Left Hand Shooters

[MtnCreek]

I need some advice from the left handed rifle shooters please.

I have two sons that are left handed; they’re 6 and 3 years old. My six year old is becoming a fairly competent rifle shooter with a .22 Chipmunk. The rifle is a right hand bolt action; he shoots it left handed. He’s a pretty big guy for his age; the size of most 7 to 8 yr olds at his school, so if he continues to progress with his shooting, I think he’ll be ready for a .223 this Fall (or maybe Christmas).

A few questions:
What did you left handed guys and gals learn to shoot with? Did you have a left handed rifle?
Were there any transition issues moving from a right hand rifle to a left hand rifle?
If anyone here has recently outfitted a young left hand shooter with their first centerfire, any suggestions on rifle brand / model?
As a right handed person (far right ), any suggestions you have to help me help my son will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[Cop Bob]

I am right handed, but left eye dominate.. I have shot long guns left handed all my life. Never been hindered by it much... I learned to adapt. Only bought my 1st left handed bolt gun just about two years ago... It is much nicer, and quicker. For my black guns, I just fitted them with ambidextrous safeties, over size bolt and mag releases.. But they are really not required for me to run the gun efficiently or properly. I too started at a very early age, kids are pretty resourceful in making it work for them.. Just watch over them and make sure that the techniques that they do come up with are safe. to wit: keeping things pointed in a safe direction..

 

[hawkeye10]

I am left handed (been that way all my life) I have never had a left handed rifle and I never really wanted one. I would not worry about your kids they will do just fine. Don

 

[Awsomepossum]

My son is Lefthanded. He really liked the Sako Tikka brand of rifles. Its hard to find an good deal on an LH rifle. Pm me if you have any more questions

 

[Sunray]

Shooting a backwards rifle never made a lick of difference to me. Including hordes of semi-auto battle rifles. Likely won't for your kids either.
There is a decided shortage of Youth models from any of the manufacturers. Few left handed models period. Most Youth models are not in .223 either. Lots of .243 and 7mm-08 bolt actions.
Is a semi-auto an option? A Mini-14 might be a thought. NEF makes a Youth model in .223. Single shot, of course.

 

[thunder173]

Right handed,..left eyed. Been shhoting south paw for the most part since I was a kid,..now 6 years old,..24 years in the military....have never owned a left handed gun in my life. Don't intend to. I actually run most right hand bolt actions pretty fast running them left handed,..not really an issue at all with any other action,..aside from having to get creative once in awhile on safeties and such.

I agree with CopBob above,..just watch over them,..make certain that they develop safe shooting techniques and habits.

 

[ball3006]

All of my rifles, and pistols for that matter, are left handed. On other days they are right handed. Some days they are both right and left handed. I shoot against myself alot. The rifle I have the most difficulty with shooting left handed is a Swiss K31. It is nice to be ambidextrous with no dominate eye.....chris3

 

[HankR]

I'm left eye dominant also. Until a few years ago I never had a left handed rifle. Shot both the M1 Garand and AR-15 left handed. Garand was a little difficult, when slinged up in competition and maybe a tad more risk of injury (I used my fingers to push the clip in, then tugged on/chopped at the charging handle with the side of my hand. That meant there was not a hand in front of the charging handle has I pushed the clip in. With my rifle it wasn't a problem).

I shot bolt guns OK w/ no problems, but did tend to buy guns with the safeties centrally located (e.g Mossberg shotgun, Savage rifle) and tended towards lever guns rather than bolts.

Fast forward a few years. I have entered the bifocal age. Started putting scopes on more rifles. Probably not as flexible as I was back in the day. Now it's annoying and slow to reach above the scope to cycle a round in a bolt gun (when slinged up). Luckily, I also have a little more money these days so I bought a left handed bolt gun (Savage doesn't charge a premium for the lefty, just check out the right handed model in the store and have them order in a lefty). I liked that one so much I got a Savage .22 in lefty also. My son (right eye dominant, right handed) turned 13 this summer. He's glad to shoot the old ones for me.

 

[dondulah]

I am lefty, shoot lefty and always use Left handed rifles. You may want to look at Stag Arms AR-15s. They are a solid company and their 2L model is good to go.

 

[cougar1717]

The answers that you've received already are very typical on this topic if you do a thread search. Some are going to say: Never learned with LH guns, never needed them. They have learned to adapt and just make it work usually because LH guns were either not offered at that time or they just grew up learning to shoot a RH gun. Others are going to say: If they offer LH guns and they are easier to use, why not use them? There will always be extremists that suggest that you must conform to their opinion because they're "right". At 6 and 3, your boys are really young. They probably haven't made a conscious decision that they even like guns yet. They like them because dad likes guns and it's fun for them to spend time with you. Depending on eye dominance and age, things might change. At this stage of the game, it's about having fun with dad and shooting something that they will enjoy.

 

[Texas Bob]

I'm right handed, left eye dominate, so I've always shot a rifle as a southpaw. The "only" time this was a problem was when the first AR15/M16 series did not have a built in "shell deflector", but that was forty years ago.

I don't notice the brass when shooting my "current" Bushmaster thanks to the shell deflector. My Arsenal 106 in the same 5.56 caliber is a "southpaw's wet dream." Comrade "K" must have been a "closet" southpaw when he designed the AK. Brass from the AK exits at 2:00 at a high angle.

