The vast majority of people are right-handed, and most of them are also right-eye dominant. Just as everyone has a dominant hand, they also have a dominant eye. If you’re right-handed, chances are you’re right-eye dominant. Similarly, if you’re left-handed (or “wrong-handed,” as some like to joke), you’re likely left-eye dominant.
But what if you’re right-handed and left-eye dominant — or the reverse? In that case, you’re cross-eye dominant, which makes you a relatively rare individual. About 65% of the population shares the same dominant hand and eye, while 18% are cross-eye dominant. The only group smaller than that — at 17% — are those without a clearly dominant eye.
For shooters, being cross-eye dominant can present some challenges. The world isn’t exactly designed for you, but that doesn’t mean you can’t become an excellent shooter. It just means you’ll need to adapt and do a few things differently.
Identifying Cross-Eye Dominance
The first step in addressing cross-eye dominance is identifying the issue. As an instructor or teacher, it can be tough to see what’s wrong, and I imagine that new shooters often don’t realize what’s wrong themselves.
When I was teaching my son to shoot, he had a major issue understanding what I was telling him to do because it didn’t feel natural to him. It was a bit frustrating for both of us. I tried my best to explain what I meant properly, and he tried his best to tell me it didn’t make sense. It took a second for it to dawn on me what the issue could be.
Knowing there could be an issue with eye dominance, we did the ‘test.’ It turned out he’s left-eye dominant but right-handed.
There is more than one way to check for eye dominance, but my preferred method is straightforward. Take both hands and make a box by laying your right index finger and thumb over your left index finger and thumb.
Next, hold your arms outstretched and focus on an object through the box — anything works, but we used the target at the range. Keep your eyes on that object, and slowly bring your hands back toward your face.
The object will naturally align with one eye as your hands meet your face, revealing which is your dominant eye. When my son did this test, it confirmed he was left-eye dominant but a right-handed shooter. With that in mind, we made a few changes, and he was plinking steel, popping balloons, and having a blast.
Cross-Eye Dominant Shooting
Today, we will focus on handguns, but these techniques are almost the same between platforms. The presence of a stock changes things a little, but it’s perfectly doable. Handguns are the easiest weapons to shoot while dealing with cross-eye dominance.
Switching Stances
Using a modern Isosceles shooting stance is one of the easiest ways to fix the problem. Positions like Weaver tend to rely heavily on the dominant side. Making an isosceles triangle with your arms puts the weapon directly in front of you and helps heavily negate the effects of cross-eye dominance.
Most of us still tend to favor our dominant arm side or might find proper Isosceles difficult. As someone with chronic shoulder problems, assuming the Isosceles position heavily favors my right side. It’s more of a scalene position. For guys and gals like me, we mix the Isosceles with the head tilt.
The Head Tilt
Another easy way to shoot while cross-eye dominant is to tilt your head to force your dominant eye into position. It’s just a minor tilt and allows you to get behind the sight effectively. You don’t want to tilt to the point where your cheek meets your shoulder, but just far enough to see the sights while shooting. My son uses an overly dramatic head tilt, but it works for him.
Close One Eye
All modern instructors advise shooting with both eyes opened. With both eyes opened you get much better peripheral vision. However, if you’re having difficulty finding and tracking your sights using a modern stance and head tilt, close your non-dominant eye. Yes, it’s not optimal, but it’s also a lot less optimal not to be able to see your sights.
Get a Red Dot
Red dots basically erase the issue altogether. It’s a target-focused, two-eyes-opened shooting style. Using a red dot makes cross-eye dominance almost a nonissue. Since you don’t have to align a front sight with a rear sight, it’s much simpler and easier. At most, you might need to engage the tilt method.
A red dot makes a huge difference. With the advent of red dots on handguns, this is very simple and most certainly a worthwhile investment.
Eyes On
Cross-eye dominance isn’t a huge deal. It might feel like it at the beginning of your shooting journey, but it quickly becomes a nonissue. All it takes is some practice, a little dry fire, and finding the right combination of mitigation techniques. Take the time, use the above techniques, and you’ll be scoring Alphas before you know it.
