Next weekend I'm teaching my 11 yo son to shoot a handgun. He will be starting out with a 22 revolver. When he learned to shoot a rifle we found out he is right handed- left eye dominant. We tried patching his eye and training his right eye to take over. On the end he just shoots better left handed. Same situation when he learned to shoot a bow.
How will this effect shooting a handgun? I know the sight line will need to align with his left eye but will it matter if he positions his hands as a left or right handed shooter? I know it doesn't seem important now, but if he progresses to a big bore round when he gets older, the extra strength and control from using your 'good' hand may be needed.

I have been shooting right handed left eye dominant for decades. It is not detrimental when shooting handguns.As an NRA instructor I have found that one must use the strong/dominant hand to operate the gun and move the head to use the sights.

I am left handed and right eyed. I shoot right handed, always have. It just felt natural to hold a gun righty, perhaps because that is how my Dad held a gun. With more and more guns now available in lefty versions, or with ambi controls, it isn't such a detriment to shoot lefty. You might want to let him give it a try.

I'm also left-eye dominant and right handed. I just shoot with my right hand and line up the crosshairs with my left eye. That obviously won't work with a long gun or bow, but it works just fine with a handgun.

Injured my right eye some years ago in a work related accident. Switching over to my left eye while still holding my handgun with the right hand, was not a problem at all.
Since then I've had surgery on my eye, and found a contact that works great.

In the long run, at his young age it may be preferable to get him started shooting with the hand that matches his dominant eye. I have numerous acquaintances that are cross eye dominant. The ones that learned to shoot with the hand that matches their dominant eye have far fewer aiming related issues.

Shooting at the range is not a big deal, however as soon as you get into a situation where you will shoot with both eyes open or are shooting at a moving target (i.e. IPSC, IDPA, trap, sporting clays, hunting, etc...) the dominant eye will want to take over and throw shots wide of the target.

Assuming he has adequate acuity in his dominant eye, just square him up to the target and bring the handgun up in front of his left eye. The overwhelming majority of people just don't have the dexterity to switch hands to suit their eye dominance.

I shoot right-handed and left-eyed. I just rest my chin on my right bicep. Although I am right eye/right handed my left eye needs less correction in my contacts and is actually a sharper picture.

Couldnt He just close his left eye and shoot right handed,about 5 yrs ago I had an accident at work where I tore my tricep tendon off the elbow of my bow arm and the surgeon wasnt able to reatach it to my elbow since it had pulled up into my tricep but what Im gettin at is I learned to shoot my bow lefty by closing my right eye and gap shoting.Hanging of an I beam by your left arm isnt a good thing.

l am left handed but lost my left eye long long ago.. Before losing my left l always had trouble firing a long gun. Either the bolt was on the wrong side or l had to put w/brass flying across my face from my weapon..After many surgeries and patience from an old WW2 warhorse NRA instructor teaching me the CORRECT way to shoot l now do quite well right handed with a rifle or shotgun....

lts a different story with a handgun...l just cant seem to master it right handed.. NEVER getting used to brass flying in face from a pistol l have always preferred a revolver...l just cant seem to keep my groups from drifting right after an extended shooting session at the range..l usually limit myself to around 50 rds per visit

For me, it's just more comfortable to use my left eye, whether aiming a handgun or looking through a spotting scope. Don't know why that is.

I didn't find out that I was left eye dominant until I was in my 40s. I shoot right handed and still can't hit the broad side of a barn with a shotgun. Keeping two eyes open with a red dot scope just doesn't work for me either. So I do the best I can keeping my left eye closed.

Trying to fight an eye dominance issue is like trying to hold back the tide. Many don't learn about it until it late in the game. Once you have learned to do something with one hand, well, it becomes very difficult to learn how to use the "other hand" to accomplish the task equally as well.

With an 11 year old, he is young enough that if you teach him to shoot with the same hand as his dominant eye he will learn to do it that way and it will become second nature. This will keep him from having to fight the eye dominance issue his entire shooting life.

While I am lucky to be left handed and left eye dominant when I first learned to use a computer the mouse was always on the right side of the keyboard. I soon grew tired of continually having to switch the mouse over to the left side whenever I sat down at a terminal and eventually decided I would just go with the flow and use my right hand. Initially my dexterity was just pathetic. After awhile I got better with it and 35ish years later, my right hand is the only hand that I can use a mouse with. My movements are accurate, fast and precise. Put the mouse in my left hand....the one I use to do everything else...and it looks like a 2 year old is driving.

Yes there will be a learning curve. Yes your boy will feel awkward for awhile, but I assure you that in the long run you are setting him up for success as opposed to setting him up to continually fight eye dominance issues.

Thanks for the help and insight. He has no problem shooting a bow left handed which I think takes more muscle control than shooting a handgun. I think well start out trying left hand and see what happens.

shoot with both eyes open.

Left eye dominant and right handed. Have always shot rifle left handed, handgun right, started lefty with bow but switched later to pull more weight. I have always done what felt most comfortable to me. Can shoot same either handed with all weapons but usually do what feels natural.

My son and I teach 4H shooting sports and the easiest and best fix we have found is to teach the kids to shoot with whatever side there dominate eye is on. If the child can make the switch and most can it is like night and day difference in there scores.
The improvement is very fast for them and you can see them quit fighting with it and start improving immediately.

I shoot right handed and am left eye dominant. I just keep both eyes open and let the dominant one take over. Doesn't bother me except when I shoot a rifle.

I have eye issues and as a result my eye dominance changes. The past several years its been the left eye.
I'm right-handed. I can not move my head due to artheritis (fused my entire spine). So I move my arms over enough to shoot.
Anyone can learn to shoot handguns with eye dominance issues.