Shooting both right and left handed

[damascusdave]

As a naturally left handed shooter in a very right handed world I taught myself to shoot a rifle right handed when I was in my teens.

When I started shooting a wheel bow back in the nineties the shop owner I worked for asked if I wanted to shoot a bow right or left handed as he was going to buy me a bow to use as a demo. Of course I went with right handed as it is a lot easier to sell a right handed demo bow.

Then when I decided to buy my own bow I went back to my more natural (master eye wise) left handed style. Then as my eyesight deteriorated I simply quit archery.

Now, for a number of reasons, I am back.

For now I have evolved this way:

I will shoot target style bows left handed.

I will shoot instinctive style right handed.

I started this thread to see if there are others out there like me.

[damascusdave]

Oh and to complicate, or maybe to simplify, things further I am going to shoot left handed split finger and right handed either 3 or 2 fingers under. For me that means tab left handed and glove right handed.

[mtquivers]

I think there are to many variables for you to shoot consistantly. A good part of trad archery is your mind remembering what you did last and repeating it. If I were you, I would try to at least stay with one style of anchor, one style of aiming, and if possible, the same setups with the bows, (ex. same poundage or arrow weight ratio.). I think you are cheating your total shooting skill if you do otherwise.
Now... these are only my opinions, and if you are happy with what you are doing and having fun....go for it. And yes I am abidextrous.

[slivrslingr]

I'm kind of like you, though I don't shoot target bows.  Hunting I shoot right handed, just for fun I shoot left.  My style is definately different shooting lefty, I almost always smack my forearm with the string, righty I don't even need an arm gaurd.  I'm cross dominant, right handed, left eye dominant, but as of yet am not confident enough shooting lefty to hunt.  Switching back and forth helps me keep from being lazy and my concentration up.  I can't stumpshoot here so I need to challenge my brain as much as possible.

[damascusdave]

Here is a tip I learned from a long term traditional shooter. Before you take your grip hold your hand up like you are telling someone to stop with your thumb out. Then put that grip on the bow.

I find it also helps if I only curl two fingers around the face of the riser with the other two folded against the side.

Never hurts to keep the brace height a little on the high side too.

I was wondering where you could live that you could not stump shoot. We sure take our wide open spaces for granted at times here in North America.

[damascusdave]

Originally posted by mtquivers:
I think there are to many variables for you to shoot consistantly. A good part of trad archery is your mind remembering what you did last and repeating it. If I were you, I would try to at least stay with one style of anchor, one style of aiming, and if possible, the same setups with the bows, (ex. same poundage or arrow weight ratio.). I think you are cheating your total shooting skill if you do otherwise.
Now... these are only my opinions, and if you are happy with what you are doing and having fun....go for it. And yes I am abidextrous.

I have only been shooting traditional since February so I am still very much at the experimental stage. I got back into archery because of having an opportunity to coach at the school I moved to. It is kind of nice to be able to demonstrate to new shooters both righty and lefty. It also, I think, makes me a little more careful to ensure that new shooters are shooting the "right" way for them.

I am 57 years old and it is unlikely that I will ever be a very competent traditional archer, so I figure I might as well be an interesting traditional shooter. Shooting for me is a fun thing just like golf and fly fishing. I could be a lot better at any of them if I got serious. If I want to get serious about something I will start shooting benchrest rifle again.

Now if I decide I am going to bowhunt again it will be a different story. Then I will go to shooting one way only and shoot very seriously. One thing that our IBEP instructor drummed into out heads was that before you are a bowhunter you darn well better be an archer.

What I want to be at this point in archery is a very good coach. I am registered for my first coaching clinic in about 3 weeks, and very much looking forward to it.

Thanks for responding to the thread. Thoughtful opinions are the stuff that helps us grow.

[damascusdave]

Well I finally have a right handed bow of my own to shoot. It showed up in the mail today. At 66 inches AMO I think it is ideal for 3 under shooting and that is how I am going to shoot it until I have a reason to change.

I learned something yesterday about my left handed spot shooting. I was shooting with a brand new tab and having some issues with the stiffness and feel of it. Finally I just forgot about everything else and concentrated on shooting relatively quickly. Made all the difference in the world. I will never be a great spot shooter; I now know that with some work I can shoot well enough to enjoy it.

[TheFatboy]

Well, I don't shoot my bow left handed (though I tried and failed miserably), but I do left hand pulls with the bow after each shooting session, to even out and balance strength in my upper body.

[damascusdave]

Not sure I can find a real downside in being able to shoot both ways. I will be doing the balance both sides thing just by shooting.

Your statement about concentration and relaxation is also about balance. The older I get the more I find that balance in all aspects of my life is an important goal.

[damascusdave]

Now that I actually have the technology I am shooting both ways. I go outside and shoot left handed until I am tired of it. Then I go inside, grab my right handed bow and back out to shoot it until I am tired of that.

The nice thing is that I am working both sides of my upper body and strengthening my bow arm for both sides and increasing my dexterity for both sides. Can't wait to see what this is going to do for my golf swing.

[huey]

I missed this thread on the 5th ,so I will bring it back to the top with this. I am right handed and have a right handed H.H. that I do shoot left handed some times. I have had deer come in on my right just feet away and if I were able to shoot left should have been an easy kill. Does anyone else pratice this?

[damascusdave]

Thanks for your input. I am sure that eventually I will have at least one bow that is shootable either way. Never really thought of a long bow that can be shot off the knuckle, more along the lines of a double shelf recurve.

[twitchstick]

My frist hunting bow I bought off a buddy went down two local archery shop and soon found out I had a left handed bow, I am right handed.As a baseball player I had always hit both ways and my dad had always taught us to use both hands when working " just in case of injurys ".So I gave it a try and learned to shoot lefty.to say the least my frist three deer I killer left handed.

[Terry Green]

I"ve got a double shelf bow....and I'm gonna give southpaw a shot this evening and see what its like.

[huey]

That should be interesting give us a report Terry.

[damascusdave]

Originally posted by Terry Green:
I"ve got a double shelf bow....and I'm gonna give southpaw a shot this evening and see what its like.

See you can teach an old hound some new tricks. Glad I got ya thinkin along those lines, Terry. Hope ya remembered to use an arm guard, cause that's the one thing that takes a while to sort out and those bruises take a while to heal up.

I am just now getting to a point where I can shoot without one both ways.

[BobCo 1965]

Although, I have never actually shot a left handed bow, I do work on form with therabands on both sides as if I were to (keeps both sides of the back more equal). After a while of using the bands, you can forget which way you actually shoot.   :D

[damascusdave]

Do you think that you could handle the same draw weight both right and left handed, Bob?

I shoot a nominal 30 pound target bow left handed and a nominal 40 pounder right handed for now thanks to all the good advice from various people about not being overbowed.

[BobCo 1965]

The bands that I am working with equal about 25 pounds at my draw. We practice a 10 second hold on each rep and realy crank down hard on the transfer process.

I probably would not be able to handle the exact weight though if I were to try. But the excerises were not meant for actually shooting purposes.

[easyup]

Damascus,
My eye dominance shifted from right to left in my late forties and drove me crazy (still does) with shotgunning.  I came back to traditional after 30 years as I began to coast into retirement this year and so started back in left handed at age 58.  So far, so good, wheel bow right and trad left.  I do alternate days so as not to get too confused.  Similar critical factors like anchor and back tension but very different depending on which side we are on.  The wheel bow groups have not changed and my long bows are shooting well, although I am having trouble getting the new recurve even paper tuned.