Any lefty shoot right handed bolts?

[Txhillbilly]

Left eye dominate

I have always been left eye dominate,and shoot left handed.I can shoot fine right handed but always seem to pull a gun up to my left shoulder. I am right handed and own both left and right handed rifles and shotguns.
To the origanal thread-There are many fine rifles that you can get in left handed versions but I can't see spending that kind of money for a hunting rifle. Go to Gunbroker.com and type in left handed.

 

[davlandrum]

thought hand was irrelevant. I thought your choice depended on dominant eye

The thread's question was about the action and how people run the bolt if they shoot lefty.

Eye dominance "should" dictate if you shoot lefty or righty, but as many have posted here, not always the case. Practice can let you do things different.

There is a wide variation in how dominant one eye is over the other as well. I am technically right eye dominant, but not by very much.

 

[Limeyfellow]

I am left handed and operate the bolt with my right hand. It easy enough. I can shoot right handed with peep sights, but with notch sights I have so much trouble, since my eyes are kind of weird, that I can't get the thing lined up.

 

[nbkky71]

Another southpaw shooter here. The only time I really shoot bolt-guns is in the Springfield match at Camp Perry. I've had to train myself to work the bolt while slung-in and in position. It took a while to work out a good system, but here's a video clip of how I shoot lefty with a right-handed bolt gun.

http://home.carolina.rr.com/nbkky71/MOV05615.MPG

If I ever decided to get another bolt gun, I'd probably buy a left-handed model. I've got a couple of rimfire bolt guns, but they mainly get shot off the bench.

 

[jmr40]

My brother shoots right handed bolt guns lefty. He has tried several options including Remington 7600's and even bought a left handed Ruger at one time. He finally decided to just practice until he became good at it. He gets a kick out of watching the sniper in "Saving Private Ryan" shoot his right handed rifle lefty.

 

[ryalred]

My brother-in-law is left handed but has always shot right handed rifles. He has become very comfortable and proficient doing do. He decided to buy a left handed .243 and he was disappointed that it didn't feel more natural for him to shoot. He is discovering that he has shot right handed rifles for so long that the left handed (even though he is left handed) feels awkward. He may get used to it and it may work better for him, but for now he's a little disappointed.

 

[Mike40-11]

Interesting, nbkky71. Sucks a lot of time out of the rapid fire portion coming out of battery like that, but I don't know how else you can do it.

I'm right handed, but lost the sight in my right eye so have had to learn long guns left handed. I've gotten the hang of it, but I'm certainly not fast. Shot an '03 for time once in a CMP match. Never got the second clip in on the rapid fire segment. Didn't do my score much good. I've finally managed to change clips and get all the rounds out of the Garand in time at least.

I did wind up buying a lefty bolt though. Wasn't really looking for one, a guy happened to have left handed M77 he had no use for. In .300 Win Mag. No idea what I'm going to shoot with it, but it sure is easier to run the bolt even if it does look weird.

 

[aggie01]

I, like my father, shoot rifles left-handed and pistols right-handed, only I'm actually left-handed. My two uncles are right-handed, so they inherited all the bolt actions from Grandpa while me and my dad got the lever actions and pumps. If I were you, I'd get a left-handed bolt. Dad and I both have Rem 700 bdl in .270. I've killed deer, elk, antelope, coyotes, prairie dogs, and even a skunk with it. The best part of having a LH bolt is that no one asks to borrow or shoot it.

Another option is a single shot. I bought a T/C Encore recently, and like it as well. With a little practice, you can get that follow-up shot in pretty quickly.

Don't compromise on a RH bolt. I bought one, and it's now locked up in the gun case, rarely used, waiting for my right-handed son to use it some day.

 

[Jseime]

Speaking as a left-handed shooter I would strongly advise you to spend the extra cash and buy a left-handed rifle. I have owned two left-handed bolt actions in .270 and I will not even consider a right-handed gun with the exception of a semi-auto or pump.

