Author Topic: My youngest daughter...  (Read 1749 times)

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Offline Jeff Vicars

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My youngest daughter...
« on: December 15, 2002, 04:47:07 PM »
Tana has been hunting since she was 10 years old, she is now thirteen. She has harvested 9 head of big game(1 with a muzzle loader, 2 with a handgun and the rest with a TC carbine).
    It took me awhile to recognize the reason for her trouble shooting and finding her target in the scope. She is right handed and left eye dominant, simple huh...close your left eye. Well she cannot close her left eye without closing both. I first thought a red dot would allow her to leave both eyes open and find the target, this didn't work(she said she saw 2 of everything). Next we tried electical tape on the left side of her shooting glasses using the red dot. It worked.
    I talked to a friend with a young boy that has a similar problem shooting a bow, he suggested we try a "pirate patch" he bought at a drug store. It worked even better than the tape. Tana complains that using the patch causes things to look darker, so I'm going to experiment some more.
    I have a product ordered made by Dvorak Instruments called Soft Eye. It is a soft tube with collapsible bellows that fits over the scope and extends back to cover the eye. My hopes are she will be able to use a scope without the patch.

Offline Daveinthebush

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Tana has to shoot left handed!
« Reply #1 on: December 15, 2002, 05:21:42 PM »
I remember my first bow. Could not hit a barn with it. Then someone checked for my eye dominance. Hummm.. Left eye and right handed.  
There is no way for me to shoot a bow or rifle right handed, I have to shoot left.  Why not just let her shoot left handed.  It hasn't hurt me except in gun selection.  I shoot bow, rifle and shotgun lefty.  Pistol with either although the right is prefered.

If she shoots lefty she will be able to have both eyes open shoot much better than one-eyed!
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Offline Jeff Vicars

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My youngest daughter...
« Reply #2 on: December 16, 2002, 04:47:23 AM »
She has tried shooting left handed. She finds it awkward and uncomfortable and refuses to shoot that way.

Offline DB Leath

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Left Eye dominant.
« Reply #3 on: December 16, 2002, 07:01:27 AM »
Jeff,
  I am glad you requested this forum and proud that you took on moderating it for us.  
  I am in the same situation as your daughter.  I am right handed and left eye dominant.  I never had anyone tell me that as a youngster buy somehow I started shooting lefthanded to compinsate for it.  While its a pain sometimes, I shoot so much better that way its uncomfortable to shoot the other way.  I also shoot pool left handed too.  I guess its the same deal .  

  I am also a certified instructor for the Boy Scouts of America. I teach archery and BB shooting to boys age from 6 on up.  Checking for eye dominance is one of the first things we do when the kids start shooting. If they are like your daughter and are rh and left eye dominant we ask them to shoot left handed, and vice a versa.  Most of the time they catch on pretty quickly.  I try to give the ones that are having a hard time getting used to it the opprotunity to see how much easier it is to hit the target shooting with the dominant eye.  
  In short I would keep trying to get her to shoot lefthanded. Thats going to be best for her in the long run.  It might just take her awhile to get over the change.  Its usually easier the earlier you get started. Since she is older it is harder to change her habit to shoot right handed.  
   On another subject.  When I shoot handguns I do shoot right handed but I do shoot with both eyes open, even with scopes.  I dont know when I started doing that but I cant even do it the other way now.  
  Hopefully this helps,  hang in there it will pay off .
  I am looking forward to my son, Nathan age 8 to starting to hunt with me.
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Offline Jeff Vicars

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My youngest daughter...
« Reply #4 on: December 16, 2002, 01:45:30 PM »
I can't get her to shoot left handed, it's hard to push a rope.
The only time she has shot a gun larger than a 22lr, has been at game. Because of this she hasn't developed a flinch or learned bad habits. Tana shoots really well with her patch. Low light is when she has trouble.

Offline Daveinthebush

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Not too hard, can be done for under $3,000
« Reply #5 on: December 18, 2002, 07:36:34 AM »
Hold one had up with the thumb extended up.
Line up the thumb at arms length with an object in the distance with both eyes open., 30 feet or so.
Close one eye at a time.  
The eye that is open, and the thumb remains on the distant object is the master eye.
The eye that is open, and the object shifts is the weaker eye.

Told you, for under $3,000 dollars!
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Offline Jose Grande

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My youngest daughter...
« Reply #6 on: January 11, 2003, 08:33:10 PM »
Jeff, I'm guessing she does'nt wear glasses? Get a piece a opaque tape & put it on the lens of her shooting glasses so that it blocks the view of the target, not all vison. The man who trained me to be a pistol coach was an Olmpian (pistol) shooter & later coach. He showed me where it is better to let light in to the other eye when shooting. By other I'm refering to the one not looking at the sight. Any questions, just PM or e-mail me. I've been teaching kids to shoot several yrs.
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Offline Jeff Vicars

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My youngest daughter...
« Reply #7 on: January 12, 2003, 06:19:30 AM »
We'll give it a try. Thank you.

Offline Bad Bob

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Left eye, Right handed
« Reply #8 on: March 21, 2003, 06:05:29 PM »
You guys are all on the right track.  I have taught 15-20 kids to shoot left
handed in this situation.  They immediately start hitting and some can't believe what they have discovered.  I am working with an 8 yr. old that thanks me for switching him every lesson we have.  Some of them fight it for a little while but they usually switch.  Some of them now shoot trap for money and hold a natural high gun and make it look easy.  It gives me a ego trip to hug them when they do really good.  Its simple, put the gun under the dominant eye.  I find the best and quickest test for the dominant eye is to hand them a camera and say take my picture.  I usually do it without explaining what Ime up to and I catch them immediately when they naturally take the camera to the dominant eye.  Lot simplier than the finger pointing that can get confusing to some.  The camera has worked on kids as young  as 3-4 years old.  
I usually have them bring their mother to the session.  For your info.

Offline Crayfish

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My youngest daughter...
« Reply #9 on: April 02, 2003, 08:49:47 AM »
I'm one of those "lucky" ones with a dominant left eye and am right handed.  I have NEVER been able to shoot a scoped rifle with both eyes open ... just won't work.  I have to close my left eye.  But, I have somehow managed to train myself to be able to shoot a bow with both eyes open with no ill effects.

I think the biggest problem with the cross dominance for me has been wing-shooting.  I am a really BAD bird hunter!!  I wish I had learned to shoot left handed for this reason alone.  Everything else I can deal with.  Do your daughter a favor and get her to REALLY try shooting left handed, at least if she ever intends to do any shotgunning.  Other than that, one trick I've heard but never tried is to smear a little dab of vaseline on left lens of her shooting glasses.  Just enough to slightly blur the vision of that eye.  She'll still get the light and see movement, etc, but her right eye will be able to sight normally.

Good luck !!!   .... Crayfish