Shooting shotgun wrong hand

[The Basket]

I am right handed but my right eye is not good.
My left eye is much stronger.
I was doing clay pigeon and it didn't go well as I really had the devil's job to pick up the clays.

Can I shoot leftie or is this not a good idea?

 

[fubar57]

I tried shooting with the opposite side once while shooting trap. Co-ordination was a little off but nothing some practice wouldn't fix. You didn't mention it but when I was shooting trap, I was taught to keep both eyes open, easier to pick up the bird

 

[parsifal]

Many eons ago I used to shoot clays as a Junior Training Officer in our inter service sports competitions. Im right handed, but had no trouble shooting 6s (oyt of 8 clays ) either right or left handed. I spent a lot of time at the range to make that possible

 

[The Basket]

My right eye was a shocker and I was quite upset how far I had fallen.
Oddly during my military days I did consider firing my rifle left handed due to my better left eye... However it was the SA80 which cannot be fired leftie so that resolved that.

I will have another go soon when time and funds permit and see if I can shoot and if it makes a difference.

 

[Peter Gunn]

The only issue I ever had when I did trap shooting (back in the '70's) off hand (like you, I'm right handed) was I had Browning semi auto and the shells ejected across the front of my face, not a big deal but a bit of a distraction.

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Is your right eye your dominant eye?

 

[The Basket]

Yes. I am very right handed. And right eye dominant.

 

[Glider]

As your left eye is the stronger then I would recommend learning to shoot left handed. It will be extremely difficult for a while but will pay dividends in the long term.
An alternative would be to get glasses specially set up for shooting. A good independent optician should be able to help but it isn't always possible depending on how bad the sight is.

 

[Airframes]

My older brother shoots clays, and he's right handed, but uses his left eye to aim, very successfully too. I know at least three other people who do the same, although I found it awkward when i tried.
Learning to shoot with both right and left hands is tricky at first, but soon becomes natural. Unfortunately, these days, i can only use my right hand, with the second finger on the trigger, as my left hand is totally knackered !

 

[Bucksnort101]

I tried shooting with the opposite side once while shooting trap. Co-ordination was a little off but nothing some practice wouldn't fix. You didn't mention it but when I was shooting trap, I was taught to keep both eyes open, easier to pick up the bird

Yep, practice, practice, practice, and both eyes open should help. Did just what you described last week. I'm a lefty and I took apart and cleaned a semi-auto shotgun that my dad gave to my nephew. Had not been apart for 30+ years so old oil was all gummed up. Didn't want to shoot it left handed after putting it back together, so shot a couple clays right handed and it was pretty awkward, but I'm sure it would have gotten easier after practicing.
I try to shoot all my weapons with both eyes open, only thing I have trouble with it my target pistol, just can't get a good group together with both eyes open (as my buddy would say, I'm not getting old, I am old). The eyes just don't work like they used to.

 

[mikewint]

I have the same problem. Damage to my right (dominant) eye gives me only partial vision in that eye and I am also right handed. Even with both eyes open shooting right-handed the better vision in my left gives a parallax shift to the left throwing my aim off. You can compensate by aiming right but that would be difficult with a moving target. With pistols and rifles I've installed laser sights. I'm not a shotgunner so I don't know exactly what to advise other than learn to shoot left-handed

 

[vikingBerserker]

I used to shot skeet (some) and trap (a lot), both eyes open is the only way to go and you can decide which eye is dominant with them both open.
For me, it makes it easier to switch hands as well.

Oddly, I used to date a girl who would have to wear an eye patch to target shoot as she could not just close just one eye.

 

[GrauGeist]

Agree with the "both eyes open" comments.
It's the best way to aquire a target on the fly and calculate lead.

The only time you should consider using one eye, is when sighting through a scope - unless it's a type like an Aimpoint or Trijicon, etc. which work amazingly well with both eyes open.

 

[fubar57]

Eye Dominance, Dominance Shifting & Sports Vision - The DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com

 

[Zipper730]

This is kind of weird: I don't think I have a dominant eye.

I can switch from left to right: I'm left hand dominant so I usually use left eye and left hand dominantly, but I can switch dominant eyes... I have no rational explanation for this.

 

[vikingBerserker]

I think that comes easier to left handers. Something with the way the brain develops in a right handed world.