Has anyone had to change your shooting hand?

[Doug Casner]

I was left eye dominate . Started shooting left side a long time ago. Good thing, got in a car wreck cant even pull the trigger with my right hand. So now im a lefty. Doug

 

[Court178]

This topic is very close to me. I mainly shoot rifles left handed and pistols right handed. Although I can shoot both with the offhand. Until a couple of years ago I never bought a left handed rifle due to the fact my kids all shot right handed. Being raised on using a right handed bolt it wasn't an issue for me. My son and his wife came to a few SR bench rest matches with me and he tried shooting left handed. Decided he shot better that way so I bought a couple of left handed BR guns. In the mean time I switched to shooting right handed at matches. I had a cornea replacement and cataract surgery in one eye and could see the dot better with it. Not to mention that it was easier when sharing a bench/equipment with others. Now when asked if I'm RH or LH I tell them it doesn't make any difference to me. As far as pistols go. About 12 years ago I took a 4 day self defense class. Having taken this class previously and shooting right handed I decided to try it shooting left handed. Unnatural at first but has become second nature for me. Shooting ambidextrous has one big advantage for me. Since I can only close my right eye it has forced me to shoot with both eyes open. A person recently asked what sights I use when shooting since with both eyes open you have two sets of sights. I told her I use the ones that line up with the target. It's become so natural that when bringing a pistol up to shoot I don't even think about it anymore. One caveat about shooting pistols left handed. When doing malfunction drills some are a lot easier to use. I love my Kimber 1911 but "running" it left handed is very awkward. Mag release, slide lock, safety are all inconvenient tor left handed use. Something to consider when picking out a EDC if you're going to shoot ambidextrous.

 

[Albany Mountain]

I actually did go to two other doctors and got their feedback after they examined my eyes extensively. While they didn't comment on the initial doctors work, their assessment of the problem was such that I sure wasn't going back to the doctor that performed the lens implants (putting in lenses of the wrong prescription/power). I guess the good news is with all the examination being done is that my eye's pressures and the retina's are in very good shape. I'll soon see how tomorrows Lasik treatment goes.

Good luck!

 

[jds holler]

I was born crosseyed. Not in a major way, but just enough that I couldn't use both eyes together. So no binocular vision, and crappy depth perception.

I'm right handed, so always shot righty. But with pistol can use either eye. Now as I get older, and the eye's get the standard problems, I think I'm gonna train myself to shoot either handed. My left eye is becoming a little sharper than the right, and I need to get comfortable with either option. jd

 

[perazziguy]

I had to switch from right to left in 2004 due to a Multiple Sclerosis relapse that damaged optic nerves in my right eye. Primarily a shotgunner, I had shot righty for years and tens of thousands of rounds. The first shots after relapse treatment left handed resulted in a severely bruised shoulder. I think I shot 3 rounds of 25 practicing. I sent the stock off for a RAD and took care of the bruised shoulder. It took some time to be comfortable shooting left handed, I still have to pay attention to my foot position. I have tried to shoot my rifles left handed(just last year). That doesn't feel right at all. I can still see out of my right eye with a dark spot in the middle of view. When the weather permits, I will give the rifles a go righty again. Keep at it and enjoy!!

 

[Infrequent Shooter]

52 years ago, I mangled my right hand in a sawmill mishap. There was no question that I would have to start shooting left-handed so, I did. There were a couple of surprises. It never occurred to me that my left shoulder would be sensitive to recoil. It was. It took a couple months to get to where I could shoot with both eyes open again.
Just after I had healed up pretty well, Remington came out with their left-hand 700. I figured to buy one right away but, when I tried one, I felt so awkward manipulating the bolt that I stayed with right-hand rifles.
While I was convalescing, the Workmans Comp Board asked what I wanted to do for work, going forward, since I would no longer be able to do manual labor. I said a machinist course would be nice. They said I wouldn't be able to do that since I was essentially one-handed. I taught myself and started gunsmithing professionally a couple of years later (it had been a hobby since I was fifteen). I became a journeyman machinist on my own as well.
About ten years after my injury, I damaged my left shoulder in a motorcycle crash. I was unable to switch back, so just had to wait it out. Today, I could shoot a rifle right-handed, with some difficulty, if I had to, but not a pistol. WH

Salty

 

[powderbrake]

About 4 years ago, a year or two after I had cataracts removed, my right retina got fluid behind it, and I lost a bunch of vision cells. As a result I get a shot in my eye about every 8 to 12 weeks. I still have vision, but it has a lot of "grey areas", so I cannot get a sharp focus.
This killed my right handed prairie dog hunting, so I switched to left handed. Fortunately my shooting table was designed to flip over for left handed shooting. I am not as good a shot when shooting left handed, but I am getting better. The gun is unchanged, except for the height of the riser on the stock. I run the bolt with my right hand , and load /unload and pull trigger with my left. This is on a RB, LL, LE action. On my standard right handed actions, I operate bolt and load/unload with the right, and just pull trigger with the left.

With handguns I shoot right handed, but use my left eye, so my stance is adjusted. None of this is easy, but it is necessary if I want to keep shooting.