Left handed? Right handed? Both handed? Suggestions?

[GoodysgotaCuda]

I've always been screwed up in the realm of if I'm left handed or right handed. I write with my left. I throw a baseball and hit a baseball with my right. My left wrist is more precise [writing], but my right arm dominates when tightening lug nuts or something.

I did determine I'm right eye dominant, I pickup a shotgun on my left shoulder, my instinct says to shoot my pistol left handed...but right handed doesn't feel too far from normal to me.

Right now, I have only put about 75 rounds through a pistol and 100 rounds through a shotgun in my life, so "changing" wouldn't be difficult for me to do..I don't really have a habit of one way or the other.

Being right eye dominant, it would be in my best interest to try to shoot a pistol right handed and see if I'm reasonable with it...since at the moment it doesn't feel unnatural.

I figure I cannot be the only one that's fairly ambidextrous here so I am looking for some advice as to if I should just try both and see what works best? Go with what's natural and have to cross-over to my dominant eye?

Thanks!

 

[arjay]

Keep both eyes open and let the dominant eye determine whether to shoot right handed or left handed.

 

[jaykellogg]

Assuming you are right eye dominant, and that cannot be changed, I would learn to shoot right handed. Almost all guns were designed by and for right handers. Any auto loading pistol will throw the cases to the right. There are a couple of exceptions. Also it is easier to find RH rifles.

There are true LH 1911s and true LH AR-15s. I am right handed, but I imagine it is truly difficult to shoot a rifle if you are left handed and right eye dominant. (Or vice versa).

 

[Old TexMex]

Right handed makes more sense if you're right eyed and are just getting started.
Reloading revolvers is simpler(notice which side the cylinder tilts to)
eject on autoloaders is generally better for right handers(expended rounds fly clear rather than across your line of sight)
Bolt actions are mostly righthanded.
Most repeating shotguns eject to the right. etc.
Learn to shoot both handed, it might save your life.
(BTW, I am both handed too.)

 

[Linejudgemick]

I am almost like you except I'm left-eye dominate. I'm not truly ambidextrous, but can learn either way, but once I do that's the way I feel most comfortable. Baseball LH, Golf RH, Writing RH, Bow LH, Long Gun RH, Pistol LH, but none both ways. I learned to shoot long guns when I was 10 and back in the day when the teacher used to take the pencil out of your left hand and say "we don't write with that hand". I didn't learn the other things until I was older and knew I should just learn the way that felt most natural.

One thing I will say about shooting though, when I shoot my shotgun I have to concentrate a great deal so I don't shoot behind or over the target, because my dominate eye is on the wrong side (both eyes open). Rifles aren't so bad because I usually close the off eye. I've often thought about trying to learn to shoot my long guns left-handed, but after so many years it just feels so awkward now.

I highly recommend you learn to shoot right-handed if you are right eye dominate. Besides, as mentioned earlier, many firearms are set up mostly for RH shooters.

 

[wbraswell]

I am very left handed. I did everything left handed, until I decided I would shoot long guns right handed. Before I had tried to get ambidexterous firarms, like a Ithaca 37 and Savage 99, rather than a left handed model. It really took me no time to start using automatic shotguns and rifles and bolt guns from the right side. I still use handguns left handed. Which eye doesn't matter, I'm half blind in either one.

 

[scooter123]

As the saying goes "I'm a FIRM believer in Gun Control - - I use BOTH hands". Seriously, use both hands. Back in 1963 I broke my right arm by falling out of a tree. Being forced to use my left hand for everything for 6-8 weeks has had a lasting impression and for over 30 years after that accident my left arm was still stronger than my right.

Today I shoot equally well either left or right handed with either handgun or rifle. In fact I'm actually a bit more precise shooting lefty in slow fire from a rest with iron sights because the vision is better in my left eye than my right. Yeah, I shift my sighting eye with the hand I'm shooting, you may not believe it but you can train yourself to use either eye as dominant. One "stunt" I'll pull sometimes is to take a revolver in each hand and fire them simultaneously at the same target. It's a bit slow to do but by concentrating I've gained the ability to observe both guns and when the front sights overlap on the bullseye I pull the trigger.

You've got a good start on learning to use either hand and IMO you should continue doing that. It WILL NOT degrade your ability to shoot in any way at all, what it will do is allow you to shift to the other hand in the event your injured or if you find your eyesight differs in a distinct manner as you age. By nature I'm right handed, but due to astigmatism when shooting a rifle with iron sights I prefer to shoot left because I can seen the sights so much better. As for most guns being set up for right hand use, it doesn't take much imagination to figure out a way to work around right hand oriented controls.

 

[A10]

I am left eye dominant and right handed. I taught myself to shoot left handed at a young age, but I can shoot handguns ambidextrously.

 

[ordy]

Like you, I am left handed but right eye dominant. I write with my left hand, throw/hit/kick a ball lefty but can do most everything else with either my right or left hand...except shoot. There, I am totaly right handed. Given what you've told us and due to your right eye dominance, I'd concentrate on right handed shooting especially if you're into rifle or the shotgun sports.

 

[GoodysgotaCuda]

Thanks for the input! I'll try a few things next time out and see how it works for me.