Hey all,
I think I am doomed. My 10 year old son seems to be left eye dominate. I have to find him a Left handed bow in the 20#-25# range. I am soooo Doomed. I have had so much fun finding my other kids bows. There are Skadds of them out there. Recurves take downs longbows... but when you scan the evilbay website the only bows that are left handed are old hills at 65# plus. Next stop the Trad classifieds. If any of you lefties have any words of wisdom, bring them on.
Feeling in a Sinister Mood,
Brian Gillispie
look at it this way.more of a challange more fun.
there out there.yes im a lefty
flitz
Why? I say Don't switch him if he's righty.
Don't you shoot traditional with both eyes opened?
Kinda young to determine eye dominacy.
What is his draw lenght?
One of my sons was right handed and left eye dominant. Changing over to left hand was a challenge, and very awkward at first. Within a couple of weeks though he was shooting better then he ever did right handed.
Good luck!
My son is right handed and left eye dominant. I tried to get him to shoot left handed and he tried it for a week. He shoots right handed now and can durn near out shoot me...
no big deal, check out black rhino bows, my son , myself and wife are left eye , and we have had o problems with finding bows.
Hey all,
His draw length is 21 inches.
Kingstanken, I always thought you simply do the look at the point on the wall through your hands and close one eye. If the point goes out of you field of vision looking through the hole in your hands then ..You were that eye dominate. Saw him shooting his nerf dart gun today. Rifle in right hand with stock on left shoulder to sight with his left eye. I think thats Left Domanant.
I would never try to change that. My bloodline has lots of Screwed up dyslexia caused by elementry school teachers Forceing issues.
Brian Gillispie
Give Mike a call at Maddog Archery. He makes great left hand bows for left eye dominant kids. Just ask my daughter!
(http://inlinethumb52.webshots.com/3571/2614910560049369050S500x500Q85.jpg) (http://sports.webshots.com/photo/2614910560049369050sAoeQW)
Brian i've got one just like your lookin for. It's an inature recurve 25# i think. If you want to let him shoot it send me a pm with your shipping adress and i'll get it out to ya Monday...
Dominant eye is important for shooting rifles; but makes no difference for basketballs, hockey pucks, footballs, baseballs or trad archery-both eyes are open.
Get him a bow that can shoot both sides, I do not have a dominate eye. With some people the lines between left and right handed are not so black and white. There is one thing, if shoots one and develops a flinch or an injury, he can just switch. some of these got it right, i always thought that way until I was proven the brain washing to be wrong.
Switched my son last year(7yrs. old), did the dominant eye test and found out he was left eye dom., he was awkward at first but he started shooting great in no time.
I very strongly believe it does make a difference, even if both eyes are open........
If your shooting purely instinctive, no aiming just concentrating on a spot both eyes open it makes no difference at all.
Try this non believers, cover your right eye if your right handed shoot your bow. Right handed with only your left eye. Give me a report back on how good your doing with it. Its the same effect.
Shotgunning is also a form of instinctive shooting. You won't find a serious shotgunner shooting off the weak eye.
Its not a question if it can be done, however you will never be as good as you could be, done correctly.
Saying it matters not is poor advice JMHO
I'm with Guru. I switched as an adult and it absolutely makes a difference. I'm right handed but left eyed.
You can shoot acceptably well cross dominant but there will be a distance where your accuracy just drastically drops off. Your accuracy will deteriorate as you increase the shooting distance with your dominant side but the drastic drop in accuracy at a certain distance just won't be there.
Good friend has switched both his left eye dom. kids over to left hand and I wouldn't want to go up against either of them for accuracy. Took a little time "couple weeks" for them to switch but they are liking it more and far more accurate.
QuoteOriginally posted by hormoan:
Try this non believers, cover your right eye if your right handed shoot your bow. Right handed with only your left eye. Give me a report back on how good your doing with it. Its the same effect.
Shotgunning is also a form of instinctive shooting. You won't find a serious shotgunner shooting off the weak eye.
Its not a question if it can be done, however you will never be as good as you could be, done correctly.
Saying it matters not is poor advice JMHO
As stated aiming or closing one eye is not purely instinctive archery. Shotgunning which I do plenty of is not a form of instinctive shooting as your sighting down a barrel with one eye closed to a focus point at the end of the barrel and beyond to your target. When I shoot a long gun (rifle or shotgun) with or without a scope I must shoot left handed as I'm right handed LED. Same for a compound bow with a peep sight. Pistols I shoot with both eyes open and I have won my fair share of club matches and placed very high in Postal Matches shooting right handed.
