On left handed shooters, right handed rifles

[alan]

According to the January 2024 edition of American Rifleman, page 26, Winchester has awakened to the fact that there are left handed rifle shooters to be considered, something that other makers had long realized. Being a left eye dominant rifle shooter, though retired from competition, I found this interesting to say the least. I was never a hunter. Simply not interested in hunting.

I shot National Match Course Competition, and Long Range for many years, back when rifle competition was fired with the 30-06 cartridge, later on the .308 Winchester/7.62 x 51 MM round. My first competition rifle was a surplus Winchester Garand, that I shot for 5 or 6 years. Later on, I went to bolt actions, post ‘64 Model 70’s, and a Remington 40x Rangemaster in .308 Winchester, a wonderfully accurate rifle. Virtually all shooting was with hand loaded ammunition.

Never had a problem shooting the Garand in competition, ditto for the Model 70’s. The Remington was another story, Model 70 actions worked much more easily, in my experience. As for hunting rifles, it’s interesting to see Winchester offering a left hand action rifle, though in hunting, how often is a second shot taken? You tell me.

 

[stagpanther]

Weatherby has always paid close attention to the southpaw market and made many of their rifles available in a lefty. I'm right-handed/dominant but never noticed any setbacks shooting their southpaw rifles.

 

[Paul B.]

"As for hunting rifles, it’s interesting to see Winchester offering a left hand action rifle, though in hunting, how often is a second shot taken? You tell me."

Probably not all that often. However, I trained my self to do a quick reload just in case. It has come in handy a time or two.
Paul B.

 

[gwpercle]

I have been a hunter all my life (born in 1949) and competed in indoor NRA Bullseye Match shooting for anout 12 years .
In 1985 I lost the sight in my dominant Right shooting eye ...
The answer was simple ... I mounted whatever rifle or shotgun I had to my Left shoulder and shot with my Left eye . I never had a problem with Ruger 10/22 , bolt action rifles I learned to shoot , pump shotguns were no problem... lever action model 94 winchester and several double barrel shotguns all shot just fine ...right or left handed .
Handguns just got aimed and shot with the Left eye ...but held in right hand with right trigger finger doing it's job .

I don't know if I would like a real left handed gun ... I know for a fact I dont Need no special built lefty gun .
To me the hardest part when hunting was carrying the gun ... I still carry in my right hand and then remembering to take a Left handed stance instead of a right handed .
If I remembered to get my feet placed right ... the mounting , aiming and shooting came easy ... even pulling a rifle or shotgun trigger left handed isn't as hard to learn as you would think .
Now I never understood all the hub-bub over having true Left Handed guns built ...
they aren't really necessary to hunt with or target shoot ...
But to each his own !
Gary

 

[taylorce1]

According to the January 2024 edition of American Rifleman, page 26, Winchester has awakened to the fact that there are left handed rifle shooters to be considered

Is this only in the XPR or does it include the M70? Winchester did the M70 years ago in the 90s in a LH rifle, they are pretty rare. I would think they still have the tooling to build a LH M70 rifle.

Savage and Tikka have been the best in recent years for LH bolt actions. My buddies daughter uses a Tikka SL in .308 with LH operation. I usually recommend Tikka first to shooters wanting a LH bolt action hunting rifle.

 

[Txhillbilly]

Most LH shooter's grew up shooting RH rifle's, I know I did. Never had any problems doing it, but as I got older I wanted LH bolt action's.
Even back in the 80's & 90's there were LH options from most gun maker's including Winchester. I still have a few RH bolt action's, but 95% of mine are LH bolt action's. Some are factory, some are custom.
Bula Defense even makes a LH M1A for people that want to shoot a LH semi-auto, and Browning used to offer the BAR in LH versions

 

[jmr40]

My younger brother is right-handed, left eye dominate. We caught that when he was still a kid and he started learning to shoot left-handed early. He has tried everything over the years, even a couple of left-handed bolt rifles.

