Changing shooting hands?

[miguel]

Anyone ever switch their dominant shooting hand from righty to lefty or vice versa?

The reason I ask...as long as I've been shooting handguns (right handed) I've always had "low/left" syndrome. I will occasionally hit the X-ring, but *everything* else will end up between 6 and 9 o'clock regardless of target type. I know I do have some mechanical issues to work out regarding grip and trigger press, as well as a flinch. No matter how I've changed things up to correct those problems, however, I've gotten the same results.

Friday, for giggles, after two hours of right handing it, I decided to put some lead down range left handed. I'll be damned if my groups didn't tighten up quite a bit and I was hitting the X and 10-ring on a B-27C target with regularity. This shocked me, but I was able to do it with three pistols of different make and caliber, so I don't think it was a fluke. My grip felt more natural as a lefty, as well.

As a backgrounder, on a recent visit to the optometrist, I did learn I was left-eye dominant. That said, I have always been a lefty when using a baseball bat, hockey stick and lacrosse stick, but I do write right handed. When young, I broke my right wrist fairly badly and it is a little creaky at times...not in a painful way, however.

While I'm not a statistician and I probably need a larger sample to claim an "AHA!" moment, when making a simple spreadsheet of where my shots were landing, I was able to double my number of X-ring shots and increase 10-ring shots by 35%, while reducing 9-ring shots by about 40% and totally eliminating 8-ring shots. These stats are based on 170 shots right handed and 100 shots left handed, fwiw.

Aside from the numbers, just visually looking at the target, I see the whole low/left pattern gone from the picture, and a more balanced distribution of shots, rather than a swap to high/low right that one might expect.

I know that for personal defense, it's important to be able to shoot both strong and weak hand, but at this point I'm thinking I need to consider which is REALLY my strong hand and start putting more time into that one, rather than continuing to beat my head against the wall right handed on a seemingly Quixotic crusade to "get better". I'm already better left handed so WTF?!?!

Anyone ever have or hear of a similar experience? Your input is appreciated in advance!

 

[Augustine]

I'm right-handed, though I often shoot really well with my left hand. I wonder if shooting with your other hand makes you focus and worry about the fundamentals in a way that you don't with your dominant hand. I would be interested to hear what others think about your story.

 

[Double T]

Perhaps initially you are not gripping the gun firmly enough? My wife caught me doing it last time at the range. I then went on to punch the red out of the bull with my g19.

To me, if I don't get a good grip, I seem to have flinching shots, though its actually my grip that was messing it up. As I squeeze the trigger, then gun was actually very minutely being pulled by my off hand due to not equal distribution.

Dry fire and try to keep the sights from moving with follow through.

 

[KPierce]

This may sound like a silly question but how old are you ?

I know in the past that there have been many instances where left handed children were taught to write right handed. It seems that being left hounded was thought of as being abnormal.

It could be that you are naturally left handed. I don't know that this is the case but it's the first thing that came to mind when I read your post.

It could also be that the injury to your right wrist may have effected some very subtle motor control that only becomes apparent when shooting a pistol.

Just some food for thought.

 

[Sylvain]

I practice with both hands, the goal is to not have a "weak hand" and "strong hand" anymore, but just two hands.

 

[radar44]

I am also " left eye dominant" but right handed .
I have shot all rifles left handed all my life but have never shot a left handed rifle .

With pistols , I can switch hands when one gets tired and it doesn't feel "weird" like trying to shoot a rifle right handed.

I shoot equally bad with both hands!

 

[Sylvain]

I shoot equally bad with both hands!

Same here, I guess that makes us totally ambidextrous.

 

[BlueEagle]

I'd say practice a bit more with your left, but don't stop using your right! Being functionally ambidextrous could be a HUGE advantage.

 

[bman1962]

Great food for thought. I am right handed but I have a blurry right eye (optic neuritis and it will never be corrected). I still shoot right handed but I use my left eye. The next trip to the range I am going to start practicing with my left hand. I had never even concidered trying to shoot left handed. Thanks for the great idea, it makes sence to try and not have a dominant hand in shooting a pistol. I'd imagine I can hit a barn with either hand.

 

[Birds Away]

I have some of the same issues. I shoot a handgun, throw, bowl etc. right handed. I write, eat, shoot pool and shoot a rifle left handed. I am left eye dominant. The advantage is that there is little difference in accuracy with either hand. I practice left handed with my small guns. I believe it gives me an advantage. I may be wrong. I sometimes suffer from low left-itis. I have been told the remedy for this is to get some snap caps and practice drawing and firing in front of a mirror. When doing this you should emphasize the fundamentals. This is something I defitinely want to try. I just have to find the appropriate snap caps which are surprisingly hard to find. Good luck in your quest for improvement. There are many of us on the same path.

