Switching to southpaw for shoulder - need info

[Fishnhunt]

Hi all. I am right eye dominant and I shoot right handed bows.  Due to a shoulder injury I am gonna try shooting left handed bows.   I am unfamiliar with this and I have a few questions as follows:
1) When shooting a left handed bow am I going to shoot right eye or left eye dominant? Will I need to close an eye/wear a patch?
2) Will shooting left handed bows 'mess up' my right handed shooting should I ever be able to return to right handed bows?

I'm sure these questions sound stupid but I need some help.  Thanks in advance for any advice y'all can offer.

[easyup]

I can only say what worked for me when I had neck problems.  I had to close an eye for a while on the new side to get the the arrow tucked in under it.  I shoot from each side on alternate days now with out issue, both eyes open.  Don't seem to have any adjustment at all, but don't know what would happen if I tried from both sides on the same day.  This lets these old bones and joints have an extra recovery day.  I may be slightly more accurate with the non-dominate eye, RH side which was were I started many years ago.

If you tilt your head and cant the the bow, the higher but blurry arrow that on the right is the one your left eye sees.  You may need to shoot slower for a while to get your hand eye coordination working for you.  I switched to mostly left hand shooting because of a joint in my index finger.  I had a bit of target panic right handed that went away after shooting left handed for a month. I can shoot slightly tighter groups left handed than right out to 35 yards. anything beyond that or moving I am still better right handed, but I need to watch how many shots I shoot and how many arrows I shoot in a set.  I enjoy shooting for hours at a time and those days are over for my right hand bows that I have left.

[Fishnhunt]

Thanks y'all for taking the time to post up.  I'm not on here much these days b/c I'm working crazy hours.

I bought a RH/LH dual shelved, lighweight fiberglass bow for $40 and will be trying it out shooting from both sides.  
I think the main thing is that I need to see a shoulder doctor.

Thanks again

[Soilarch]

I shoot everything left hand and left-eyed...but I've found that if I need to shoot something right handed and right-eyed I can squint my left and it makes the right eye take over without patches, glasses with tapes, or any of the other tricks..and shooting one-eyed is never a good idea.

While you're trying something new maybe look into using a thumb-ring release?  Then you can still use your RH bows to shoot LH.  (If the grips on your bows are 'neutral' enough.)

[Geo S]

I have to close one eye for better accuracy.

Switching to left handed forced me to concentrate on form. It has helped me to shoot better right handed.

George

[northbow2]

I had the same problem but it turned into a plus. I shoot both hands always now. Of course that means you need more bows. If you shoot gap style closing the other eye is no disadvantage.

[BobCo 1965]

If you are shooting gap, split vision, or anything that aligns the arrow with the target, I would suggest this:

1. Start out with a black patch for a few months.
2. Move to a white patch that lets some light in.
3. Move to a translucent patch.
4. Move to glasses with a piece of tape covering the area only between your eye and the target.
5. Use both eyes.

In all cases keep both eyes open. Closing one eye will cause a sympathy dialating effect in the other.

I have worked with a custom patch maker in the past. PM me if you are interested.

[Danny Rowan]

If you shoot instinctive it does not matter, your brain will make the adjustments, keep both eyes open. I am left eye but shoot right and I have never had a problem. Lots of people have made the switch and shoot or shot off side with no problem after some practice.

[dragon rider]

Two thoughts:

1.  Based on my experience in shooting first RH and then LH I think Danny's right.  Pick your spot, get your form right and your brain will ajust.

2.  Because you're having shoulder problems, go see a Dr.  Changing the way you shoot may only change the shoulder problem, not solve it.

While closing your aiming eye then opening both can help with a short draw flinch, blocking or closing an eye during actual aiming is far too restrictive. When switching hands if you think about it and give yourself time while drawing, you can see or "feel" that you are pointing the arrow correctly. If you shoot with conditioned instinct or partial gap shooting technique like Hill and John Schulz you will soon enough know what your eyes are telling you.  I would see a good chiropractor and maybe hit the supplements.  Our chiropractor has helped me through shoulder injuries more than once, back when I shot with goofy target form, the injuries actually started because of work related activities and were increased with shooting heavy target bows. Our chiropractor has worked wonders for my wife, I changed the grips on her bows so she can shoot with more of a Hill style now. When shooting, do not jam out the shoulder joints, keep them inline with the target.  Hill bent his left arm, this compensates for the offset between the drawing arm/arrow alignment and still keeps the shoulders in line with the target.  I have seen lots of shooters over the years shooting with the forward shoulder straight arm technique that ended up hurting both shoulder joints.

[Fishnhunt]

Thanks for all the replies.  Lots of good info and advice here.  I've got an appointment lined up with a great shoulder doc so hopefully that will pan out.  

I have been shooting the fiberglass bow left and right handed.  At first I was putting holes in sheetrock when trying to shoot left handed with both eyes open.  After 3 or 4 sessions I have since gotten it under control such that I can shoot both eyes open, left or right handed in the same shooting session just by focusing on a spot on the target that I want to hit.  I'm not nearly as accurate left handed but I think that a form and sight picture issue as opposed to an eye dominance issue(i think). I'm going to keep practicing left as I think it will help either way.

Thanks to everyone for taking the time to post up,

CB

[Geo S]

BobCo, How does a sympathy dialating effect, shooting an arrow, and what is it?
Thanks

George

[BobCo 1965]

To answer your what is sympathy dilating effect question:

Normally, both pupils dilate at the same rate and size when they are exposed to darkness or low light conditions. However, when one eye is exposed to darkness (dark patch), while the other is exposed to   bright light, there is a sympathy effect between the two. What this means is that the pupil in eye exposed to the light does not constrict as far as it usually would when both eyes are exposed to the light. Without the pupil constricting as it should, optimal focus will not occur.

To answer your how it affects shooting the arrow question:

 It doesn’t, it just may affect where the arrow ends up.
   

[Geo S]

Thanks for the answer BobCo. I had to leave the site, and wasn't able to get back for a few days.

That's it. My problem isn't shooting. It's getting the arrow to go where I want it.

George

[Johan van Niekerk]

So what did the shoulder doc say?    I had MAJOR issues with both shoulders and got a lot of scary "wrong" advice from doctors not familiar with more modern solutions than surgery. Luckily I'm a fulltime academic and could do my own research. Anyways, do not let them perfrom surgery if you can avoid it. There are much less invasive ways of dealing with things like calcific tendonitus and/or rotator cuff problems! I'm 100% cured (stronger than ever before, zero pain), friends who went the surgery route are still strugling several years later  :(

[Fishnhunt]

Hi Johan.  The doctor has me doing rotator cuff strenghtening exercises - flexion, extension, abduction stuff with strengthening bands.
 
The doctor is confident that with just physical therapy regimen he can get me shooting 50# again and doing pullups and bench and swimmming!  I think those are lofty goals but I am going to keep trying b/c I would like to get back to 50# I miss being able to lift weight.  In the meantime I have switched 100% to left handed shooting.  I started at 17# and have been moving up when possible to do so w/o hurting myself.  I am shooting older longbows off my knuckle and having a blast. Trying to hunt every weekend too.