# Eye Dominance



## Flyinhawaiian (Nov 2, 2018)

Archery is a biomechanical sport. It is preferred to follow hand dominance and close or obscure the dominant eye.


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## subconsciously (Aug 22, 2009)

I would stick with dominant hands as eye dominance could change or be trained to change. Much easier to see this happen in young archers. I would go with a cap blinder or the such to keep even lighting in both eyes,


.02


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## N8Crmr (Nov 18, 2020)

Im left eye dominant but grew up shooting right handed, if they are comfortable shooting right handed then they will be okay. They will just need to shoot with one eye closed.


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## pumpkin52107 (Nov 5, 2014)

Thank you guys for the responses!


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## Mrskiwitim (Jan 14, 2021)

pumpkin52107 said:


> Hello coaches, members, I been very keen on eye dominance, however for the first time I had a student that was left eye dominant and had purchased a right-handed bow. (Due to being right-handed and before being tested.) After some pointers he started to shoot real well (at 10 yards). My question is, is the dominant eye a 100% thing? or is it possible for a left eyed dominant shooter able to do well shooting a right-handed bow?


I am right handed left eye dominant and shoot a right handed bow. I am just retraining myself to use my right eye. I think anything is possible. I used to put a patch over my left eye when I would shoot my gun so it has not been an issue with my bow.


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## mab0852 (Oct 12, 2015)

I'm left eye right hand and shoot lefty. IMHO you should go dominant eye or else you will never have the ability to shoot both eyes open. Also, your vision is generally better/stronger and holds out longer in your dominant eye. I picked up a bow as a child and naturally went lefty because it was my natural point of aim. If it's your first time shooting you have no muscle memory so it really doesn't matter which is your dominant hand. You're going to build the reps to feel natural using your nondominant hand anyway. I'd be curious to know how many world class archers are using their nondominant eye.


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## Nova_Archer (Dec 22, 2019)

Handedness really isn't a factor a factor in archery - for a healthy person there should be almost no strength difference between both sides. A new archer hasn't built up muscle memory to which side they pull the string. This should be a non-factor, especially for a kid.

And for those thinking that you need your dominant hand for the release because it a fine motor skill remember that guitar, violin, cello, etc... all fret with the non-dominant hand and quickly gain quite a bit of dexterity - really it doesn't take long at all. For hundreds of millions of people that play instruments, refining fine motor skills with your non-dominant hand is simply not an issue.

Many people work around it with patch or something else. They are not changing their eye dominance, they are working around the fact they are not using their dominant eye.

Perhaps not the best solution for a new archer.


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## boltz729 (Feb 20, 2021)

N8Crmr said:


> Im left eye dominant but grew up shooting right handed, if they are comfortable shooting right handed then they will be okay. They will just need to shoot with one eye closed.


Dumb question but do most people shoot with both eyes open ? I seem to like keeping both open better. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## chrstphr (Nov 23, 2005)

boltz729 said:


> Dumb question but do most people shoot with both eyes open ? I seem to like keeping both open better.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


it's recommended to shoot with both eyes open. You can see the clicker/arrow tip better with both eyes open. If you have eye dominance problems then shooting with one eye closed usually is best until the eyes adjust.

Chris


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## woof156 (Apr 3, 2018)

arguing with your brain which knows which eye has the best quality vision is counter productive. Yeah you can train yourself to walk on your hands but why argue with your brain, make life easy- go with eye dominance.


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## Swami's Ghost (Jun 4, 2018)

I am left eye dominant and right handed. I grew up shooting guns and so closing the left eye was easy when shooting a bow.

You only need one eye to see the center.

You really don't see to see with both eyes when one will do. Less glare etc.

It is easier to learn to shoot with one eye closed than to fight your entire body.

The best quality vision isn't necessarily your dominant eye. My vision is worse in mine. 

The dominant eye is the one that determines your perception of what you see. Close it and the other eye becomes dominant.


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## terminalboot98 (Mar 30, 2021)

Many older guys learned to shoot right handed with left eye dominance because of bow availability. In my opinion though it’s always better to shoot a bow that matches your dominant eye not your dominant hand, some people can train their brain to shoot with their nondominant eye with both eyes open, I’ve heard of it but never seen it so it must not be that common and it probably requires using a blinder and a lot of eye training, but I really don’t see the point because in my opinion it’s easier to aim with my right hand (dominant hand) on the bow grip so I’m more accurate, also I can shoot with my naturally dominant eye which usually means the one with better vision for most people. When it comes to an AR15/M16 I can speed reload faster than most people because I’m naturally right handed so it lets me skip a step in the process and I always win the competitions we have when we’re bored, it also allows me to clear rooms easier with an M4 because I can manipulate the rifle easier around corners with my right hand on the handguards rather than on the pistol grip. At first I hated it but it turned out to be a blessing. Putting your dominant hand on a brace or hand guards make it so much easier to manipulate and hold a weapon steady.


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## Chipalexander (Mar 30, 2017)

I'm left handed and right eye dominate. I began shooting right handed over 35 years ago at the advise and teaching of a local shop owner. Glad I listened and stuck with it.


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## pumpkin52107 (Nov 5, 2014)

Thank you guys for all the responses.


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## terminalboot98 (Mar 30, 2021)

Chipalexander said:


> I'm left handed and right eye dominate. I began shooting right handed over 35 years ago at the advise and teaching of a local shop owner. Glad I listened and stuck with it.


That was good advice!


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