lt eye dominant, rt handed

[runningbird]

Hi everybody!

I'm new here and have a couple questions.  I've been bow hunting for 30 years.  I'm lt eye dominant but rt handed, I've always shot with my lt eye closed out of necessity.  Even with a peep sight I need to shoot with the left eye closed.

So now I've decided to take up traditional archery,  and start hunting with a long bow after my hunt this season.  Should I continue shooting rt handed or switch to a lt handed bow?  Any help would sure be appreciated!

Thanks,
Mark

[jcar315]

Mark, Welcome to TG! Good to have you here.

You'll get many opinions on what to do. Do what works best for you and your situation.

As someone who is RH but left eye dominant I shot RH for a lifetime and was never as consistent as I wanted to be.

Shot with both eyes wide open and still had to look somewhere to the right of where I actually wanted the arrow to go.

Made the switch to LH a few years back and it is the single best thing I've done relative to my shooting. The ability to look at exactly what I want to hit and the arrow goes there is awesome.

Use the search feature here on you'll turn up alot of other threads on this issue as it seems to be fairly common.

Good luck on what ever path you take and again....do what works for you.

[Ken Taylor]

I'm in the same situation and have shot both ways.

Not knowing about right eye left eye dominance as a boy, I started right handed and shot that way for about 15 years.

I switched to left hand shooting about 25 years ago and much prefer it that way.

I feel that there are several advantages... some less obvious than others, but give yourself an honest chance to learn and I've sure that some of the benefits will become apparent.

[runningbird]

thanks for the help!

[cahaba]

Mr. Hill was left eye dominant and shot right handed. I was left eye dominant and shoot R.H. I don't know if the constant use of my right eye had anything to do with it but I checked my eye dominance the other day and they both were equal!
So the choice of whether to switch to left or not may have factors such as how much difference is your non dominant eye to your dominant eye. My non dominant eye was not off alot.If it's not alot shooting time may make your non dominant eye equal or even better than your current dominant eye.
Or  you could purchase a left handed used bow or borrow one and shoot it for a few months and see if your shooting improves. If it dont work out you could always get your money back by selling the bow. I certainly wouldn't just switch and spend alot of money on a lefty without knowing if it was the best way

For right hand shooting, while staring at the spot you want to hit, you will see two arrows indirectly.  If your head is slightly tilted, the arrow that is up and left is the image of your right eye.  It is possible if you can shoot slowly to learn to use the line up to the right eye without looking at it. Very soon it will become normal and automatic.

[Dave Lay]

i'm the same way, years ago, my dad switched me to shooting left... seems to work well except in the limited used bow market  LOL
the deer in my avatar was taken when i injured my left hand and had to revert back to shooting right untill i healed up...

[WidowEater]

Im the same.

All I can say is switch to left handy NOW!!

[jmrsyrs]

I'm right handed and have a very dominant left eye. Best thing I ever did was switching over to shooting lefty. x2 on the shortage of used left handed bows!!

[runningbird]

I am going to try a lt handed bow.  I am VERY left eye dominant and have just always put this off.  So after this september I'll be going lt handed and get ready for Javelina in January.

Thanks for all the help!

[David Mitchell]

I switched and would under NO CIRCUMSTANCE go back.

[arrowlauncherdj]

If you learn to gap and close one eye, you'll do just fine

[BernieH]

Switch. You won't regret it. My experience was the same as JCAR, Ken Taylor, and jmrsyrs.

[runningbird]

one of the reasons I want to switch is I don't want to close one eye.  In low light conditions after a long stalk and finally getting close to my target, it's really hard to see and pick a spot with just one eye.
I'm making the switch and have a bow on the way from a private seller here on this site.

[Jasper2]

You can "learn" to overcome the disadvantages of shooting with your non-dominant eye but.....IMO it's not worth the hassle!!  Switch to LH, you will not regret it. Don't force your body to fight against what your brain and eyes perceive as natural.....your body will lose.  Been there, done that!  However, it is not a bad idea to keep a RH bow around just to keep the muscles balanced out.  You're on the right track, do not close an eye if you don't have to....your depth perception is lost to some degree.

Take care,
Jason

[jonathan creason]

I switched too, and it wasn't all that hard.  Start light, though.  You'll have to completely re-learn how to draw a bow.

[runningbird]

what is a reasonable expectation for a time frame.  when switching from right to left handed.  It has been a week now.  Has I write this I realize it has only been ONE week.  seems like longer with the frustration.  

Any way how long did it take you all who made the switch to get the hang of it and fell like you made the right choice?

Thanks!

[GardenerHunting]

I'm the opposite of most of ya'll Left Handed and RT eye dominant. I'm shopping for my 1st Traditional Bow.I fully understand that I need to learn RT Handed from the get go. My question is if I should consider getting a Bow without a arrow rest that will work either way?? Is no rest much more difficult for a beginner to use ??

[Jasper2]

Steve,
Dual shelf or no shelf bows are more critical of proper arrow spine because they are not "cut to center". You say that you need to shoot a RH bow and I agree. I would get a RH setup and don't look back!! If you have a lefty around in the beginning......you will have a crutch to lean on when switching hands get difficult.  I would recommend a bow that is cut as close to center as possible and starting with a weight that you can handle.

Take care,
Jason

[Jasper2]

Mark,
It took me quite a while and it wasn't as easy for me as some others that I've heard of.  I was extremely right handed and had about 25 years under my belt doing everything RH.  Luckily, I had only been shooting traditional for around a year when I made the switch, so I wasn't that good anyway!  It took me 3 months of regular shooting to feel confident in my shooting but closer to 9 months to get the hang of handling arrows and such with my left hand without fumbling around and dropping things.  During the first week, I remember some very large groups in the target from very close distances    :D   Also, I'm certain that I shot at least 1200 arrows in that first week alone.......I was determined to make it work!!  Hang in there man. I think a lot of it is a mental game.....

Take care,
Jason