'eye-blinder' advice needed

[Stiks]

Hi,

I've been struggling for a while now with my aim.
When I miss it tends to be mainly left, I try to compensate and then my groups go crazy!

Today I decided to find out for sure which eye is dominate. It turns out to be left as I'd suspected.

I'm a right handed trad archer (left handed compound) .. I've just made an 'eye-blinder' that attaches to my Tilly hat because I read here that that might help.

I can't shoot left handed with a traditional bow, physical limitations .. :-(

It has certainly tightened up my groups in my garden at a close 15 yards, I'm yet to try it a longer ranges.
I'm not keen on having this thing dangling in front of my eye and no doubt I'll be ribbed at the club :-) (and by the way I hate closing my left eye, just can't get comfortable with it and can't shoot well!)

Is this the best/only way to go if you have problems in this respect?
Should it be translucent?
Is it possible that my eye dominance will change if I use this method for a while, without switching back?

I'd be interested to know how others have dealt with this.

If my eye offends thee, then I pluck it out ........ Well my eye-blinder in this case.

Cheers,
Steve.

[grimsby archer]

Originally Posted by Stiks

Hi,

I've been struggling for a while now with my aim.
When I miss it tends to be mainly left, I try to compensate and then my groups go crazy!

Today I decided to find out for sure which eye is dominate. It turns out to be left as I'd suspected.

I'm a right handed trad archer (left handed compound) .. I've just made an 'eye-blinder' that attaches to my Tilly hat because I read here that that might help.

I can't shoot left handed with a traditional bow, physical limitations .. :-(

It has certainly tightened up my groups in my garden at a close 15 yards, I'm yet to try it a longer ranges.
I'm not keen on having this thing dangling in front of my eye and no doubt I'll be ribbed at the club :-) (and by the way I hate closing my left eye, just can't get comfortable with it and can't shoot well!)

Is this the best/only way to go if you have problems in this respect?
Should it be translucent?
Is it possible that my eye dominance will change if I use this method for a while, without switching back?

I'd be interested to know how others have dealt with this.

If my eye offends thee, then I pluck it out ........ Well my eye-blinder in this case.

Cheers,
Steve.

Like many spectacle wearers I have problems with seeing double targets when I shoot. Additionally I am cursed with equi-dominant eyes, so I dont have a dominant eye. for years (as a junior) I couldnt understand what all the rubbish was about with eye dominance tests. I could affect the result by choosing an eye.
Back to the present day; I experimented with various blinds. personally I found a translucent one works better for me than a total blackout eyepatch (one eye didnt like being kept in the dark). There are (expensive) blinkers that you can buy, built on a skeleton spectacle frame, makes you look like a borg. My best effort was a flat peice of an opaque plastic cut (stylishly) from a milk container that clipped onto the arm of my spectacles that protruded out about 1 inch infront of my lenses. This was enough to obscure the vision from my non dominant eye when shooting, but was out of my field of vision when looking forwards when talking to people or walking to the target.
In the early 70s (when head/sweat bands were fashionable) one of the us olympic team used a playing card tucked under a head band. That looked pretty cool at the time.
I also experimented with a simple thin strip of card (about 1" x 3") that just tucked under the band of my cap whilst I was shooting.
If you cant be a follower of fashion, be a leader of fashion. Afterall, if it improves your score enough, everyone will be doing it. As for the ribbing, the novelty will soon wear off. Surely, you already know that, shooting both compound AND longbow

[Tarkwin]

an eye patch?

how about the next time you have glasses made up, you have one lens either removed, replaced with something opaque or heavily tinted. There are far eastern websites where cheap prescription glasses are available.

or to really stand out from the crowd, shoot with a monacle?

T.

[hypertigger]

I have a flip down translucent patch which attaches to my glasses. works quite well.

[Jerry Tee]

Close your left eye, or buy a pair of those clip on shades that go on your glasses to turn them into sun glaases. Break the right hand shade off an tape over the left hand side. Like Grimsby Archer I was equal eyed when I started but I was taught to close my left eye and so I have never been bothered by eye dominance. I think my right eye is now a little weaker than my left but it won't affect my shooting because of that early teaching.

