I'd like to train with the point-and-shoot method. A Navy Seals vet explained to me that he'd train his men to toss up a silver disc about 6" in diameter into the air, then to shoot without taking aim (they'd swing the gun up, point and shoot) like in a quail hunt. He told me that after several weeks of constant training, they got to the point where they could hit a dime (might be exaggeration of course). I don't know if this type of training exists but I'd sure love to hear more about it if any of you know about it.

I am right handed and have been strengthening my right hand to work the double-action on a Walther PPK 380. I also have astigmatism in my right eye so I shoot with my left, which I'm told is natural for some folks. I don't know which eye is my dominant eye yet because I don't wear glasses (can't afford 'em because I'm off my health insurance) so I have yet to determine that. I'd like to know if shooting with the right hand and left eye is feasible in accurate targeting, because in my excercise today I shot primarily to the left of the bullseye shown below.

3/31/2006 7:10:39 PM

Off-topic:
If you *really* need glasses, see Dr. Croom (near the belltower), and he'll give you an eye exam and Rx for ~$60, iirc.
Then go to BJs/Sams Club and get two pairs of glasses for $100.

V mine has $100 of coverage

[Edited on March 31, 2006 at 7:22 PM. Reason : lkdfj]

3/31/2006 7:15:13 PM

Quote :

" I don't know which eye is my dominant eye yet because I don't wear glasses (can't afford 'em because I'm off my health insurance)"

most plans dont

3/31/2006 7:19:04 PM

if you're shooting with your left hand and hitting there, i'd say you're jerking the trigger and pulling the gun off line. work on squeezing the trigger and work on you're breathing

someone else may have something different to add.

i'll shoot to the right frequently(right handed shooter)

3/31/2006 7:53:07 PM

i had the same pattern with my pistol and found that i was pushing the trigger sideways some while squezing. focus on pulling your finger straight back and i bet it will help.

^i would think that shooting with the left hand would push the rounds the other way...least for me it would...

^actually, i see how you do that...guess it all depends on how you pull the trigger....

[Edited on March 31, 2006 at 8:15 PM. Reason : thought about it]

3/31/2006 8:14:27 PM

Quote :

"most plans dont"

Well the one my mom had me on with where she works at Sas covered glasses so I consider that a loss, but thanks ambrosia, I'll look into it.

Quote :

"If you're shooting with your left hand"

I'm shooting with my right hand and my left EYE.

Quote :

"guess it all depends on how you pull the trigger"

Now the guy who works at Davi's, "Cactus Jack," told me that if I squeeze the trigger with the tip of my finger it'll jerk it one way (depending on which hand you're using), and on the knuckle, the other way, so the best area to squeeze the trigger is between the tip and the knuckle. Not the best leverage in the world for double-action shooting but I'll just have to keep building up that damn tendon. I'm worried more about lining up the sights with my left eye and right hand. I kept on getting it dead nuts according to the sights, and shot in a very tight group, but as indicated in the pic they were all to the left of center.

[Edited on March 31, 2006 at 8:29 PM. Reason : .]

3/31/2006 8:28:24 PM

yeah, sounds like you are doing exactly what i used to do, especially since its double action. shoot a different gun (single action preferrably) and see what happens. if you can control it better, its your finger, else it could be your eye. also, try shooting southpaw; if it hits the same area, it could be your eye (ideally you would pull the other way with your left, but i haven tried this myself) just my $.02

3/31/2006 8:36:46 PM

Ok. I go to the range once a week so I'll work on my left hand this weekend before I go back on Ladie's Day on Tuesday.

3/31/2006 8:39:00 PM

hells ya, serious shooter. id join ya if i werent gonna be rotting away in EB2

3/31/2006 8:42:56 PM

I shoot right handed but I'm left eye dominant...its a handicap, but you can learn to shoot just as well as someone who is same side dominant. It all comes down to trigger control and sight alignment...the gun will shoot where it is aimed. All you have to do is understand the mechanics behind it, practice, practice, and practice some more. Remember, practice doesn't make perfect. PERFECT practice makes perfect.

Oh, and I won the firearms award in BLET...so yes, it IS possible.

Also, there are a few tricks to figuring out which eye is dominant. The method I use is as follows:

-Hold your thumb up in front of your face at appx arms length.
-Look past your thumb at an object in the distance.
-You should see two images of your thumb (both of your eyes are trying to "see" something that you aren't actually focusing on).
-If one eye is more dominant then the other, one of the images of your thumb should be a little more focused then the other. The side that image is on corresponds to the eye that is dominant.

For example, when I look past my thumb I see a darker, clearer "image" of a thumb and a more transparent image of thumb. The darker, clearer image is on the left. Thus, my left eye is dominant. Make sense?

Good luck.

3/31/2006 8:53:08 PM

Quote :

"I don't know which eye is my dominant eye yet because I don't wear glasses"

You don't need glasses or an eye exam to determine which eye is dominant.

http://www.archeryweb.com/archery/eyedom.htm

3/31/2006 9:09:30 PM

Quote :

"For example, when I look past my thumb I see a darker, clearer "image" of a thumb and a more transparent image of thumb. The darker, clearer image is on the left. Thus, my left eye is dominant. Make sense? "

wouldn't that make your right eye dominant?

