# Wrong hand, wrong eye



## Squid (10 mo ago)

Greetings all, I've just started shooting over the last couple of weeks so learning all about aiming and I'd really like to be able to be as accurate as I can possibly be. I'm right-handed, right eye dominant, however the problem is I'm missing some of my right-hand's index finger which affects the grip and dexterity in that hand (I have very poor grip of the pouch and manipulating ball bearings into the pouch with one hand is basically impossible). Because of this I hold the frame with my right hand (as I can grip the frame with that hand ok) and use my left for loading ammo and pulling back the pouch, again with no issues. The only problem is that now I'm aiming along the bands/frame with my non-dominant eye. 

I've done quite a bit of searching for similar problems and solutions on the forum and think it boils down to this: I continue to use the same hand position, but I'm just going to have to train myself to aim using my non-dominant eye. Does this sound about right? Is there another solution I may have missed? I just don't want to invest several months of practice to find out I'm doing things wrong and there's a better solution out there!


----------



## treefork (Feb 1, 2010)

An easier solution would be to use the middle finger on the right hand and continuing with right eye dominance . I've done it when injured and may need to do it again . You'll adjust . Give it time . You can practice manipulating ball while relaxing watching a movie .


----------



## Whytey (Sep 26, 2021)

As @treefork has stated, the middle finger is a workable option..... check Zachary Fowler's youtube vids. Worth a study  
IMO you really should shoot with your dominant eye.


----------



## Reed Lukens (Aug 16, 2020)

Or you could set up your pouches to use a release aid. I have a slingshot release aid that I bought off of Amazon and I use it on heavy band pulls. 
I've also held the pouch between the middle knuckles, that works also.


----------



## Karloshi (Apr 6, 2021)

would using a slingshot trigger release be of help?


----------



## Karloshi (Apr 6, 2021)

Reed pressed Post reply before me LOL


----------



## Squid (10 mo ago)

Thanks for everyone's replies, looks like I'm going to have to persevere with my dodgy hand. Have just spent an hour on a very frustrating and inaccurate practice session, but I definitely want to get this right from the beginning, so won't be deterred. Thanks again!


----------



## Hoss (Jun 3, 2014)

Maybe try shooting with both eyes open. 

Sent from my MAX_10 using Tapatalk


----------



## High Desert Flipper (Aug 29, 2020)

Lots of good advice above. Whatever you settle on, practice makes perfect. Find something that is comfortable and practice, practice, then practice some more and you will see improvement.


----------



## Karloshi (Apr 6, 2021)

You will figure it out. It is probably best not to try to replicate the technique of other shooters and approach this from your unique point of view. So long as you are able to pull the bands back and keep everything lined up you will shoot well. Rereading your post you mention putting the ball in the pouch is hard with 1 hand. I tried to do that too but i never felt comfortable that the ball was centralised in the pouch so I use both hands.


----------



## Bubsy (11 mo ago)

I'm right eye dominant and right handed however due to an injury to my right arm/wrist I don't have the dexterity to hold the pouch consistently where I want it. Bearing in mind I've only just started to learn this year how to shoot a catapult. I right hand hold and aim with my left eye. It became natural very quickly and holding in my left hand feels completely alien. I still shoot my rifles and do everything else right handed


----------



## Squid (10 mo ago)

Bubsy said:


> I'm right eye dominant and right handed however due to an injury to my right arm/wrist I don't have the dexterity to hold the pouch consistently where I want it. Bearing in mind I've only just started to learn this year how to shoot a catapult. I right hand hold and aim with my left eye. It became natural very quickly and holding in my left hand feels completely alien. I still shoot my rifles and do everything else right handed


That's interesting. It's been over 30 years since I damaged my right hand/finger and in that time my left hand has taken over for anything requiring dexterity. How's your shooting going just using your left eye?


----------



## Bubsy (11 mo ago)

It's been nearly 3 years since my lower right arm met a mitre saw blade. It was pretty horrific and I'm kinda lucky I can do anything with my right hand. Bizarrely it's my right thumb that gives me the most trouble, so holding a pouch consistently and many times in a session just won't happen. But locking my arm out and holding the cattie is much easier with my right hand.
I'm fairly pleased with my progress so far. Consistency is my biggest issue at the moment. Some days I hit nearly everything I'm aiming for, other days not so much. I seem to do much better with smaller ammo. Not sure why that is to be honest?


----------



## Squid (10 mo ago)

Bubsy said:


> It's been nearly 3 years since my lower right arm met a mitre saw blade. It was pretty horrific and I'm kinda lucky I can do anything with my right hand. Bizarrely it's my right thumb that gives me the most trouble, so holding a pouch consistently and many times in a session just won't happen. But locking my arm out and holding the cattie is much easier with my right hand.
> I'm fairly pleased with my progress so far. Consistency is my biggest issue at the moment. Some days I hit nearly everything I'm aiming for, other days not so much. I seem to do much better with smaller ammo. Not sure why that is to be honest?


Ouch! I lost my finger in rotating machinery, sounds like we both got lucky tbh and things could have been a lot worse. Yep, although I've only just started I have consistency problems too, lots of good grouping today but sadly not on the target itself! I think I need to work on having a consistent draw, it doesn't help that I keep buying new frames and trying out different bands too, probably trying to do too much too soon.


