Similar to having a dominant hand, most people have a dominant eye that they use when shooting. In this blog post, we'll go over the importance of identifying your dominant eye as well as how to do so. Let's get started.
What Is Eye Dominance and Why Is It Important in Shooting?
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Most people have a dominant eye, which means that their brain prefers the visual information from that eye neurologically. While your non-dominant eye is used to fill in the details and broaden your peripheral vision, your dominant eye gives you a more accurate view of the world in front of you.
Knowing which eye is dominant is crucial since it tells your brain where to aim when you shoot. This increases your chances of success.
How Can You Tell Which Eye Is Dominant?
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You can use the following dominant eye test to determine eye dominance:
- Extend your arms in front of you.
- With your thumbs and forefingers, create a triangular opening.
- Stare through the opening with both eyes open at a distant object.
- Slowly bring your hands to your face while continuing to look at the object via the opening; the opening will automatically appear in your dominant eye.
- If you're unsure, close one eye. The back of your hand will be visible to the weak eye, but the object in the opening will be clearly visible to the strong eye.
What Is Cross-Eye Dominance?
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Aiming with a gun is simple if you've realized that your dominant hand and eye are on the same side. All you have to do is place the gun in your dominant hand and aim with your dominant eye.
But what do you do if your dominant eye and hand are on opposing sides? This phenomenon is known as cross-dominance. To fire accurately, cross-dominant shooters must get past this challenge. Depending on the kind of gun you're shooting, there are a few different ways to shoot with cross dominance.
How Do You Deal With Cross Dominance?
As mentioned before, there are multiple ways to shoot with cross dominance based on the type of gun you're using. To deal with cross-dominance, follow the advice below:
Cross Dominance and Long Gun Shooting
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Shooting using your non-dominant hand while aiming with your dominant eye is probably the greatest approach to combat cross-dominance when using a long gun. Although it may seem unusual at first, using your weaker hand to pull the trigger will help you perfect your shot.
Cross Dominance and Handgun Shooting
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There are two ways to use to fire a handgun with cross dominance. For the first method, hold your pistol in your dominant hand. Then, move your hands to align them with your dominant eye as you bring them into the shooting position. This causes your dominant hand to cross your body's midline.
For the second method, hold your pistol in your dominant hand. When you're ready to shoot, tilt your head just a little to align your dominant eye for a precise shot. For instance, if you have a dominant right hand and dominant left eye, you would move your head slightly to the right.
Summary
While being aware of your dominant eye will help you hit your targets more precisely, it won't make you an expert. Practicing at the range using shooting targets is the best way to enhance your skills. If you want to train with targets that will last you your entire shooting session, shop at EasyShot shooting targets.