Anyone Ever Had to Relearn Wing Shooting Left Handed After Being A Righty?

[gdr_11]

At my advanced stage of life (70's) I have lost 80% of the vision in my right eye but I would like to do some wing shooting again before I kick the big one. I was always an excellent wing shot with a shotgun and enjoyed decades of dove, duck and pheasant hunting but I have been unable to see an adequate sight picture right handed for a few years now and I find it uncomfortable to try to shoot left handed at flying targets.

I have decided to go for it and relearn wing shooting from the left side. My left eye is my master eye and always has been because of the poor vision I have always had in my right eye. I always closed my left eye when shooting a shotgun right handed but kept both eyes open when shooting a rifle left handed because my right eye was not good enough to focus on the sights, even through a scope.

Anyway, wondered if anyone has relearned wing shooting this way and how difficult is was. Part of me thinks it should not be a big deal but I won't know until I go to the trap range and try it out. Trap shooting is one thing, but instinct shooting where a bird flushes, you raise the gun, track the bird and then lead seems to be something that will take some effort to relearn after 50 years of doing it from the other side.

[Imageview]

I never had to relearn it (always shot lefty as a right hander) but the brain is pretty adaptable. Mount is gonna be a big difference, and just repetition until it becomes natural. More shot you send down range the better.

[FeuerFrei]

I had to learn to go lefty after I became 100% blind in my dominant/right eye.

The way I relearned how to shoot lefty with long guns was to actually go out and do it. Practice and accept that my great vision is now down 50%. Peripheral vision gets hard hit. So seeing anything coming from my right is damn hard to pick up. So I cheat by looking more right than I used to.

I tend to look at everything with my head turned to the right to pick up movement/objects etc. It works for me.

All I can offer is to say it can be done with practice. No magic, just practice and work it out yourself. Accept your limitations and develop your best work around. Go shoot.

[ysr_racer]

OP, maybe book a lesson with a shooting coach? They may be able to help you.

[BOBGBA]

There ae some drills that you can do inside your house with an unloaded weapon.

With a mini-maglite inserted in the muzzle, you can practice/perfect your mount and your swing.

It's kind of like dry fire practice to try and develop muscle memory. Once you feel that you have a proper/consistent mount and swing, then go to the range and give it a try.

Here are a couple of video links:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TP8cvA5PwaI

https://www.carbontv.com/shows/osp-shooting-school/seasons/1/episodes/16/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waBaFgUapW4

[gdr_11]

I think I will go back to my roots and start out with a Red Ryder BB gun shooting at pieces of 2” X 6” that someone throws up in the air. I used to do pie plates but you cant find those anymore. Will start up close then move back and have them thrown farther and faster until I can start hitting them regularly. Then I will move to the .410 and the clays.

Time will tell

[RNE228]

Will second what YSR said.

If there are coaches/instructors near you, start there.

[FeuerFrei]

Have you tried lefty? Bench rifle/pistol or?

Shooting coaches can teach lefty/ambi but you'll be hard pressed to find one that can teach one eyed shooters. They'll give you WAG's from a 2 eyed perspective.

Start with what you're gonna be using at the range. Manipulating the controls is weird. All geared to a righty. Everything is affected. IMO a BB gun is not a helpful way to proceed.

Good luck and be patient with yourself.

[MJB]

RR for the win!

Don't need no stinkin coach........yet

[Ducky's Dad]

I used to do pie plates but you cant find those anymore.

You can find them if you start eating a lot of pies. It's a dirty job, but someone has to do it.

My Dad switched from right to left after he cut off his right trigger finger in a construction accident. He shot lefty for about forty years until he quit hunting in his 70's. His tool of choice was a Parker Bros. 16 SxS, so fairly straightforward handling and loading. The accident happened when I was about five years old, and I remember him as being a pretty good wing shot. It can be done. I have thought about switching sides because of a right shoulder injury, but my temporary solution is to shoot gas semi autos to mitigate recoil. At some point I may have to go to the dark side. An option that may be worth considering would be a crossover stock that allows you to shoot righty with the dominant left eye.

[Thefeeder]

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Along with mounting and stance practice at home, I recommend starting with the lightest loads you can get your hands on for your trips to the range.

Felt recoil be will higher, maybe much higher, until you get a good mount down on your left side.

[meno377]

I agree with some here who advocate 'dry firing' at home. I would not spend money on a coach just yet. Get out to a trap range or skeet range and get some trigger time. About a thousand rounds and see if you are getting used to shooting left handed. If you are and you want to progress further THEN I would hook up with a coach. But since you have experience from the past as a right handed shooter, I wouldn't waste any money for a coach until you want to get the finer points of wing shooting.

[LCU1670]

What helped me was to do everything at home left handed too
Brush teeth, comb hair, eat, wipe butt. And dry practice, after two weeks I was already pretty good, then I went to the range, and it was pretty natural.

[Strafer]

I shot shotgun right handed from day 1 learning to shoot until I found out I was left eye dominant at age 40. When I found out, I immediately began trying to shoot trap left handed w my O/U. I practiced at home dry fire, move, mount, shoot by tracing the lines where the wall meets my ceiling in the living room. Took me about a year to do it proficiently by practicing and shooting about 1 to 2x a week. I now have a left handed 11-87 and can wingshoot left side no problem.

Good luck!

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[JagerDog]

I hope I never have to. I can't even wax the dolphin left-handed.