Ayoob: Cross-Dominant Handgun Shooting

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Editor’s Note: The author is shown in the feature photos holding a non-firing “dummy”/training handgun while pointing at the camera.

Research indicates that some 18% of human beings are cross-dominant — that is, their right hand is their dominant hand but their left eye is their master eye, or vice-versa.

Let me clarify some terms at the outset: I don’t use the common phrase cross-eye dominant. The reason is that when a lot of people hear that, the first two words overpower the third in meaning.

Massad Ayoob demonstrates the McMillan/Chapman tilt for one-handed cross eye dominant handgun shooting. He is holding a training pistol in his right hand with the muzzle aimed forward, slightly rotated inward to align the left eye with the sights. His head remains upright and steady rather than twisted, which allows for a more natural stance. The grip is firm and the pistol is canted just enough to bring the sight line directly under the shooter’s left master eye. Ayoob is wearing range attire, standing in front of a neutral instructional background, and his posture is relaxed but controlled. This photo illustrates an effective solution for right-hand, left-eye dominant shooters seeking better comfort and accuracy.
Massad Ayoob demonstrates the McMillan/Chapman tilt using his right hand with his left eye. This one-handed method brings the sights into alignment without an awkward head turn. Image: Gail Pepin

The person so diagnosed takes the term as an insult, consciously or subconsciously: “My damn gun instructor told me I’m a lousy shot because I’m cross-eyed!” Since that’s so often the case, not to mention the fact that crossed eyes actually have nothing to do with it, the term we’ll use hereinafter is simply “cross-dominant.”

In a basic shooting class, you may have noticed that one of the first things the instructor determines is the eye dominance of students. This is because they’ve seen so many of their students rolling their heads around trying to find their gun sights. 

There are a few people who can switch their primary vision to their non-dominant eye … but awfully few. It is commonly advised that if you are right-handed with a left master eye, you should simply shoot southpaw.

Massad Ayoob demonstrates cross-eye dominant handgun shooting from the classic Isosceles stance. He stands square to the target with both arms fully extended, holding the pistol in a two-handed grip at chest height. His torso and shoulders face directly forward, creating the triangular body shape characteristic of this stance. To adapt for cross dominance, he turns his head slightly so that the opposite-side master eye is directly behind the sights. The gun remains centered, showing how the stance can accommodate shooters who are right-handed but left-eye dominant, or vice versa. The photo highlights a simple but effective modification that preserves balance and accuracy.
The author demonstrates placing his chin on his bicep to align his opposite eye with his gun hand while in an Isosceles stance. Image: Gail Pepin

You know, I can totally buy into that with long guns. In fact, I suspect most of us are shooting long guns backwards out of tradition. Is it the forward hand or the rear hand that actually supports the weight of the rifle, shotgun, or submachine gun? Of course, it’s the forward hand. Which hand tracks the moving target or swings between multiple targets with the long gun? Forward hand. Which hand works the slide of a pump gun? Forward again.

These are all strength and/or dexterity functions, and we have historically assigned them to the weaker, less dexterous hand simply on the assumption that the trigger hand had to be on the same side as the dominant eye with the same-side-dominant majority of gun users. 

Massad Ayoob is pictured in a full-frame Isosceles stance, squared directly to the target, demonstrating how a shooter can use either eye for sight alignment. He holds a non-firing training pistol with both arms extended and a firm two-handed grip, showing the triangular body shape typical of the Isosceles method. His shoulders are level and his head is neutral, with only a small jaw rotation to indicate which eye is being used. The image is useful for readers learning about cross-dominant or eye dominance adaptations in handgun shooting. The setting appears to be a controlled instructional range with the target visible but out of focus. This photo highlights how the Isosceles stance supports consistent sight picture and recoil management for cross-dominant shooters.
With chest squared to target, some shooters will find it as easy to use one eye as the other in the Isosceles shooting stance. Image: Gail Pepin

With a long gun, I submit, the cross-dominant shooter has the best of both worlds. With practice, the dominant hand will run the pump gun’s slide faster if it’s forward, and the rifle or shotgun will feel a pound or two lighter, and traverse will be faster on moving or multiple targets. All the non-dominant hand has to do is press the trigger of a firearm far heavier than its trigger pull.

