2016 LH experiment

[Paul Cousineau]

Last week I ordered a cheap, light weight, left handed production bow. I'm one of those very strange right handed, left eye dominant people. when I was starting out in archery as a kid no one bothered to check me for eye dominance and all the family hand me down bows(recurves and compounds) where right handed.

When I was a freshman in college I decided to get back into trad bow hunting. I bought a left handed bear grizzly on ****. I thought learning to shoot left hand would be better in the long run. It makes sense that it would be more natural to point/aim a bow with the arrow aligned with the master eye. It was a lot harder than i thought to learn good form. Some where In the midst of the struggle, I caved to the old "when shooting instinctively, it matters not which eye is dominant" mentality without really giving it a fair shot. I gave up after a few hundred shots.

My shooting has always been good with right handed bows. I try to keep my hunting shots to 20 yards or less. I would like to be able to get better at longer ranges, 30-40. I'm just wanting to try to improve to a next level.

I have committed to only shooting left handed for the next four months. I figure around July I'll need to start getting serious about practicing with whatever bow i'll be hunting with. I took a few shots yesterday and it looks like it's going to be tough sledding for a little while.        I would really appreciate any input or tips from those of you who have made the switch. Wish me luck.

[CoachBGriff]

I think that's a decision that eventually you'll be glad you made.

As someone who didn't take on traditional archery until I was in my early 20's, I can tell you there were times I thought I'd never be good enough to hunt with my longbow, but now I consider myself a pretty good shooter.

Be patient!  You have a leg up since you've done it right handed, but it may take a while.

I did the same thing as a batter when I was younger, but once I learned left-handed I became way stronger from that side.

[R. W. Mackey]

Paul, I am right handed and left eyed dominant, I don't think it's strange at all. Lots of us around. I found out fairly early in my shooting career about the dominance thing. I've been shooting left handed for over 50 years now. It is the best thing I ever did, and I don't give a crap what those experts say, everyone has a stronger eye and it will dominate over the other, just a fact of nature.
  I do think your going about this thing in the wrong frame of mind. If your gonna do something, do it, don't say if it don't work in four months I'll go back to my old ways. This is something worthwhile, give it your all
  Dont over bow yourself and allow your muscle memory to develop, which takes some time, work on just your form and don't worry about any kind of distance until shooting left handed becomes natural.
  It may take two months or five months but it is doable. Worth the wait in my opponion.

RW

[carbonflyr]

i did the same thing.i knew all along i was cross dominant but i just didn't want to switch but when i shot a deer in the guts when was aiming at the heart at only 11 yards that was it for me
my advise is to stick with it and be patient no matter how long it takes...it will come to you
good luck

The hardest thing for me about shooting lefty the few times I have tried is getting the arrow nocked. I look like I have never shot a bow before in my life when I am trying to put an arrow on the string left handed!

In all seriousness, I know a few guys who have switched. One on here, dragonheart, has made the switch with what appear to be great results.

Good luck to you!

Bisch

[Iowa Tom L.]

Hello Paul,

I am a natural LH shooter who was also left-eye dominant for at least the first 40 years of my life.  By then things were changing and it got so my left eye could no longer even be corrected to make its vision equal to my right (started wearing glasses when I was ~30).  Sometime along in there my right eye took over dominance (I don't know how long it was before I realized it).

A few years ago I decided to learn to shoot RH.  When I was a kid, I could always hit a ball well from both sides of the plate so I figured why not a bow too?  

I had never once in my life even tried to draw a bow RH.  I don't know if I went about it by an "accepted" method, but I decided form was the most important thing to work on first.  So I borrowed an old 25# bow and just practiced drawing it for about a month - never shooting a single arrow; just concentrating on my draw and anchor (sometimes with an arrow on the string, sometimes not).

Then I purchased a used 40# Black Bear and continued to just draw and anchor for about another 6 weeks - never shooting an arrow (I continued to shoot LH throughout the process).  

From there I moved up to a bow around 55# and started shooting.  Even with the first arrow, it didn't seem "odd" to be drawing and releasing an arrow RH.  For me at least, I think it was a benefit not worrying about shooting and accuracy while I was building form, toning RH muscles, and building muscle memory (and hopefully good habits).

I still shoot LH too, which is bad for the bow inventory!          However, I feel a little more "in control" when I am shooting RH.  

It also came in handy late last summer when I injured my right elbow.  It gave me a lot of pain as my bow arm (LH) but none at all as my drawing hand. So, it has been a real advantage to be able to rest it and let it heal (which it about is) while still being able to enjoy shooting RH.

Good luck to you with your switch, stick with it!

Take Care,

Tom

[Dave Pagel]

I made the switch about 30 years ago.  Best thing I ever did for my shooting.  As Bisch said, the toughest pars was nocking the arrow and keeping it on the shelf during the draw.  Once I got that down my shooting improved dramatically.

D.P.

