r/canadaguns • u/YDpr99 • Apr 08 '26
Shooting Shotgun cross eye dominant!
Right hand dominant but legally blind in my right eye…
I’m in the process of getting my license and have started doing the deep dive into first firearms and all that.
As a kid I’d always go target shooting with my uncle and cousin but would really struggle with the rifles as my right eye is almost completely blind but I’m right handed.
Now I’m looking at purchasing a shotgun as my first firearm but working if I’ll need to shoot it my non dominant side so I can actually see down the barrel/sight.
I know for rifles I will probably be buying with the action/bolt on the left side and learn how to shoot from my non dominant hand. But with a shotgun would I do the same?
Also would I need to find a shotgun that’s made for left handed people so I don’t have shells ejecting towards my face?
If anyone has experience with this I’d love some advice.
2
u/CenturionV Apr 08 '26
As a right handed, left eye dominant shotgun shooter that always shoots left, only have a single left eject shotgun, and multiple right. I can say it usually doesn't matter for ejecting except with bullpups which are mostly banned now anyways (kel-tec's eject down). The only issue I've had with right handed shotguns shooting left is the occasional minor burn on certain shotguns from a hot shell ejecting onto my forearm, only happened once or twice. Doesn't really hurt much or you could wear a longsleeve.
Some things to consider. Left hand guns are harder to find and certain parts (shotgun barrels especially) are not compatible left to right either so if yours breaks you are gonna struggle to find certain left specific parts. Resale value takes a hit too, right handed shooters are probably not gonna want to buy a left handed gun when right handed guns are widely available unless they get a nice discount. It also is a good idea to learn to shoot both sides for any type of tactical larping. Play some paintball/airsoft for instance and you will quickly realize that you are gonna want to change sides when fighting on corners a lot so learning to use both sides is a good idea.
When you buy a bolt action consider a straight pull, a lot of them allow you to switch the bolt to the other side (BRX1 and Savage Impulse both do I believe, probably some others) you can shoot it left and then switch it back if you ever decide to sell or lend it to a right handed buddy. Best of both worlds!