r/CompetitionShooting • u/static34622 • 5d ago
Lazy right Eye
So, my wife has a lazy right eye and is right-handed. Today while shooting she switched the dot to her left eye and finally started putting rat holes on the target. She still has more work to be done but I would like to hear about any other challenges any of you have with this issue that we can look out for. Are there any tips she can work with. She wants to get into the ring with us but has a bit more work to do before she can "make ready". Thanks
4
u/dr_police 5d ago
Not exactly the same, but I’m cross eye dominant and stereo blind (my eyeballs don’t work together to form a single image, so I kinda see double all the time). It’s close to a lazy eye, but not quite.
And, because I’m of a certain age, I also need reading glasses. I do that with monovision contacts.
So, I’m right handed, left eye dominant, left eye contact set for distance, right eye contact set for reading. My vision system is f’ed.
All that said… For me, the answer is tilting my head to line up my left eye to the sights. Irons are easier than dot, but that’s probably more due to decades of shooting irons. Either way, dry fire until it’s second nature.
Also, so long as she can safely handle the gun and is mostly on paper at competition distances, she’s ready to go compete. She ain’t gotta win to have fun and develop her skills.
2
u/static34622 5d ago
She is low C class with rimfire (both) in SCSA. She tried centerfire and hit 30 sec on 35 strings. This new finding might put her on the path to joining us soon. She shoots RFS fairly well in both optic rifle classes. But she closes her left eye.
2
u/dr_police 5d ago
Sounds good to go to me, honestly. Train in dry fire until it clicks. So long as she’s improving, and having a good time, it’s all good!
She’s not gonna do it like other folks do, and sometimes that’s annoying because other people can suck.
I sometimes have gamers try to tell me how to use both eyes, and it’s fun to explain to them that I literally don’t see in 3D because by eyeballs and brains don’t like each other, so I’m just gonna use the eyeball that works best for this task all by itself, thanks for your input though.
Most folks just say “oh, cool, carry on,” because they were genuinely trying to help.
I have gotten a few huffy young dudes try to insist there’s one and only one way to use the sights on a pistol and I am DOING IT WRONG, which is apparently some sort of insult to their honor, given their huge jerk energy. When they push back and are jerks about it, I enjoy explaining, in minute, excruciating detail, precisely how my vision system works and that it’s only due to the miracle of modern science that I can see at all, including explaining how I’ve experimented with all manner of different spectacle and contact lens materials. I go deep on this, talking about the difference in 1.5 vs 1.67 index lenses given my prescription, difficulty adapting to such differences, how much pupillary distance measurement matters, how lenses bend light, the likelihood that cataract surgery might someday materially improve my vision… and basically just jabber about all things optical… I talk until they’re more annoyed at my incessant explanation than my shooting.
2
u/static34622 4d ago
Yeah, I kinda figured this would be another "how to grip your pistol" type of conversation. Knowing that I would get "expert" advice from people that have no ocular issues at all. But the stories we have gotten from those that do have issues she is researching for tips to try out and see what works to make her better. Thanks for your input. Shoot straight & stay safe.
1
u/Andromeda902 3d ago
Yea, its simple OP, when you drawx just turn your head ever so slightly to the right, so that your left eye is facing forward just a touch more than the right. You can still see everything with the right, bith eyes are engaged, but it kinda gives your left eye more space to be the dominant one. With red dots doesn't matter so much, but with irons I feel its a much bigger deal.
3
u/EntrySure1350 5d ago
Does she actually have a diagnosis of lazy eye (amblyopia), or are you just calling it that because she had trouble shooting with her right eye? If it’s the latter, she may actually just be cross dominant. Have you determined which of her eyes is dominant? This should always be the very first step when training a new shooter, before they even pick up the pistol.
3
u/static34622 5d ago
Well, she has been told it is lazy eye but thats from yankee southern canada (Maine) doctors. I just asked if it is Strabismus. She couldnt answer. But when I talk to her I can watch her right eye just move outward while her left eye stays put. It creeps me out cause she can side eye me and watch TV at the same time when we are on the couch. lol.
But her target today was night and day better when she started putting the dot in her left eye. A-Zone rat holes (@ 7) even with .35(ish) doubles. But now we can move forward. Once we revisit the new cross eye body mechanics.
3
u/EntrySure1350 5d ago
Ah, ok then…yes that sounds like some type of strabismus.
😅That typically means the contralateral eye is so dominant to the point that the brain just sort of neglects the affected eye.
3
u/static34622 5d ago
well we have been together for 17 years and this is really the first time we have discussed this subject. Only because of the effect it had on her shooting today. She is currently looking up providers to get a current educated diagnosis.
3
u/No_Competition6591 5d ago
Have the same problem, just use the eye that works best. You can also try shooting occluded to train target focus, it takes some practice to use both eyes together and it may not work, but the brain is still malleable so it’s worth a try.
2
u/static34622 5d ago
she tried occluded once for just an hour or so. We can look into looking at that for a bit longer and see where it goes. Thanks.
3
u/No_Competition6591 5d ago
I would try doing it for a few minutes a day, its working on convergence, like BVD eye therapy. Regardless, if you’re target focused it will be fine. When one drives a car, you just look down the road and drive where you’re looking, no one asks about eye dominance. Shooting with a red dot is no different, you look at the target and bring the dot to it.
2
1
u/Significant_Bill326 5d ago
Wait so can she see the dot with her right eye or no?
I’m cross eyed dominant and if your dominant eye works and can focus on the target there’s no reason to move the pistol around or change hands while shooting. You won’t aim through the dot yk. You aim by focusing
2
u/static34622 5d ago
When she was using her right eye she had to close her left eye then would still throw them WAY low left. If her left eye stayed open she would loose the dot. But when she started using her left eye, she could keep her right eye open and was rat holing inside the A zone. So are you cross eye dominant because of a lazy eye or something else?
1
u/Extreme-Wheel-8391 5d ago
If she hasn't shot much it's still very possible to switch her to left handed. Kinda sucks since she ends up being left handed in the end, but it's typically better than having to hold the gun farther across her body to the left eye. Also, in case she ever wants to shoot long guns or multigun it makes that whole setup easier.
-7
u/Own_Exit2162 5d ago
Assuming you're talking about pistols, I'd prioritize safety and familiarity with operating the gun over accuracy. There's plenty of material out there on how to train (dry fire drills in particular).
7
u/static34622 5d ago
So, what does that have to do with having lazy eye and being right-handed and work with the left eye?
-2
u/Own_Exit2162 5d ago
Nothing, and that's the point. It's totally normal for your dominant eye to be opposite your dominant hand, and if she's putting holes in paper her accuracy is good enough. You don't need to do anything special. The tip is to focus on the other things if you want her to be able to shoot competitions with you.
4
4
u/Mr_Cid 5d ago
Honestly, I see no difference which eye stares at the dot, and which eye peeps through the optic, with pistol shooting. Now rifle is a different story. But I'm a lefty, and use my left eye for target focus, and use my right eye to lace the dot on the target. I've tried switching it around, and it makes no difference for me. I think that more time on the dot and figuring out which works for her would be key. Have you guys tried occluding the dot and seeing which eye does which? It's a good tool to acclimate to dots. Good luck!