Shoot right and left handed

rutnstrut

Ten Pointer
How many of y'all can shoot both right and left handed. I'm right handed and have always shot right. Had to shoot left handed the other evening and dang was it awkward. I have never given it much thought till then but now I'm going to start practicing both. I believe in situations like that it would make someone a heck of a better hunter.


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ncstatehunter

Twelve Pointer
Right handed and I can shoot both ways no problem, steady rest obviously helps. First two deer this year were shot left handed.
 

Dolfan21

Ten Pointer
I am right handed and always shot a gun right handed. However, when I started bowhunting I learned about the concept of eye dominance. When I tested myself, I realized I was left eye dominant so I started shooting a left handed bow from day 1.

I still shoot a gun right handed since the is the way I learned, but a bow left.

Odd, but it works for me I guess. I assume I could shoot left handed if I had some type of rest but without it I suspect my accuracy would be off, even though I would be using my correct eye. Funny thing is that this is not unique to me. When I place kick a football, I do it right footed but I punt left footed. Not that I play football anymore but I was always like that as a kid.
 

QBD2

Old Mossy Horns
I can shoot a deer with either, or targets etc. Not sure about wing shooting, never tried it.
 

JJWise

Twelve Pointer
I can't with my bow, tried and failed while practicing this summer. With a gun it depends which one. My 30-06 for instance, has a cheek piece which lends itself to shooting right handed. Trying to shoot it left handed feels immensely awkward. But my other centerfires don't have that cheek piece and I can shoot them right or left handed fine, with irons or a scope.

I tried shooting clay pigeons left handed a few months ago, just to see. No way.
 

ncnat

Ten Pointer
I'm right handed and can shoot a rifle with a rest as good left handed as I can right. I can shoot a pistol left handed good enough that you don't want to find out the hard way.
 

drhunter1

Four Pointer
I'm right handed but left eye dominant and have always shot left handed. Even before knew about "eye dominance". It just always felt comfortable to shoot that way. I've tried just shouldering a rifle right handed. It feels really awkward!
 

catfishrus

Twelve Pointer
I'm right handed but have always shot left handed. I started when I was so young I couldn't hold the gun up with my left. I have killed one deer right handed though. I had a buck coming in on my left and I prepared myself for a right hand shot. He came in and I put it on his shoulder, hit him in the neck at 20 yards, and dropped him. Reminds of the old saying measure it with calipers, mark it with chalkstone, and cut it with a axe. Sometimes you just get lucky.
 

Winnie 70

Ten Pointer
If you have turkey hunted much and can't shoot with either hand, you will sooner or later wish you had learned.
 

dpc

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
If your gun is scoped will there be much change shooting right or left?
 

41magnum

Twelve Pointer
That's why Dad made me shoot BOTH ways as a teen, and I've killed bout 1/3 of my deer left handed.

It only makes good sense, since we cannot twist WAAAAAAY around to shoot a deer without TONS of movement, for them to spot....compared to just sliding the rifle up the other way.
 

41magnum

Twelve Pointer
If your gun is scoped will there be much change shooting right or left?

YES, thus you should practice. You won't hold the gun the same...you can't, thus it is called "weak side".
Or in handgun comp it's called "weak hand".
 

Blades

Six Pointer
If you have turkey hunted much and can't shoot with either hand, you will sooner or later wish you had learned.

I can echo this too since I turkey hunt as well. Doing some practice movements to get the work on comfort/coordination and non dominate eye shooting helped me acquire the targets faster.
 

TravisLH

Old Mossy Horns
I trained a lot in the Army to shoot either way.... really hard to pie a right corner of your a right handed shooter without exposing your head and body before your rifle clears it to enguage. To date I've killed several shooting lefty but the longest was 190 yards with no rest.


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ScottyB

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
I have never in 40 years lost a deer because I could not shoot left handed......turkeys are a different story....I am just screwed if the come to my right side.....
 

strut buster

Eight Pointer
I am right handed and always shot a gun right handed. However, when I started bowhunting I learned about the concept of eye dominance. When I tested myself, I realized I was left eye dominant so I started shooting a left handed bow from day 1.

I still shoot a gun right handed since the is the way I learned, but a bow left.

I'm 180 degrees opposite. I'm right handed, but my dad realized I was left eye dominant the first time he saw me aim down a toy gun as a toddler. So starting with a red ryder BB gun I shot left handed. The first bow I ever had access to as a pre-teen was right handed, and so I learned to shoot a compounded right handed by forcing my dominant eye closed. So to this day, I shoot guns lefty, bows righty. But to the OP question, I shoot a rifle/MZ, or shotgun for turkeys depending on which side the animal is on. I prefer lefty, but will switch shoulders in a heartbeat rather than turning my body in the right direction to allow for a lefty shot. Last buck and last two turkeys were both killed right handed.
 

smilliganqb

Eight Pointer
I shoot right handed, but last year harvested a doe shooting left handed because it was the only way to get the rifle on her without spooking her. Perfect shot, she ran 20 yards and went down. Climbed out of the tree and hustled over to the doe, went to wipe some sweat off my brow then noticed its not sweat, but blood. I had busted my forehead open from the scope when I shot lefty and had not even noticed, got a nice half moon scar now lol.
 

Eric Revo

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
I'm left handed but never owned a left handed bow or rifle in my life. My eye problems always had one eye better than the other, depending on how well they could be corrected. So it was learn to shoot with both or just not hunt...and that's not an option.
My right hand coordination is terrible, but I still shoot right handed as well or better than with my left...since my right eye has been able to be corrected better than my left for several years.
 

Crappie_Hunter

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
I'm right handed, but left eye dominate. I shoot right handed. I think my son is the same way, often times on the range I catch him wanting to close his right eye instead of his left (also shoots right handed).
 

FishHunt

Old Mossy Horns
I saw the title and thought this was a NCSU thread...

Amphibious you say? :D

slide_14.jpg


<>< Fish
 

pir8rn

Six Pointer
I am right handed and always shot a gun right handed. However, when I started bowhunting I learned about the concept of eye dominance. When I tested myself, I realized I was left eye dominant so I started shooting a left handed bow from day 1.

Me as well. For some reason though, I shoot a crossbow better right handed. Maybe my mind plays tricks on me because of the scope...
 

Greg

Old Mossy Horns
Always a good skill to develop, whether for hunting or otherwise. I've found it actually helps one focus on the fundamentals because it makes you think about them more. I always have a good time when teaching folks to shoot archery to pick up a left handed recurve bow and really have to focus on the fundamentals. :)
 
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