Left or right?

Wylyetom

Well-Known Member
Hi all, looking for a little advice. I am an avid fly fisher but also my shooting, my son who is five also enjoys coming with me whether after a trout of an evening on rabbits, my query is that recently I bought an air rifle for him ( that's what I told the wife!) it's a beautiful Bsa r10 but the stock is designed only for a right handed, obviously my other five rifles are also designed for right handed shooting but he is left handed, so my quandary is do I teach him to shoot right handed so they all work for him or do I have to tell the wife that we need yet another cabinet, I look forward to your feed back, regards Tom
 
I don't see any point in doing anything other than what is comfortable for him. I believe that the master eye doesn't develop properly until their teenage years so that shouldn't impact too much on the decision, although should be considered.

We've got one of each, although the left-hander prefers to shoot from the right shoulder.
 
Talking as a left hander with left eye dominant , don't force him right handed
Let him try n see what he feels is right ... Obviously will depend on what eye dominance he has also

To me this forcing left ganders to go right handed is Victorian times mentality

Paul
 
You should go to the side of eye dominance. At that age it is easy to swap sides. It is especially important if he moves onto shotguns. Check his dominant eye and go to that side.
I speak as a left eye dominant right handed shooter!
MS
 
I am left eyed and left handed for writing and some other two handed things like cricket and hockey. But I am a blacksmith and I hammer right handed, and have trained myself to do most things to conform to the right handed world. Hand planing on a wood work bench right handed was memorably difficult to get over.

Shooting, I always use rifles off my right shoulder. But when I started with a shotgun I had it cast for the left shoulder so I could keep both eyes open and be pointing the gun where I was looking.

If your son is comfortable with it on his right shoulder/eye then no problem. It is difficult to unlearn muscle memory and habit should he wish to change later, but it is not impossible.

If he is uncomfortable with it then get an air rifle with an ambidextrous stock which you can both use.

Alan
 
The thing about it is the main user will be yourself but he needs to see what suits him, He is young enough to learn to use both eyes and if it doesnt suit then buy the cheapest break barrel air rifle you can and Kiddon that he will use that one until you can get something more suitable for him. Just enjoy your time together.......
 
Understand the issue and I agree that he must make the decision as to what is more natural for him - over time. I would encourage trying to shoot off both shoulders, but he will take a preference.
Why not have a rifle with a more ambidextrous stock - if just one air rifle, the Daystate Airwolf has a lovely ambi stock - but depending on his age, a lighter gun - an AA S200 for example might be more easily handled - again an ambi stock.
 
Sorry Paul, its not that I am forcing him into shooting right handed, as he has never really handled a gun before, so doesn't know which way around to shoot. I have a nice short .22 rimfire with an ambidextrous stock so maybe I will let him use that and see which way around he prefers, at least all my fly rods will fit him!
 
Tom....

You may find he is one of the ones who is lucky enough to be able to shoot off either shoulder... equally well. Like me...
Either way let him choose which he is most comfortable with....

David.
 
Apologies if my comment regarding Victorian mentality was taken wrong way , wasn't aimed at you specifically , I was referring to old school and times previous when left handed was seen as a defect , and to be corrected , your obviously not of that mindset if your asking advice on it ,

Yours
Paul
 
If he can comfortably shoot off either shoulder, then you must go to his dominant eye side! Having shot clays at a fairly high level, I had some very good coaches try to convince me to shoot left handed even at an older age. I started shooting at age 6 right handed, and although I can shoot well, who knows how good I could have been if my eye lined up with my gun!:doh:
Eye dominance should be the deciding factor here.
MS
 
You should go to the side of eye dominance. At that age it is easy to swap sides. It is especially important if he moves onto shotguns. Check his dominant eye and go to that side.
I speak as a left eye dominant right handed shooter!
MS

Totally agree. It won't make a lot of difference with a rifle but he will reap.the benefits when he comes to shoot a shotgun. I too am right handed but left eye dominant and learnt at an early age to close my left eye slightly but it probably would have been better to shoot left handed.
 
Thanks everyone for your input, now all I need is someone brave enough to tell my good wife that we may need to buy another gun!!!
 
Like others have said, let him try both ways & see what feels natural to him.

But here's my story...
I'm right handed but was born with a defect in my right eye...dominant eye decided for me!
I shoot left handed & all my rifles & shotguns are either right hand stock or ambidextrous.
& the odd thing is that even though the pistol grip on a right handed stock or obviously shaped for a right hand my left hand feels at home wrapped around it but if I swap to my right hand it feels alien!...odd, but I guess it's what you get accustomed to over 40 years of doing something that way.
However some right handed stocks with a high cheek piece or extreme shapes are just too much for my left handed style!

If I had used a left handed gun initially then maybe things would be different now??...or maybe not as the bolt operation only feels natural when using my right hand.
All I can say is that only you know when something feels right...& when it feels right it works well....mmmm, well usually!!:rolleyes:
 
Wylyetom. To check your lad's eye dominance get him to point with his index finger at an object and then hold up a piece of card in front of one eye to block vision and then the opposite eye while still pointing The dominant eye is the one where the finger remains pointing at the object with no apparent movement. Then teach him to shoot off that shoulder. Good luck.
 
It will be handy for shooting off the mirror in the passenger seat if he shoots left-handed. I always shot pistol right-handed using my left eye. About 6-8th in county shoots.
 
It will be handy for shooting off the mirror in the passenger seat if he shoots left-handed. I always shot pistol right-handed using my left eye. About 6-8th in county shoots.

I hope you meant resting on the passenger mirror rather than shooting it off... :)

Alan
 
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