 

[churchmouse]

I was doing the same thing. Trigger pull, gun going with my finger. I do not do this with a 1911 as the trigger is crisp and on top. Any plastic gun I shoot with the long take up on the trigger gives me this problem. I found this when I was using my Taurus 24/7 that has a green laser on it. I was getting the laser dialed in and noticed it was going into the low left just as you experience. This is not sighting but trigger discipline. If you start out on point and do not end up there it is in the mechanics not optics. If you were doing better left hand with the same eyeballs you were doing right hand it is mechanics. If left feels
better and results are good, go lefty. If you stay right, get or borrow a pistol with a laser on it and you will see what I am referring to. My Taurus is the only railed pistol I have and it was by accident I found this flaw in my execution.

 

[miguel]

This may sound like a silly question but how old are you ?

40s...I used to color with both hands as a kid, but decided on right for some reason. Happily I wasn't beaten or forced to do so!

I'd say practice a bit more with your left, but don't stop using your right! Being functionally ambidextrous could be a HUGE advantage.

That's the way I'm looking at it. I'm interested to see if I can continue to improve as a lefty with a little more practice, then will try to split time between left and right to bring dexter in line with sinister.

 

[It'sAllFun&Games]

Miguel, it sounds like you're left handed to me!
If you're left eye dominant, and you shoot a pistol better in your left hand, you should consider yourself left handed as far as shooting goes. If you were able to do it with baseball, hockey, and lacrosse, you'll be able to do it with shooting as well. It sounds like you're already there.

You might have to put in a bit of practice at using the safety, slide release, magazine release, etc, and you might have to invest in a new holster and maybe some ambi-friendly firearms, but if you're already shooting better with your left hand I say it's worth the effort to retrain yourself on the rest of the operations.

The next step is learning to write with your left hand.
Welcome to the lefties club! We're the only one's in our right mind.

 

[BlueEagle]

.....I'd imagine I can hit a barn with either hand.

You have a problem with marauding barns in your area too? Damn, I thought I was the only one...some big red son-of-a-shed jumped me just last week.

We're the only one's in our right mind.

Ha! I see what you did there...

 

[T-Mann]

I practice with both hands, the goal is to not have a "weak hand" and "strong hand" anymore, but just two hands.

This...although my right is still my strong hand, I am fairly accurate with my weak hand if need be.

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

I've always been nominally but only slightly right handed, but very left eye dominant. I can fire pretty well right handed, but go left by default, just because my right eye is so wonky. I do practice both ways, though.

 

[miguel]

Miguel, it sounds like you're left handed to me!
If you're left eye dominant, and you shoot a pistol better in your left hand, you should consider yourself left handed as far as shooting goes. If you were able to do it with baseball, hockey, and lacrosse, you'll be able to do it with shooting as well. It sounds like you're already there.

You might have to put in a bit of practice at using the safety, slide release, magazine release, etc, and you might have to invest in a new holster and maybe some ambi-friendly firearms, but if you're already shooting better with your left hand I say it's worth the effort to retrain yourself on the rest of the operations.

The next step is learning to write with your left hand.
Welcome to the lefties club! We're the only one's in our right mind.

Miguel Jr. is left handed, proving the old adage "Like father, like son!"

Browsing the classifieds the other day, I found -- and this might be Fate sending me a message! -- two lefty G19 holsters. I scooped both up for a good price. I'll hold on to the right-handed ones I have, so I can go two fisted if need be!

Looks like I'll need to add "dry mag changing" to my dry firing routine now.

 

[wolfts01]

I'm right-handed, though I often shoot really well with my left hand. I wonder if shooting with your other hand makes you focus and worry about the fundamentals in a way that you don't with your dominant hand. I would be interested to hear what others think about your story.

I have not shot lefty, but I do think that intentionally using your non-dominant hand for something forces you to approach it differently. I took notes for kicks in a boring class back in high school and I noticed I have much better handwriting (only takes many times longer to write that way for me).

It could be that you have ZERO bad habits with your left hand since you can transfer your right-handed experience over.

It could be, in the case of the OP, an eye dominance issue. Your right-brain is dominating your visual perception, while your left brain controls your shooting arm (when shooting right handed). I think your two halves have to communicate across the (insert big word here) when they coordinate, which is slower/less efficient than when you use one half only.

I think it would also be interesting to see if lefties, or left-eye dominant people, are more accurate in general. I know that people who've had strokes that killed their dominant half experience the world in an entirely different way than before (going from logical scientist to abstract artist, for ex).

 

[redpitbull44]

I'm only replying to the topic here:

I am left handed. Period. I am far more comfortable doing everything that way. HOWEVER. I have trained myself to be absolutely ambidextrous. About the only thing I can't do well with my right hand is write manuscript. It winds up looking like cuneiform.

Anyways.

I figure it's essential to be able to shoot left/left (eye/hand), right/right, or even cross shoot right/left or left/right, especially if you are transitioning while working an opposite side corner for example, and a target presents itself before you've switched shoulders or hands.

On a good day it's a toss up on which hand I can shoot better with. On a bad day I typically have mirror images of the same mistakes.

 

[MikeDVB]

You have a problem with marauding barns in your area too? Damn, I thought I was the only one...some big red son-of-a-shed jumped me just last week.

I'm glad I wasn't drinking anything when I read this or it would have been all over my screen...