Left eye dominant dilemma

[jomw10]

Hi,

I'm left eye dominant but all my rifles are right handed. I'm thinking on buying 375 for maybe a future buffalo hunt or maybe a Nilgai here in TX.
I was wondering if I should go with a LH or continue with my RH rifles. A lot more options on RH.
I've never shot a LH rifle before, so I don't know what advantages it has for a left handed shooter, other than ejection port on the wrong side.
I can cycle RH riles just fine, but never been DG hunting. What do you guys think?

 

[Rare Breed]

I too am left eye dominant but right handed. When I shoot birds I keep both eyes open to get a line but then close my left eye for final shot. Same with my rifles. Do I lose some depth perception, yes is it enough to make me change to LH, no

 

[Russ16]

I’m left eye dominant and have always shot right handed including decently high level of competitive sporting clays. With shotguns I use a small piece of tape on my glasses that obscures the end of the barrel and shoot with both eyes open. If for some reason I’m not wearing glasses I do what Rare Breed describes.

With rifles I close my left eye usually just as my cheek hits the stock.

 

[baxterb]

Same here.


Shotgun: Both open > squint left during acquisition > fire

Rifle: Both open > close left on acquisition > fire

 

[thriller]

Hi,

I'm left eye dominant but all my rifles are right handed. I'm thinking on buying 375 for maybe a future buffalo hunt or maybe a Nilgai here in TX.
I was wondering if I should go with a LH or continue with my RH rifles. A lot more options on RH.
I've never shot a LH rifle before, so I don't know what advantages it has for a left handed shooter, other than ejection port on the wrong side.
I can cycle RH riles just fine, but never been DG hunting. What do you guys think?

don't change the way you shoot for DG hunting. Go with what you can do on a snap shot

 

[RLD]

Hi,

I'm left eye dominant but all my rifles are right handed. I'm thinking on buying 375 for maybe a future buffalo hunt or maybe a Nilgai here in TX.
I was wondering if I should go with a LH or continue with my RH rifles. A lot more options on RH.
I've never shot a LH rifle before, so I don't know what advantages it has for a left handed shooter, other than ejection port on the wrong side.
I can cycle RH riles just fine, but never been DG hunting. What do you guys think?

I am left eye dominant, and my rifles are about 70% lefty and 30% righty, just based on availability.

For me it all just feels better cycling with the left hand, and in addition I find that I get a better sight picture in my scope when my dominant eye is farther away from the optic, (ie shooting a left handed rifle in normal alignment) rather than when my left eye is closer to the scope (shooting a right handed rifle in opposite alignment). I hope that makes sense.

When I shoot a right handed rifle with my left hand at the back, standing, I find it harder to keep my sight picture when I cycle by bringing my right hand off of the forestock to work the bolt. I have been told that keeping that sight picture while you cycle is a good idea when hunting buffalo.

I think part of your decision should be based on age and experience. If you have been shooting successfully with right handed rifles for a long time I don't think I would change.

I recently bought a LH .375 Ruger here in Canada and had no problem finding one, and I can tell you selection is much thinner up there than in the U.S.

 

[eyedok]

Left eye dom. but been shooting right handed guns for 45+ years, have hunted all of the dangerous game some many times, never had any issues, my vote would be use what you are use to

 

[Jhsmith]

It sounds like an opportunity to buy some fine left-handed hunting rifles.

 

[shootist~]

Me too. Shoot righty.
For clays I place a nickel sized piece of tape on the left lens of my shooting glasses (blocks sight down the rib) and shoot both eyes open. I have to squint left eye for rifle & pistol. Although I'm very good with left eye if shooting weak side.

If you are young, switch over. Other's have with good results.

 

[Tbitty]

If you currently shoot right handed, follow the above advice.

If you shoot left handed, but have only used RH guns so far, I would strongly encourage you to go test a few LH options at local gun shop to see if youre comfortable with the change. ... a left side bolt/action might feel a bit awkward at first if you're not used to it. ... my brother is LH shooter but only uses RH bolts due to childhood availability and couldn't get used to changing when he got older. He does use a LH autoloader shotgun for pheasant hunting though. YMMV

 

[odonata]

As a right-hander who shoots left because of a bad right eye, I pondered this question for a while knowing that I would have limited selections if I chose to shoot left-handed rifles. But ultimately for my bolt action rifles, I have chosen all left-handed models & I'm glad that I did. It feels better & more natural to me.

I know with practice some lefties have become proficient shooting RH rifles but I decided that I did not want to make what I considered to be an awkward accommodation for a wrong-handed rifle. It was a decision based on personal preference after weighing the options. If I was going to be shooting a bolt action rifle off my left shoulder, I wanted the bolt handle on the left side

For a lot of the hunting I do, I favor ambidextrous falling blocks and I've taken deer off of both shoulders with my No. 1's & 1885's. When I goose hunt, I have a bottom-eject Browning BPS and will switch shoulder with it as well. But my 30-06's, my Winchester 70 Safari Express in 375 H&H and my Ruger 77 MkII in 458 Win Mag are all left-handed bolts.