He prefers to shoot right-handed rifles. He simply never liked any of the left-handed options and decided he'd rather shoot a rifle he liked from the wrong side than a rifle he didn't like from the correct side.

Rapid repeat shots are much faster than you might think. And when target shooting from a bench it is faster and easier to single load the rifles with the bolt on the other side. There have even been some target rifles made over the years that were right-handed, but with the bolt on the left side just for this.

I shoot right-handed, but practice from the left side. Often when hunting a game animal will appear on my right side. It is easier to mount the rifle on my left shoulder and turn slightly to take the shot than to have to twist my whole body around in order to take the shot right-handed.

 

[44 AMP]

how often is a second shot taken? You tell me.

Not as often as the ability of a second shot is wanted, but second shots to anchor the animal, or to finish it are fairly common. They just aren't talked about, much.

The very first time I deer hunted with my Dad, he put a deer down, but it got back up. He couldn't see it, but I was in a different spot, and could. But, I didn't shoot, because, being a kid, I thought it was "his" deer and so I shouldn't shoot.

Sadly, that deer was lost, and it was, in a way, my fault. Dad explained that, to me, afterwards. I didn't understand the way we hunted, at the time. After that, I understood, once a deer was hit, it was everyone's job to assist in it being taken and not lost. Not everyone hunts that way, but I do, since that day. If a deer is hit, its ok to hit it again, as needed, to be sure it doesn't get away to suffer and die. SO, while I might not need a second shot, I REALLY want to have one available in case I do.

 

[FITASC]

I am LH and have rifles that are LH and RH; I have no issues with either. I actually find the RH easier to work for a second shot by holding the rifle by the wrist with my left hand and working the bolt with my right. It was even nicer with my XP-100 I used to own.

 

[FrankenMauser]

I helped a good friend track down a LH Winchester M70 in 2003. It is his go-to rifle. Rarely takes a second shot. Most of his other rifles are RH. But he can run them just as quickly.

Practice/training can get over almost any perceived handicap.

 

[tangolima]

I am LH and have rifles that are LH and RH; I have no issues with either. I actually find the RH easier to work for a second shot by holding the rifle by the wrist with my left hand and working the bolt with my right. It was even nicer with my XP-100 I used to own.

I have right-handed friend doing the same with LH rifle. He said he can shoot much faster, as fast as a semi auto. I just don't find it a good idea. Working the bolt with firing hand has added functional / safety implications. It is the the trigger disconnect.

Some RH shooters look for LH AR spider charge, so that they can work the charging handle with left hand. I don't like that idea either. Ejection port on the left is not kosher.

-TL

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

 

[FrankenMauser]

It is the same level of kosher/non-kosher as a lefty shooting a right-handed AR.

Personally, I do really want a non-reciprocating, left-charging AR upper.
99% of the time, if I am shooting an AR while prone (or some form of modified prone), the front end is supported (usually on a bipod). That means my support (left) hand is available and positioned for mag changes and charging, when not squeezing a rear bag (or just a fist); while my strong (right) hand is occupied by the elbow that it is attached to, which is half of my rear support.
Not having to break position is the primary goal. Move the arm that is not in play, not the one that is already set and acting as part of the rear support.

But, I always come back to the same problem: I don't want big cutouts on the same side of the receiver as my face. There is nothing on the market, as far as I know, that doesn't have big, nasty holes or slots. (I don't consider the designs with sliding dust covers to be adequate protection.)

 

[tangolima]

There are actually uppers that has side charging handle on the left and ejection on the right. They are rather expensive. I think Brownells carries that.

-TL

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

 

[FrankenMauser]

I appreciate the tip, but that is what I meant: Left side charging, right ejection.
But all left side charging uppers have holes/slots in the left side.
The only way to get away from it is to go niche (and expensive) or to another model of rifle. (Which I don't want to do.) So, I will continue wanting, while realizing that my own paranoia and desires are the only real barriers.

