*JB*

How many people shoot their bow based strictly on which eye is their dominant eye. I am left eye dominant but I shoot my bow and my rifles right handed. I have never had any problems, but have heard it is poor form to close one eye. So how many people find out which is their dominant eye and then buy a bow to make sure they are using their dominant eye? I have never known it was that big of a deal, but some people claim it is.

MGH_PA

I'm left eye dominant, and simply shoot right hand rifles left handed (I've gotten pretty effecient at working the bolt this way). My bow on the other hand, and don't ask me why, I shoot right handed and with my right eye. When I was 14 and was shopping for my first bow, I started shooting the bows at the proshop left handed with my left eye because I had been shooting rifles that way for years. Well I couldn't hit anything, and while I was confused as the shop owner, he had me try a right hand bow and use my right eye, and I was dead on. So talk about screwed up...I'm technically left eye dominant...shoot rifles left handed, shoot my bows right handed[&:]

furgitter

I was always taught to shoot with your dominant eye.But this year i met a hell of a shot with a bow who wore a patch on his left (dom) eye.I told him that if one patch made him a better shot,Immagine if he wore a patch on BOTH EYES

nebrhuntress

When I instruct archery classes I have them check for eye dominance first. We have had a lot of people who were having so much trouble until we switched them to their eye dominance. We had a lady that could have been my mother that couldnt hit anything untill we switched her. She was so mad because her family had been telling her she had to shoot right handed. I believe if you are a new shooter to learn it that way and you will have an easier time. My son and daughter are both left eyed and we started them shooting that way and they have done very well. I am the exception to the rule however. I learned to shoot when I was very young and shot right handed even though I was left eyed. I dont have a problem closing my left eye, and when I had corrective eye surgery the Dr (who was a bowhunter) corrected my right eye as my long distance vision (I have mono vision now) and my left as my close/reading eye. I still will put a camera up to my left eye without realizing it and cant figure out why I cant see anything.If you can shoot with both eyes open, that is probably the best. My hubby does and he doesnt even blink when he shoots. The mono vision can be alittle weird, if i opened both eyes there would be two deer-I just aim at the one that isnt blurry!!

Rob/PA Bowyer

Yup Nhuntress, a good shooting coach will encourage proper eye dominance shooting.

quiksilver

My next bow will likely be lefty to accomodate my eye dominance. I'm ambidextrous to begin with, but I'm more natural shooting right-handed. I shoot my rifles (all right-handed models) primarily right-handed, but I practice and have made difficult shots with both hands in the field also.

I'll be making the switch in a year or so. My left eye is better than 20/20, and I have much better low-light vision on the left. I figure the switch will add 15-20 minutes of available shooting light onto each day (5-10 minutes at dusk and dawn), and that translates into several hours of prime-time low-light stand time over the course of a season, which is enough incentive to make the change.

I don't think it'll take more than a few hours of range time to get things in sync.