----------



## Bubsy (11 mo ago)

It certainly doesn't feel lucky at the time though does it haha. Yes I bought a few different frames and kept changing band sets all the time but I'm now sticking with one frame and making all my bands the same. When I tried my last new frame I was getting a lot of fork hits. After extensive YouTube research I realised I'd spent my first 2 months holding the pouch incorrectly. I guess most lessons are learnt the hard way


----------



## RonanMcLlyr (Jan 12, 2022)

Squid said:


> Greetings all, I've just started shooting over the last couple of weeks so learning all about aiming and I'd really like to be able to be as accurate as I can possibly be. I'm right-handed, right eye dominant, however the problem is I'm missing some of my right-hand's index finger which affects the grip and dexterity in that hand (I have very poor grip of the pouch and manipulating ball bearings into the pouch with one hand is basically impossible). Because of this I hold the frame with my right hand (as I can grip the frame with that hand ok) and use my left for loading ammo and pulling back the pouch, again with no issues. The only problem is that now I'm aiming along the bands/frame with my non-dominant eye.
> 
> I've done quite a bit of searching for similar problems and solutions on the forum and think it boils down to this: I continue to use the same hand position, but I'm just going to have to train myself to aim using my non-dominant eye. Does this sound about right? Is there another solution I may have missed? I just don't want to invest several months of practice to find out I'm doing things wrong and there's a better solution out there!


I've never used them but you could use a pinch pouch.


----------



## Squid (10 mo ago)

Bubsy said:


> It certainly doesn't feel lucky at the time though does it haha. Yes I bought a few different frames and kept changing band sets all the time but I'm now sticking with one frame and making all my bands the same. When I tried my last new frame I was getting a lot of fork hits. After extensive YouTube research I realised I'd spent my first 2 months holding the pouch incorrectly. I guess most lessons are learnt the hard way


I have 2 more frames on order, once I've tried those I'll narrow it down to my favourite. Good idea on the bands, I need to pick my favourite of those too (currently have about 4 different types!)


----------



## Bubsy (11 mo ago)

I went too heavy too soon with the bands. I'm sticking to 0.6 sniper sling black 18-12 taper. It's what was on the 1st catapult I bought this year. I saw a lot of progress whilst using them so I'm just trying to focus on the basics whist keeping my setup consistent. It's definitely frustrating but very rewarding when you can see yourself improving


----------



## Squid (10 mo ago)

Bubsy said:


> I went too heavy too soon with the bands. I'm sticking to 0.6 sniper sling black 18-12 taper. It's what was on the 1st catapult I bought this year. I saw a lot of progress whilst using them so I'm just trying to focus on the basics whist keeping my setup consistent. It's definitely frustrating but very rewarding when you can see yourself improving


My Wasp Enzo came with 18-12 and 0.5 GZK (I believe) so luckily I've started off with lighter bands. 3 out of 3 at 5 metres on a 60mm disc last night, and the same on a can at 10 metres, so definitely seeing improvements already. Can't see me hitting toothpicks at 20m anytime soon, but it's still a good feeling to knock a can flying, even at 10m.


----------



## Whytey (Sep 26, 2021)

Hey Squid, good to hear things are on the up.  
Care to share how you're actually holding the pouch now?


----------



## Squid (10 mo ago)

Whytey said:


> Hey Squid, good to hear things are on the up.
> Care to share how you're actually holding the pouch now?


Cheers! Yes no problem. Taking up this hobby has made me realise I use my left hand a lot more than I realise, especially for anything requiring dexterity, so despite everyone's advice here (and inspired by Bubsy above) I'm drawing with my left hand still, because otherwise I'm really struggling and it's taking me far too long to load and draw and I'm not getting enough shots off to practice effectively. Adding a pinch pouch/release aid into the mix is I fear going to delay this reload time even further as I fumble with both the ammo and the aid. 

However I've tried the advice to aim with both eyes open which seems to be working really well. So basically the situation now is: There's no problem loading and drawing so I get plenty of shots off, I aim with both eyes open, and my shooting is improving greatly.


----------



## Whytey (Sep 26, 2021)

The reason I asked is, being right handed myself, I chose to learn this slingshot thing with a left hand pouch hold because I'm left eye dominant.


----------



## Reed Lukens (Aug 16, 2020)

Lighter bands will make a big difference, I use between .4 & .6 on most everything. .4 to .5 mostly because I have a roll of Sumeike .6 to use up. The thinner bands are faster and if you want to pull harder, you can widen your tapers or double the bands up.


----------



## Bubsy (11 mo ago)

I started with a wasp Enzo as well. I've bought others but I'm sticking with the Enzo for now. Trying to 'keep it simple, stupid' I guess. Any progress is always satisfying. It is certainly a very rewarding hobby. I'm focusing on pouch hold and anchor point both becoming a part of muscle memory. I figure once they both become more natural then the accuracy will become more consistent


----------



## McD (Oct 15, 2021)

After an injury for me on my index finger (cant use it) l use my thumb and my middle finger, its works well, but I change from short draw to half butterfly in the same time. Try that it works for me...


----------



## Bubba. B (7 mo ago)

Reed Lukens said:


> Or you could set up your pouches to use a release aid. I have a slingshot release aid that I bought off of Amazon and I use it on heavy band pulls.
> I've also held the pouch between the middle knuckles, that works also.


That's the way I shoot with the ammo between my index and middle finger as if I was drawing back a bow without a release


----------



## Berkshire bred (Mar 4, 2012)

I have the same ‘issue’ but the opposite way around. Left handed and left eye dominant but hold the frame in the left hand. I’ve been doing it so long and from such a young age that I’d have a really hard time changing now. I line the bands up with my dominant eye under my cheek with a half butterfly draw. I just look at what I want to hit and hope for the best 😆

Edit: Meant to say welcome to the hobby and to the forum.


----------

