Cross Eye Dominance & Closing the Weak Eye

ReluctantDecoy

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I'm a righty, but very cross eye dominant. When I started, I was using a righty isosceles stance and both eyes open. Figured out how to focus and had decent results. The problem is that targeting is still a bit slow. I've recently messed around with closing my weak eye and trying Weaver. Weaver just somehow feels more natural with my crosseye issue. Not sure why. Targeting is much faster, but I feel that this is a set up for long term failure in an emergency setting.

How do others handle this situation? Just keep training with both eyes open? Try switching to left? Carbines are even worse with this issue and iron sights. I've learned to use my weak eye for targeting, but it isn't great. Might need to go red dot, but I want to know how to accurately shoot with iron sights for SHTF situations (dead battery, broken red dot, etc).
 
It depends, some people use them as a training tool, I use mine all the time. 10% of men are cross dominate and 50% of woman are as well.

OK. Thank you. I might give it a try, but I am a little concerned how this would affect my shooting ability in a real self defense scenario where I'd most likely not have the visual aid. Might try a little lefty shooting next time I go to see if there is any advantage.
 
I'm a righty, but very cross eye dominant. When I started, I was using a righty isosceles stance and both eyes open. Figured out how to focus and had decent results. The problem is that targeting is still a bit slow. I've recently messed around with closing my weak eye and trying Weaver. Weaver just somehow feels more natural with my crosseye issue. Not sure why. Targeting is much faster, but I feel that this is a set up for long term failure in an emergency setting.

How do others handle this situation? Just keep training with both eyes open? Try switching to left? Carbines are even worse with this issue and iron sights. I've learned to use my weak eye for targeting, but it isn't great. Might need to go red dot, but I want to know how to accurately shoot with iron sights for SHTF situations (dead battery, broken red dot, etc).
Squint the dominant eye. You don't lose peripheral but it causes your brain to switch eye dominance.
Or just use a modified stance like I do. Left foot slight forward, head slight right.

For rifle I just momentarily close the dominant eye.
 
I have the same issue. Left eyed, right handed. I shoot my pistol with my left eye and my shotgun with my right. I also realize if there's a bump in the night i likely won't have my contacts, so having night sights is helpful.
 
put a tape dot on your shooting glasses right over your pupil. You still get peripheral vision but can clearly see the sights.

Morgan Optical Sport Glasses - Olean, NY - Magic Dot

Thanks for the advice. I don't have eyesight issues, but have been trying to get out of the habit of closing my non-dominant eye. I read somewhere that you should put Chapstick over the non-dominant lense of your shooting glasses. I'd much rather remove tape than clean Chapstick from my glasses!

John
 
Work on your draw and natural point of aim. You have 3 choices really...

1. Make sure the gun comes up under your dominant eye (requires a slight shift of gun to left)
2. Turn your chin to the right and align eye with gun.
3. Combination of both.

I just shoot from a 'boxing stance' basically. Opening your hips and squaring up to the target with one foot slightly back will aid in consistency, is realistic, and allow you to be mobile.
 
Work on your draw and natural point of aim. You have 3 choices really...

1. Make sure the gun comes up under your dominant eye (requires a slight shift of gun to left)
2. Turn your chin to the right and align eye with gun.
3. Combination of both.

I just shoot from a 'boxing stance' basically. Opening your hips and squaring up to the target with one foot slightly back will aid in consistency, is realistic, and allow you to be mobile.

My body wants to naturally lead with my left foot ahead of my right in my stance, so I've modified the regular isosceles in foot placement and head tilt. It's kind of funny that I just naturally got there out of comfort, so I think you're on to something.

Still, I'm kind of stuck in a bit of stance limbo, as my mongrel stance still doesn't feel 100% right. Maybe that's just something I'll have to get used to. My arms are a perfect triangle like an isosceles, but the lower part of my body is halfway to a weaver. I don't think that's a good combo. Maybe I should practice full weaver.
 
Still, I'm kind of stuck in a bit of stance limbo, as my mongrel stance still doesn't feel 100% right. Maybe that's just something I'll have to get used to. My arms are a perfect triangle like an isosceles, but the lower part of my body is halfway to a weaver. I don't think that's a good combo. Maybe I should practice full weaver.

2mxona.jpg
 
I've had friends who had success using a smudge of Vaseline across the lens of their shooting glasses on the dominant side. Shooting both eyes open, the non-dominant eye takes over.
 
My solution was to go with what my body wanted to do to correct the problem. Changed my stance just a bit and tilted my head to the right, lining up the sights with my left eye.
Practice, practice, practice and this becomes natural and automatic. I sent 2,000 rounds downrange in a week, slowly and deliberately at first then gradually faster. Now everything lines up great.

This works so well that it is hard to change once the muscle memory is established. I tried a red dot sight on this pistol. The gun came up with the iron sights lined up. I had to take the extra step of dropping the pistol down to align the red dot.
I mounted the red dot on my shotgun and left well enough alone - using the iron sights on the pistol
 
I'm right handed. I shoot rifle right handed/eye. I play hockey left handed. My right hook is a bomb when I chuck it. I am left eye dominate and for pistol when I'm shooting bullseye out to 50 yards I use my left eye. If I'm shooting inside of 25 yards and fast I use both eyes. You can shoot either or, I suggest if you decide to do both eyes make sure you shoot regularly or one of your eyes will think its boss and try to take over. Running drills inside of 25 I'm fastest with both eyes using irons.
 
I'm right handed. I shoot rifle right handed/eye. I play hockey left handed. My right hook is a bomb when I chuck it. I am left eye dominate and for pistol when I'm shooting bullseye out to 50 yards I use my left eye. If I'm shooting inside of 25 yards and fast I use both eyes. You can shoot either or, I suggest if you decide to do both eyes make sure you shoot regularly or one of your eyes will think its boss and try to take over. Running drills inside of 25 I'm fastest with both eyes using irons.
You sound like my dad.

He shot a rifle either handed, but pistol right-only. He could only golf left, and shot a bow left. He threw right, but could bat from either side, and preferred left. After shattering his right arm early in 9th grade, he spent the rest of the year writing left-handed; he could write with either hand the rest of his life.

His dad was fully ambidextrous. A semi-pro catcher, he could take a ball in each hand, take two strides and throw both, and hit his target with both.

I'm fully right-handed, but some creeping age-related issues with my right eye has me monitoring my options.
 
I would say I'm a switch hitter but some "guys" in here would get excited. I can pick up a bat and hit a ball from each side of the plate. I usually only bat lefty when I'm playing wiffleball because I swing too hard righty. :)
 
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