It is so much nicer to have that bolt where it should be and the spent casings fly out the right direction and the stocks fit properly. The only right handed gun I would consider is a semi-auto .243 for shooting coyotes... other than that... no way jose.

 

[Yellowfin]

I've been a lefty all my life and have no problem shooting right handed bolt guns, and given my love for a pre-64 Model 70 .264 I get over having the extra step REAL fast.

 

[gak]

Like a lot of others here - right handed in most everything else I do except long arms due to left-eye dominance. I shoot pistols right handed (but "using" my left eye, just cant the stance/head relationship a notch--jsut a very minor adjustment). I too cried out for years for manufacturers to step up more to us in the minority and lamented the lack of LH Remington Mountain Rifles, for instance (even though Rem makes a standard 700 action in LH - so you'd think it'd be simple enough to modify accordingly) -- or even more recently before the plant shut down, repeatedly suggesting to Winchester a LH MOdel 70 Classic Featherweight. But after awhile of those dead-end attempts, decided like a lot here that it just plain felt more natural after all these years shooting (some 45 or so) right-handed long guns, left handed.

The bolt operation's not a problem for me, though onlookers go "huh?"--though like others here, I probably won't win any timed speed contests, I'm not bad. (When I think about it it bugs me a little...so I tell myself not to think about it!) These days I still beat the LH drum re manufacturers - but mostly for friends who are "truly" left handed. Now that I've decided RH is the way for me anyway, it sure makes finding guns a lot easier though!

 

[U.S.SFC_RET]

I quoted

]"You can train yourself to fire right handed like I did but your natural tendendancy will always to be to shoot left handed."

'73-Captain

Have to disagree, it depends on the person...

I am left handed and deliberately forced myself to shoot right handed.

Have absolutely NO TENDENCY to shoot left handed.

In fact, I have a very hard time shooting anything left handed including my back-up S&W 342 which I ONLY shoot left handed.

C.

Point well taken. I don't mean to put anyone else in my shoes.

 

[butta9999]

what is being left or right eye dominant. i can close either eye and shoot either shoulder. As i am a true left hander i feel more comfortable holding a rifle left handed. Excuse my ignorance but i dont get the eye thing.

 

[KurtC]

what is being left or right eye dominant

One eye (dominant) sees straight ahead. The other eye sees at an angle, giving you the ability to judge distance.

Hold a finger up at arms length. Look at it with both eyes open. Close one eye at a time. With the dominant eye, the finger appears in the same place. With the weak eye, it appears to move slightly towards the opposite side, since the eye is looking at an angle.

 

[butta9999]

Well when i close the right eye my finger does not move to i am left eye dominate. So me shooting left handed is right then. Being left handed has nothing to do with it. Am i just lucky that it fell into place for me.

 

[thallub]

You can buy a Savage left hand bolt action for about $400. Get a $150-200 scope for it and you are in business.

For a couple of decades I shot right hand rifles and it felt clumsy as heck. In the early 70s I traded for a Mathieu: What a difference. Now have a bunch of left hand bolt actions by several makers.

Today I refuse to hunt with a right handed gun: Don't shoot them much either. They gather dust in the back of the nsafe.

 

[butta9999]

i just cant bring myself to buy a lefthanded rifle as my other 10 rifles are all right handed. I am so used to it now.

 

[spctim11]

I have right handed rifles for the resale options only.

 

[Groundhog34]

There are many good quality left handed rifles out there: Weatherby, Mauser, Remington, Browning even BAR, Tikka, Savage. Buy one of these. A problem shooting a right handed rifle left handed is cast that is the stock is made to be shot off the right shoulder. Double barrel and OU shotguns also have right hand cast. There are left hand models of doubles and OU out there but they are hard to find.

 

[TPAW]

My son is a lefty. I taught him how to shoot righty. Today, he is a right handed shooter who is a certified marksman. I am quite proud of him.