Has anyone "switched sides"?

[actionshooter]

   I have had an increasing problem with my eyesight, very similar to astigmatism but with a small dose of double vision and cannot be corrected per my optometrist.

 I'm right handed and shoot everything "right side" though iron sights are now almost out of the question at any real distance. Washington allowing red dots for muzzy was a huge help and I have become extremely proficient with a handgun using my dominant left eye. 

I think it's time to try lefty with a bow.... Has anyone switched sides with archery and what issues have you run into besides the cost of replacing everything?

[Stein]

I did that very same thing.  Right for everything except bow and I shoot pistol right handed but use my left eye like you do.

For new equipment, no big deal.  I bought a used bow, so the selection was far less but I found what I wanted at a good price.

The rest was just practice and reps.  One off season and I was shooting better than righty.

One good thing is that if you use a wrist release, it is much more convenient hunting where I put it on when I wake up and take it off at sunset.  Being right handed, it's not a big deal to have it dangling on my non-dominant hand all day.

The other good thing is that my left hand isn't mentally associated with pulling a trigger so I feel I have far less problems with trigger slap or any of the potential issues with using your dominant hand.  This could be 100% mental, but I think it's real and I've never had any trigger pull issues knock on wood.

I can't think of many negatives except a minor one where your bow is in your right hand so I also use my rangefinder on my left.  It still gets a bit awkard but nowhere near enough to come close to the benefits.

Being able to see is 1500X more beneficial than using your correct hand in my opinion.

[greenhead_killer]

I know a guy that is left eye dominant, but still shoots a right hand bow. Just has a shorter draw and gets his whole face around the string. Very proficient with it

[boneaddict]

My eyes switched so iron sites and pistol got all messed up.   I shoot instictual with longbow and it didnt seem to effect it.   I haven't tried my compound and a peep.  Thats an interesting thought.

[highside74]

I'm all over the place when it comes to shooting, throwing, writing, hitting. So it definitely can work for you if you need to switch. All about repetition and muscle memory.


Pistol/rifle left
Bow right
Bat right
Throw right
Write left
Hold a rod left, reel right but cast right🤪

[scotsman]

After shooting my bow right handed for 50 years I had a eye issue which causes focus problems in my right eye. It was either learned to shoot left-handed or quit Archery so I immediately taught myself to shoot left-handed. (I have always can still do shoot traditional). It took a while to build up strength on my left side but after about six months I was almost to my original draw weight. The primary issue I had was shooting to the right when I let my concentration relax. Now, I come to full draw and squint my right eye a little bit to force my vision to focus with the left eye. I’m not as good as I once was but I’m still almost as good as I once was if you get my drift. One bright side to it is that a tendency I used to have snap shooting right handed as completely gone away and I find my concentration draw and follow through is better than before. The most awkward part in learning that I’m still fumbling over is getting arrows out of and replaced in a bow quiver. I’ve started using a hip quiver which has the added benefit of reducing physical weight on the bow. If I can do it anybody can do it

[actionshooter]

Thanks guys, confirmed that all of Mathews bows are available lefty, so happy with that!

[actionshooter]

I did that very same thing.  Right for everything except bow and I shoot pistol right handed but use my left eye like you do.

For new equipment, no big deal.  I bought a used bow, so the selection was far less but I found what I wanted at a good price.

The rest was just practice and reps.  One off season and I was shooting better than righty.

One good thing is that if you use a wrist release, it is much more convenient hunting where I put it on when I wake up and take it off at sunset.  Being right handed, it's not a big deal to have it dangling on my non-dominant hand all day.

The other good thing is that my left hand isn't mentally associated with pulling a trigger so I feel I have far less problems with trigger slap or any of the potential issues with using your dominant hand.  This could be 100% mental, but I think it's real and I've never had any trigger pull issues knock on wood.

I can't think of many negatives except a minor one where your bow is in your right hand so I also use my rangefinder on my left.  It still gets a bit awkard but nowhere near enough to come close to the benefits.

Being able to see is 1500X more beneficial than using your correct hand in my opinion.

Thank you! Great points and sounds like the exact same issues!