Right hand to Left !

[Pat B.]

Due to some aches and pains I'm going to try to shoot left handed for a while... Been a righty all my life and my right eye is dominant.

Any advice from those who have done this ?  Should I try to close the right eye or leave it open and hope to compensate?
ANY HELP AT ALL WOULD BE APPRECIATED!!!!

[STIKNSTRINGBOW]

Glen St.Charles said, if you shoot instinctive keep your eyes (both of them) on the mark and practise. Train your "computer" in you head.It matters not wich eye is dominant.

[Larry247]

I'm right handed and right eye dominant, but can shoot left handed pretty well.

Start out close and try closing one eye first and see how well you can adjust. After time you'll be shooting with both open i'm sure.

Good luck..

[rbbhunt]

My last wife was right handed and left eye dominant.  She wore an eye patch on her left eye for a while shooting and after a while was able to dispense with the eye patch.  It's easier than trying to keep one eye closed.

[Ken Taylor]

I started as a youth and shot well for several years right handed with both eyes open because that is how my friends did it. I didn't know anything about the dominant eye thing.

When someone told me about it, I discovered that I was left eye dominant, got paranoid and decided I'd better shoot left handed so I switched.

In retrospect I think it is more natural for me as a right handed person to point with my right hand. Now I wonder why the heck they call that left handed shooting!

I sincerely think that you can adjust with time and with a proper shooting method (which I really didn't have back then and I still did it)

[WidowEater]

you have to go pure instinctive, no split vision, no arrow reference, only instinctive, have to focus on target and nothing else or you wont be able to hit anything.

I was naturally right ahanded and tried it and just gave up and switched to left bc i couldnt do it

However my accuracy greatly improved if i closed my dominant eye while shooting right handed so it wouldnt mess withme

[Quill Flinger]

I shoot both left & right, instinctively. There are advantages as you can train yourself proper form from the get-go. All it takes is practice & don't over-bow yourself, start off light & easy & take your time. It won't happen overnight.

Good luck!

P.S. - stick to one or the other, otherwise you'll become a bowaholic having to have both lefties & righties!

[mike g]

Pat....
   I'm right handed and left eye dom....I used to keep my left eye closed....
   I taught myself to keep both eyes open, makes ya dizzy at first, now it's big deal, I also taught myself to shoot left handed....
   The hardest part at first is nocking the arrow....after that it's no big deal...
   My next bow I want it tobe a ambi bow with no shelf, so I can use both sides....
   It just takes a little practice and you will get it soon enough....

[Ken E.]

Pat,

Due to a shoulder injury I had to switch to left handed a couple of years ago.  It takes a little getting used at first but you have to stick with it.  I found that I have to shoot with both eyes open and shoot instictive.  By doing this I shoot accurately. If I try to use any other method such as gap or point of aim everything falls apart because my right (dominant) eye takes over.

Good luck

Ken