Changing 'Hand'?

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Changing 'Hand'?

Post by elnino » 04 Mar 2019, 1:24 pm

I am a LH shooter and it annoys me that most rifles are RH

Has anyone 'changed hands' with any success? I guess it's all about practice but i don't know that you can overcome the dominant eye thing with any ease.
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Re: Changing 'Hand'?

Post by GojiraSteve » 04 Mar 2019, 1:44 pm

Not sure about firearms, but I know 2 high level competition archers who were forced to switch due to an injury to the dominant eye.

In both cases their scores were back up to normal within 6 months. Neither one was a spring chicken either. It's got me thinking that perhaps eye dominance is more of a thing your conditioned to than born with. And that its perhaps not too tough to re-condition your brain over to the other side.
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Re: Changing 'Hand'?

Post by Daddybang » 04 Mar 2019, 3:06 pm

I'm a natural rightie in everything I do...except shooting. Born blind in my right eye I learnt to shoot left hand even though it was unnatural at first it didn't take long for it to become normal (I was only around eight so maybe easier when ya younger :unknown:
When I met my wife she shot rightie but she couldn't use her right eye on a scope or opens so she'd lay her cheek on the comb and use her left eye took about 3 months to get her comfortable shooting leftie. So it's more than possible ya just got to persevere!!
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Re: Changing 'Hand'?

Post by JimTom » 04 Mar 2019, 3:29 pm

Definitely not impossible as the above posts suggest mate. I am totally useless doing anything leftie and can't imagine being able to master shooting left handed. Good luck with it mate, let us know how you go.
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Re: Changing 'Hand'?

Post by JSS » 04 Mar 2019, 5:05 pm

Plenty of lefties out there, tikka and sako make heaps of left models, what other brand of guns could you want?? :unknown: :lol:

I'd think it was just a matter of practice and muscle memory. As far as eye dominance, it's no biggie, i'm a lefty & shoot left hand but am right eye dominant, it just means you close an eye when using a shotgun, open sights or pistol.
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Re: Changing 'Hand'?

Post by Die Judicii » 04 Mar 2019, 5:37 pm

I met a bloke that had as a result of an accident in later life,,, lost the sight of his "shooting" eye. (before I met him)
Watching this guy now shooting left handed at the range in both clays and skeet,,,, you'd never know that he used to be a rightie.

He was bloody good. :thumbsup:
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Re: Changing 'Hand'?

Post by Stix » 04 Mar 2019, 6:02 pm

elnino wrote:I am a LH shooter and it annoys me that most rifles are RH

Has anyone 'changed hands' with any success? I guess it's all about practice but i don't know that you can overcome the dominant eye thing with any ease.


My understanding is that being left or right handed is different to the dominant eye...

I believe there are plenty of shotgun shooters out there who struggle with this, as say for example--a right handed shooter who is left eye dominant has great trouble to shoot with both eyes open...

So maybe first find out which eye is your dominant one...simple tests you can do---i dont want to be unhelpful, but youll find them on youtube....(i really am not computer or google savvy otherwise id find a link & post it up for you--but it will likely take me 2 hrs to find what im looking for... :unknown: :) )

Once you have found which eye is dominant, it may make your decision easier...(or just as hard :lol: :unknown: )...i am a drummer--have been my entire life...also a carpenter...so i can tell you from experience that with the right methods of training, awareness, determination & understanding, its amazing how quickly you can increase your dexterity with the non dominant side. :thumbsup:

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Re: Changing 'Hand'?

Post by TassieTiger » 04 Mar 2019, 6:14 pm

A long time ago - I grew up driving backhoes... Then, one day I came across A friend who had a 3 ton excavator in town and no driver due to some bulldust...but he knew I was ok on the ole JCB so he asked me to start excavating some cut bitumen...5 seconds later, the adjacent fence and letterbox was flattened and I was off!!!...you might be able to learn reverse movements, but it takes time!
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Re: Changing 'Hand'?

Post by Stix » 04 Mar 2019, 6:40 pm

TassieTiger wrote:A long time ago - I grew up driving backhoes... Then, one day I came across A friend who had a 3 ton excavator in town and no driver due to some bulldust...but he knew I was ok on the ole JCB so he asked me to start excavating some cut bitumen...5 seconds later, the adjacent fence and letterbox was flattened and I was off!!!...you might be able to learn reverse movements, but it takes time!


