Left handed shooting

[rock]

Hi
My right eye especially right in the center of vision is no where near as good as my left. It's not a lense correct thing it's at the back of the eye.

I am relatively ambidextrous should I consider trying out left handed shooting does anyone offer left eye right sided gun optics (a periscope on its side as the sight still needs to be over the barrel or you would have loads of extra calculations to do for changing range)

This is very much thinking aloud and I have noticed that left handed rifles 2nd hand are very good value.

 

[Eric the Red]

If the natural diopter correction aids do not allow you to effectively shoot off the right shoulder then you should certainly consider shooting off your left. Some would say it was good training to shoot off either shoulder. I'm not sure I fully understand what you are seeking from your optics question - but with an ambidextrous stock no reason why you cannot shoot left handed with a right handed rifle - or take the leap to the dark side and operate fully left handed.

 

[jthyttin]

There are solutions that enable shooting from one shoulder and using the other eye. Here's a commercial one from Finland, that is quite universal. They don't have English translation for that particular product.

Osumajalka kiikarin siirtoon oik. / vasen 30mm /30mm | Ampumatarvikkeet | Osumaproducts

shop.osumaproducts.fi

It's quite easy to knock up something similar, to see how awkward it feels. You can e.g. put a length of 1" or 30mm tube in the original rings, attach a pair of these and then use another set of rings to attach the scope to the left side.

Rifle Scope Accessory Rails - Tube Body Fitting Torch Laser Rail Ring Mount | 25mm 30mm 35mm

www.ant-supplies.uk

EDIT: you don't have to tilt the rifle and move scope on top of barrel. If the scope is, let's say 5cm to the left, you can either accept that shot will be 5cm to the right at all distances or zero it so that sight line and bore line intersect at some point (then shot will be 0-5cm right until that distance, and 0-Xcm left after that, simple trigonometrics)

 

[Crowstalker]

I'm left handed bit right eye dominant, I generally just close my right eye and force myself to use my left eye I done it that much now it just feels natural I don't even realise I'm doing it now. And I only have one left hand gun, alough I am thinking of changing my rifles go left handed just so I can enjoy shooting even more why should I have to put up with something that's not designed for my orientation?

 

[VSS]

EDIT: you don't have to tilt the rifle and move scope on top of barrel. If the scope is, let's say 5cm to the left, you can either accept that shot will be 5cm to the right at all distances or zero it so that sight line and bore line intersect at some point (then shot will be 0-5cm right until that distance, and 0-Xcm left after that, simple trigonometrics)

Triggernometrics, perhaps?

 

[palmer_mike]

Hi
My right eye especially right in the center of vision is no where near as good as my left. It's not a lense correct thing it's at the back of the eye.

I am relatively ambidextrous should I consider trying out left handed shooting does anyone offer left eye right sided gun optics (a periscope on its side as the sight still needs to be over the barrel or you would have loads of extra calculations to do for changing range)

This is very much thinking aloud and I have noticed that left handed rifles 2nd hand are very good value.

Following eye cancer and radioactive treatment that buggered my right eye I simply swapped to shooting left handed (left eyed ).
It’s really not that tricky to train yourself to do, took maybe a couple of hours at a range to be confident enough to shoot deer off a rest (high seat, sticks, bipod etc)

 

[HandB]

I am right handed and right eye dominant but sometimes shoot left handed left eyed for fun. It's pretty easy to do even with minimal practice so well worth trying if your left eye is the better eye.

 

[opticron1]

This topic pops up now and again - much of the time due to deteriorating eyesight in the previously dominant eye. I had to switch to left handed shooting due to a loss of sight in my right eye and manged to deal with it fairly well. Right hand stocks can be a wee bit of a faff at times, but by and large most stocks are easy to get used to with a bit of practice. One stalker suggested I should have swapped over before I lost the eye as he reckoned I shot better off my left shoulder....cheeky bugger!
See if you can borrow or try out a couple of different stocked rifles and see how you get on

 

[LeftHandGuy]

To answer your original question, yes you should consider shooting left handed.

A true left hand bolt can certainly make the experience easier, faster, more convenient, but unless you have a really aggressive rollover style cheek-piece, you can almost certainly try it with what you already have.

I am left handed, and coincidentally blind in my right eye, so I don't have a lot of choice, but I have also worked as a shooting instructor, and it has been my overwhelming experience that people shoot better with their stronger eye. Even though for some it can feel clumsy or awkward at first.

So, not only should you try it, but if the issue with your right eye is deteriorating rapidly, or you have reason to think that it might, then I would get on with getting comfortable with using your left eye sooner rather than later.

Then down the line, dedicated left-hand rifles can be a real treat, although I must confess to having a strong attraction to straight stocked ambidextrous single shot rifles.

 

[chriswjx]

Aside from forcing to close your right/dominant eye, you can also position a scope flip cover to obscure your non-aiming eye. I do that with my target rifle when I occasionally shoot off the right shoulder.

I personally don't like having to close my left eye - always feels like a struggle to do, almost like I'm "fighting" it...