 

[Hangingrock]

Some of the responses so far” I’m let handed and have no problem using a right handed rifle”. Ok then lets have all rifles made left handed and let the right handers adapt to them since there is no problem. Most people I’ve witnessed can’t operate a bolt action or lever properly from the shoulder. They tend to remove the rifle from the shoulder in order to operate the action.

 

[Andrew Wyatt]

right handed bolt actions are super easy to load when you're left handed, but the bolt is difficult to run if there's a scope.

I'm glad you're not making them shoot right handed.

 

[MtnCreek]

Thank You everyone; all these comments give me a little better understanding of what he deals with and how he deals with it.

They tend to remove the rifle from the shoulder in order to operate the action.

My son turns the rifle on its side, holding it with his support hand and operates the bolt / loads w/ his left hand. I could see how a rifle w/ optics would make this more difficult.

 

[mark1616]

I am lefty who shoots left, but learned with right handed BA's. In a sitting/table position this didn't matter much, but in a standing position it took a lot long longer to reset my stance and aim. Because of that, when I began to get proficient, I started buying LH BA rifles. Neither bolt position affected my grouping at all. I suck just as badly with LH bolts as RH.

 

[Andrew Wyatt]

Thank You everyone; all these comments give me a little better understanding of what he deals with and how he deals with it.


My son turns the rifle on its side, holding it with his support hand and operates the bolt / loads w/ his left hand. I could see how a rifle w/ optics would make this more difficult.

i reach over the top.

 

[buddyemily]

I am a lefty and learn to shoot with a right handed rifle. Too few lefty rifles to bother with. Hope this helps.

 

[Nathanael_Greene]

I'm left-handed and tried to learn to shoot a right-handed bolt-action rifle. I never could get the hang of it, especially a scoped hunting rifle.

 

[Skyshot]

I shoot lefthanded and own 1 lefthanded action all the rest are right handed and have had no problems using either, you need not worry about your sons because us southpaws are truely gifted and in a right hand world you have to be.

 

[USAF_Vet]

I'm a lefty and shoot right handed rifles. My bolt actions are either iron sights or scout set-up with a red dot. I reach over the top and cant the rifle slightly left to operate the bolt handle. Support hand keeps the rifle on my shoulder and in the general direction of the target, trigger hand operates the bolt.

If firing from a Bipod, support hand operates the bolt and trigger hand never moves, eyes keep on target.

 

[THe Dove]

I'm a lefty as well. When it come to shotguns, I like the Savage models with the safety on top........

Rifles with scopes, I have to go over the top. And for the most part, yes, I have to take it off the shoulder.

Lever action is no problem. Guess that's why I like 'em.

My advice would be just to enjoy shooting with the kids with what firearms you currently have. If they get older and still are interested, then things may change.

The Dove

 

[ball3006]

When you shoot a right handed rifle left handed, you learn to hit what you are shooting at with the first shot. Why people can't operate a lever action rifle left handed is beyond me......chris3

 

[Dave Markowitz]

I'm a southpaw and shoot from that side.

As long as the rifle has a stock suitable for LH use, and he's not shooting a semiauto that spits brass back towards his face, he shouldn't have a problem shooting RH rifles. I never have, though naturally I prefer LH rifles or in the case of my AR-15s, have fitted ambidextrous selectors.

I even have a couple RH flintlocks I shoot from the left side. It's not a big deal as long as you wear eye protection.

 

[Chuck Dye]

I too am right handed, left eyed and largely in agreement with what has been posted by others.

More to the point:

I bought my left handed honorary nephew a left handed Savage MkII The original idea was to imitate a rifle in the hands of a family I met in Utah. That rifle, a Remington 514, had been cut down for kids. The initial cut was covered by a thin plastic butt plate from Brownell's. As that first kid grew, the rifle was fitted with successively thicker recoil pads. When I encountered that rifle, it had a 2" recoil pad. I got the explanation when I stared. Turned out the 14 year old shooting it was the fourth generation to train on it and I was decades too late to be the first to stare. The gunsmith my friend had do the initial cut did not have the needed thin plastic butt plate so made the cut for a 2" pad he did have (at about five times the cost,) defeating the plan at the outset (I funded the deal, felt distinctly ripped off, and have a real fight keeping my mouth shut.) The honorary nephew has since grown a lot, so $49 to Boyd's for a replacement stock has resolved the issue until the HN has his own kids or contributes to training his nephews.

The Savage has been a marvel. $140 out the door, it is a 1 MOA rifle with the right cheap ammo at 50 yards. The only thing I might do differently, other than closely supervising the stock modification, is possibly installing better iron sights. My friend, the HN's Dad, insisted kiddo use iron sights for a year or two before getting a scope. The OEM sights are a bit cobby and only drift adjustable for windage. The iron sights are far more my problem, and my aging eyes', than kiddo's and his young eyes'. A Leupold 2-7x28 Rimfire Special has since been added, so that is not currently an issue (perhaps when kiddo has kids.)

Ooops! Edit to add: Kiddo now also has a left handed Savage .243Win with Leupold 2.5-8x scope. Hasn't managed to schedule a meeting with a deer or elk yet, but has obliterated many ground squirrels.

 

[Vaarok]

Go lever or pump.

I don't like boltguns even though it's pretty easy with a rest to actuate the bolt with your right hand and keep left hand and eye on the rifle.

I had left-handed rifles, didn't like them much for what they cost in terms of added utility. Felt distinctly weird.