots (DAMHIK). There are many form problems that will cause left misses for a RH shooter. I'll list four, but there are more:

1.  Griping the bow too tight and torquing the handle.

2.  Torquing the bowstring.

3.  Your eye is to the left of the arrow rather than over the arrow.

4.  "Pulling" the shot to the left, caused by not coming quite to full draw and releasing the arrow while it is still pointing slightly to the left of your mark.

[Meilaq]

I have changed to left handed over the last year after shooting right handed for 30+ years.  I have done this for a number of reasons, i am left eye domiant, i had developed really bad form right handed, i had been spoilt by compound bows, had a sore right shoulder...

I really enjoyed the transition process and have returned to really enjoying trad archery.  I bought a custom predator recurve, my first true Left hand bow and although i'm not as accurate as i would like i am managing to avoid some of the bad habits that my right hand was used to.  I now shoot right handed compound (sights & release aid) and left handed trad archery.  

The advantage as i see it is that you use all the knowledge and experience you have to teach a new student, the other side of your body, with no bad habits built in from muscle memory.

Good luck , it has worked for me.