Left shoulder shooting

Hi all ,

Need some advice, been shooting for 50+ years, started on clays a couple of years ago all going well,

6 weeks ago i had a clot in my right eye which has resulted in permanent loss of vision in said eye. Now being right handed and right eye dominant i am left with a dilemma, 

Is it worth relearning to shoot off my left shoulder or calling it a day, anybody had any experience  of anything similar.

I have tried mounting the gun l/h which is not bad 7 out of 10 times, altering my footwork is taking some doing and im not confident or as fluid as i would be off my right side obviously.

Cheers.

Hi just over four years ago my right eye decided to stop working so I decided to change to my left shoulder and now I am shooting better than ever

It is worth learning new ways

I've probably said this somewhere before but I have a left master eye and thus shoot left handed.

It will take you (much) less time than you think to make the transition. It's also something that you can accelerate by mounting and moving the gun at home. The best thing is 'shoot' gun up with snap caps. Mount the gun (in your own time) 25 times a night, every other night, for a month. Track along a wall & ceiling lines and then dismount. etc. 15 lots of 10 minutes and then see where you are. You will be very surprised. It's both a time and repetition thing.

Three points to remember in case you worry about the transition.

• People don't shoot off their dominant shoulder - they shoot off the shoulder that matches their dominant eye. There nothing clever in the shoulder.
  
• When you shoot left handed your right hand is on the forend and guiding the gun. This has advantages in terms of you doiminant hand giving strength and precision.
  
• When shooting "left handed" your left hand holds the gun and pulls the trigger - thats it. Its not like learning to write.
  

Finally, the cast on you gun will be wrong. Any right hand cast or palm swell will feel odd when mounted left handed. I wouldn't worry about that in the short term - but when (and only when) you feel your mount is consistent get a gunsmith to look at you and the gun and then recast as required. You might be fine but having the gun cast correctly does make the whole process of mounting left handed feel much more natural and it avoids too much neck movement which you might find uncomfortable. Casting a gun is unlikley to be more than £100 at most.

Happy to provide more comment if needed.

mpmilo said:

Hi all ,

Need some advice, been shooting for 50+ years, started on clays a couple of years ago all going well,

6 weeks ago i had a clot in my right eye which has resulted in permanent loss of vision in said eye. Now being right handed and right eye dominant i am left with a dilemma, 

Is it worth relearning to shoot off my left shoulder or calling it a day, anybody had any experience  of anything similar.

I have tried mounting the gun l/h which is not bad 7 out of 10 times, altering my footwork is taking some doing and im not confident or as fluid as i would be off my right side obviously.

Cheers.

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Sorry to hear that.
I’m no expert at all in the shooting community, but I know one thing for certain... you have to at least give it a try! The human body is a great thing, and I’m sure you will soon adapt and pick it up with practice, and soon be shooting again as though nothing had happened.

Good luck  

I know someone that also lost sight in one eye after shooting for many years.

He’s using something similar as the HPX Eyemaster, which works quite well for him.

Here you can find some info on this.

JDL said:

I know someone that also lost sight in one eye after shooting for many years.

He’s using something similar as the HPX Eyemaster, which works quite well for him.

Here you can find some info on this.

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Very interesting... especially when the guy writing the piece says he shot right handed with his right eye closed, so a potential solution right there.

I must concur with other commentators. You simply have to give it a try. You have nothing to lose. If it doesn’t work then you’ve answered the question. If it does work, you’ve answered the question and can continue to enjoy shooting. 

I shoot from my left being strongly left eye dominant. I agree, pointing with your right hand has its merits and my left hand pull the trigger without any thought. 
 

The chances of this not working out for you I think are pretty small. Sure it will feel odd, but as you’ve been advised, you’ll quick grow accustomed to it.

Ans so what if you miss a few more clays. In the grand scheme of things, does it really matter exactly how many you break? 

mpmilo said:

im not YET as confident or as fluid as i would be off my right side

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Fixed the above for you. Sorry to hear about the bad stroke of luck, but as has been said, you will adapt quicker than you can imagine. Just practice and above all keep enjoying your shooting.

Cheers for all feedback, Will give it a blast and see what happens. It may just come down to concentrating more which i suppose wont be a bad thing. 

 The time to stop shooting is when you stop enjoying it .  Scores don’t matter , missing a pheasant doesn’t matter , as long as you’re still having fun .  Your mates will still be there , you’ll still have a coffee and a bacon sandwich , still tell tall tales to each other .Shooting is actually therapeutic for us older guys

MartynB said:

Shooting is actually therapeutic for us older guys

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I’m rapidly descending ascending into that stage  

edited

MartynB said:

 The time to stop shooting is when you stop enjoying it .  Scores don’t matter , missing a pheasant doesn’t matter , as long as you’re still having fun .  Your mates will still be there , you’ll still have a coffee and a bacon sandwich , still tell tall tales to each other .Shooting is actually therapeutic for us older guys

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 ... and besides, where else can you go and chat about any of the 101 reasons why you missed ‘that’ clay ! 

