New to Rifle shooting. Want to go 500-1000 yards. Eye Dominance question

[Kingofthehill]

Its funny since i do 3 gun competition with my AR and have no problem with the magnified red dot to reach out to 100 yards (longest the comps ive shot ever go) but now that im looking to go much longer with a .308, it leaves me curious if my backwards right handed, left eye dominance question.

I have no real shooting history left handed or long distance so if im going to choose, i need to choose now.

I have been very fortunate to shoot the Remington 700 im looking at both Right and left handed. Initially I went straight into right hand mode and cocked my neck over further to use my left eye... Results were OK i would think but then when i shot the same gun left handed being more comfortable with my left cheek against the stock, i was shocked to see the same results!!!! makes me wonder since my left handed shooting feels so alien to me, would i get better with practice and be able to get tighter groups lefty over righty?

Im sure its an odd question but the Remington 700 i want to order comes in both Left and right handed model.. It would be nice to have a high end rifle that you can go either way with bolt/ejection but im broke. Im going with the basic $500 Rem700 and i plan on building it up to the highest of quality over about a year or so. its easier for me to do that instead of saving until i have the money for the higher end model.

I never gave it much thought before but now that im trying to break into the long distance world I just want to get it right. Im a righty pistol shooter and that will never change but now im in a position to choose in the rifle world.

Another question i guess... reading WHY im starting out wtih the cheap Remington 700, are there any other rifles in 308 capable of long distance shooting that offers the same build up as you go capabilities?

[BBB114]

eye dominance

No one else can answer this question but you. If you can shoot with your non-dominant eye, then do that with right hand manipulations. I am left eye dominant, but shoot everything right handed. I use my right (non-dominant) eye for rifle, but left for pistol.

Some students I teach are unable to close their dominant eye, so they have to use their normally support side manipulations of the rifle while shooting with their dominant eye.

Whatever you do, dont do the cross over eye thing where you manipulate the rifle with your right hand, but move your head to use your left eye......you will never get the right eye releif for consistent shots, plus you will get a sore neck.

Boyan

https://www.Covered6.com

[Vu 308]

I am right handed for everything, except when it comes to shooting a long gun due to having left eye dominance.

Simple answer, build left handed rifles. Stiller Precision, Borden, and Defiance Machine all make custom LH 700 clone actions.

Any good gunsmith, Spartan Precision Rifles, Newman Precision, GA Precision all build LH rigs. If you do go custom, look into a 6.5cm vs a 308win for long distance shooting. Factory ammo is actually cheaper as well for the 6.5cm.

[kingsfan8888]

I'm doing the same thing man. I just decided to re-learn to shoot left handed. I am ambedextrious so it is probably easier for me. Damn sports; hockey, baseball, and golf made me goofy eyed, haha. I am waiting on my left handed defiance action as we speak and doing a custom left handed build with Randall from AR15 barrels. Dude has a wealth of information.

good luck

[lrj812]

I am left eyed/right handed as well. Learned to shoot everything right handed since I was a kid. I have been experimenting this last year with shooting rifle left handed. Currently I shoot the black rifles and shotgun left handed. My ability to shoot with both eyes open and get on target are much better shooting left handed/eyed. Everything lines up fast. I use a red dot or iron sights with these guns.

After experimenting with scoped rifles I have decided to stay right handed with right eye looking through the scope. The first time I tried lefty on the range a couple of things were noticed. My left thumb got gouged as I pulled the bolt back (didn't see that one coming) and it was not a familiar position so it was harder to stay stable and feel comfortable. I found no advantage going left eye since the shots were done with one eye closed, through optics and with plenty of time to sight the target. My muscle memory, comfort and trigger finger seemed so much more natural staying right handed on the bench.

I'll probably stay with this for now. The upshot for me is that I can shoot left handed and pick what works best for the situation. I will stay with right handed guns and learn to shoot them as a lefty (just remember to move my thumb on the bolts) if I ever fully convert.

[Blind]

I'm left eye'd/right handed and always shot right handed until this year. I basically blew apart my right collar bone and tore my rotator cuff in a big downhill mtb'ing crash in Feb. Had surgery and now have a 6" plate on my right collar bone. There's no way I would shoulder a rifle on my right side now, even seatbelts while a passenger in a car still hurt.

I started shooting lefty about 2 months ago and for the most part I am shooting better than before (righty w/right eye on a rifle).

I don't know that I would choose a lefty specific rifle though, so far shooting my ar15, sks, my dad's .22 bolt action, or my mossberg 500 I have not had any issues racking the bolts or getting any shells in the face. Just a quick flop over of the rifle will put the bolt /charge handle straight up and I can get it with my right hand no problem.

