I’m right-handed, as in, I do almost everything with my right hand. However, there are also some things I’m really good at doing left-handed too. So, maybe I’m slightly ambidextrous. I can swing a bat better from my left side, and I can shoot a basketball better with my right hand.  I can also bowl better left-handed than I can right-handed.  And then there are some things I can do equally as well, no matter which hand I’m using, such as cutting a steak or shaving. However, I tell people I’m right-handed because I write with my right hand. One thing I can do now, but didn’t start with equal capabilities for, was shooting. Why? Because I’m a "mostly" right-handed person who has a dominant left eye. In this article, I will talk about eye dominance and what it has to do with shooting your firearm. You might be left-eye or right-eye dominant, cross dominate, or you might not have a dominant eye at all. We’ll cover them all in today’s article.

Eye Dominance

Often we don’t associate being good with something based on our eyes. For instance, I’m pretty sure (although I could be wrong) that I’m good at swinging a bat from my left side because I just am. In fact, I’m a pretty terrible right-handed baseball player. I’ve never thought, I bet I’m good at hitting a baseball using my left side because my left eye is just so much better.  Maybe baseball is more like shooting than I think, but I don’t actually know. What I do know, however, is that your eyes play a huge part in your rifle or pistol shooting.

Here’s a quick story. The first time I ever fired a rifle in my unit, I failed. And not just by a little. I might as well have not even been pulling the trigger; it was so bad. I’m almost certain my instructors thought I was blind because I personally was starting to think that. And this day is when I learned about eye dominance and its role in shooting a weapon, I also learned I needed glasses.

Why is it important to know which eye is dominant?

When shooting, you probably close the weaker eye and view your target with the stronger one. You put everything into focus with this eye. If you’re shooting a rifle and close one eye to focus on the front sight post, it can be difficult to line things up when you have a right cheekweld and an open left eye. That’s time wasted. It’s time wasted because you are fully capable of using either eye (medical issues aside). It’s just that your brain takes a second to catch up to what you’re asking a particular eye to do (if it’s not the dominant one.)

This is where I was having a problem, minus the need for glasses, but we’ll get to that later.

Whenever I tried shooting where I needed to use the one-eye closed method, I would close my right eye, and I couldn’t get my front sight post lined up on the target. Eventually, I could, but it would require more effort, again the brain lagging a bit.

When I started shooting left-handed and using my left eye to sight in my target, I noticed that I was getting on target quicker, and I was shooting more accurately.

Of course, knowing this has helped me a lot because I have learned how to shoot equally with either hand, which could come in handy if one of my arms is taken out in a firefight.

Test Your Eye Dominance

If you’re a new shooter, there’s a chance you don’t know which eye is dominant. There are a few tests you can do to find out, all very simple. 

Triangle Test

The triangle test is the one I learned first.

1. Take both of your hands and form a triangle to look through. Touch your thumbs together to make the base and point your index (pointer) fingers together like a steeple, touching each other.
2. Next, find an object in the room and put that object into the center of your triangle while extending your arms out toward that object.
3. Looking through your hand-formed triangle, close your left eye. Did the object stay centered? If so, you might* be right eye dominant. If not, you might be left eye dominant.
4. Next, close your right eye. Did the object stay centered? If so, you might* be left-eye dominant. 

*I use “might" because some people don’t have a dominant eye or have vision issues that could alter the results.

Alternative Triangle Test

Another test people do with the triangle is to bring it up to their eye slowly.  Whichever eye you automatically bring it to is your dominant eye.

If you know this test, you probably know it’s often argued against because people can “trick" their brain into using whatever eye they want. The key is to bring your triangle-formed hand to an eye subconsciously and look through it without thinking.

This method can prove difficult for those who don’t have a dominant eye, which I’ll cover here shortly.

Pointing Test

This is another test, quite similar to the triangle one.

1. This time interlace your fingers and then extend your pointer fingers.
2. Point them toward a random object. Again, close your left eye. Are your fingers still pointing toward that object? If so, you might* be right eye dominant.
3. Now close your right eye and do the same. Are your fingers still pointed at the object? If so, then it might* be left-eye dominant. 

If when closing an eye and the object goes off-center from your fingers, then that might* be your weaker eye, the same for the triangle test.

*I use “might" because some people don’t have a dominant eye or have vision issues that could alter the results.

Non-Dominate Eyes

We often get caught up with having a dominant eye that we forget some people don’t have one. Some can close either eye and see the object in the center of whatever test they decided to use. This is great for those people because they don’t have to adjust anything based on how their eyes work. 

Cross Dominance

Cross dominance refers to people who have a dominant eye opposite of their dominant hand.

• If you’re left-handed and you have a dominant right eye, you are cross dominant.
• If you’re right-handed and have a dominant left eye, you are cross dominant.

Astigmatism 

One other concern some may have is that the object comes off-center during one of the above tests, no matter which eye they use. If this happens, you might have astigmatism. Make sure you talk with your optometrist if this is a concern.

If you have astigmatism, glasses, surgery, or contacts can help you shoot more easily and confidently.

To review, there are a few categories in eye dominance.

• You can either be left or right-eye dominant, meaning one eye is stronger than the other.
• You can be cross-eye dominant, meaning your strong eye is different than your strong/dominant hand.
• You might have neither, meaning you can see equally as well no matter which eye you’re using; both eyes work in equal strength.

Do not confuse eye dominance and having perfect vision. I have 20/20 vision in both eyes, but I still have a stronger/more dominant left eye. With training, I have learned to use both eyes.

If you think you have a vision problem, consider visiting your local optometrist and see if that doesn’t help fix some of the issues you’ve been having at the range.