Moreover, the right-handed shooter firing a long gun from the left shoulder or vice-versa has another advantage: the fastest of all possible long gun to handgun transitions. When the big gun runs dry or jams, simply hold it to the shoulder (or tuck the comb of the stock under the armpit if the long gun is too heavy) and the dominant hand is free to instantly draw the sidearm to a one-handed firing position.

Massad Ayoob is pictured demonstrating Larry Nichols’ two-handed 15–45 degree tilt technique for cross-eye dominant pistol shooters. He grips the handgun firmly with both hands and angles it slightly inward, bringing the line of sight directly under the master eye on the opposite side. His arms are extended toward the target and his head remains upright, avoiding exaggerated leaning or twisting. The cant of the pistol is subtle but visible, showing how even a small adjustment can improve comfort and accuracy. His stance is balanced, with shoulders squared forward and elbows slightly bent for recoil control. This photo illustrates a practical and proven method to address cross-dominant vision issues in handgun shooting.
The author demonstrates a two-handed, 15-45 degree tilt, as popularized by the Larry Nichols shooting method. Image: Gail Pepin

Handguns are different. Their trigger pull has more poundage than their weight. Sometimes there’s only one hand to stabilize the firearm. While some great instructors I respect still tell their cross-dominant shooters to use their “weak hand” with their “strong eye,” I must respectfully disagree. Asking the less dexterous hand to perform a dexterity function seems rather like pushing a rope.

Do not despair or fear that you’ll never be a good shot if you’re cross-dominant. World champion pistol shooter Dave Sevigny and national champion of the International Defensive Pistol Association Tom Yost are both cross-dominant. Both of my daughters are cross-dominant, and each won a national pistol championship while in their teens.

Let’s look at some adaptations, which will be tailored to the shooter’s stance.

The classic Weaver stance was inspired by Jack Weaver, analyzed by John Plahn, and popularized by Jeff Cooper. The torso is generally slightly angled in a boxer’s stance, both elbows are bent, and the gun hand pushes forward while the support hand pulls back with equal and opposite pressure.

Massad Ayoob is shown teaching cross-eye dominant handgun shooting while using the classic Weaver stance. He grips the pistol with both hands, the dominant hand pushing forward while the support hand pulls back, creating balanced tension. His torso is slightly bladed toward the target and both elbows are bent, consistent with the traditional Weaver method. To adapt for cross dominance, his head is tilted so that the non-dominant hand side eye aligns directly with the sights. This adjustment allows a right-handed shooter with a left master eye, or vice versa, to aim without twisting the body. The stance looks firm yet adaptable, making it clear how small head movements solve sight alignment issues.
With classic Weaver stance, a cross dominant shooter can align his dominant hand with opposite-side eye by dropping his head to his gun arm-side shoulder. Image: Gail Pepin

This brings the handgun very much to the dominant hand side of the body, so the easiest adaptation is to drop the head toward that side, that is, the right-handed shooter dropping the right ear toward the right shoulder. This aligns the left eye directly behind the right hand and the pistol. The cross-dominant lefty would drop the left ear toward the left shoulder to achieve the same eye-to-pistol alignment.

Massad Ayoob is pictured teaching the modified Weaver Chapman stance for cross-eye dominant handgun shooting. He holds a pistol with both hands, the strong-side arm locked straight like a rifle stock and the support arm bent inward for tension. His shoulders are bladed toward the target, and the gun is pressed firmly into the shoulder socket. To adapt for cross dominance, his head remains upright but swivels so that the chin touches the firing arm’s bicep, bringing the opposite eye in line with the sights. This position provides stability, recoil control, and proper sight alignment for right-handed shooters with a left master eye or the reverse. The photo highlights the balance between rigidity and flexibility that defines the Chapman method.
With gun arm locked out in modified Weaver or Chapman stance, head erect and swiveled toward gun arm, the bicep aligns the firing hand with the opposite-side eye. Image: Gail Pepin