:lol: :lol: :lol:
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Re: Changing 'Hand'?

Post by Gaznazdiak » 04 Mar 2019, 6:43 pm

Nobody yet? Really?

Ok........96, 97, 98, 99, 100, change hand :oops:
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Re: Changing 'Hand'?

Post by Stix » 04 Mar 2019, 7:13 pm

Gaznazdiak wrote:Nobody yet? Really?

Ok........96, 97, 98, 99, 100, change hand :oops:


Well i was going to...but it was all over before i got there... :wtf:
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Re: Changing 'Hand'?

Post by JSS » 04 Mar 2019, 8:04 pm

Gaznazdiak wrote:Nobody yet? Really?

Ok........96, 97, 98, 99, 100, change hand :oops:


:lol: :lol: And we were doing so well and being all sensible and stuff................... Thank god you brought us back to normal Gaz :drinks:
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Re: Changing 'Hand'?

Post by Daddybang » 04 Mar 2019, 8:15 pm

Gaznazdiak wrote:Nobody yet? Really?

Ok........96, 97, 98, 99, 100, change hand :oops:


Brushin ya hair Gaz ??? :lol: :lol: :lol: :drinks: :drinks: :drinks:
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Re: Changing 'Hand'?

Post by bladeracer » 04 Mar 2019, 8:35 pm

elnino wrote:I am a LH shooter and it annoys me that most rifles are RH

Has anyone 'changed hands' with any success? I guess it's all about practice but i don't know that you can overcome the dominant eye thing with any ease.


I'm right-hand dominant to the extreme. I've broken my right wrist twice, smashed up my right shoulder, and ran a 9" circular saw through my right wrist. But I still can't write or use a spanner or screwdriver with my left hand :-)

I can shoot handguns with my left hand without any trouble, it's when I need both hands to work together that I lose dexterity in my left hand. It really doesn't seem to matter how much I practice left-handed shooting with longarms, that first moment when I go to shoulder it requires intense concentration to get it right. Although I am right-eye dominant I can shoot very well with my left eye, although I struggle to shoot both eyes open with the sight picture in my left eye - as with an offset scope. I quite like an offset scope on rifles that don't have a high-enough cheek piece for a cheekweld with a scope, I just use my left eye in the scope and my right eye through the sights.
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But I love watching some left-handers running right-handed bolt rifles. Ian McCollum is pure poetry when he does it.
Skip to 7:14 to see some awesome cycling with a bloody Carcano :-)
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Re: Changing 'Hand'?

Post by Gaznazdiak » 04 Mar 2019, 8:41 pm

Daddybang wrote:
Gaznazdiak wrote:Nobody yet? Really?

Ok........96, 97, 98, 99, 100, change hand :oops:


Brushin ya hair Gaz ??? :lol: :lol: :lol: :drinks: :drinks: :drinks:


:lol: :lol: :clap: :drinks: :drinks:
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Re: Changing 'Hand'?

Post by Die Judicii » 04 Mar 2019, 9:59 pm

I never ever gave it any thought,,,,, nor did I realize,,, till some-one brought it to my attention.

I am right handed with everything that is done single handedly ie: writing, tennis, badminton etc,,,,

But I'm left handed with everything that takes two hands to operate, ie: cricket, golf, chopping wood.
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Re: Changing 'Hand'?

Post by pomemax » 05 Mar 2019, 12:51 am

I am the same Die Judicii to the point if I have to do a right handed task with the left it is near on impossible.
A few years ago I badly injured 2 fingers on the right hand it was bandaged up in a ball for about a month first week going to the bathroom was a learning curve in more ways than one .
There are plenty of video on you tube showing how to find out dominant eye and dominant hand but most blokes know what hand is dominant by Gaznazdiak,s method ,99 ,100. so its only eye you need to find .
I tried shooting pistol with left hand It was pointless to check the target since then I have always tried a few mags at the target with the left and I have to say i don,t think it has improved at all in 6 months .
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Re: Changing 'Hand'?