[Steelplate45]

Eye dominance should not be a factor

for precision rifle. I am a lefty with right eye dominance, and have been shooting 3 gun and precision rifle for decades.

The only area I suffer is shooting trap with shotguns. For that, I added a ghost ring rear sight, and it helped a lot.

If you are comfortable shooting right handed, stay with that. One trick is to put a small piece of translucent tape in the center of the left lense of your shooting glasses.

The brain then pretty quickly figures out that it's not getting useful info from the dominant eye, and will use the other eye.

You can even get the brain to switch dominance by wearing modified glasses for a couple of weeks (however, I think that's not essential).

[Vu 308]

I'm left eye'd/right handed and always shot right handed until this year. I basically blew apart my right collar bone and tore my rotator cuff in a big downhill mtb'ing crash in Feb. Had surgery and now have a 6" plate on my right collar bone. There's no way I would shoulder a rifle on my right side now, even seatbelts while a passenger in a car still hurt.

I started shooting lefty about 2 months ago and for the most part I am shooting better than before (righty w/right eye on a rifle).

I don't know that I would choose a lefty specific rifle though, so far shooting my ar15, sks, my dad's .22 bolt action, or my mossberg 500 I have not had any issues racking the bolts or getting any shells in the face. Just a quick flop over of the rifle will put the bolt /charge handle straight up and I can get it with my right hand no problem.

None of my other firearms are LH, except for my bolt rifles for competition. Shooting a RH rifle while being a lefty in the prone positions are easy as pie, but when you want to run the gun and shoot positional, the correct bolt is very handy.

I shoot pistols right handed because I shoot both eyes open, but shoulder my ARs and shotguns LH. I am a weirdo like.....lol.

I say do what works for you, hitting the target is hitting the target....

[Kingofthehill]

LOL... Thanks guys. Id hate to buy a LH rifle and not like it or get a RH and have it in the way if i go the other way.

Its funny thought because Shotguns im great with and can shoot trap/skeet no problem right handed with my left eye but so long as its moving... when its still it screws with my vision.

Pistols im great right handed because i shoot right eyed open and have spent hundreds upon hundreds of hours and thousands of rounds getting very proficient with point shooting but still for precision work i can cock my head over enough to use my left eye.

Ive never been a non moving, long distance rifle shooter and im noticing im getting eye fatigue just sighting in my scope at 100 yards. Its so weird how for the most part its never been an issue but once i started looking at stationary long distance shooting im hitting a road block and ive always been very proficient with firearms and always place mid to upper end of the scale in competitions. This is a whole new beast though.

I guess i just have to try a few tricks like the tape and put a day of shooting in on a RH rifle and then see if i can find a LH rifle to try and see if i can get the precision of my trigger finger from my natural right hand and try and get to anywhere near that precision with my left unnatural clunky hand.

Guess i just gotta get out and see if i can try some LH and RH rifles like the remington 700 im hoping to get soon.

Thanks guys. Very interesting information... kind of shocked to see so many right handed but left eye dominant shooters when you really don't hear about it or see it in person.

[Kingofthehill]

Also, i know with AR's with a Red Dot sight i can shoot very normal and very quickly and accurately but once its really magnified its a whole new ball game.

JOe

[Kingofthehill]

sorry , double tap post LOL

[russ69]

Left eye dominant here. I shoot all rifles and shotguns left handed. The only left hand rifles I have are my high dollar target rifles. 90% of right hand rifles work fine lefthanded. For the REM 700 it just needs an ambi stock, most are.

[klewan]

If you have a scope, shoot right handed. If it's irons, shoot left. Been doing this for the last 18 years. One of those left eye dominant. My eyes are so different the optometrist sent me to the specialist to see if I was a glaucoma risk. They took photos of my retina a couple years ago, and have been comparing them since. It's like I have eyes from different people according to them.

[afrancke]

Results were OK i would think but then when i shot the same gun left handed being more comfortable with my left cheek against the stock, i was shocked to see the same results!!!! makes me wonder since my left handed shooting feels so alien to me, would i get better with practice and be able to get tighter groups lefty over righty?

You are less likely to use bad habits when shooting weak side since you haven't acquired any yet and it all feels unnatural - therefore you will get on the gun, position your hand, squeeze the trigger, follow through, etc. with reasonable care. Weak side won't be faster (or even as fast), but it shouldn't be less accurate (assuming a supported position here - unsupported is another story).