Eye dominance

[wulff]

I am left handed but have been shooting recurves, longbows and compound bows ever since I can remember right handed. I have been shooting this way because the recurve and longbow I shot when I was a kid was my fathers, who is right handed. I never gave it much thought until tonight when I was watching a video on youtube and the gentleman on the video mentioned eye dominance. This makes me wonder if all these years I was shooting from the wrong side. I do ok shooting from the right, but wonder if I could do better from the left. Any opinions?

[Bowwild]

I''m Right-handed and left-eye dominant. I shot RH from 1966-1995.  I started shooting LH to solve another issue but it also allowed me to shoot with the string on the dominant eye side of my face and keep both eyes open.  

Honestly, I shot fine until the mid-1980's "wrong-eyed". I developed TP while shooting indoors and couldn't fix it so I changed hands. Instant fix. I had to learn to "think" correctly or I would have had the same problem on the left-eye side.  I highly recommend matching the string hand to the dominant eye though.

[wulff]

Thank you for your insight.

[Mike Vines]

Figure out which eye is dominate, and go with it.  If you hold your hands out and leave a triangle hole in the middle to look thru.  Now pick an object about 10-15 feet away with both eyes open look thru your triangle in the hands.  Now close your left eye, and see if there is a change in focus.  Now open both eyes, and then close your right eye.  See if there is a change in focus this time.  The one that dosen't change when one eye is closed is your dominate eye.

An easier way is to focus on a partner using the triangle hands again, and now focus on that person with both of your arms extended.  Have your partner tell you which eye is visable to them thru your hands.  That is your dominate eye.

[Knapper]

Another way is to point at an object about 10 or 15 feet away and close one eye if your finger moves then the other eye is your dominate eye.  Your dominate when it is open your finger will not move.

There are people that using their none dominate eye but it takes a large learning curve.

[Covey]

A friend of mine is left handed, right eye dominate. He is by far the best shot I've ever seen. I kidd you not 10 to 40 yards he can stack arrows with ease. If it aint broke don't fix it. If your comfortable, that's all that matters!

JMHO! Jason

[wulff]

After taking the "eye" test that some of have mentioned I am both left handed and also left eye dominate.

[EL Mejor]

I AM EXPERIENCING THE SAME AND, I SHOOT GOOD FROM MY RIGHT SIDE BEING LEFT EYE DOM.BUT I AM GOING TO SWITCH OVER AFTER A HUNT, THAT I WILL BE GOING ON IN MAY.THERE WAS A THREAD ON HERE A WHILE AGO ON THE SAME SUBJECT,AND FOR THE MOST PART EVERY ONE THAT SWITCHED SIDES SHOT BETTER,FROM THERE DOMINANT EYE,AND SOME GUYS SAID THEY HAD AN ADVANTAGE,FROM SWITCHING,BECAUSE NOW THEY WERE ABLE TO SHOOT,BOTH RIGHTY AND LEFTY,BUT THEY SHOT BETTER FROM THERE DOMINANT SIDE.I HOPE THAT I WILL BE ABLE TO SHOT FROM BOTH SIDES,WHEN I SWITCH.IF NOT I WILL HAVE TO START SELLING OR TRADING BOWS...I HOPE THAT MY REPLY IS SOME WHAT HELPFUL TO U,ALL  COULD SAY IS TO EXPERIMENT TRY FOR YOUR SELF,AND MAYBE U WILL BE ABLE TO MASTER BOTH R OR L...GOOD LUCK...

[Javi]

Originally posted by wulff:
After taking the "eye" test that some of have mentioned I am both left handed and also left eye dominate.

That's great.. I'm left handed and right eyed.. switched to right hand over 40 years ago and never regretted it a moment..

[Michigan Mark]

Sounds like you have a good reason to get a bow to soot southpaw.

[Michigan Mark]

Shoot (oops)

[LoweBow]

I experianced a switch of eye dominance about 7 years ago and realized I had developed an astigmatism in my right eye.  I then started wearing glasses...which helped to an extent..
I still had to squint my left eye during low light conditions.  During good lite I have no problems shooting w/ both eyes open....
Well....Friday I had Lasik on my right eye....takeing the eye dom test right now... when I center on an object in my triangle and close each eye..the object is not centered when I close either.  It's wierd and worrysome, but I have a ways to go until my eye is totally healed.  No more glasses is awesome tho!

[EL Mejor]

get well,,,

[hitman]

I shot left handed all my life and was left eye dominate. A recent shoulder problem made me switch to righty. No problems. I think if you shoot with both eyes open it shouldn't make any difference.

[Bowwild]

Mike,
Yep, let those eyes heal up good. The best test in NASP is the one described above. Form a quarter-sized triangle and square your body towards someone (or a mirror) about 10-15' away. Then look through the hole (with both eyes open) and the person you are looking at will be able to see your dominant eye (or you can see it in the mirror but remember the mirror image is REVERSED).  If the nose is in the circle then you are co-dominant. Not many people are co-dom. The good news is co-dom can use either hand. The bad thing though is they may get "help" from the off-eye when the shoot and have windage problems. Often times co-dom folks have to wink, squint, or even close the off-eye to solve their windage problems.

I had the Lasik in 2007.  I was 20-800 and 20-1,000 in my eyes before. I'm TICKLED SKY BLUE that I now see 20-13 and 20-15 without glasses or contacts according to the doc!  Squirrels have a much more diffiult time hiding from me!

[Dave Worden]

I deal with this in the youth classes I teach.  IMO, repeat, IMO eye dominance is important if you're going to shoot with the bow vertical and use sights.    I don't understand how it can make any difference if you shoot with a canted bow and both eyes open.  JMO, not backed by any scientific studies.  I just can't see how it makes any difference if the bow doesn't block your vision and you have both eyes open.

[hydrasport205]

you are right Dave  it doesnt make a difference. I am right handed  and left eye dominant and I shoot both eyes open only looking at my target. I can understand if you are a gap shooter or with sights. but truley instinctive it doesnt matter.

[OP-archer]

Another way to test.  Extend you arms straight in front of you with your hands forming a triangle and center the triangle on an object 10-15 feet in front of you.  Let the triangle be centered on your nose.  Close your right eye - if you see the object you were aiming at, you are left eye dominant.  If not, then you are right eye dominant.  Personally, I believe that eye domance is an important factor.  Otherwise, you are constantly adjusting your aim point to make up the difference; it can be done but it is an effort.

[screamin]

Dave, you are absolutely right, if you cant the bow it doesn't really matter. I had prk done last Thursday on my right eye to correct to 20/20 vision. Right now though I am only seeing 20/60 to 20/80 out of this eye. I finally couldn't stand it anymore and had to get some shooting in with a couple of used/new longbows I picked up recently. Once I got arrow spine dialed in with bare shaft tuning, closing the left eye just before the shot to make sure I was half way lined up, I moved on to the fletched arrows. Shooting with both eyes open I was shooting 2 to 3" groups of 3 at 25 yards, think I really like this MOAB and can't wait till I can see    :D   . Now some of those groups did go left probably because I can see 20/20 out of my left eye. But if I put the concentration to it I was pounding the circle without any problems. This tells me that you are right, if you cant the bow and maintain form and concentration it just doesn't matter.

[BernieH]

Eye dominance isn't about how strong your vision is in one particular eye versus the other. Its about which eye "controls" your hand eye coordination.

I'm cross dominant. Left eyed and right handed. I shot decent right handed for years. I switched to left about 20 years ago and haven't looked back. Close in I shot almost as well right handed but past twenty yards there's no comparison. Left handed has been way better for longer distances.