How to help my son shoot

[Vicdiesel]

So I took my son out yesterday and came across an issue...
He's right handed but left eye dominant. Obvious major issues with shooting the rifle and not so major issues with pistol, both .22.
Am I better off trying to get him to shoot left handed or try to get him to try to use his right eye? He really can’t seem to use his right eye only, he tries but can’t open it

 

[FatBoy]

My daughter is the same way. I taught her to shoot right handed before I realized what was going on. For our type of shooting (highpower slowfire), she wears an opaque blinder in her left eye and shoots both eyes open.

She can shoot without it for short period or with low power optics. Her horrible astigmatism doesn't help, but she can shoot an LPVO both eyes open. She doesn't do well with any red dot except an MRO, oddly enough.

If I was starting over, I would probably teach her to shoot left handed.

 

[JBPilot]

My brother is that way, he shoots southpaw.

 

[ShtrRdy]

Two people I know with that situation shoot left handed on the rifle.

 

[bschneiderheinze]

I would think it would easier to teach him to shoot right hand and put a patch over the left I until he gets used to it. You want have to deal with always trying to find left hand equipment that way.

 

[cattleman99]

Eye patch

 

[Steel head]

I was teaching a female friend to shoot
She’s right handed but had great difficulty seeing through the scope with her right eye.

Out of curiosity I had her switch to left handed position.
Eureka!

She could see!
And shoot!

 

[Wildfire1550]

The opaque tape and both eyes open is the best bet. Keep in mind it is very common for kids eye dominance to switch.

 

[acudaowner]

looks crazy but where I saw the blurry with two eyes open a year ago can shoot handguns and scope rifle with both eyes open and its only after my eyes are tired it get a tad blurry , another year should do it or at least help more shame i still need glasses . hope it helps if you choose to try it . instead of beads we used colored bolts and nuts and cheap twine think in all it cost about a time to set up and time to practice at it .

 

[Tucker301]

I suggest left handed.
You can develop muscle memory, but you cannot convert eye dominance.
I've shot right handed guns left handed all of my life with no issues.
When using a scope I can actually toggle my view at will, switching from the scope view to the right eye view to scan for things outside the field of view of the scope. That comes in really handy when hunting.

 

[Vicdiesel]

Thank you all for your suggestions.
I will work with him and see what feels most comfortable to him.
I knew he had this is issue to an extent, in fact, it seems that my 2 girls have the same eye dominance issue, along with my wife?‍.
We were shooting with an rds on both the rifle and the pistol (thinking this would make things a bit easier for him). However, the rds didn't help, in fact it to me it show me how much of an issue it actually is.

 

[FatBoy]

The blinders are fine for bullseye or silhouette competitions but for hunting, practical training they don't work. With very low power optics and training they can overcome it to some extent . However, is it going frustrate them to the point of not wanting to shoot? If they can shoot lefty, best to go that route. That was straight from Michele Gallagher back in 2004 when I noticed the issue. By then it was "too late".

Of course, the type of shooting makes a difference in what you choose to do.


It's can be a delicate balance with kids. They have SO much shit to keep them busy now we already have a tough road. Gotta keep it fun.

 

[Vicdiesel]

You hit the nail on the head FatBoy!!!
He has a healthy fascination with guns but, due to the troubles he was having, he seemed to lose interest rather quickly. He was done after about an hour of shooting. I never reprimanded him or showed any type of frustration because I wanted it to be a fun activity, something he would come to enjoy as I do.
Once I borrow that cricket rifle from my buddy and the pistol comes in, I’ll see if he wants to go out again.
I ordered a M&P .22 compact pistol for him as it seems to be one of the lightest pistols and the grip should be better for him as well.

 

[brianf]

as said before, both eyes open and it doesnt matter
once your used to it, you wont even know your doing it
shoot right handed, sooo much more equipment
1hr is a good amount of time, most men i know have a hard time concentrating longer than that

 

[RTH1800]

I have coached dozens of shooters in various disciplines at all levels. Some have become champions in their area of competition.

