Cross Eye Dominance

[zombiehunter]

I just recently noticed that i am cross dominant (right handed and left eye dom.) I am ok as far as pistol shooting goes but when shooting my AR i am unable to obtain a sight picture without closing my dominant eye. My question is if i were to get a Aimpoint or any other red dot, and continued to shoot from my right side would obtaining a sight picture with my non-dominant eye be any easier?

[Jakeiscrazy]

I don't think so. I noticed I definitely prefer my left eye(right handed) when shooting pistols. I just deal with it when shooting long guns. If it truly is just torture then learn to shoot left handed. Being able to shoot both right and left handed is taught in a few tactical classes anyways.

[SgtBill]

I don't think so. I noticed I definitely prefer my left eye(right handed) when shooting pistols. I just deal with it when shooting long guns. If it truly is just torture then learn to shoot left handed. Being able to shoot both right and left handed is taught in a few tactical classes anyways.

And most Police Academy's that are state mandated.
Bill

[gunderwood]

I just recently noticed that i am cross dominant (right handed and left eye dom.)

IIRC, most people are.

I am ok as far as pistol shooting goes but when shooting my AR i am unable to obtain a sight picture without closing my dominant eye. My question is if i were to get a Aimpoint or any other red dot, and continued to shoot from my right side would obtaining a sight picture with my non-dominant eye be any easier?

Yes and no. Most red dots are 1x magnification, so that helps with cross dominance issues since both eyes are focused the same. Also, anything bright/high contrast (red dot, lite reticle, tritium, etc.) is easier to focus on. It doesn't really solve the problem though. If you are shooting for maximum precision/competition, then shooting with only one eye is acceptable and many shooters do it. They even sell glasses with a blinder flap for exactly that purpose.

The problem is that your brain is not use to having each eye presented with such different images. Your brain does a lot of processing on the image and it hasn't quite learned how to properly process your sights. If you are shooting with irons, you should be focused on the front sight. That causes a problem because your dominate eye wants to focus on the target and if it does, your iron sight picture goes blurry. Magnified optics cause similar issues. 1x magnification, particularly red dots, generally don't because you are focusing on the target and the dot is basically superimposed on the target. If you use a red dot properly, it is just like a laser.

You need to train your brain to process the image properly. To do this, close your dominate eye and get a good sight picture (you need a "target" to aim at some distance away), then open your dominate eye. Your focus should start to shift to the dominate eye, try to fight it, but don't close either eye. Once it shifts to the dominate eye, start over. It will take awhile, but you should start to notice you can force the dominate eye to remained focused on the front post longer and longer. If you have magnified optics you will notice that you actually begin seeing "around" the scope. This is because your brain is processing the images together and our eyes have overlap in the front. With enough practice most people can train their brain to process the image correctly.

[gfost1]

Howdy, Y'all

I had/have the same problem. Wearing a patch over my left eye was for me more comfortable than trying to keep it closed. In time my mind retrained itself to pick up the sight picture in the right eye without the patch.

Regards,

George

[user]

I've come to the conclusion that I'm more accurate shooting with the "sub-dominant" eye. I've learned to superimpose the sight picture I'm getting with the right eye over the picture of the target I'm getting with the left eye. Can't do it the other way around, because the left eye "takes over". I shoot with either hand, btw, and use the eye that's on the same side as the gun.