4/1/2006 12:17:41 AM

'Doh! First test indicates I'm left eye dominant, second test indicates my right eye. Now I'm good and confused.

I think the problem here is I don't have glasses. If I could see clearly with both eyes I think the test would be less biased.

4/1/2006 5:14:27 AM

Because the second test is wrong. Actually, I don't know which one you are considering "first." The test I posted is correct. This thumb stuff is too complicated.

[Edited on April 1, 2006 at 5:23 AM. Reason : ]

4/1/2006 5:22:05 AM

You provided the second one.

[Edited on April 1, 2006 at 5:50 AM. Reason : V Don't worry, I'll figure out which eye eventually.]

4/1/2006 5:23:02 AM

Dang it. Wasn't fast enough on the edit.

4/1/2006 5:24:17 AM

If you're shooting left like that with your right hand, you're probably not putting enough of your trigger finger in.

4/1/2006 7:55:12 AM

Quote :

"It all comes down to trigger control and sight alignment"

that, and keep your eye focused on the front sight. All else will fall into place.

4/1/2006 8:20:00 AM

Fuck it, my left hand is a wet noodle, there's no way I can get it in shape by next Tuesday. I'm going to keep shooting with my right. Next time I'll save the target and put it up here so I'm not so vague.

4/1/2006 5:07:25 PM

That's impressive..

My lil' bro SHOULD have been left handed but was forced into being right-handed in early school, and he is a switch-hitter...

He's left eye-dominant, the funny thing is once we were out shooting and he missed and said "goddammit" and switched hands and started blowing everything out of the sky.

4/1/2006 6:41:42 PM

Quote :

""

that, and keep your eye focused on the front sight. All else will fall into place.[quote]

my beretta has the over under dots instead of the 3 side by side.. i couldnt hit shit with it, then started focusing on the BACK sight and can drive nails with it now... i gotta get those sights changed before i get into too much of a bad habbit....

oh, and when i was talking about shootin lefty, i mainly meant to see if you replicate results, not try and change perminantly. did you notice much difference? or was your left hand too weak to tell?

Perhaps an easier eye test (i didnt read the others) is to cut a small hole in a sheet of paper and hold it at arms length focusing on a door knob or some shit. now bring it back slowly to your face keeping both eyes open and the object in view. you should pull the hole back to your dominant eye....

4/1/2006 7:27:59 PM

Quote :

"did you notice much difference? or was your left hand too weak to tell? "

Yeah, I've got to build it up more. I can barely pull the trigger on the S&W 38 double-action with my left index finger. >.<

I once had a friend who could write decently with both hands. When I asked her how she did it, she told me it took her years to build up the muscles and to train her brain, so I know ambidextrous shooting is possible. I've just got to take my time and work on the tendons. Cactus Jack at Davi's Shooting Range told me it's possible to overwork the tendons and hurt them permanently so I'm not going to be getting any visible results any time soon.

Next hurdle is working with the flinching - I made another thread about it and am following one guy's advice:

Quote :

"oh, and i've found that it helps to "follow through" on your trigger squeeze by conciously holding the trigger all the way at the end of the stroke for a second after the shot is fired, then releasing. once you get the hang of it, it's like you're in the zone, everthing happens in slow motion, you tune everything else out, and it's your moment of zen. the pistol never moves except for a bump from the recoil, then it settles right back down where it started, with your finger still squeezing the trigger...then you release the trigger, breathe, and do it again."

Never thought about it that way but I did it Friday with the Walther PBK 380 - total zen.

4/1/2006 9:29:38 PM

total zen.

4/1/2006 10:38:38 PM

When I started the shots were still left of center, but there was a dramatic change by a technique I hadn't heard about until today. The range instructor came by and told me about cocking my head to the right so my left eye was perpendicular to the sights and target, and that was evidently helpful. These were done with a CZ 83 .380.



[Edited on April 4, 2006 at 4:03 PM. Reason : .]

4/4/2006 4:02:05 PM

Quote :

"my beretta has the over under dots instead of the 3 side by side.. i couldnt hit shit with it, then started focusing on the BACK sight and can drive nails with it now... i gotta get those sights changed before i get into too much of a bad habbit...."

If it ain't broke, don't fuck with it.

cddweller: How much was your CZ 83?

4/4/2006 5:13:55 PM

Gun rental @ Davi's on Lady's Day is free.

4/4/2006 7:04:27 PM

Ohhh you're female.

Gotcha.

4/4/2006 7:38:11 PM

YEAH.

I KNOW.

4/4/2006 7:47:23 PM

4/4/2006 7:52:15 PM

barely related... but shooting targets w/ bows in arrows in ncsu's PE Archery class can be fun... especially when you are doing it indoors and the power/lights go out.

4/4/2006 8:08:19 PM

All in good time, chap...

4/4/2006 11:12:11 PM

Quote :

"If it ain't broke, don't fuck with it."

im worried about not being able to shoot with regular sights worth a shit after getting into this habbit...

4/5/2006 12:59:20 AM

Plenty of people deal with guns with different sights and shoot fine. Don't worry about it.

4/5/2006 6:59:26 AM

Are you looking to learn point shoot for defensive purposes?

4/6/2006 12:45:14 AM

^^ true... right now i gotta find somewhere to take this M4... i dont wanna have to carry it back home to play....

4/6/2006 1:18:33 AM