[NeilvZ]

I second the eye patch! And I've got this cool stuffed parrot you can borrow.
I'm left eye dominant, but shoot right handed too. Again because I'm right handed and can't draw my bow left handed. I aim by closing my left eye. It took me a few months before I could do this reliably. In the beginning I kept on closing my right eye instinctively. My right eye has gotten better at aiming over the years, but I'm still left eye dominant. I'm actually wondering if it wouldn't have been a better idea to start off with a weaker left handed bow and build up the left hand side of my body, instead of trying to train my right eye.

[the badger]

very much a learner here, with exactly the same problems, (right handed, left eye dominant) and have been struggling to get some sort of consistency. I dont shoot target events, just a field course. BB or AFB

I recall in my rifle shooting days (.22 indoor prone) we all had the "eye shield"
actually attached to our rifles (about 2" away from the eye) in my case the left eye and I used the right for aiming.

I've tried closing my left eye but thats uncomfortable and am persevering with both open. If that dosn't work Ill try making an eyeshield.

(Of course it could be that I'm just useless at this archery thing and am just making excuses.)

[NeilvZ]

Originally Posted by the badger

very much a learner here, with exactly the same problems, (right handed, left eye dominant) and have been struggling to get some sort of consistency. I dont shoot target events, just a field course. BB or AFB

I recall in my rifle shooting days (.22 indoor prone) we all had the "eye shield"
actually attached to our rifles (about 2" away from the eye) in my case the left eye and I used the right for aiming.

I've tried closing my left eye but thats uncomfortable and am persevering with both open. If that dosn't work Ill try making an eyeshield.

I had a left handed rifle when I did rifle shooting. That was only the butt and grip though. The bolt was still on the right hand side of the rifle, so I was forced to take the rifle out of my shoulder after every shot to reload. Not conducive to repeatable shots, but I found I couldn't focus on both the front sight and the target at the same time with my right eye.
Archery wise I tried aiming with both eyes open, but that doesn't work for me at all. Neither does a blind a little way in front of my eye, I find it distracting. Like I said, it took me a while before I could comfortably close my left eye. As with most things archery, decide what you think will work best for you and practice, practice, practice.

Originally Posted by the badger

(Of course it could be that I'm just useless at this archery thing and am just making excuses.)

That's the great thing about archery... you'll never be good enough.

[Stiks]

Thanks all,

I've been out today with my eye shield dangling from the brim of my Tilly hat, which has now been christened Silly hat :-)

But seriously, my line has improved no end!!! Wey hey a result.

I've been infuriated by these more than occasional daft wide misses. No one has ever pointed out it might be down to eye dominance, if fact, I'm completely self taught over the 7 months I've been into Archery.
No doubt I'll discover much more as time goes on.

I don't wear glasses but could modify a frame to suit.

I've got this cool stuffed parrot you can borrow.

Thank you for the offer NeilvZ .... Is it stuffed or just sleeping, have you nailed it to the perch?

Patch no good cus I got poncy long hair and need to wear me hat, especially in the wind, bit hard to flip up patch.

Can't shoot left handed due to a damaged left claw.

So modified glasses frame might be the way to go cus I feel my dangly thing would be fun in the wind. Ooooh I say!

Monacle Tarkwin .. now there's an idea ... Patrick Moore of the Archery world. .. :-)

Wonder if I could have a translucent eye lid fitted :-)

... I'll stick with it regardless of ribbing and yes your right grimsby archer
I am used to it, you have to be brave shooting a compound at a Longbow club :-)

[Macbow]

Stiks - several of the current IFAA longbow elite are cross eye dominant including world champion Larry Yien who mentions how he has to squint his left eye in the Masters of the Barebow Vol 2 DVD. Like others he tried going lefty but changed back to right handed. The great Howard Hill was also right handed but left eye dominant so you're in good company. In Jay Kidwell's excellent Instinctive Archery Insights book he states that eye dominance is not an issue for instinctive archers, particularly those who cant the bow. If you use an aiming system like the gap method try focussing on the arrow tip with the target blurred or the other way around and see if it makes a difference.
I guess it depends on what degree your eye dominance affects you. While it is generally accepted that in barebow archery same hand and same dominant eye is ideal there are always archers out there who prove that you can be different and still be the best. Also bear in mind that if you are mainly self-taught arrows that group left can also be a sign that your form is off. Good luck with it.