My youngest son is left eye dominant, and being in a right eye dominant house, he is shootiing with a right side ejection gun.  How many of you lefties have a left handed gun vs. right handed.  Just curious if I need to address this early or play it out, til he gets older.  Just curious as to bad habits, flinching etc....

I know it usually comes with time and practice shooting, but have you had him try and shoot with both eyes open? I started years ago and my kill ratio has went up huge compared to before.

thanks Tony

He definately shoots with both eyes open.  His firearms instructor said he can be trained to shoot right handed in time.  But I switched him over to left hand and his accuracy went up right away.  He is comfortable with it now, but my inquiry is to see if the lefties out there are shooting left handed guns or just dealing with the right handed guns and the shells popping out in front of them etc...

I am curious to the responses, cuz I have a cabinet full of right handed shotguns he can use, rather than purchase a lefty.

IMO having him shoot left handed is definitely the best choice to make. The body naturally wants to focus with the left eye so it's easier to train the body to physically shoot left handed rather than try and force the brain to focus with the right eye.

That being said, I'm not left handed but my girlfriend is and so is one of my dad's friends and they are both shooting RH eject autos. It doesn't seem to bother either of them...I think you are generally more focused on the target and the shells eject so quickly that they exit the field of view in a hurry and you tend not to really see them. I could be wrong as they are the ones doing the shooting but they have never had any complaints. I would say if he is comfortable shooting a RH gun and you have options for him to use, there is no need to purchase another gun...it would be a nice gift for any shotgunner though

I am left eye dominate, but am fully abidexterous, and every firearm I own is a "right hand gun." I am only 25 years old, but have been hunting for about 17 years now. Of course I would love to have a left eject semi-auto shotgun, but it is Not a nessessity. My first shotgun to shot was my grandmother's Remington 870 Express Wingmaster 16 ga. I had the occasional hitch in my ejection, due to the fact that the natural movement of my upper body was to slightly tilt the gun to the outside of my body. Sometimes the spent shell would get caught in the open chamber along with the next shell to be loaded. As I got older I corrected my ejection patter and now I can perform a pump reload with any of my "right hand" pump-shotguns, as fast as the next guy and many times faster. Being left handed has made me more in tune with my shotguns. Deffinatly help him become skilled at shooting right handed, as it will prove to be helpful in future hunts, as it has helped me.  But don't try to steer him into right hand only shooting. It would be like someone making you shoot only left handed from here on out.  It can be done but it will never be fully comfortable.  As for the ejecting shell, I never see it. I am always focus on the downrange target whether it be bird or clay. the only downside to the right ejection port is when hunting in foul weather, as we get in Louisiana more often then not during waterfowl season, is that the expelled gasses along with the rain (or mud) can give you quite a suprise in your face. My last little bit of advice is one of personal preference. I prefer my Benelli Nova 12ga. Pump over any pump shotguns i own or have shot. It is the easiest to eject which ever way it is tilted. My 870 is next on my list but it can be contrary at times. My best friend and an avid waterfowler like myself had a Mossberg 835. I absolutely hated it with a passion. Everytime I tried to eject the shell, it would give me heartache. To me it is deffinately a "right hand only" gun.  I hope my input was helpful, and keep encouraging him to take part in waterfowl conservation.

Thank You

Lance

I have been left eye dominant my whole life but I have always shot right handed. I would let him decide what feels good to him and go with it. Your body will adjust ether way you go.

There's a trick some left eye dominant / right handed sporting clays shooters use that you might try.  On your son's shooting glasses, put a piece of translucent 'magic' Scotch tape on the left lens so it blocks his view of the target.  By doing so, his right eye has to take over and focus on the target and gun barrel.  A buddy of mine was a horrible shot until he tried this.  Now he's very respectable.

Just a suggestion...   Good luck.

I also forgot to note that Champion makes a line of fiber optic beads, called Easyhit, that prevent your, for lack of a better term, "off eye" (i.e. whichever eye is not inline with the barrel of the gun) from seeing the bead thus preventing you from looking across the barrel with the "off eye" and using that sight picture to point your shot. One of my friends has the problem of not having a fully dominant eye so once in a while she will mount the gun, she's a RH shooter, and her left eye will be her dominant eye. This is said to be a more common problem in women than men. The first time we went out and shot, the gun I had her shooting was one that I hadn't put an Easyhit on yet because it became a backup gun when my dad bought his Vinci; when he and I bought our Vincis was when we decided to try the Easyhits. It was evident that something was not consistent in her shooting as there would be a streak of targets that she would crush, and then there would be a streak where she would miss them all, all targets being thrown in nearly the same location. After putting the Easyhit on the gun and shooting again, it brought more consistency to her shooting. Even for non-cross dominant eye shooters these beads improve shooting as they encourage proper gun-eye alignment and only allow you to see 1 bead. Your brain doesn't have to interpret which of the two beads (because even with a dominant eye your brain still sees two images) it is supposed to use to focus. I don't mean to sound like a salesman, but I really do think that everyone can benefit from this product. And just a side note...it's endorsed by Tom Knapp

I am strongly left eye dominant, but taught myself to shoot right handed with both eyes open. My father, however, shoots left handed. He has a Browning Gold Hunter in right hand, and when the wind is blowing (which is almost always) he often gets residual gunpowder in his right eye. I would recommend you either teach him to shoot right handed, or get him an 870 in left hand.

My wife is a lefty, and requires a shorter LOP, usually meaning a youth gun.  Try finding a left handed youth gun anywhere!  She loves her Benellis so I bought her a Montefeltro (right handed) and it doesn't bother her a bit for upland or waterfowl.  I even offered to buy her a left handed gun and get some custom work done for the LOP, she says she doesn't even notice the shells flying out because they don't hit her in the face or anything and she's concentrating on the bird.  Also, I spent 22 years in military and they didn't provide left handed guns for our guys, either in M4 or our sniper systems, so it shouldn't be a hinderance. 

Its a good trick for the gun club where you get more predictable targets.  Its harder to use in the field where you need 2 eyes for range and speed calculations. IMO Some of our old timers have that problem.

If your son is starting to shoot, go lefty.  It is easier to train the body rather than the mind and double barrels are left and right handed.

they also save ammo

x2 I also put a easyhit sight on this year and haven't notice much of a difference and I think that's because I have already trained myself to compensate for the left eye dominance. Let him do what ever feels best. My guess is he will continue to shoot left handed because his accuracy improved immediately.  I don't shoot that way but if I shot left handed i would prefer a LH gun or an over/under.

I am left eye dominant and right handed.  I have tried to shoot a shotgun, left handed but that is very unsafe....  

I wear corrective lenses and when I order my contacts, I purposefully order the right eye to be 'stronger and sharper' than the left.  It seems to help some.    It took a little bit of convincing to the eye doctor but he finally went along with.

Thanks for all the input guys.

I thought this thread was dead, it started over a year ago, but nonetheless good feedback.  The current update from my youngster is he adapted very well and never once mentions being distracted by the ejecting shell or is bothered by the residual gases.  I think the biggest adjustment for him was getting used to the initial switch, the jump from a 20 ga. to a 12 ga. and the weight of the gun itself,  thats a lot to throw at a kid all at once.  That all being said and a year later, he is all business (see attached).....ducks, pheasants, geese & grouse. 

Moral: youth are resilient and can adapt to anything....not so truthful for this OLD DOG.