When it comes to shooting eye dominance, do you know which is yours? The majority of people will have a dominant eye, but there are those who can shoot accurately with both. To check yours, continue reading below.
Shooting Eye Dominance | What's Yours?
You’ll often hear the phrase “dominant eye” and assume that it’s your right orb.
But in truth, anyone could have a dominant right or left eye depending on their genetics. There’s no way to truly know unless you do a simple test – fortunately, we’ve outlined the steps to that test below so you can determine your dominant shooting eye in no time.
Does Everyone Have a Dominant Eye?
Yes! While there are definitely some people who have more of a balanced preference, everyone has at least a mild preference for one eye or the other.
In most cases, folks’ right eyes are dominant, likely because most people are also right-handed.
But you can be a rightie or leftie and have either the same dominant eye or the opposite.
It’s not entirely clear why this is the case, but it’s known that, if you don’t have a particularly strong preference one way or the other, you can easily be “taught” to prefer your right eye and hand just from being around other righties.
What Does It Mean for an Eye to Be Dominant?
Don’t take dominance to assume that one eye is automatically better than the other.
Your eyes’ effectiveness or visual clarity is not affected by dominance.
Instead, a dominant eye “leads” better than the other – for shooting purposes, this means it’s often a little better for gauging distance or for hitting distant targets more accurately.
It’s important to determine what your dominant shooting eye is because you’ll be able to “lead” with that eye more regularly.
Furthermore, shooters who know which of their two eyes is more dominant will avoid cross shooting – shooting with the less accurate eye – when firing with one eye closed.
How to Test for Your Dominant Eye
Thankfully, determining which eye is dominant is very easy.
Step 1
Stretch your arms in front of you and, by placing your thumbs and forefingers together, make a triangular opening around the center of your visual field.
Try to keep your hands out at about a 45° angle or “flat” relative to your eyes.
Step 2
Keep both eyes open and center the triangular opening between your thumbs and forefingers on some distant object.
It doesn’t matter what the object is – just make sure it’s some meters away and not right in front of you.
Step 3
Next, close your left eye.
If the object in the center of your triangle remains centered – that is, if it doesn’t disappear or otherwise change position – then your right eye is dominant because it’s the only eye still open.
In contrast, if the object moved or disappeared behind your hands, then your dominant eye is your left eye.
Basically, this test takes advantage of our natural and instinctual positioning.
Whether we’re aware that are not, we’ve spent so much time in our bodies that we automatically position ourselves such that our dominant eye takes the lead when we view things.
This test essentially reveals your dominant eye, which you had all along!
You can repeat this test as many times as you like to make sure you’ve gotten the correct eye. Then head down to the range and give yourself a few accuracy tests.
We’d wager you’ll do better than if you try to shoot with the other eye open!
Become a Better Marksman
In the end, neither eye is necessarily better than the other.
But identifying your dominant eye can go a long way toward maximizing your accuracy and shooting efficacy.
If you’re a hunter or at all interested in becoming an expert marksman, identifying your dominant eye is crucial. Good hunting!
What about you, what's your dominant shooting eye and how did you determine that? We'd love to hear from you in the comments section!
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