Here are some basic methods for discovering which eye is dominant. Knowing this is of prime importance before embarking on your shooting career. It's not too difficult: here are some time- honoured methods:

  • Make an inch diameter hole in a sheet of card or paper (postcard size is about right). Pick an object in the distance and then quickly raise the card in front of your eyes. By alternately closing one eye then the other the lead eye is the one that sees the target object through the hole.
  • Even easier is to raise a thumb, OK style, and hold it just under a distant object. Again closing alternate eyes you can see which eye aligns the thumb with the object. That is the dominant eye.
  • Point a finger and see which eye aligns with the object. Some people say this should be done with the left hand for right handed shooters. I don’t think it makes any difference which hand you use, the outcome will be the same.
  • Use the gun to point at the coach (only if invited to do so! Randomly mounting your gun on to someone’s eye is rightly going cause a reaction you will not enjoy) This method is only valid if the shooter concerned has a good and repeating gun mount, so is not suitable for newcomers.

These processes help determine the dominant eye but it does not mean that eye is totally in control of the aiming process. This can only be ascertained by shooting at straight targets with a straight-stocked gun.

As mentioned elsewhere, more accurate methods are being developed, not only to determine the dominant eye but also its degree of dominance.

 

left eye

Finding the dominant eye: basic methods

Eyes: deciding which is which

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