[Hopewell Tom]

Another left eye-right hand guy here.
As above, it's the little things that are the toughest, but repetition will/should cure that.
The thing I noticed from the first shot lefty was how much better the sight picture looked. You're looking down the arrow not at a "cock-eyed" arrow. I know you're not supposed to be looking at the arrow, just "picking a spot", but it's hard to ignore. Especially when it's cock-eyed. I realize now, that I don't notice the arrow as much.
As above, keep at it. Good luck.

[ChuckC]

I changed a couple, maybe three years ago.  The first few days, maybe week was weird.  Just didn't feel right. Then I didn't notice any " not right" so I musta got past it.  Then I dinked around trying to figure out what MY form was gonna be.

Today, I shoot better and more consistent than I ever have.  I think that the biggest, most long lived issue, was not the shooting, if you give it the time it needs, but rather the rest... how you walk, how you sneak, how you set your body for a shot.  Till now everything was always leading for a right hand shot.  That was / is the most difficult part for me.

Give it a reasonable try and you just might like it, a lot...
ChuckC

[ron w]

I'm working on it also.....not sure I'll make the total change but I want to be able to go either side. Plus it's good just to balance your body by working both sides.

[kat]

You ordered a bow, and have a plan. By the time four months is up, you should know if it is the correct way for you.
Shooting a trad bow is supposed to be fun. Keep it that way, and shoot whatever way makes you happy.

[Paul Cousineau]

Thanks for the replies so far. I agree that the little things are very hard, it takes a while just get a shooting glove on. Also, I don't plan on giving up after four months, just not exclusively shooting lefty. If I'm not shooting well enough by hunting season I'll want to shot/practice with my right handed bow for hunting. Last night I just worked on drawing the bow to anchor. It is amazing how much more natural it feels to see in alignment with the arrow.

[Jerry Gille]

I too am right handed and left eye dominant.  I made the switch 25 years ago and it was way easier than I expected.  Of course I got rid of all my right handed bows to force myself to make it work.  Go light and focus on the mechanics.  It'll come to you quick and I think you'll be glad you switched.  Good luck.

[David Mitchell]

Originally posted by Hopewell Tom:
Another left eye-right hand guy here.
As above, it's the little things that are the toughest, but repetition will/should cure that.
The thing I noticed from the first shot lefty was how much better the sight picture looked. You're looking down the arrow not at a "cock-eyed" arrow. I know you're not supposed to be looking at the arrow, just "picking a spot", but it's hard to ignore. Especially when it's cock-eyed. I realize now, that I don't notice the arrow as much.
As above, keep at it. Good luck.

My experience exactly.  Keep at it and one day putting your arm guard on the right arm won't feel weird at all.  

[Bladepeek]

I'm an old man (75) and made the switch 3 or 4 years ago. The only thing I found difficult was nocking the arrow. I can now shoot from either side, but have to squint my left eye if I shoot right handed. Believe me, the shooting part will come quickly. Just pretend you lost your right eye in an accident and have no choice. Who knows? That could actually happen to any of us at any time. You will be glad you stuck it out and probably surprised at how fast it develops to the point it feels natural.

[DennyK]

X2 on Bisch's comment on nocking the arrow. I made the transition from RH to LH. It took time and effort, it was well worth it. I shot better LH then RH. Biggest difference is my control was much better. Meaning you will unlearn any bad habits you may have and relearn good form. Good luck on your quest!


Denny

I do not have a dominant eye, but I was forced to go left handed when one day something pulled in my middle draw finger.  Not a good thing for a classical guitarist. It took a long time to heal.  I had no trouble shooting left handed.  At first I needed to aim more at long shots, but the hardest part for me was which leg to lead with when ducking through the sticks.  I always got my arrows hung up in my left hand back quiver.  I can shoot right handed again as long as I do not shoot heavy bows and limit how many shots I take to 100 a session, but I do the majority of my hunting and shooting left handed.  I am still a little better at running rabbits and flying birds right handed, but I did get one long shot pheasant last fall left handed, probably just dumb luck, I think a gust wind got the poor bugger and blew him into my arrow.

[KyStickbow]

I switched to shooting LH because of eye dominance in Feb. 2014. I was confident enough to hunt left handed when September rolled around that season. Think I shot 5 deer that year with the new setup.

It does seem kinda wierd at first...but it doesnt take long for it to become natural. I layed the right handed bows down and focused totally on shooting left handed. Keep at it!

[WESTBROOK]

Paul, we're the same kind of odd. The ONLY thing I do LH is shoot, guns & bows, I'm left eye dominant and have shot LH since day one, just felt like the right way, but the everything else in my life is RH.

[Paul Cousineau]

Nice weather up here today, 34 degrees and sunny. I did a little shooting at 6 steps from a large bale. I'm trying to focus only on form at this point, mostly just drawing, anchoring and letting down.

Nocking arrows is already getting easier. I constantly have to pay attention to my stance. My natural lefty stance is way too open so I have to be very deliberate at keeping my shoulders in alignment. I can only practice for about 15 minutes and then my fingers and hand start getting sore. It's really amazing how much weaker my left hand is.

I'll keep plugging away….