Right, Left or Ambi shooting pistols?

[Brownie]

Statistically, the population is predominantly right handed [ about 87% ]

Might be interesting to see how the members stack up with that figure--

I'm ambi-dextrous in most things through practice with the double sticks. Fork is left handed; throw left handed; Rifle left handed [ slightly left eye dominant ]; write right handed [ due to the teachers ]; most everything else is ambi.

I've also made others somewhat ambi with the double sticks who were one side dominant only previously. :D

[JMusic]

I am left handed. I play most sports right handed. I CAN EAT WITH BOTH HANDS!!! Seriously I shoot mostly left handed but had to qualify several times with strong hand and weak. I would not feel handicapped in a shootout if I lost my strong hand. When I was younger I use to shoot a bow right handed (which forced you to use that eye) because I couldn't find a left handed bow. Most of my shooting was at fish, so I was shooting at moving targets. When I was in LE my backup weapon was for my opposite hand.
Jim

[RAM]

I'm right handed. I can shoot lefty but it is way slowwww. I can run the gun left only, including the malfunction clearing, again it is slow. I need to work on that!:o

[RAM]

I CAN EAT WITH BOTH HANDS!!!
Jim

Hey I can dwink wiff boff hands, does that count :D

[Guantes]

I'm sort of like JM, I shoot predominately right handed but can do it all left handed, just not as good. I wouldn't really say I am ambidextrous, but I learned to eat, especially hand food (hamburgers, etc), smoke, etc left handed. To this day, when I walk my right hand does not swing.

[sweatnbullets]

Predominately right handed, but my left handed skills are very good.
That came from a lot of work, not from being natural.

[JMusic]

Ram thats a must. I too can dwink with both hands:) .
JIm

[slawkas]

I'm right handed, right eye dominant, no master eye.
Also my right leg is predominant, so when fighting or playing games I do 80% of side-steps on my right foot and my right kicks are much stronger.
Could say, irritating regularity :D

However, so called weak side has its strong applications. Enough to mention about left jab in boxing or left leg guard against kicks. Also in SD, I do pre-emptive strike or first reactive response with my left hand to make distance from my gun side – a gun in concealment needs protection for itself until it will be able to protect me. On the same side I carry others tools, so I try to have free acces to them.

Due to training I can shoot with my left hand quite good. But it is interesting that usually right handed shooters have ability to have good hits with their left hand. Especially for the first time this shots can surprisingly be better than their regular shots with right hand.

[David Williams]

Ambi pistol, left-hand long gun, left-eye dominant.

I chose a Springfield Micro .45 as a carry weapon specifically because of the ambi-safety. :)

[JMMMD]

An interesting thread for those of us who work from the "wrong side". Other than golf (which only offered right handed clubs when I was a kid), I am left handed in every other sport or activity. When it comes to shooting, being left handed offers some serious concerns. IS THE SAFETY ON OR OFF??? It can be way too stressful to sort out at a critical moment. That was my principal reason for choosing Glock handguns--no question can arise with a safelyless weapon. On my Benelli and AR, I had their safeties switched over for me. (When the Benelli safety was on the right side, I couldn't get to my second round without accidently engaging the safety.) I doubt that any righty would enjoy my setup,,,,,,,,LOL.

What most righthanded people take for granted re tools, is always a challenge for a lefty. From scissors to can openers, the typical designs are for the majority--no complaints here,,,,,,,that's just how it is. Over a lifetime most lefties learn to do a variety of tasks right handed and never even think about it. Weaponry is different. The ambi option isnt that appealing to me and perhaps other lefties who by prior bad experience can never be "SURE" if the gun is hot or cold.

(Don't get me started on surgical instruments,,,,,,LOL)

YMMV.

Jeffrey Myers, MD

[Bugaboo]

I am left handed, right eye dominant, dunno about the master eye (how do I find out?).
I write, use knives, axes, forks, spoons, beer glasses with my left hand.
Pistol, rifle get the right hand. I can shoot my pistol with my left hand OK, rifle is a different thing though. To picture myself using knife with my right hand is an image too gruesome to present to my inner vision.
Maybe I am a monster...

Ondra

[Brownie]

Bugaboo:

From another thread here on the site:

Grab someone like your wife or friend and do this test.

Have them cover one of their eyes so you can focus on the other. Take a pen and hold it out at arms length, upward in your strong side fist like a big ass front sight. Focus on their uncovered eye and with both eyes open line the pen up with their eye.

They will be able to observe where your visual centerline is because the pen will be lined up on it. It could be directly lined up with your left or right eye [ which would be the master eye ] or it could be somewhere in between your eyes and your nose [ which would be the dominant eye ] . Have them tell you exactly what your visual centerline is. If the pen is on the nose and not ot one side or the other have equal dominance.

Once you know your centerline, with both eyes open, this is where you need to work from.

The above is a test to determine if you have a master eye, dominant eye or are eye neutral. The test comes directly from Jim Greggs book. His writings on eyes and finding where a person actually stands is the best I've ever read.

I'm shooting right handed and I have a left dominant to neutral eye [ the pen sits just off the nose toward my left eye ever so slightly [ it favors the nose and is not centered between the eye and nose [ which would be true dominant ] and the pen is not centered in the middle of the eye which would mean I had a master eye.

For the best information on this subject bar none-- http://www.jimgregg.net/

[DocH]

I am right handed and shoot right handed(or two handed),but I also always shoot some with my left at every session. I shoot very well as a lefty,I feel it's a necessary skill.
I am certainly not ambidextrous,but when I boxed in GG as a teenager,I had an old retired trainer really show me how to use my left.Off topic,but that grand old man also gets credit for turning my life around and getting me on the straight and narrow.I was on top of the fence and could have fallen off in either direction. I'll never forget him.He showed me the light.
When I carry a BUG,it's for left hand use and positioned to be accessed by the left hand,always.

[Bugaboo]

Bugaboo:

From another thread here on the site:

Grab someone like your wife or friend and do this test.

Have them cover one of their eyes so you can focus on the other. Take a pen and hold it out at arms length, upward in your strong side fist like a big ass front sight. Focus on their uncovered eye and with both eyes open line the pen up with their eye.

They will be able to observe where your visual centerline is because the pen will be lined up on it. It could be directly lined up with your left or right eye [ which would be the master eye ] or it could be somewhere in between your eyes and your nose [ which would be the dominant eye ] . Have them tell you exactly what your visual centerline is. If the pen is on the nose and not ot one side or the other have equal dominance.

Once you know your centerline, with both eyes open, this is where you need to work from.

The above is a test to determine if you have a master eye, dominant eye or are eye neutral. The test comes directly from Jim Greggs book. His writings on eyes and finding where a person actually stands is the best I've ever read.

I'm shooting right handed and I have a left dominant to neutral eye [ the pen sits just off the nose toward my left eye ever so slightly [ it favors the nose and is not centered between the eye and nose [ which would be true dominant ] and the pen is not centered in the middle of the eye which would mean I had a master eye.

For the best information on this subject bar none-- http://www.jimgregg.net/

Ok, thank you very much, i will try this. I dont think my GF is gonna like it though :-)