Of the many so-called “modified Weaver” stances, the most effective and proven is the Chapman Method named after Ray Chapman, the first World Champion of the Combat Pistol and one of the all-time great practical shooting instructors. Ray kept the gun hand side shoulder forward with the gun arm locked rigidly like a rifle stock, the bent support arm pulling the locked gun arm tight into its shoulder socket. The cross-dominant adaptation is easier here: keep the head straight up, but swivel it to the side so the chin touches the bicep, and the opposite side eye with align with the firing hand.

In the currently popular Isosceles stance with the chest square to the target, whether the arms are locked straight out in the traditional version or bent slightly in the so-called Modern Isosceles, the gun ends up more or less centered with the head and it’s about as easy for one eye to align with the other. If that doesn’t work, use the Chapman adaptation, keeping the head erect and swiveling the jaw to touch the gun arm’s bicep.

The above adaptations are for two-handed firing stances. For one-handed handgun work, the most proven adaptation is the McMillan/Chapman tilt.

Massad Ayoob is pictured teaching the McMillan/Chapman tilt technique for cross eye dominant handgun shooters. He is holding a handgun in demonstration, showing how a slight inward tilt aligns the sights with the opposite eye. His posture is upright, shoulders squared, and the head remains neutral, avoiding exaggerated tilts or twists. The pistol is angled just enough so the line of sight naturally falls under the left eye for a right-handed shooter. The demonstration is set against a neutral training background, keeping focus on the firearm and body mechanics. This photo highlights a practical and widely used adjustment for shooters with mismatched hand and eye dominance.
Massad Ayoob explains the McMillan/Chapman tilt as a proven fix for shooters with cross-eye dominance. The technique helps align the sights with the dominant eye while keeping the stance strong. Image: Gail Pepin

Captain Bill McMillan of the U.S. Marine Corps Pistol Team circa 1960 discovered that in one-handed shooting, keeping the head erect while aiming when cross-dominant brought head and neck to the absolute edge of range of movement: awkward and uncomfortable.

He determined that by simply turning the pistol’s sights 15 to 45 degrees to the left eye for a right-handed shooter or the same amount to the right for a cross-dominant southpaw brought the sights dead into line with the opposite eye with unimpaired comfort and balance.

In this teaching photo, Ayoob demonstrates the McMillan/Chapman tilt by canting the pistol to the side for proper sight alignment. He explains how this technique allows cross dominant shooters to aim with comfort, particularly those who are right-hand, left-eye dominant. The handgun is positioned at eye level, and his grip is firm but relaxed, emphasizing stability. His head is upright and turned slightly toward the firearm, showing a natural line of sight. The background is a controlled range or classroom setting, underscoring that this is an instructional moment. This image conveys the mechanics and benefits of the Chapman tilt for cross eye dominance in handgun shooting.
This adjustment reduces neck strain and improves accuracy for cross-dominant shooters. Image: Gail Pepin

Stationed in San Diego, he met the aforementioned former Marine Ray Chapman who was then in the Los Angeles area, and the two great champions shared techniques. Chapman adopted McMillan’s tilt because it was stronger: the hand tilted slightly sideways can grasp the pistol a bit more strongly.

In Burbank, California, police firearms instructor Larry Nichols separately discovered the same thing and found it worked well for two-handed shooting, particularly if the shooter was cross-dominant.

If you are cross-dominant, don’t despair. The above techniques will let you be “the best handgun shooter you can be,” with your “best eye” mated with your “best hand.” And with a long gun, for the reasons stated earlier, rejoice: you might just have a significant advantage over your “same side dominant” competition!

Editor’s Note: Please be sure to check out The Armory Life Forum, where you can comment about our daily articles, as well as just talk guns and gear. Click the “Go To Forum Thread” link below to jump in and discuss this article and much more!

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