leftie eyes rightie

You absolutely can. I've been shooting my Mossberg 500 shotguns left handed for 35+ years without any issues.

The only issue, and it’s minor, is the ejection port will eject shells in front of your face. It shouldn’t hit you, just prep for it the first time you shoot it and it won’t surprise you..

Stay safe.

Get an Ithaca 37. Loads and ejects at bottom. Great for either.

I’ve been shooting rifles and shotties left handed since I figured out (45 years ago) that i was left eye dominant. Never took an empty case in the eye yet.

I shoot long guns lefty. Personally, I don't care for crossbolt safties on my long-guns, as they're setup for righties to be able to quickly flick the safety off with the index finger. We lefties have to reach up and underneath to push it back towards the "other side." Awkward. I prefer tang safties on my long-guns, which can be operated with the thumb easily by lefties or righties.

For that reason only, I'd look for a Mossberg 500 rather than a Maverick 88. Pretty much the same gun, but with a slightly different fire control module. The 500 has a tang safety, while the 88 has the cross-bolt safety.

I should also mention that the chamber release lever is located in a very "lefty-friendly" position on the Mossberg as well - it's right behind the trigger guard, where it's very easy to "bump" it open with your middle finger knuckle while your fingers are still wrapped around the grip. Most other brands have a release lever up in front of the trigger guard. That's fine for righties, but that release is often on the "wrong" side of that trigger guard for us lefties, making it extremely awkward to release (you have to reach up in front of, and around the other side of the trigger guard).

I've never had any problem with the right-side ejection on shotguns. I actually prefer it when shooting skeet with a pump gun - turning the gun slightly to the right allows you to eject your empties directly into your shell bag. Very handy.

Just my 2 cents. Worth exactly what you paid for it

The last time I checked, ALL pump shotguns required two hands to operate them efficiently. Moreover, the pumping hand is doing the more-complex job. I am left-handed, and it has always felt more “natural” to shoot a pump shotgun from the right shoulder. When I have “short-stroked” a pump gun, inducing the occasional malfunction, it was while shooting from the left shoulder, working the pump with my “dumber” right hand. (These malfs never happened until I was well into my fifties, and starting to get gimpy.)

It can, of course, matter which side ones uses to shoot long guns, if the sighting system is best used with one’s dominant eye. I shoot with a shotgun bead, or open “rifle” sights, typical on shotgun slug barrels, well enough with either eye.

Riomouse911 said:

The only issue, and it’s minor, is the ejection port will eject shells in front of your face. It shouldn’t hit you, just prep for it the first time you shoot it and it won’t surprise you..

Stay safe.

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I always liked seeing the empty hull flying across my field of view, as it assured me that ejection was progressing normally.

The 500 has a tang safety, while the 88 has the cross-bolt safety.

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The Mossberg safety is on top of the receiver, not on the tang. Equally difficult for right or left handed shooters. Plus it is exposed where it can get hit and moved inadvertently. Even broken which is a common issue with Mossberg's. The tang is the area under the web of your hand between the thumb and pointer finger which is easy to use for anyone and out of the way

Tang safety





The cross bolt safeties can be reversed, but you have to be careful if you ever let a right handed shooter use one since it is now backwards. The cross bolt safety behind the trigger is the easiest to use for either right or left handed shooters. The middle finger will easily wrap behind the trigger guard. If it is possible for people to learn how to play a guitar this is an easier move. I don't like cross bolt safeties in the front of the trigger.

Right handed, left eye dominant. Been shooting an Auto-5 left-handedly for years and have never noticed the ejected shell... folks do tell me my scores would improve if I opened them.

The only gun I wouldn't want to shoot off the left side is a flintlock. All the rest just require a little getting used to.

There is a potential problem with lefties using a righty cross bolt safety in the back of the trigger guard. When the safety is disengaged (ready to fire), the left handed shooter’s trigger finger is very close to the safety button and is in a position where the natural movement of the trigger finger is inward which can apply pressure to the safety and potentially reengage it.

As other lefties have pointed out, they have been using right handed guns for years so maybe this is more theoretical than real. Either way, when I am shooting my Rem 7615 or 597 I do feel the safety button (in fire mode) on my trigger finger as I touch the trigger on a shot.