Getting ready to start my daughter shooting but I have a problem. My daughter is totally right handed but her left eye is dominant. I have the following questions.
1. If she shoots a shotgun with both eyes open will she have to shoot left handed?
2. If she shoots a shotgun with one eye will it make a difference?
3. Will shooting a rifle with a scope make any difference which eye she uses and weather or not she shoots left or right handed?

Pleases give me informed answers and not just a gut feeling.

OK, shooting a shotgun will be better with left hand, but not totally impossible, unless she can not get used to it. You could try right handed first, but be prepared, esp being young and inexperienced, she may struggle with the left eye taking over and causing her to miss shots on the wing.

Shooting out of a scope will not make a difference if she can see well out of the right eye. She may feel more comfortable on the left hand though.

My son is the exact senario you descirbed. He shoots left handed. We have not introduced shotgunning, although he has shot a .410 on occassion.

General observations from a left eye dominate right handed person

1. She does not have to shoot left handed but it will be easier to hit if shooting left handed.

2. Closing one eye greatly reduces the ability to judge range to the target required for having proper lead to hit the target. When shooting from the right shoulder I shut or squint the left eye just before shooting which sometimes I forget and miss or at least have that as an excuse.

3. Using a scope takes a lot of the dominance or one eye over the other out of the equation.

I shoot from either shoulder equally bad (once shot a straight in skeet 12 shots from left and 13 from the right). Being right handed shouldering the gun is still a little awkward but can certainly be learned through practice. Lot of practice with a BB or pellet gun is how I learned this.

When shooting pistols the strong hand is right but still just use the left eye for aiming.

Teach her to shoot left handed, it will save all of you, a lot of grief.

The pistol part will work if she is taught to shoot using the isosceles stance.

I agree.

I would just have her play a bit and feel which side is more comfortable, and if the left is better, go with it.

As a left handed person who shoots right handed with a dominant left eye, I can tell you being ambidextrous is a big help to that, but most right handed people are not ambidextrous, so shooting left handed will be easier to learn and handle for her.

I'm right-handed and shoot left. Shouldn't be a problem.

I Can sit on a bench and squeeze a tight group off right handed. In the real world I can't tell a horse from a house. Make sure she isn't making her decision without being tested somewhere other than a shooting bench.

Being ambidextrous in shooting is something that can pay off big time in hunting where game comes up on the other side of you, or when shooting out the truck window. Shooting is about the only thing I am ambidextrous with but that was developed through a lot of practice.

I am also left eye dominant and right handed. However I was not introduced into firearms until the age of 12 and eye dominance was not determined until several years later. So being right handed I was given firearms to shoot right handed. Scoped rifles are not a problem as I close the dominant eye. Same with shotguns, I close or almost fully close my left eye to pick up the bead. Pistols, I used to hold right handed and use my left eye for the sights, but over the course of several years I've trained myself to use my right eye instead and still shoot upper 90's in my annual qualifications course. Things may be different for your little one due to the age and not being fully dependent just yet on solely having to use her right hand/arm/eye for shooting. I'm currently experiencing the same thing with my 6 yr old son. I plan to utilize a BB gun to determine right/left as to which he is most comfortable and accurate with.

you could do the marine corps training, all marines(even lefties) shoot right handed.. use scotch tape over her left lens of her shooting glasses, she will still see light but it will force her right eye to take over (dominating the left). as her shots get better remove the tape and maintain the right handed shooting and have her use her right eye.
I had to do this with my sister and she can now out shoot most of us. but lesson learned if a 400lb hog is charging you DONT USE THE SCOPE!!! i killed it with 7 rounds to the head and alot of unpuckering to do!

I was born ambidexteros..but basically right handed & left eye dominant..My four sons 3 have the same condition as did several of my cousins. The military doesn't believe anyone is left handed...at least until you can outshoot the instructors..I shot
competitively for yrs..left handed..and did very well..Almost all
of my rifles are left handed as are most of three of my sons. Many shooting instructors still try to force right handed shooting..please do not do that..The problem with being right handed trying to teach lefties is perspective..and they see the
targets from a different angle..I watched some Skeet shooters that we determined w/left-eye dom. be changed and their scores dropped and stayed at around 18/25 per round..Same guys I'd had shooting 24's reg. left handed..but they paid $100 hr for the opinion..still can't compete successfully or go up in class. My
first grade teacher used to beat my left hand w/a ruler in Burris
La. because her parents told her left handers were touched by the
Devil..Worst thing you or anyone can do is mess with "Gods" creation..take some time...and let her develope..Don

Concur. I am a bit ambidextrous, but left eye dominant and shoot right handed.

This is not a problem! I am not in the boat with the folks who say she has to shoot left handed. I wouldn't ever dream of shooting left handed, and personally, I believe it's easier to train the eye than the hand. I have been in the military for over 17 years and since a little boy have always shot well from the right side.

Our qualification pop-up lanes require you to open both eyes to scan for the target to appear. Once they do, I close my left eye and shoot. The target always falls.

I can hold my own on the clay and skeet range, and even hit what I am aiming at with a compound bow at 40 yards.

My point in all of this is that there are no "you must do this" answers. If she wants to shoot right handed, by all means let her. You're not setting yourself up for certain grief. And she'd probably not need much more ammo, if any, than any other youngster learning to shoot. It still takes lots of practice, even for the best same side shooters. Good luck, and I hope this helps.

I have the same situation. Left eye dominant - Right handed.

With shotgun, you lose some depth perception if you close one eye. I use a front sight that is a tube with a fiber optic rod in the front. You can't see the glow with your left eye but can see a drifting dot with both eyes open using your right eye.

For pistol, I keep both eyes open but slightly adjust my stance so I can use my left eye to align the sights.

Scoped rifle is simple. I close my left eye.

Open sighted rifle is the most difficult. I have to close my left eye.

Except for pistol, I have taught myself to shoot equally well right or left handed. It has come in handy when a deer comes up in an awkward position to my blind.

My experience has come in handy training my grandsons since one is right handed & the other left.

Let her practice a LOT both ways. An air rifle will allow practice in city limits in the back yard or garage.

An article on cross-eye dominance.

Shotgun sight like I use.

Have fun training her. You'll both learn a lot about shooting in the process.

Thanks for all the info. We will just shoot and see what develops.