Right hand left eye dominate

[mec lineman]

Have a buddy who wants to shoot a recurve.  He shoots his guns left handed but shoots his curent bows  right handed. I am thinking that he should try a lightweight left hand bow. What say you?

[McDave]

It’s always good to shoot a bow that matches your dominant eye.  People think it’s a big deal to switch, but it isn’t. After a week, it all seems normal.  And then you get to impress people for the rest of your life by being able to shoot either way.

[mec lineman]

Thanks McDave

[the rifleman]

I agree, especially if there is a significant difference in visual strength.

[nek4me]

It's easy to switch for those that found it easy to switch. I am LH and right eyed and for the first 30 years shot stick and then compounds with my right eye closed.  Over the past 20 years I have tried to shoot RH many times just couldn't do it.  When I joined here I  realized that famous archers have shot cross dominant and many others currently do. Shooting this way has allowed me to keep at it. Switching is the best way but if it doesn't work out there is another way.         

[pavan]

When shooting split finger, middle finger at or behind the corner of the mouth with the head slightly tilted, each eye will see its own arrow image.   When shooting right handed the arrow that is slightly up and to the left is the arrow under the right eye.  When shooting left handed the arrow that is slightly up and to the right is the arrow that is under the left eye.   Just a slight acknowledgement of the arrow, keeping the focus tight on the spot to be hit will quickly teach the left to right coordination needed.  I shoot left handed and right handed on alternate days.  My shot tempo can be as slow as four seconds from draw to release or one second from draw to the release, which I prefer, but an instant indirect snapshot comes with every shot.  Not really gap aiming, just a quick mental snap shot image.  It may get expensive to change everything, what I described is not difficult to do at all.

[YosemiteSam]

Eye dominance can be retrained.  I shoot both but choose to hunt right handed.  I managed to hit a few pop-up targets on a speed round left-handed last year.

Kids and less committed shooters should stick with whatever they find easiest.  But more avid shooters can train to whatever side they want.  Right handed bows are a lot easier to find anyway.

[Tajue17]

Im right hand and left eye,,,; not a problem has never been a issue... i shoot instinctive though so i just look... if anyone is aiming with both eyes open even if you are unknowingly aiming then yes big problem.....: curious if you are subconciously aiming?  then go outside in the pitch dark and have someone stand 20' to the side of you and aiming a tight beamed flashlight at the target and see how accurate you are,,,, if you are true instinctive you will shoot just as good as when its  sunny out...  as for guns i shot on a trap team for 7 yrs and never had a prob,,, i do close my left eye and prefer a flat rib and no beads on my shotguns when shooting trap or bird hunting.

[Grand Passage]

I agree with the above statement that eye dominance can be changed and/or the weak eye can be strengthened.

I am Left eye dominant and right handed.  I shoot RH with both eyes open.  I have noticed over the last 5 years of shooting trad that my right eye has strengthened considerably.  I switched to 3 under which has helped greatly since it puts the arrow closer to my eye.

[the rifleman]

Eye dominance cannot be retrained in certain cases.  Take lazy eye for example, if not corrected in the early stages of development that part of the brain does not develop properly and will not be able to process images from that eye to the fullest extent.  There are a number of other conditions that precludes " retraining" eye dominance.  For those that can, you're very lucky.  If you can't and vision differences between the eyes is substantial, swapping hands is the answer.

[David Mitchell]

I was in that situation years ago and always struggled with my shooting.  A friend suggested I try a left handed bow so I borrowed a light draw lefty and by the time I got around our range I was totally convinced I would never shoot right handed again--and I haven't. Took only a short time until things began to feel right like putting my arm guard on the correct arm. 

[Bowwild]

I too am right-handed but left-eye dominant. I shot a bow RH from the mid-60's until 1996.  I've shot LH since. I've seen lots of people switch and some are able to do so in a few hours or couple of days. 

It is a sure-fire way to cure really bad target panic, instantly, by the way, which is why I switched. Of course that "trick" will only work once, so you have to know why panic occurs and prevent it.

[hitman]

I am left eye dominant and shot most of my life left handed. After a shoulder problem I switched to right handed and shoot better that way. I shoot with both eyes open so don't see much difference. Most people switch because of target panic but never did have much trouble with it, lucky I guess.

[KSdan]

Eye doctor bowhunting friend tested me. . .  he told me the mistake that occurs in this typical hunting discussion is that people have a variance of dominance.  To say left eye or right eye does not really tell you much.  Like in my case, I am more left eye dominant, but they are really close- to the point that at times it switches.

I am left eye dominant but shoot right handed. 

Dan in KS

[David McLendon]

I'm RH/LE dominant ad I changed primarily to help my wing-shooting as I was shooting competitive sporting clays at the time.
 As far as my bow shooting it took about a day and a half and I was comfortable with the change, which was a clear sign that it needed to be done. The biggest issue was training the left hand to handle the arrow from quiver to bow, which took about two weeks to be really comfortable.

[Bigjackfish]

I am a right handed but shoot gun and bow lefty ,been shooting that way since I was a kid it just feels natural.I am left eye dominant also tried shooting right handed no way wont work for me .

[T Lail]

I shoot right handed and am left eye dominant....never been a real issue

[starshooter]

I am also shooting cross dominant ie right handed /left eye dominant. The problem for me is when shooting ASL the arrows hit left of the center. Three things come to mind -spine of arrow? Torque of bow on release ?and bow weight? I suspect it’s torque of my wrist or “collapse”of form ( very subtle) . I find that if I aim indirectly(picking a second spot) I hit center but it’s no good for instinctive shooting. So.. my question is  are left hitting arrows common to Hill style bows?
Howard Hill reportedly had similar issues and wrote a chapter on  indirect aiming. Interesting stuff. Thanks as always.

[nineworlds9]

I'm right handed left eye dominant and have shot lefty my whole life.  I prefer holding and pointing the bow with my dominant hand, it feels precise and accurate to me, I can "point" my hand and bow at what I want to hit.  I can shoot right handed "ok" out to about 20 yds but it doesn't feel as natural to me. 

[Paul Cousineau]

I’m RH and left eye dominant. I shot cross dominant for awhile and had decent results. Then I switched to shooting left hand. It took only a month to get to the same level of success is was having RH. Another month or so and I was shooting the best I ever had. My advice to anyone who is cross dominant, is to go with you eye, not your hand. It’s awkward at first, but is well worth it in the long run.