When she was 17 years old, Collyn Loper was the youngest member of the US shooting team who competed at the Olympic Games in Athens in 2004. She had already won a gold medal in Trapshooting in the Pan American Games the year before and she would eventually finish fourth on the biggest sporting stage of all.
Her shooting glasses are black over her right eye which leads people to ask her if she has an eye dominance problem. “Yeah,” she replies, “a big one.” She is completely blind in her right eye and has been since birth because of a rare, hereditary disease.
Kim Rhode — one of the most successful Olympic shooters of all time, and Collyn’s room-mate that year — pointed out that her achievement was made even more remarkable because she is righthanded and had to learn to shoot off her left shoulder. Anyone who tells you that to reach the top level of shooting sports you must have better than average eyesight should google Collyn Loper. She is living proof that determination is more important.
Eye dominance is both key to successful shooting and incredibly personal. The received wisdom on the internet may not apply to you and the only way to be sure is to engage the services of a competent coach who understands that, on this subject, there are few catch-all answers. Worse still, eye dominance can change for anyone at any time.
Put simply, we have two forward-facing eyes that give us binocular vision but for many people (not all) the view from one of those eyes, the master, is favoured by the brain. As the eye above the rib acts as your rear sight on a shotgun, if it is being undermined by the other eye you have an issue.
Depth
Esta historia es de la edición February 17, 2021 de Shooting Times & Country.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición February 17, 2021 de Shooting Times & Country.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
United we stand
Following United Utilities' decision to end grouse shooting on its land, Lindsay Waddell asks what will happen if we ignore our vital moors
Serious matters
An old gamebook prompts a contemplation on punt-gunning
They're not always as easy as they seem
While coneys of the furry variety don't pose a problem for Blue Zulu, he's left frustrated once again by bolting bunnies of the clay sort
Debutant gundogs
There's lots to think about when it comes to making the decision about when to introduce your dog to shooting
When the going gets rough
Al Gabriel returns to the West London Shooting School to brush up on his rough shooting technique
The Field Guide To British Deer - BDS 60th Anniversary Edition
In this excerpt from the 60th anniversary edition of the BDS's Field Guide To British Deer, Charles Smith-Jones considers the noise they make
A step too far?
Simon Garnham wonders whether a new dog, a new gun and two different fields in need of protection might have been asking too much for one afternoon's work
Two bucks before breakfast
A journey from old South London to rural Hertfordshire to stalk muntjac suggests that the two aren't as far detached as they might seem
Stalking Diary
Stalkers can be a sentimental bunch, and they often carry a huge attachment to their hill
Gamekeeper
Alan Edwards believes unique, private experiences can help keepers become more competent and passionate custodians of the countryside