How to overcome dominant eye problem (scopes/sights)?
 

when looking down an iron sight or scope, you have both eyes open: one eye down the sight, the other eye for peripheral vision.

The problem I have is that my dominant eye is my left eye, so when I look down a sight/scope with my right eye - I end up only seeing out my left eye or my left eye catches a glimpse of the iron sight and the gun ends up lining up with my left eye. It's only when I close my left eye, that I realize that the gun is in fact pointing in a different direction.

How do others overcome the dominant eye problem? Thanks!

shoot left handed your left eye will always be the dominent eye and you will be a far more accurate shooter with your left eye

I'm not sure what you mean here. I'm right handed and my dominant eye is the left one.

With all my AEGs, I'm using the right eye to aim anyway. because it's physically impossible to use the left eye with a shouldered, right handed weapon.

For a pistol, I don't think it matter much which eye you use to aim. As long as one eye is aligned with the sights.

I slightly close my left eye so that it is easier to look through the right eye and down the sights. It sort of makes vision through the left eye blurry but you can still see around you with it.

rifle I use lefty because I'm left eye dominant but right handed and smg/pistol I use right hand

how come a lot of airsofters prefer using their left hand?

Cause it feels like a stranger.

This thread reminds me of a crappy film starring Tommy Lee Jones in which he plays a veteran attack chopper pilot running some new leather through the training.

One Cadet/trainee had a dominant eye problem which threatened his career. For him to overcome this problem, a makeshift periscope (taped around his head) with the Lazy/non dominant eye covered was used to help the trainee learn to do things with the passive eye. Mind you, this activity was driving a jeep around the barracks,which I do not suggest.

But maybe try something similar around the house with an eye patch.

100 internets to the first person to buzz in with the movie title.

Well, im left handed :P

Fire Birds. I was thinking of the same thing.

contact lenses

+1. I'm trying to overcome it too, right handed, left eye dominant. There's a big thread on it on lightfighter.

Fire Birds? One of the worst movies, ever?

edit: Damn, too late.

Dammit!

I'm left handed-left eyed. I bought an L85 with a blowback bolt so I have to shoulder it on the right (unless I want my teeth smashed out) I found that if I squint my left eye almost closed it helps alot, and the longer I do it the more I get used to it and the less effort it takes. Another solution is to use a red dot sight. I found this to be the best -for me anyway, as the rest of my guns I use left handed.

As far I'm concerned it's purely mental training. Practice, find the best way to shoot your gun fast (as in rapid sight picture).

That's pretty close, your eyes are muscles after all. You can exercise and strengthen them.

well... i consulted my optometrist frined.....the only way to"fix" this problem is to wear an eye patch over your dominant left eye for several months... the same way you fix a lazy eye. your left eye is dominant because the muscles in that eye are stronger. dont use your left eye for months and only using your right eye will strenghten your right eye and it MAY become dominant... but not for sure. so if you're willing to look like a pirate for the 50/50 chance of switching yoru dominant eye... well... that's up to you.... i suppose it's a question of how far you're willing to go for the sport eh?

No downsides to looking like a Pirate, free grog, lots of wenches, maybe a boat ride or two in the meantime.

As a side note I shoot pistol in a modified Quell stance (2 eyes open pistol in right hand left eye on the sights) and rifle etc with a tradional right handed stance, scope and iron sights rifle with left eye closed and right eye on the sights, and red dot with right and right again but both eyes open.

Keep both eyes open while searching for a target. Once you spot one, most likely with your left eye, close it and fire with only your Right Eye. Once you hit 'em, open up the Left again and use it to scan.

Here's the thing, there is stuff on the net about right hand left eye problems - it's a problem that plague shooters of all sorts, including archers.

There are only 3 solutions recommended by professionals:
1) eye patch over left eye
2) quick target acquisition using both eyes, close left eye for precision aiming
3) shoot with the left hand

However, the recommendation on the net are for recreational shooters aiming mostly at static targets. In other words the targets aren't shooting back.

The reason why I ask this question here, is that the targets do shoot back so method 2 above may not work. It may - but I don't know, and was wondering if people have actually tried it in a rifle gunfight. Snipers don't count, as you're not shooting under as much pressure as someone in CQB. In CQB, I imagine that it would waste a few milliseconds closing your left eye before you could shoot. I know for me, and as others mentioned here - closing your left eye results in a little blurred vision in the right.

The only way I see out of this for me is option 3. However, it would be interesting to read the accounts of airsofters who have used method 2 successfully in non-sniper shooting.

I do it all the time. I use both eyes when scanning, and when I see an enemy, I close my Left Eye so that I can center the Dot in my Reflex RDS properly, since I find it harder to do if both Eyes are open. But I've always dine it that way, so it may be an acquired skill. I've never found it to waste time because you're already aiming while closing your Left Eye, and by the time it's fully closed, you've already fired a few BBs, and less than a second passes during that full motion. Just experiment with different techniques out there and you'll find something that works for you eventually.

I also have the right hand/left eye problem.

I found that I can "precision aim" using both eyes.

Just have to adjust the crosshair with both eyes open and all. Takes a while to master, but one you can do it, you get about 80% faster than any closed eye technique. In short, you concentrate on looking for targets, then simply pointing the gun at it will bring the crosshair in your field of view. (kinda hard to explain)

If I can do it with a 6x scope, I guess RDS will be a breeze.