Angus74

Im having a little trouble with a decision on this. I have a young son, soo to be 4 years old, I want to start him in shooting both guns and bows as soon as he shows interest in doing either one, and is big enough to do each safely. My problem is,, He seems to be right handed, but does do things with both hands, so Im not 100 % sure. But he is definitely left eye dominant, Im 100 % sure on this. Should I start him out shooting both guns and bows left handed because of his dominant eye?? Ive been told it wont make a difference to him, if it is the only way he has ever done it. So should I teach him to shoot left handed from the start, with his eye, or start him right handed, and hope he dont have trouble aiming accurately. Please give me some advice on this. Thanks in advance.

The Rev

What a dilemma,,, I think I'd teach him to do some things with both hands... My wife is left handed, however she does every thing with her right, except write... tongue twister...

RCL

Not advice, just an observation.
A buddie of mine, my shooting partner when I was competing 15 years or so ago, was left handed and right eye dominant. He taught himself to shoot right handed.
He won our state outdoor field championship, AA Freestyle. Four times.
He said it was a lot easier to train himself to shoot right handed than to try to compensate with his aiming.

Rob/PA Bowyer

A good shooting coach would encourage you to have shoot with his dominant eye, not to say there accomplished shooters shooting eitherwise, however developing him to his dominant eye will make him a better shooting over the long run.

LeftyBuckmaster

i was just going over this dilema today i am left eye dominate and and do everything with my right side except i learned to shoot left handed with rifles and shotguns because i was more accurate this way but i am having a dilema because i want to buy a bow and can shoot my buddies right handed bow just fine and have found some great deals on right handed bows and since i use my right side more i have more strenght in my right arm i can't decide if i want to get a left or right hand bow

Greg / MO

I'm left-eye dominant and shoot both bows andgunsright handed; for as long as I can remember, I've simply closed my left eye when aiming. It's worked pretty well for me... I'm no world-class shooter by any means, but I qualified expert with both a .45 and a 9mm while in MP school, as well as expert with the M-16... I've shot dragonflies out of mid-air with BB guns (yes, there was some luck involved) and am pretty decent with a bow...

Having said that, I just finished reading a column by G. Fred Asbell in The Traditional Bowhunter last month where he STRONGLY encouraged left-eye dominant people to shoot left-handed.

dynatec

I'm left eye dominate and right handed,shooting right handed. I wish I'd started out shooting left ,I find your bow arm is the one that takes the most strength and it can be a bit of a pain looking through your peep with the opposite eye.Just what I find for myself never tried shooting left,alot of habits to break now.[&o]That's why I thinking about taking off my peep.

Rickmur

I'm left handed and right eye dominate and have shot left handed all my life. Like Greg I qualified expert in the Army with all weapons. Last year I took the advice of Len and tried to master shooting righthanded, even bought a right handed bow. His reasoning was of course the dominate eye issue but as an added advantage I would be able to shoot from a tree from either side by wearing a release on both hands. Now you can't do this with any bow, the Hoyt Tec Riser is an example and is presently my left handed bow. I shot good from the right sideright out of the gates at his shopbut am still very uncomfortable shooting from that side and would be very hesitant about drawing from that side on that once in a lifetime buck. Right now I want a new bow to put my Hoyt in a backup roll and am still unsure what to do, keep this righthanded bow or sell it and buy another lefthanded one. It's like why fix a wheel if it ain't broken. My advice would be start him out with his dominate eye. The older you are the harde it is to change.

BOWFANATIC

I wouldn't wish left handed archery on anyone!Seriously , I've watched a couple of my left handed buddies have to special order everything every time they want something wether it be a bow or accessory.

There are plenty of opposite eye dominant people that shoot great just by closing/squinting there dominant eye. I would definately tell him the pros and cons of either decision and let him decide.

ewolf

I'm right handed left eye dominant and shoot compound, recurve, and longbow right handed. If you practice you can change your eye dominance without closing your other eye. I change it while on the draw with the compound, works great never have a problem. With the stick bows I don't worry about it, I don't shoot off my point so I don't think it matters much.

If it was my son, I would have him shoot lefty. There is no reason not too, might as well start him off right by going with the left.