4 Quick & Easy Dominant Eye Tests for Archers
If you’re a new archer looking for information on which eye is dominant, we’ve got four tests to help:
- The Miles Test
- The Convergence Near-Point Test
- The Porta test
- The Dolman Test
Below, we’ll talk about each test so you can decide which one is right for you and so that ultimately, you can pick a bow that matches your eye dominance and hand dominance to shoot accurately.
The Importance of Archery Eye Dominance Tests
Did you know that one of your eyes receives more input from your brain’s visual cortex than the other one? This eye is known as your “dominant eye”.
Eye dominance is important to archery because you need to be able to properly and accurately sight and line up shots. To do that, you need to know whether to use a left or right-handed bow. And to do that, you need to know which eye is dominant.
How to Test for Your Dominant Eye Using The Miles Test
As we note in our blog post “How to Choose a Left Handed vs. Right-Handed Bow”, one of the easiest ways to test for eye dominance is with the Miles test, often referred to as the “triangle test”:
- Make a triangle with your two hands and stretch your arms in front of your face as far as they will go to focus on a picture or focal point on the wall with both eyes open.
- Close one eye at a time.
- If the object moves away and your field of vision focuses on something else, it means that is not your dominant eye.
- Conversely, if you can see the object with the open eye, that is your dominant eye.
How to Test for Your Dominant Eye Using the Convergence Near-Point Test
Keeping both eyes open, focus on an object that is about arm's length away. Your index finger works well. Move the object closer until only one eye can focus on it. Whichever eye you can still see the object with is your dominant eye.
Alternate Eye Dominance Tests
If you prefer, you can use other eye dominance tests, including the Porta test or Dolman test to figure out which of your eyes is dominant.
- The Porta test is similar to the Miles test but involves using a finger rather than making a triangle.
- The Dolman test, meanwhile, requires a hole-punched index card or piece of paper.
How Do I Know My Dominant Eye Test Results Are Accurate?
The efficacy of all eye dominance tests is about the same, so which one you use truly depends on personal preference.
We recommend testing eye dominance via a few tests, though, to ensure that results are consistent and therefore, more accurate.
Is It Possible to Not Have a Dominant Eye?
Although it is relatively rare, yes, it is possible to not have a dominant eye. This is called being Ambi-ocular. In these cases, when choosing a bow, you can defer to matching the bow type with your dominant hand.
Improve Your Archery Skills Today
Knowledge is half the battle when it comes to being an effective archer. Skill is the other, and skill is only achieved through practice. And one of the easiest ways to practice archery from the comfort of home is with Accubow.
Whether you're looking to improve skills in downtime or start gaming like a pro, take your archery skills to the next level starting now. Explore all practice bows online and order yours today.