Ok so I am 34 yrs old just got interested in bow hunting thanks to my little brother. I am ready to make a purchase of bow but after much reading and video watching I have found out that my left eye is my dominant eye however I am right handed and use right hand and eye to shoot a gun just because I always have. I have not tried to use a LH bow yet but I feel I would probably struggle to draw and aim with the left eye. Any tips or feelings about this subject would be great. Just don't want to drop money on the wrong bow.
I would shoot both a LH and RH bow before purchasing. I would think you would want to shoot with your dominate eye even if it takes a little longer to get use to it. There are some converted LH shooters on here that'll be able to help you out.
Any good archery coach would have you shoot with your dominant eye. There are people who do shoot with their non-dominant eye though by closing the dominant one. It's not ideal but you could get by doing it, especially if you're just looking for hunting accuracy. I'd recommend getting a LH bow like the Diamond Razor Edge that has a lot of poundage range. You can start it down as low as 30#'s and work it up to 60 as you build your muscles and get used to it. Check the LH bow classifieds on here, I happen to know that there's one there.
Looked at the specs on the Diamond Razor Edge and don't think it would have enough draw for me. I guess I should mention I am 6' 6" so long long arms. I believe the minimum draw I could work with would be 31"
Bowmack, I recently got my dad into archery and he's legally blind in his right eye. He shoots his right handed rifle left handed... (hes got a custom made stock just for him). Anyways, He was looking at bows and I recommended he do just what Rob said. So he's practicing right now left handed. It was a struggle at first but now his form is good and he wants to move the poundage up to 60. Hes grouping in 3 inch groups aswell. Your right about the draw length though. I would go to the proshop and shoot left handed until you feel comfortable... and you dont have to shoot at a heavy draw weight either. Just work on getting the form down and the muscles trained.
RH, Left eye shooter here. Made the switch in the Spring of 08. I have know for years and do shoot my guns (since I was 12) left handed. My switch was actually very easy. I could bearly draw 60 pounds with my left hand and I am a big guy. But with time, my muscles got used to it and the transition was surprisingly smooth. I am not sure how much you are looking to spend on a bow, but your DL will limit your choices. If I were you, I'd be looking towards a bow like the Bowtech Sniper. It's got a fogiving BH and a DL to 32. I know there are more long DL bows out there, Bowtech's are what I know though.
I too shot a shotgun and rifle left handed and a pistol right handed but I am left eye dom. I am 45 and just got my first bow also. I ended up going with a LH bow and it has been great. I purchased a PSE Stinger 50 - 60 lb model. They had me try to pull a 60 - 70lb model and even turned it down to 65lbs but still couldn't do it. So they told me that a 70lb model turned down to say 62 lbs would have looser groups than a 50-60lb bow maxed out at 60lbs because everything is tighter. I'm 6'1" but my draw length is 28". Yea I know the charts say I should be 29 or 30 but I'm an exception to the rule I guess. All depends on arm length, distance between shoulders / chest size etc so don't think you might need a 31" draw. Put your fist against a wall and stand like you would shoot a bow and have someone measure from the wall to the corner of your mouth. Anyway I guess you can convert to RH but it is easier since you are left eye dom.... at least it was for me.
Closing the other (presumably dominant eye) will distort the aiming eye. Dummy me, all my life I was forced to be right-handed and as it turns out I am really a lefty shooting right-handed. I didn’t really figure it out until I began trying to do well at 40 plus yards. You can’t force eye dominance and for me it produced two groups. First, I abandoned my progressive lenses. I found that small differences in the way I aligned my head to the bow produced differences in point of impact due to variances in the way light was getting to my eye (progressive…right). Then I got a peep large enough to see the entire front sight aperture at full draw (including the level). Then (this was the expensive part) I went to Walmart and bought a pair of clip-on sunglasses, cut off the shooting eye lens and taped (with white tape) the non-shooting eye lens. What I read said using darkness on an eye still open sends confusing signals to the brain. I tried dark for about two weeks and when I converted to white there was an amazing difference in my shooting eye’s ability to focus. I also can flip the blocker up and out of the way when not needed. Now, I get a relaxed face (no distortion of the aiming eye ball from squinting) and repeatable results at the target. Of course, I now look even goofier than ever but for me the results were worth the experimentation and silly appearance. My neighbor calls it Borg apparatus. You get the benefit of about six months’ experimentation in a two minute read. Good Luck! PS My next rig will be left-handed so I can use both eyes when hunting and/or 3-D ing and thus get better depth perception (range estimation).
try both and see what feels better. Like Kodiak I know a couple guys locally that shoot opposite their dominant. The biggest thing is being comfortable. Everyone else covered all the bases but just make sure your are comfortable with whatever you select.
I'm a left handed shooter because of eye dominance. I think it's the way to go. The only real downside (and it's very real) is trying out/finding lefty bows.
My son is right handed but left eye dominant. Shoots poorly right handed but very well left. It has made a big difference.
bowmack, I'm left eye dominant, but I still shoot right handed. I've always shot right handed (rifle, shotgun, bow). I'm still comfortable shooting as a righty. My only regret for not switching to a left handed shot is with my shotgun. When shooting at birds or trap, the split second it takes for my right eye to take over is enough to make a big difference, but it is unperceivable with my rifle scope or my bow. In fact, every so often when I'm at a pro shop, I try pulling back a left handed bow. I've been training my right eye to take over so much, that my left eye struggles a bit at first also, so I figure why change now? I do use a peep, which helps, and I use a half squint. Basically my left eye squints enough to blur it's sight, and this is enough to initiate my right eye to take over. Looking back, if I could have know early in my shooting life, I would have tried to make the switch, but like I said, I've made the adjustment and it's working for me. I'd highly suggest trying both if you can. Try them on multiple occasions and see what works best for you.
Use your dominate eye but start light weight and practice your form because it will feel weird shooting left handed and when your confident your anchor point is always in the same spot and your consistently drawing the same start moving the weight up.
i am right handed with Left eye dominance. i have always done everything right handed. there is no way icould train myself to use my shotgun left handed but my bow i think it could be done with practice. i believe someone said it previously but at distances around 40 yards i have a hard time seeing the target and getting good groupings. i just got a new bow this year so i will not be making the switch becuase too much $$$. but i have a really f'ed up right shoulder from baseball ,from 5 to 23, and i can tell after a shooting session while shooting its not a problem just after... but my next bow will be 50-60 class and probably a LH model to help with shoulder and eye situations. do what is comfortable. for me i feel like i really dont want to switch now because id like to learn the sport and how to properly shoot before i make that dramatic switch, not to mention i cant afford to buy a entire new set up. if i could start off lefty i would though
Shot RH for 20 yrs and after joining the site (actually HNI) and hearing how other folks had made the change due to eye dominance and started shooting LH 3 or 4 yrs ago. It was awkward at first but after a couple of 100 shots it started to feel natural. I would recommend it.
I switched in 2008 after shooting RH for 10 years. The transition wasn't difficult for me, and I was shooting a relatively aggressive cam during the transition (101st Airborne). My biggest issue shooting with my non-dominant eye was the difficulty (or I should say near impossible) with both eyes open. Now I'm shooting great LH, and although I don't shoot both eyes wide open (I squint my right just a hair), I can tell the difference. It was worth it. Really the only downside is the lower availability of equipment.