What I have learned is this:

More women than men suffer eye dominance issues.

All shooting begins with the eyes.

The only true solution is to simply switch sides and shoot strong eye. Anything else is a compromise that will give fair results at times and utterly fail at others. Normally the failure will happen at the most important and stressful times. In high level competition etc. It is natural that your dominate eye takes over in these instaninces.

I simply refused to coach anyone who would not shoot strong eye side. It is a waste of time to do so.

 

[FatBoy]

The only true solution is to simply switch sides and shoot strong eye. Anything else is a compromise that will give fair results at times and utterly fail at others. Normally the failure will happen at the most important and stressful times. In high level competition etc.

Even blinded I think she struggles with this. She'll shoot a couple high 190s and then put up a mid-170. She is beyond pissed and it's frustrating for me as I can't understand what she's seeing or going through so I am useless to help her at this point.

For the OP, 25-100y 22lr silhouette shooting is like crack to kids. They can't get enough of it. If you have access I'd start there

 

[Currycure]

i have seen a lot of kids and young shooter do the same thing, IMO...This is their nature...what comes and feels natural to them. its not a problem if they can shoot accurately.

Don't fix it if its not broken.

 

[Snuby642]

Shoot dominant eye on rifle.
A 10 second search found a savage lh 22lr for 150$ at academy.

A second hand might be found cheap.

Thing is brass crossing your line of sight is annoying.

No savage is not my preference just first available find.

If a lh does not work or they grow out of it just sell it.

Ambi pistol and have them shoot both ways on full mags each trip for a while.
Targets don't lie and the kid will soon form thier own opinion. Shotgun get an over under.

My wife has went total ambidextrous and can shoot l or r and patch iether eye both ways with pistol, freaks out instructors. Ar , bow, shotgun does not matter but prefers lh ar.

I would rather have a kid grow up shooting left hand gear than grow up not likening to shoot any day.

 

[SD Carpenter]

You may want to look at the phone Scopes and such, as then you can video of exactly what she is looking at when she takes the shot.

 

[plt228]

Me and my daughter(9 yrs old) are both right handed/left eye dominant. I’ve started her from the get go shooting rifle left handed. Pistols will be right handed. She doesn’t have any issues with brass from her 10/22 or 15-22 ejecting across her face.

 

[Jefe's Dope]

I believe that most would say shoot left handed.

I'm either left eye dominant or cross dominant. I've spent YEARS working on both eyes open and making my right eye more dominant. If this is the route you choose, I HIGHLY recommend an eyepatch. I recommend an eyepatch regardless.

My Sidewinder d.o.p.e. holder helps 'block' my left eye too and keeps my right eye in focus.

 

[Snuby642]

A translucent dot of tape inside of glases works .
You still get peripheral vision.

I use some grey electrical tape at times. You can fool with size and placement in some safety glases till you get it right.

 

[Geno C.]

If most of your shooting is prone or supported. Shooting a right hand rifle left handed isn’t a hindrance. I shoot with plenty of guys that shoot like that. My youngest is 7 and he is very left eye dominant but right handed. Toy guns have really gotten him the muscle memory of shooting right handed. Lay them down on the right side of the gun and push that for a few ranges sessions. They’ll like being able to see through the scope or sights easier

 

[Vicdiesel]

Geno,
I’ got him the same .22.
I have a 6-24 on it now but plan on putting a 1-4 on it for a bit, till he gets a better feel for the rifle. After a while, I’ll put the 6-24 back on.

 

[Geno C.]

We had a 3-18 gen2 on it but when I finished his 22-250ai we swapped that scope over and got the 4-16 diamondback tactical. He likes the lower power because it’s easier to find the targets.

 

[1moaoff]

Snubby642 if she can be that flexible throw her into 3 gun where she can take advantage of that.... I wish I could do that!!!!!