changing hands

[kirabilli]

hello all,

Due to a recurring injury I have had to try and change shooting hands right - left has anyone here had to do this, got any tips?

already tried counting to a hundred but still frustrated with every shot

[Stickbow Hunter]

I haven't had to do it but I have shot a little right handed - I am left handed. It isn't easy and I find I tend to see the arrow in my vision when shooting right handed and that seems to make things more difficult as I tend to wander from target to arrow point a bit which is not natural for me. I think it has something to do with me being left eye dominant (I shoot with both eyes open).

All I can say is keep at it mate and practice form first up close to a butt and then slowly introduce shooting at a small target from close distance. All the best with it and I hope you are shooting well again soon.

Jeff

[matt_d]

Hi Kirabilli. I've been in a similar situation to you recently due to a scaphoid fracture in my left wrist (bow hand) which has kept me from shooting for a while. My wrist couldn't cope with the end to end compression of my bones when drawing the bow, but had no problems pulling the bow under tension. After weighing up my options I decided to try shooting left handed and quickly discovered that making the switch wasn't easy!

As Jeff has mentioned, eye dominance became a big issue for me. I could only shoot with my right eye closed at all times or my left eye would just take over and I'd miss by a mile. I'm sure this is something that can be overcome by persistent practice and will become much more natural over time. The other issue was I didn't realise just how weak the archery muscles in the left side of my body were! If you are going to have a crack at switching sides, I would definitely recommend going to a low draw weight bow for a few months in order for your muscles to learn the correct alignment and build a good solid form that you can build on and go to your preferred bow poundage at a later time, once you're consistently hitting where you aim.

Best advice I can give you - see a Physio about your injury!!! Swapping sides just wasn't working for me, and through patience and a lot of work with my physio I've managed to strengthen my wrist to the point where I'm now back to shooting on my preferred side, but currently pulling about 15# under what I normally would shoot. It's all starting to come together and I'm very much looking forward to being able to attend competitions and hunting again.

Your injury may be treatable so don't completely dismiss your chances of shooting on your preferred side until you've seen a good physio!!

Best of luck with your shooting, I hope it works out well for you..

Matt

[terryzac]

dont know if i can help as i shoot with both hands. i have no eye dominance which is why i find it easy. i also only close one eye when using the sight on my compound, when i try this on my longbow or recurve i shoot very badly. need both eyes open in order to hit the target
terry

[dmm]

The problem you'd have changing hands is eye dominance. I'm guessing you'd have to shoot with one eye closed. I think you can also use a frosted lens on glasses, perhaps with some tape etc.
Have you considered just using a much lighter bow, until you can perhaps build up your strength again?