why do right handed russians aim with their left eye?

[Loke-Gao-Zhu]

i've seen many spetsnaz clips or scoped AK-74 clips with people aiming with their left eye while holding their sniper rifle / rifle right handed...

looks pretty awkward to me...

[swamper]

Probably right hand and left eye dominant. It happens.

[Conman]

Agreed, my father was born naturally left handed. However, at the time and place he was growing up, being a lefty was somewhat frowned upon, so my grandmother forced him to do most things right handed.

Its pretty neat in that it forced him to be ambidextrous, so for the most part in sports he could switch back forth with no apparent effort; shoot a basketball both ways, switch hit in baseball and throw from both hands, and he had no backhand in tennis and no need for one he just switched the racket from one hand to the other. However there were 3 things he could only do righthanded, write, swing a golf club, and shoot a gun.

[Lefty]

I'm not sure that that is the best way to do the whole "right hand/left dominant" thing. Not a big shooter, but I was always told to suck it up and learn to be left handed with a rifle...hate doing that.

[Hollis]

I'm not sure that that is the best way to do the whole "right hand/left dominant" thing. Not a big shooter, but I was always told to suck it up and learn to be left handed with a rifle...hate doing that.


You can train your eye.

[GazB]

You can train your eye.

Not if your nickname is One Eyed Pete... just kidding.

The reality is that you can train to do it any way you like but if you can find a way that comes naturally to you unless it creates problems why battle to do it a different way?

I am a lefty and I can shoot left or right handed. I tend to shoot right handed because my right eye is better than my left eye regarding vision quality.

[Frens]

I'm right handed: I shoot my handguns with left eye and my rifles with right one.

actually aiming a rifle with the left eye seems very uncomfortable to me...

[Martial]

With a scope that's off-set to the left already (SVD, PSL, AK, SKS), I find it more comfortable to aim with my left eye and rest my right cheek on the stock. I have no problem doing it and apparently, neither do the Russians...

[lt tahoe]

[QUOTE=Frens;3233655]I'm right handed: I shoot my handguns with left eye and my rifles with right one.[QUOTE]

I'm the same way. Left-eye dominant, but with a rifle that doesn't matter as much.

[Hollis]

Not if your nickname is One Eyed Pete... just kidding.

The reality is that you can train to do it any way you like but if you can find a way that comes naturally to you unless it creates problems why battle to do it a different way?

I am a lefty and I can shoot left or right handed. I tend to shoot right handed because my right eye is better than my left eye regarding vision quality.


Generally, doing what comes natural can get you hurt or killed. Depends on the type of shooter you want to be and how proficient. Probably for the average Joe or Jane, it don't matter, they will probably never have to use a firearm in self defense or in a life threatening situation.


BTW, it is no big deal once you have trained and developed "muscle memory". Good shooting becomes instinctive.

[Laworkerbee]

I use both eyes to shoot but only my right eye when using optics ;)

[beretta92]

A test to determine eye dominance for shooting:

http://img230.imageshack.us/img230/9976/eyediagramuq3.th.jpg (http://img230.imageshack.us/my.php?image=eyediagramuq3.jpg)

[Kaapeli]

Because the scope was considered left-handed in the 5-year plan (that's communism for you).

[Hra47]

I´m a right handed and I use and carry pistols/revolvers as right handed do. However I´m also
lefteye dominant and when I was about 5 years old I learnt to shoot rifles/shotguns lefthanded.

There was no problem at all during the Finnish military service, when I used the long weapons lefthanded and the pistol righthanded.

Nowadays I can see little problems with MY FEET , if I do have to do changes from sidearm to rifle while working or training, specially while shooting on the move. My stance is near symmetric, but still there is a little difference of course as the supporting hand foot is used to be a little more forward..

Also some rifles are easier to shoot from the weak eye than others. I see the basic AK sights really difficult, MP5/G3 sights little easier and with AR ironsights there is no problem to move the weapon from one shoulder to another and have an accurate fire.
Of course the 1x red dot sights are even easier.

I see no point in teaching someone to change the hand or shoulder he/she shoots because of his/her dominant eye IF one has done any shooting earlier. Hollis said "doing what comes natural can get you hurt or killed" and that is sometimes true with " average Joes / Janes ". However in Military/LEO-training people are trained away from those HARMFUL natural reactions and the all other natural reactions are strengthen to support the survival.

[Loke-Gao-Zhu]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SI5LXPR8GF0

2:17

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlSPhipgLAQ

1:40

they're Russian weapons coincidentally?

[...WARLORD...]

I use both, depending on the gun.

[paper warrior]

Personally, I'm right-hand left-eye dominant. I've trained myself to shoot with both eyes open though, it gives you much better situational awareness. Handy when you're hunting. Also, I've trained myself to shoot with either hand... Just in case I lose one! Ya never know...