How to Fix Cross Dominance Without Losing Depth Perception
If you're a cross-dominant shooter, you've probably tried at least one of the classic fixes. Most of them work to some degree — but they all come with the same trade-off: you lose binocular vision. Not sure if you're cross-dominant? Take our eye dominance test.
Binocular vision is what lets you correctly assess the depth, speed, and angle of a moving clay target. When you reduce it to monocular vision, your ability to read the target drops. Here's a look at each approach and what it costs you.
Closing One Eye
The simplest fix — just shut the cross-dominant eye. It works, but you're now aiming with monocular vision. Depth perception suffers, and many shooters find it fatiguing over a long session. You're fighting a natural instinct to keep both eyes open.
Tape on Shooting Glasses
Placing tape on the lens over the cross-dominant eye is a common approach. It blocks the eye from seeing the barrel. The downsides: it blocks peripheral vision, it feels unnatural between shots, and your eyes can fatigue from looking through the tape.
As one shooter put it: "This could be a game changer for me as it was nice not to have tape on my lens while at the range. Most importantly, I enjoyed the time in between shots when I didn't have to look through the tape while waiting for my squad mates to shoot. My eyes felt more relaxed and natural." — GoDawgs, Trapshooters.com
Magic Dots
A small dot placed on the shooting glasses lens to block the barrel from the dominant eye. The problem: some shooters' dominant eyes try to look around the dot, defeating its purpose.
As one instructor observed: "I have students that cannot use a dot on the glasses because they have vertigo or don't like the closed-off feeling that wearing the tape does. Others I found that their dominant eye tries to look around the dot." — Casey Atkinson, NSCA Hall of Fame
Eye Patches / Occluders
An eye patch or optical occluder fully blocks the cross-dominant eye. Effective at preventing cross-firing, but you're fully in monocular vision territory. Depth perception and target acquisition both suffer.
One shooter who tried multiple approaches: "I have always shot either one-eyed or with some form of vision-blocking device for my off eye. I have tried magic dots, scotch tape, an optical occluder, and a black lens." — Bud Edwards
Switching Shoulders
Some shooters switch to mount the gun on the side of their dominant eye. This preserves binocular vision and solves the alignment problem, but requires retraining muscle memory. Many shooters find it uncomfortable or impractical after years of shooting from their dominant hand's side.
Crossover Stock
A crossover stock lets you keep the gun on your dominant hand's shoulder while angling the stock so the barrel aligns with the cross-dominant eye. This preserves binocular vision without switching shoulders, but requires a specialty stock and may feel unnatural compared to a standard mount.
XD Solution — Binocular Vision Preserved
XD Solution takes a fundamentally different approach. Instead of blocking or restricting the cross-dominant eye entirely, it mounts a semi-transparent blade on the trigger guard that blocks only the barrel view from the dominant eye.
The result: you shoot with both eyes fully open. Your brain gets binocular depth perception for the entire shooting action — you can correctly assess the depth, speed, and angle of the moving target. The blade prevents the dominant eye from establishing the wrong barrel-to-target relationship, without any of the drawbacks of monocular solutions.
It was designed and perfected by an Olympic coach and trainer of clay shooting athletes for over 35 years, based on the "thumb up" principle coaches have used for decades.
What Shooters Say
A shooter who tried everything before finding XD Solution: "I have tried most options - one eye, a spot on glasses lens, covering the upper portion of the glasses lens, sticking on blinder at the end of the barrel, etc. I don't consider myself of All-American talent but during the last two seasons, I have managed to shoot hundreds in singles events and a hundred in a handicap event (from 22 yds.)." — Dwayne Noren, Trapshooters.com
An NRA-certified instructor saw immediate results: "Prior to the XD, I was hitting about 14 of 25. Today, with the XD, I shot a 20 and a 21. But more importantly, with the XD and the confident binocular vision it's giving me, I know exactly why I'm hitting, and exactly why I'm missing. I consider that a major breakthrough." — Gary S. Kaplan, NRA-Certified Pistol Instructor