Left eyed, and right handed????
 

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.

RE: Left eyed, and right handed????
 

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...:D

RE: Left eyed, and right handed????
 

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.

RE: Left eyed, and right handed????
 

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.

RE: Left eyed, and right handed????
 

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

RE: Left eyed, and right handed????
 

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.

RE: Left eyed, and right handed????
 

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.

RE: Left eyed, and right handed????
 

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.

RE: Left eyed, and right handed????
 

I wouldn't wish left handed archery on anyone!:DSeriously , 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.

RE: Left eyed, and right handed????
 

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.:eek:

RE: Left eyed, and right handed????
 

If he's left eye dominant. Get him shooting guns and bows lefty. It will be more natural for him. As he's just starting. It will be much easier in the long run if he does everything through the left eye. This way he dont have to switch back and forth between guns, bows, and any thing else from left to right eye. Thats the way we teach young archers just getting into the sport. May seem alittle wiered at first for them. but w/ practice they will pick it up soon!!! Good luck !!!!

RE: Left eyed, and right handed????
 

My 14 yr old son is right handed and I started him with a right hand bow before I knew to check for eye dominance.He is left eye dominant. He shotthe right hand bowwell, but soon decided on his own to switch to shooting left hand. He is a lot more comfortable shooting that way. In fact he has trouble shooting right handed now.

It would be better if he learns both ways, but if you have to choose one, go with the eye dominance.

RE: Left eyed, and right handed????
 

It may be hard to test the eye dominance at that age. My son started shooting archery four years ago, and it wans't until this past year that I was sure what eye is dominant for him. Sure enough, he is left eye dominant and right handed. We started shooting left handed about three months ago, and he has gotten real good (almost as good as right handed). He was 10 when I was sure which eye was dominant. So what I am saying is, don't be all that concerned if you mess up on the eye dominance/shootingsituation. It can be corrected. It's not at all like an adult trying to switch. The most important thing is interest. You may want to get something like a Li'l Sentry Recurve that can be shot right or left handed:

http://www.escaladesports.com/bear-archery/detail.html?SKU=A22&subcat=Institutional%20Bow s

Oh, and get a good supply of balloons from the Dollar Store to shoot at! :D:D:D

RE: Left eyed, and right handed????
 

For starting out, get him a bow he can shoot either way (like a little recurve that can be shot RH or LH) and see what he naturally does. At that age, his eye dominence could change and it is often hard to be really sure anyway. Just let him progress naturally and don't force him one way or the other.

For those of you already shooting you opposite eye (like me -- I shoot RH and am left eyed), if you do not have a physical problem aiming with the off eye (like can't close the other eye, etc) there is no need to switch.

I am a big proponent of shooting which ever way is more comfortable. There is no compelling reason to really switch just to shoot the dominent eye. There are several top coach who believe this as well -- so the comment about any good coach advocating switching is false.

I shot 300-59X last night right handed, but I am left eye dominent. That one that missed the X had nothing to do with my eye. I have tried to shoot LH (just for trying) and it is very akward for me. I can't see how switching could possibly help my shooting.