Yes sir, Ive read all the books, but Its like the light comes on when shooting with your domiant eye!!!! And let me say this , " if you practice form time and time again it will become so natural...dont be a quitter...just work at it...very light poundage too, to get good form...and build up...good luck.....mark...people say oh it dont make difference..BULL FEATHERS!
QuoteOriginally posted by bayoulongbowman:
Yes sir, Ive read all the books, but Its like the light comes on when shooting with your domiant eye!!!!
So I assume your not shooting purely instinctive and aim with your dominant eye, then yes I agree it does make a difference.
MikeC
Wingshooting with a shotgun & shotshell is not done with one eye closed and aiming down the barrel. FYI
But lets stay on topic!
You're not doomed! Nothing wrong with shooting LH. Yes, bows are a little harder to find but that will come also. Check out (google) Sipsey River Traditional, he may have some lefty youth bows.
QuoteOriginally posted by hormoan:
MikeC
Wingshooting with a shotgun & shotshell is not done with one eye closed and aiming down the barrel. FYI
But lets stay on topic!
Sure is for me and everyone I know but everone is different and I guess it's just how you were originally taught or started, and I agree lets stay on topic although your the one who brought it up originally. :)
I can't speak for everyone but....
I am right eye Dom but have always shot left. A month ago I started shooting right sometimes and I can see that I could be more accurate if I devoted myself entirely to righty shooting.
Does it make a difference in accuracy I say yes but there are some other things to consider. Being a lefty I can handle a bow and arrows in the field much better while shooting lefty. It is much more natural.
I dont understand whats wrong with being left eye dom.my son and myself left eye dom.No problem finding bows.
My oldest son and my daughter also have this condition. My daughter shoots left handed.
Here is an interesting thread for you...
http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=029404;p=1
MikeC
Forgive me for the reference\\ mentioning it, (this is a archery forum) but it is the closest discipline we as hunters\\target shooters use. That shoot instinctively, I had evidently miss read your post.
But now at least you know a instinctive clays\\ wingshooter also.
J-KId in his book explains that it doesn't matter. I think it is a matter of conditioning the reflex coordination. I love a good fight, but there cases to prove both points I guess.
My son is a lefty, but shoots a right handed bow. He is 7 and when I try to get him to switch to left handed shooting, he gets frustrated and doesn't want to shoot anymore. He does shoot better right handed, but may shoot better left if I could get him to keep at it. Should I just let him do what feels natural to him?
Quote from a post by Danny Rowan..."Yep lot of threads on this. Yes, HH was left eye dom and shot very,very well righty. Acouple of other noted bowhunters were just the oposite. Fred Bear and Glenn St. Charles was and is right handed and right dominant. Both switched to shooting left handed to cure bad cases of Target Panic and took a ton of animals that way. Glenn says in his book "Billets to Bows" that the dominant eye does not make a hill of beans when shooting instinctivly. He is correct. Dr. Jay Kidwell says the same thing. I am right handed and left eye dominant and shoot righty and have for over 35 years. Do what you want and what is comfortable for you, but have fun and Practice,Practice,Practice."
I am left eye dominet and have shot compound for years (Righthanded) and was considered a very good shot. I use a right handed long bow and am starting to make good shots with this as well. I tried to change over. Just could not do it. Not comfortable.
Sometimes, something you think matters only matters in a debate, not in practice.
Is there ANY hard evidence, actual studies, qualitative, quntitative or whatever (mixed methods would be the last) that proves you cannot shoot accuratly being cross dominant? Or one is more accurate than the other?
Just wondering it would be interesting to read.
Later
Jason
Just wnet on the web looking for something and though you find alot of forum stuff just like what is here no actual report or study. Course I looked for all of 5 minutes!! LOL
This has got me interested-now I want to see some numbers.
Later
J
Rome , was built in a day...when I switched it took me months of practice, new muscels being used new anchor point , it all takes some practice and time...I promise you will thank me later..remember dont quit!dont give up after few days...good luck future Lefties or righties,,LOL Mark#78
My son is left eye dominent and shoots right handed, and i did try to switch him. I'm glad i didn't. Look on the Back from ATAR thread page six. He won first place in the cub class and brought home a very nice feather for first place.He is a good little shooter.
I am also left eye dominant but shoot right or left handed Ithank that you should shoot what ever is more natural for each individual. if you are not comfortable you will never shoot well
MikeC..... Stated ""Fred Bear and Glenn St. Charles was and is right handed and right dominant. Both switched to shooting left handed to cure bad cases of Target Panic and took a ton of animals that way."""
Mike Fred Bear shot left handed cause he was missin the tip of his right ring finger...