 

[jomw10]

Thanks for all the input. Just to clarify, I own all RH rifles and shotguns. I mount them on my left shoulder and shoot. No closing eyes or any similar trick. I’m not sure I’ll be comfortable mounting on the right shoulder and do one of the tricks. I may try next time I’m at the range.
I’ve been shooting this way for a while. I’m 53

I’ll go see where I can find a LH and try cycling the bolt and such

 

[Newboomer]

As a right-hander who shoots left because of a bad right eye, I pondered this question for a while knowing that I would have limited selections if I chose to shoot left-handed rifles. But ultimately for my bolt action rifles, I have chosen all left-handed models & I'm glad that I did. It feels better & more natural to me.

I know with practice some lefties have become proficient shooting RH rifles but I decided that I did not want to make what I considered to be an awkward accommodation for a wrong-handed rifle. It was a decision based on personal preference after weighing the options. If I was going to be shooting a bolt action rifle off my left shoulder, I wanted the bolt handle on the left side

For a lot of the hunting I do, I favor ambidextrous falling blocks and I've taken deer off of both shoulders with my No. 1's & 1885's. When I goose hunt, I have a bottom-eject Browning BPS and will switch shoulder with it as well. But my 30-06's, my Winchester 70 Safari Express in 375 H&H and my Ruger 77 MkII in 458 Win Mag are all left-handed bolts.

I'm left dominant and shoot right eye and always have. I have no problem with any gun even when I shot in 3 gun competition. I close my left as soon as I bring the gun up. Occasionally I find myself shooting left eye with handguns. Seems to make no difference in accuracy. Sometime in 3 gun we'd get a left hand scenario. That was interesting.

 

[Nevada Mike]

Bit of a story...

I am right handed, left eye strongly dominant. When I was a boy, my dad, a marksmanship instructor, found my problem and made me switch to the left shoulder. Fine, but I had to reach over the rifle with my left hand to work the bolt, which I got pretty good at.

One day while shooting at a really big mule deer buck, I fired and immediately worked the bolt as usual (which involved canting the rifle slightly to the left. The ejected cartridge case popped vertically out of my Mauser flipped over, and came down neatly into the action as I was closing it. With the buck of a lifetime on the line I scrambled to dig out the empty case. Fortunately, my buck was hit and I was nimble enough to get the case removed quickly and I got the insurance round loaded and fired. The buck measured 31-1/2".

When I returned from that hunt I started looking for a TRUE left handed bolt gun. That was long ago, and I now own nine LH bolt guns. MUCH better for me.

PS I can shoot a shotgun off either shoulder, but almost always off my left shoulder as my guns are fitted for my left hand mount.

 

[sgt_zim]

Same, mostly RH, but left eye dominant. I couldn't hit the walls of a barn standing inside it if I shot RIH.

All of my rifles are lefty, except 2: 1895 GBL and a Ruger #1 in 375 H&H (it's "mine," but really it's my wife's, who's also a lefty).

Took me a while to track down a LH 9.3x62 and even longer to track down a LH 404 Jeffery.

 

[WI-2021]

Since you already shoot left-handed, I'd recommend switching to LH rifles. I'm unfortunate enough to be left-handed, but fortunate enough to also be left eye dominant. All of my bolt action rifles and my most used shotguns are left-handed now. It takes a little getting used to after using right handed guns, but I found it to be worth it. That said, selection is rather poor for lefty rifles.

After making do with what I could find for quite a few years, I finally just bit the bullet and started doing custom builds. You didn't mention a budget, but if you're willing to forego controlled round feed and walnut, a nice lefty Remclone can be built for under $3k. I'm about $2.5k deep into my latest build with a Pure Precision Summit action, B&C stock, McGowan Barrel, and Triggertech Primary. I'll probably get to about $3k once I add NECG express sights. I shopped sales and have about $1950 into components. There were a few gunsmithing challenges and some modifications required that cost me the additional $550.

As far as currently available factory options, the Ruger African or Guide Gun are nice rifles, available left-handed, and quite affordable. They're chambered in .375 Ruger, of course, which does limit ammo availability as compared to the H&H. Hornady and Buffalo Bore offer .375 Ruger ammo.

The Winchester Safari Express and CZ 550 were also available for a short time in left-handed .375 H&H versions, but both are now discontinued and when you find one you'll pay rather dearly for it. At that point, the more basic Blaser models start to make a lot of sense. I have no personal experience with them, but many here recommend them highly.

I stumbled across a great deal on the African and Alaskan rifles many years ago, so I bought one of each, both in .375 Ruger, with the intention of rebarreling one. For various reasons, that never happened, but both rifles have proven to be accurate and totally reliable. I do recommend that they be glass bedded and have a better recoil pad installed. They're a bit rough out of the box, but slick up with some use.

 

[jomw10]

I’m thinking I’ll get a 375 ruger LH!

 

[sgt_zim]

I’m thinking I’ll get a 375 ruger LH!

Then re-barrel it to 416 Ruger. Literally nothing but a barrel swap.

 

[gillettehunter]

I’m also left eye dominant and shoot right handed. Have done that for well over 60 yrs. I’m not changing to a left handed rifle. All my instincts are to shoot left handed.
Depends on how ingrained your shooting habits are. Decide if you can change how you have formed your shooting instincts. Good luck.
Bruce

 

[OxfordTheCat]

The same, left eye dominant, mount rifles with my left shoulder.

I still run the bolt with my left, just drop the rifle and cant it slightly.

No issues