 

[armoredman]

My son is a lefty growing up in a right handed world, and he learned to shoot right handed guns his way.

But then I found a diamond in the rough, a left handed Kit Carson front stuffer that a buddy rebuilt into pure gold.

From this;

To this;

It is his favorite rifle.

Now I am left eye dominant, right handed, and when I started shooting, I had never heard of eye dominance - I just learned to shoot. Decades later in the Academy we did the eye dominance test, and was told I would be shooting left handed. I told my Class Sergeant not only would I shoot right handed, I would post the top score. I graduated top in the class. With long guns, I just learned to use my right eye.

 

[deadcoyote]

My brother is left handed and growing up he just used right handed guns because it’s what we had. 50 years later he still uses right hand guns because it’s what he’s used to and he doesn’t want to switch. Heck, I almost just bought a left handed Tikka simply because it was $300 cheaper than the same model in RH. Deer wouldn’t know the difference.

 

[bamaranger]

"you tell me"

OK. Second shots......depends on what is being shot at, and where. When human drives for deer ( and I suppose black bear as well) the repeating rifles were popular. Also, deer were commonly hunted by stalking/still hunting. Game was often on the run, and the levers, pumps and semi's provided second shots the quickest. Consider they sold some 7 MILLION Winchester M94's. Here in the south, where dogging deer was practiced, the BAR was popular if one could afford it, and the Rem 740 family for those that wanted a more affordable option. There were a lot of deer killed in front of dogs with A5 shotguns and buckshot as well. Deer hunting has now degenerated to sitting in a shooting house, watching a food plot, warm and comfortable, 'till your "target buck" that you have pictures of from your satellite "scouting camera" (gimmie a break) shows up, then the shot is taken off a rest with a gigantic scope. For that, a bolt, even a single shot, works just fine.

The straight pull bolt came on the scene to allow rapidity of fire, popular in Europe for boar, and the semi AR rifle is the tool to wack feral hogs where they are a problem. Finally, small game, waterfowl and wing shooting has always involved the use of repeating shotguns for second (or more) shots and greater take.

I'd suggest that for deliberate, paced fire on a firing line or in casual shooting, one can train themselves to shoot well as a lefty with a right hand rifle. Same for off the rail of a shooting house, or from a bipod. For those stricken with cross dominance however, I think there is an issue, a disconnect albeit perhaps just a mild one, when the shooting gets hard and fast and the hunter must react to what the game is doing to score. This obstacle may pose more of a problem for some folks than others. It gave my Dad fits, and in reflection, he missed more game than he should have.

Though cross dominance skipped me, it fell on bamaboy, now 28. I caught it early on and got him shooting off his left shoulder, (he's right handed) with long guns at a very young age, and he knows no different. I thoroughly believe he's a better shot because of that. He buys his own rifles now of course, and has yet to purchase a left hander. His AR pattern rifles are tweaked to allow tactical operation as a lefty, the rt side ejection does not really seem to bug him. On a bolt , he typically does not dismount the rifle, having the size and strength to support most sporters at the pistol grip and flip the bolt with his right hand. Off a support or bipod, his left shoulder, right bolt manipulation is extremely slick and fast. He runs a handgun with his right hand, and simply indexes the pistol and his head a bit to get a good sight picture with his left dominant eye.

 

[FITASC]

Here in the south, where dogging deer was practiced,

What do you mean "WAS"? Still is

Deer hunting has now degenerated to sitting in a shooting house, watching a food plot, warm and comfortable, 'till your "target buck" that you have pictures of from your satellite "scouting camera" (gimmie a break) shows up, then the shot is taken off a rest with a gigantic scope. For that, a bolt, even a single shot, works just fine.

That's not deer hunting, that's deer waiting

As to cross dominance; at least with shotguns where both eyes are absolutely needed, one either learns to shoot off the appropriate shoulder or one uses some form of "dot" or similar to occlude the dominant eye