# Teaching my 5 year old how to shoot



## Sawbillslayer (Oct 24, 2013)

Was trying to show my daughter how to shoot her bb gun and found out she is left eye dominant but right handed. Do I need to teach her how to shoot left handed? Or how do I teach her how to shoot? She tries to hold the rifle the right handed way and and tries to aim with her left eye. Any of you guys have this problem with your kids?


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## Huntin8 (Jul 15, 2013)

I am right handed but left eye dominant as well. I just taught myself how to shoot left handed. I have heard that if you cover your left eye with something while shooting, you can train the right eye. Never tried it and not sure if it really works or not though. The only reason I wish I would have tried to train my right eye is because it is a complete pain to buy left handed guns.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

The topic / problem has come up before and been discussed many times. Some people want to change the eye dominance with a eyepatch. As a lefty I feel its a mistake and would rather them learn to shoot left handed. My boy is left handed as well and shoots lefty.


-DallanC


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

Here is the last discussion on the subject.

If you haven't had it done you might want to have a optometrist check out your daughters eyes to eliminate any problem that she might be having besides being right handed with a dominate left eye.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

Huntin8 said:


> The only reason I wish I would have tried to train my right eye is because it is a complete pain to buy left handed guns.


Really? I find there are sooooo many choices for lefties now. Heck you can find several different mfg's of lefty AR15's. I have guns spanning a very wide range of calibers, all left handed in various MFGs. I've yet to feel limited (although if you want a Remington .243BDL in a lefty that is going to be one heck of a challenge due to it being such a limited production... and yes I have one ).

Its true lefty guns used to be hard to find, but I don't think that's a major deterrent anymore.

-DallanC


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## Huntin8 (Jul 15, 2013)

Its not that they are hard to find, its the wait to get them special ordered. The last two rifles I ordered, the first one took 2 months to get in and the second took around 4 or 5 months to come in. Not to mention the AR15 I want to get, last time I looked it was going to take a year and a half to get! Although thats because of the craze everyone is in.


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## Huntin8 (Jul 15, 2013)

I guess everyone has those problems though. I just have zero patience waiting for a new gun!


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## LostLouisianian (Oct 11, 2010)

Personally I would get her shooting left handed. My kid brother and I can shoot very well either left or right handed. He is truly ambidextrous because he had to learn to use his left hand after he kept breaking his right hand getting into fights. He can bat both left and right handed too. I on the other hand am right dominant and shoot right but I taught myself to shoot left handed just for the challenge and can shoot equally well either way. I have great eye control and can easily shut whichever eye I need to in order to shoot. My favorite thing is to walk up to someone and make myself go crosseyed. Usually freaks them out and they bust out laughing.


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## swbuckmaster (Sep 14, 2007)

My youngest daughter is left eye right handed. She started shooting a bow when she was five. Hated it and always cried. I figured out her problem bought her a new left handed bow and she immediately shot better then she did with the stupid eye patch. Fast forward a few years and she passed her hunter safety written and shooting better than her piers did. She shoots her bow better than girls twice her age and she has also taken two geese with a 20 gauge.

Forget the eye patch!


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## ridgetop (Sep 13, 2007)

Huntin8 said:


> I am right handed but left eye dominant as well. I just taught myself how to shoot left handed. I have heard that if you cover your left eye with something while shooting, you can train the right eye. Never tried it and not sure if it really works or not though. The only reason I wish I would have tried to train my right eye is because it is a complete pain to buy left handed guns.


My son has the same thing going on. 
I'm left handed, so I'm going to try and teach him to shoot left handed. So he can use my guns when he gets older.


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## BigMac (Feb 12, 2012)

Get here shooting lefty!!! I am the same way right handed/left eye dominant. My little brother is opposite lefty with right eye dominant. My dad & I noticed just as you did. Starting him out on his BB gun he was looking over the stock to use his right eye. We switched the gun to the right side & he never looked back. Much much easer to switch at young age!


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## hamernhonkers (Sep 28, 2007)

BigMac said:


> Get here shooting lefty!!! . Much much easer to switch at young age!


^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 
This

I am the same left eye, right handed and have shot left handed for 30+ years. Do her a favor and stick with the left eye, it is far easier to train the muscles in your body then it is to train your eye.


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