Off Centre shotgun sight?

Nudgermanning

Nudgermanning

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I've had an idea to counter my cross dominance when it comes to clay shooting and was wondering if it would work in practice. I'm a left handed shot with a left handed gun but right eye dominant and unfortunately, due to an industrial accident many years ago I'm also partially sighted in my left eye therefore can't convert it to be the dominant eye. At the moment I try and aim off to the left of the target and hope ive gauged it correctly. My idea would involve producing a bead sight (3d printer) that would actually come off to the right of the barrell allowing me an aim point at the target with my dominant eye. What are people's thoughts on this? Would it work in theory? Any suggestions are welcome as its quite frustrating shooting as I currently am
 
Learning to shoot right-handed strikes me as the simplest solution, depending on how invested you are in that gun and ease of converting it to R/H.
 
Jester said:
Learning to shoot right-handed strikes me as the simplest solution, depending on how invested you are in that gun and ease of converting it to R/H.
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Unfortunately been shooting left handed 30 years + so its second nature to me. I did try shooting right handed for a period but really couldn't get on with it. The gun is also my late father's so theres a lot of sentimental value in it. I know nothing will cure the issue though
 
I’d have thought if it was a concept that worked then the Victorians would have come up with such a clip-on device….but I haven’t heard of one. They did of course have a cross-over stock, but as that’s a fairly involved modification I would have thought they’d have opted for something a little simpler. if a clip on “eye-changer” worked we’d have seen them, or Bill Harriman would have mentioned them in Shooting Times.
 
Ashf9999 said:
I’d have thought if it was a concept that worked then the Victorians would have come up with such a clip-on device….but I haven’t heard of one. They did of course have a cross-over stock, but as that’s a fairly involved modification I would have thought they’d have opted for something a little simpler. if a clip on “eye-changer” worked we’d have seen them, or Bill Harriman would have mentioned them in Shooting Times.
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Fair point, well made however I'm struggling to see how it wouldn't help even just a little bit. Not saying it would help me become a competition shooter just help be a bit more consistant in how far to the left i have to aim
 
I saw something similar used by Holland & Holland coach and former international standard trap shooter, when his shooting eye deteriorated as a result of macular degeneration.

He attached a full length secondary rib like an "outrigger" parallel to his gun's rib - in line with his "other" eye.

I think you could easily (and cheaply) make something similar using pultruded carbon fibre bar. An 8mm or 10mm square bar 30" long only weighs about 100 grams. LaptopConnections.co.uk sell these for about £20. The material is very straight and tough.

I recently used this same material to make a raised rib to improve the fit of a gun. It works very well.
 
A full length rib maybe, just, but a single bead offset at the end wouldn’t really help. I’m still unsure how practical (or useful) that secondary rib would be. If they were fantastic, why aren’t they encountered more often. Who knows. There’s the occasional mention on Google. They look ungainly.

IMG_4318.jpeg
 
skeet_200 said:
Ashf's photo above is similar to the one I described.

The shooter I referred to wasn't going to set any World Records but he was managing about 20 ex 25 at Olympic Trap - better than giving up shooting.
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Glad to see that my logic isn't completely floored then. Even if it improves my score by a couple of birds then it would be worth it. Definitely something to look into
 
A secondary rib might work: it’ll give you a line to align with and look down, very similar to what would happen with a crossover stock.

Just a bead offset is less likely to achieve the same thing. You’d only have a single point, so unless your mount is super consistent, accuracy would vary depending on how close/far away the target is.

A middle ground could be 2 or 3 offset beads. If you line them up so that you can only see one, in the way you would if the gun had two conventional beads on the rib (which some do), then you’ve effectively seeing what you would with an offset rib.

If you try it, it’s probably one to make up and then spend some time with a pattern plate as if you were fitting a gun.
 
Hello, I am sure there was something invented or ?? for this very subject years ago, May have been some shooting glasses, On the left hand shooting with right eye dominant , Have a search on google,
 
Ratman72 said:
Hello, I am sure there was something invented or ?? for this very subject years ago, May have been some shooting glasses, On the left hand shooting with right eye dominant , Have a search on google,
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A chap in the US had come up with (pioneered this kind of aid) this but he passed away a few years ago and they died with him. IMG_4319.jpeg
 
I think that offset rib is a great idea and no reason I can see why it won't work. Accepting for sporting, where the gun isn't pre-mounted and set in place in your shoulder and on your cheek, there will be some variation in mount and a degree of twist that will throw the offset rib out quite a long way. But at least with a rib you can see it immediately, whereas with two points you wouldn't be aware until the shot has been taken. Changing shoulders I have seen is a big problem. A friend of mine had to do it after only a few months and he always looked awkward, although he did become an extremely good sporting shooter.
 
Most UK clay grounds you have to shoot from cages (unless it’s something like DTL). I could see these appendages getting knocked off in no time. My father successfully switched to shooting left handed when his right eye became problematic, but I can see the attraction of a quick-fix.
 
I shoot left handed but am right eye dominant and when i had a shotgun and tried clays i could hit them when shooting with both eyes open as is the normal practice so i closed my right (dominant) eye and things improved in as much as i started hitting them.
I do the same when air rifle shooting or when i use a .22 lr at the shooting range where i shoot, i shoot left handed and close my right(dominant) eye.
 
Patrick said:
I shoot left handed but am right eye dominant and when i had a shotgun and tried clays i could hit them when shooting with both eyes open as is the normal practice so i closed my right (dominant) eye and things improved in as much as i started hitting them.
I do the same when air rifle shooting or when i use a .22 lr at the shooting range where i shoot, i shoot left handed and close my right(dominant) eye.
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Yes so you've tried to change your dominant eye which after time could work. I cant however do that due to partial blindness in my non dominant eye
 
Nudgermanning said:
Yes so you've tried to change your dominant eye which after time could work. I cant however do that due to partial blindness in my non dominant eye
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I wasn't trying to change my dominant eye as that can't be done as far as i know but closing it took it out of the equation so that it had no influence when shooting.
In your situation then there's only two options open to you and that is shoot right handed or see if some sort of sight could be fitted to the gun to alter the point of aim shouldering using the gun.
The eyesight in my left eye is not as good as my right eye but fortunately it's not as bad as yours and i can still use it but if it gets worse then i will have to shoot right handed.
I've tried it and yes it's not easy as dedicated left hander,it just doesn't feel right, but not doubt with perseverance one will adapt but it will take time,
Strangely enough though i do almost everything left handed i use golf clubs right handed and if i was to play cricket i would bat right handed.
 
Take the bead off the gun ! you shouldn't aim a shotgun as such . Best thing is go see a proper qualified shotgun coach , they will do the "work around" to solve the issue ! I am right dominate with a lot of pull on my right, when it all goes all TU i end up half switching my left .
 
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