My son is also cross dominant. Right hand, left eye. He would shot a toy gun with his right hand under his left eye. I switched him to left hand at age of 4. Never been a problem.
Only makes sense to shot dominate eye. Seems that you would have cover the taget with the bow to shoot cross dominante or compensate in some other way.
Bigger problem for him with guns because bolt actions are on the wrong side and auto loaders shoot across his face.
the importance of shooting from the dominant eye is magnified if you are shooting "instinctively" as defined by Mr Asbell. The reason being that binocular vison (shooting with both eyes open) increases our ability to judge distances (depth perception). Also, the arrow being in a straight line with the anchor and pointing (bow) hand forms a natural extension ("like pointing your finger"). If a shooter (either consciously or unconsciously) "aims", then they have a tendency to "overide" the dominant eye.
Bottom line, if you've found a method of shooting that works, it would be hard for me to suggest that you try something different, even more difficult to convince you of my point of view....and probably presumptuous on my part...
QuoteOriginally posted by 2fletch:
One of my sons was right handed and left eye dominant. Changing over to left hand was a challenge, and very awkward at first. Within a couple of weeks though he was shooting better then he ever did right handed.
Good luck!
Same experience here. Kids can sure learn the change better then adults. When Josh was young, I keep trying to test for eye dominance and all I got was giggles. :biglaugh: :biglaugh: We finally got it right a few years ago.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v166/BobCo/Stuff/000_0043.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v166/BobCo/More%20Stuff/JoshSelfBow2.jpg)
I watched a lady shoot at the range a couple of years ago. She was just starting out and had been told she was left eye dominant so she was shooting a left handed bow.
She was telling me she was having accuracy problems. I stood behind her and watched her shoot. When she was holding her bow at draw she was pointed off the the side of her intended point of aim.
I explained to her that archery is fairly simple in that the arrow goes to where it is pointed. If you start out pointed to the side that is basically where you end up.
I had her try her friends right handed bow and she was good to go.
I myself am left handed but right eye dominant. I shoot guns and bows right handed with no issues.
Some people can shoot well cross-dominant, but I don't think the majority of us can. I struggled for ages trying to improve my shooting right handed being left eye dominant. A buddy finally got me to try a trip around the bow range with his wife's left handed recurve one day and I could not believe how much everything fell into place! Awkward for a while but surprisingly easy to make the switch--even in my fifties! Kids are far more adaptable--switch him! It does make a difference.
I'm left handed, but right eye dominant. Learned/Learning to do lots of things right handed....
you have to go with the vision. Everything else can adapt.
BobW
One thing I have found works pretty good for the little ones is. Cut a 1/2" or so hole in the center of a full size piece of paper. Hold it up in front of them, and have them get close and peek thought the hole. They will usually always use there dominate eye to peek with.
I'm super strong left eye dominant, like your son. I have played sport all my life from basketball to football to golf to baseball all right handed, left eye dominant. I place forks, spoons and knifes in my right hand. I use my right handed mouse on my computer. I use my right hand with the TV clicket, a coffee mug, etc.
My brain KNOWS how to compensate my right handedness with my left eyeness, it does it every waking minute of my life.
So does your son's.
Now, why would you change up his hand/eye/mind coordination with switching him to left handed bows ? Are you going to make him do everything left handed ?
I'm a pretty good shot, better than most to be honest, Howard Hill, Larry Yein .... both cross dominant. I've argued this for ages, and still am in the belief that since I do everything else cross dominant, its MORE natural for me to shoot a right handed bow too.
Just my thoughts on the subject, which differ from most I know
Brad
After shooting right handed for 35 yrs, switching to left handed because of eye dominance was a tough decision for me. But I think I'm a better shot now that I've switched. I won't let my son shoot cross dominate because of all the years of frustation that I put up with. There's no shortage of LH adult bows, but you may have to look harder for a lightweight bow for your son. Best of luck to you and your son!
He's got a lefty on the way. I shipped it out after noon today...
I am with you Brad.
Yes Fred Bear was missing the tip of his ring finger, but the point is he was right handed and right eye dominant and shot lefty. The only time eye dominance matters if if you are trying to use an aiming system. I do not, I look at what I want to hit and I shoot.Main thing is shoot the way you want and can and have fun.
Danny
Read on more than one occasion that a certain bowhunter by the name of "Howard Hill" ;) was right -handed, but left eye dominate and shot right-handed longbows...
Don't know about the rest of you, but there will NEVER be anybody who ever comes close to that man... :) ;)
Let the boy shoot what feels good for him.
BD