Shooting left and right? Anyone do both?

[ron w]

I know several who have switched to lefty recently do to injury or eye problems. I have been fooling around shooting left handed just to see if I could do it. I'm right handed but left eye dominate. Does anyone out there shoot both left and right all the time. I can see that there are times where it could be an advantage in certain spots. I have a recurve and a longbow that have dual shelves.

[Cobie33]

I can and do shoot both.  I work on archery equipment regularly so it keeps me in practice on the right side.  I am right handed and left eye dominant.  I shot right handed for years, then decided to switch to my dominant eye. It is funny to see peoples reactions when I can shoot either.

[Rick Richard]

I too have switched because of dominant eye.  Did this may years ago and can shoot either way, but better on the dominant side.

[Bladepeek]

I kept two of my "righties" after switching to the left side. I just have to close my left eye when shooting right handed.

[nineworlds9]

this whole year i have been playing around shooting righty.  i'm cross dominant right handed left eyed and normally shoot lefty but have found right really isn't that hard at the closer ranges, you just have to practice, actually i was surprised at my accuracy.  have actually been able to shoot some nice groups.  you just have to focus, honestly shooting righty feels like you have to be even more reliant on 'instinctive' skill.  it's a lot of fun.  i've been keeping 1 righty bow around until just this past week.  sold it, cause i developed a case of golfers elbow in my right arm and pulling righty was not comfortable.  probably will get another righty bow at some point not too far off though.  i think every archer should give their 'opposite' side a chance just to change things up and improve.

[Shawn Leonard]

I can shoot both righty and lefty. I am righty and right eye dominant. The difference is lefty I would have to keep my hunting shots 15 yards and in. I can group well enough lefty out to 15 yards to make a killing shot. Shawn

[northener]

Born right handed and do everything right handed. I switched to left handed shooting because I am left eye dominate. Although I have not shot righty for many years I know I could pick up a right handed bow and shoot very competent.

[DayTripper]

I am also cross dominant right handed, left eyed. I shoot both hands. Firearm right. Bow left.

[Jack Ripper]

I'm right handed left eye dominant.  Can shoot with either hand. My twin brother is left handed and can shoot with either also. But shooting right is pure instinct. I can't close my left eye and keep my right eye open its physically impossible for me. If i put an eye patch over my left eye my right handed shooting improves dramatically using an aiming system like gaping. But my instinctive shooting feels more comfortable right handed than anything else.

[joe skipp]

When the right shoulder acted up last year, I started shooting Left Handed. Figured since I could switch hit in baseball, shooting lefty shouldn't be hard.

I spent 3 months shooting Southpawshooters Fedora left handed. Then ordered my own. I was very comfortable shooting 52# and practiced out to 35 yds. Every now and then my right eye would take over and we would miss.

Took a deer last year with Lefty and looking forward to taking deer both ways this year as the shoulder is fine after surgery. Biggest problem I found was if I didn't bear down, right eye would dominate.

[ron w]

I hope at some point to use my dual shelf bow to hunt with. Depending on the shot I could be ready with either hand.

[hitman]

I shoot both. I am left eye dominant and have shot left handed most of my life until a few years ago had some shoulder trouble and started shooting righty. Now I actually shoot better righty, not much but hold better. Shoulder is better now and can shoot lefty comfortable.

[ron w]

Spent some time yesterday shooting on the left side....I was really pleased with results. Shot from 15 yards and for the most part kept a pie plate size group.....heck some days the that's tough right handed...lol!

[CompGeek]

I am a new to this whole archery thing and reading through this thread has me asking some questions.

I do everything righty.  I write, bat, throw, and shoot righty.  However I am very left eye dominant. When I shoot shotguns I tend to close my left eye and I shoot fine.  

Should I learn to shoot a bow lefty? I don't own a bow yet so this might influence my decision when I look to buy.  I plan on buying a takedown bow so I can swap limbs out if I have too.  I am not sure of my draw length or what poundage I want to pull so to me that seems like a good choice.

Thoughts?

[damascusdave]

I am right handed and used to be left eye dominant...check out my first tag line below for my current status...I shoot about 60 pounds both right and left handed all the time...I go through stages where one or the other works better for me so I focus on that side and shoot the other side to keep my conditioning up...I credit the fact that I have no muscle issues at all shooting a bow to doing things this way...Geek not sure you need to make a choice at this point...what you need to do is find some local shooters, or a local range with loaner bows, and try shooting both ways to see which feels most natural for you...nobody can tell you which way is gonna be best for you (although they will try)

DDave

[Bladepeek]

CompGeek, I find shotgunning and archery two, totally different animals. Maybe I'm just too old, but I tried shooting a shotgun from the left side and it was a total disaster. Shooting a bow left handed, however, seemed a really easy change even though I started out right-handed. I think the difference is that a shotgun HAS to be swinging and I can swing much more smoothly right handed.

I shoot bows right and left, but have to do as you do with my eyes or the left eye takes over. Left handed, I keep both eyes wide open and find my depth perception and target "brightness" to be better.

Learning to shoot from both sides may not be a bad idea in case anything were ever happen to a hand or eye. It will also keep your muscles better balanced. Of course you will need two bows to do that unless you get a dual shelf bow, and that won't be a take-down.

Being able to swap limbs out as you progress to a heavier draw is definitely a plus. I would go so far as to suggest keeping the lighter set for form work even after you work up to something heavier.

I think damascusdave had some good advice. I don't know how many people or clubs you will find nearby in ND, but you may find some folks on here who are close enough to help get you started.

[Pojman]

My daughter is ambidextrous but is definitely left eye dominant. Since she was left eye dominant I taught her how to shoot lefty. Now that she is older and using one of my right handed bows, she had to learn to shoot righty. She can definitely miss the target with either hand and can do so consistently    .

Don