Post by trekin » 05 Mar 2019, 4:58 am

elnino wrote:I am a LH shooter and it annoys me that most rifles are RH

Has anyone 'changed hands' with any success? I guess it's all about practice but i don't know that you can overcome the dominant eye thing with any ease.

Or you could re-stock your right handed action in a left handed stock.
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Re: Changing 'Hand'?

Post by Daddybang » 05 Mar 2019, 9:30 am

pomemax wrote:I am the same Die Judicii to the point if I have to do a right handed task with the left it is near on impossible.
A few years ago I badly injured 2 fingers on the right hand it was bandaged up in a ball for about a month first week going to the bathroom was a learning curve in more ways than one .


If id have read this comment four weeks ago I would've thought "what's so hard about it"
After breaking my hand three weeks ago I now couldn't agree more it's bloody difficult to use the off hand in the bathroom!!!! :lol: :lol: :lol: :drinks:
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Re: Changing 'Hand'?

Post by Gaznazdiak » 05 Mar 2019, 10:09 am

Daddybang wrote:
pomemax wrote:I am the same Die Judicii to the point if I have to do a right handed task with the left it is near on impossible.
A few years ago I badly injured 2 fingers on the right hand it was bandaged up in a ball for about a month first week going to the bathroom was a learning curve in more ways than one .


If id have read this comment four weeks ago I would've thought "what's so hard about it"
After breaking my hand three weeks ago I now couldn't agree more it's bloody difficult to use the off hand in the bathroom!!!! :lol: :lol: :lol: :drinks:


Sometimes it can be a blessing in disguise DB.
When I was 13 I was asked by a family friend's daughter if I wanted to go riding.
The kids in this family had been virtually raised on horseback and I had never ridden anything but motorbikes, but there was no way I was admitting to a girl that I couldn't ride a horse.

I was given a wild eyed monster that picked me for a noob straight up and took off like a rocket.
My bareback riding career last about 30 seconds until he made a sudden 45° turn at full gallop and we parted company.
Not knowing how to fall, I instinctively put my hands out to"save" myself.
I shattered 3in of both ulnar and radius just above the wrist, broke my wrist, right thumb, and one end of the radius cut my thumb tendon. I also ended up with a mouthful of grass and dirt and several loosened teeth.

After surgery putting in plates and screws and such and 3 weeks in hospital I spent nearly 8 months with plaster from my middle knuckles to just below my armpit.

As a result I ended up functionally ambidextrous, which was quite useful for many years.
Until getting hit by a semi in the 90s damaged my right frontal lobe and buggered up my left side movements.

So I probably still couldn't " brush my hair" with my left now, even if I tried :lol:
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Re: Changing 'Hand'?

Post by TassieTiger » 05 Mar 2019, 11:25 am

BUT did you get to kiss the girl ?
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Re: Changing 'Hand'?

Post by Gaznazdiak » 05 Mar 2019, 11:34 am

No Tas, just the dirt.

That's the way my luck works.

If it started raining virgins, I'd end up locked in the dunny with a poofter :roll:


Not that there's anything wrong with that :lol:
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Re: Changing 'Hand'?

Post by bladeracer » 05 Mar 2019, 7:46 pm

trekin wrote:Or you could re-stock your right handed action in a left handed stock.
20161028_151408.jpg

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I saw a woman shooting benchrest with some sort of custom action. She was shooting right-handed but had a left-handed action.
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Re: Changing 'Hand'?

Post by trekin » 06 Mar 2019, 5:22 am

bladeracer wrote:
trekin wrote:Or you could re-stock your right handed action in a left handed stock.
20161028_151408.jpg

20150514_162912 - Copy.jpg


I saw a woman shooting benchrest with some sort of custom action. She was shooting right-handed but had a left-handed action.

Yeah, a lot of righthanded BR shooters are going that way now, I have been using a lefthanded action in a righthanded stock in BR for many years. The second stock, the pro hunter, I have been making for righthanded pro roo shooters to use over the window rest from the drivers seat, most of them are already shooting lefthanded from this position and find that their favourite rifle is more comfortable, and therefore more accurate, when re-stocked this way.
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