eye dominant issue

[nybubba]

#3315

According to the “Traditional Bowhunters Handbook” If I am Left eye dominant I should be shooting left handed. I am right handed and allready have two right handed recurves, but am still in the “new” stage of shooting. I’ve dabled in archery since I was young but now want to get serious with it. Is it possible to retrain dominant eye? Is it worth it to switch over to left hand shooting? does it really matter that much? thanks for the input Jim in western NY

[Stephen Graf]

#18636

Eye wouldn’t worry about it 😆 😆

If you are shooting alright, then no problem. The idea is that you want your dominant eye over the arrow. This keeps your line of sight in line with the arrow. If your non dominant eye is over the arrow, you may end up shooting off to one side.

Fact is, any “test” you do to determine your eye dominance is not conclusive. But if you pay attention to how you look at things, you will over time figure out which eye is really dominant.

So shoot the bows you have, and have fun. If you get a chance to shoot a left handed bow sometime, give it a try.

And to answer your question about retraining which eye is dominant, I don’t think so. Not without extraordinary measure, like poking your dominant eye out so the other one takes over 😳 😈

[Steertalker]

#18852

I’ve dabled in archery since I was young but now want to get serious with it.

If that’s the case I’d recommend switching to the dominant eye and develope some method of aiming. Otherwise you will be limited to a more instinctive type of shooting which, in my honest opinion, is inferior to a style of shooting that makes use of some form of aiming methodology. Yes…I know some of you will disagree rabidly, but I’m not interested in argueing the issue. It’s just my opinion based on experience. So let’s just leave it at that. Nybubba can make up his own mind about what he wants to do. He asked for opinions……and that’s mine.

Now back to aiming….in order to be able to do it effectively, you’ll need to shoot off the dominant eye side. And yes….you can test conclusively for eye dominance.

Brett

[?ucznik]

#19190

Steertalker wrote: I’d recommend switching to the dominant eye and develope some method of… aiming methodology.
Brett

What kinds of “aiming methodologies” would you recommend? Other than adding sights to my bow, which isn’t really possible, I’d love to hear about ways to become more accurate

[nybubba]

#19265

steve graf wrote: Eye wouldn’t worry about it 😆 😆

If you are shooting alright, then no problem. The idea is that you want your dominant eye over the arrow. This keeps your line of sight in line with the arrow. If your non dominant eye is over the arrow, you may end up shooting off to one side.

Fact is, any “test” you do to determine your eye dominance is not conclusive. But if you pay attention to how you look at things, you will over time figure out which eye is really dominant.

So shoot the bows you have, and have fun. If you get a chance to shoot a left handed bow sometime, give it a try.

And to answer your question about retraining which eye is dominant, I don’t think so. Not without extraordinary measure, like poking your dominant eye out so the other one takes over 😳 😈

[nybubba]

#19268

when I tested for helicopter pilot school one of the warrant officers said if you are not r/eye dom we can teach you to be. So far if a yellow jacket shooting block wonders in my back yard, I could kill it from probably 15/20 yds w/right hand tackle. thanks for the insight

[MontanaFord]

#20917

nybubba,

my wife is right handed, but left eye dominant, and when she started shooting with a right handed bow, it was very frustrating for her. she rarely hit the target, and if she did, was still way off the mark…we didn’t know when she started shooting that she was left eye dominant. once we figured it out, we were able to find her an inexpensive leftie bow, and her accuracy increased tremendously…if you are shooting well, and are happy with your accuracy, don’t change anything….but definitely watch for the opportunity to shoot a left handed bow, and see how she feels and shoots…you might surprise yourself…good luck…

Michael

[nybubba]

#21346

Thanks for the personal experience w/this. I’m thinking I’m not to far into it that it wouldn’t be that hard to switch to a left hand bow. My son is left handed any way but does alot of things right handed. He will write, fish, and eat lefty, while he shoots, throws, and plays guitar right handed, but is left eye dominant. So an investment in a left hand bow would not be a waste of money. thanks Jim

[heydeerman]

#22375

You might find you can shoot with both hands. I knew a fella a while back that had a custom bow made with a shelf on both sides. He could shoot good either way. Talk about an advantage.

[MontanaFord]

#23817

that would be a serious advantage over most hunters…i’ve been working on training myself with my rifle to do just that, and let me tell ya….THAT is some work…lol

Michael

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