Nothing to add, it's all been said (very well I think) Just wanted to wish you luck and hope you settle into your new routine quickly 

mpmilo said:

Hi all ,

Need some advice, been shooting for 50+ years, started on clays a couple of years ago all going well,

6 weeks ago i had a clot in my right eye which has resulted in permanent loss of vision in said eye. Now being right handed and right eye dominant i am left with a dilemma, 

Is it worth relearning to shoot off my left shoulder or calling it a day, anybody had any experience  of anything similar.

I have tried mounting the gun l/h which is not bad 7 out of 10 times, altering my footwork is taking some doing and im not confident or as fluid as i would be off my right side obviously.

Cheers.

Click to expand...

Without wishing to sounds too negative, you will likely find it extremely difficult to shoot from the other shoulder. I know of only one competitive shooter that’s done it and they never reached the heights they once held. It took them many thousands of targets to get close to where they were.

It’s not impossible and much depends upon other factors, specifically how competitive you are, how old you are and what discipline you shoot. 

If you shoot for fun and are not necessarily competitive then the pressure’s off. Learn at your own pace and try to enjoy the challenge. If age is on your side and you have the time to train then give it a go.

Consider a crossover stock too. It’ll at least it’ll allow you to continue to use your right shoulder.
 

Jan Powell said:

Without wishing to sounds too negative, you will likely find it extremely difficult to shoot from the other shoulder. I know of only one competitive shooter that’s done it and they never reached the heights they once held. It took them many thousands of targets to get close to where they were.

It’s not impossible and much depends upon other factors, specifically how competitive you are, how old you are and what discipline you shoot. 

If you shoot for fun and are not necessarily competitive then the pressure’s off. Learn at your own pace and try to enjoy the challenge. If age is on your side and you have the time to train then give it a go.

Consider a crossover stock too. It’ll at least it’ll allow you to continue to use your right shoulder.
 

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Jan, the OP made it fairly clear to be honest 

Need some advice, been shooting for 50+ years, started on clays a couple of years ago all going well,

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Clearly the OP is in need of some words of encouragement... if you read the post thoroughly.

For what its worth, I can shoot from either shoulder without much difficulty. I shoot from my left as I’m left eye dominant despite being right hand dominant.

As the OP has unfortunately lost the use of his right eye, though I’m surely no expert it’s should be obvious that he is now left eye dominant.

Whilst it can certainly be appreciated the experiences of the competitor you mentioned. Shooting many thousands to get used to shooting from the opposite shoulder sounds like a real opportunity to me, so I have to say, you do indeed sound rather negative in my opinion 

Jan hope you don't do any motivational coaching

Lloyd said:

Clearly the OP is in need of some words of encouragement... if you read the post thoroughly.

For what its worth, I can shoot from either shoulder without much difficulty. I shoot from my left as I’m left eye dominant despite being right hand dominant.

As the OP has unfortunately lost the use of his right eye, though I’m surely no expert it’s should be obvious that he is now left eye dominant.

Whilst it can certainly be appreciated the experiences of the competitor you mentioned. Shooting many thousands to get used to shooting from the opposite shoulder sounds like a real opportunity to me, so I have to say, you do indeed sound rather negative in my opinion 

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My comments aren’t intended to dent confidence but I'm sure the original poster will appreciate an honest response. My observations (and they are only that) are based upon my experience having seen and worked with competitors with eye dominance issues.

There is hope and shooting from the other shoulder can be done successfully but it’ll take time and good deal of practice. Whether that's worth doing is something only the poster can decide.

Jan Powell said:

My comments aren’t intended to dent confidence but I'm sure the original poster will appreciate an honest response. My observations (and they are only that) are based upon my experience having seen and worked with competitors with eye dominance issues.

There is hope and shooting from the other shoulder can be done successfully but it’ll take time and good deal of practice. Whether that's worth doing is something only the poster can decide.

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I kind of understand where Jan is coming from.  I personally would find it too challenging.  Had I taken up shooting much earlier in my life I would have perhaps had a go at shooting off my left shoulder but as it is I didn’t,  I was well into my 40s, spent a year and a half shooting off my right shoulder shutting my right eye (don’t ask - I’m stubborn), I actually did well.  I was persuaded to try assorted blocks on my left eye for over a year which were either unsuccessful in the main or made my right eye feel very tired to doing what I do now which is pick up with two eyes and then shut my left eye.   I shoot mainly gun down on nearly everything which really helps me to pick the clay up.  I just wouldn’t have the patience or determination or time to waste on changing over at my age.  I’ve had a rubbish year in terms of results (a few reasons) but I can actually shoot okay doing what I do.  It perhaps is more important for those who want to be the best so will try anything.   On a positive note there are a good few AAA shooters who are shooting off the wrong shoulder in sporting, Compak, Sportrap and Fitasc so it can work.