Left handed .22 for my son

[Lars]

My son is turning eight this summer and I'm going to get him his first .22 rifle. He is left handed so a lot of the little bolts are out of the picture. I was thinking of a lever action, when he has kids of his own they could use it. What are some other options. I might go 10/22 but I was trying to stay away from semiautos.

Thanks
Lars

 

[larryw]

There are several pump 22LR rifles on the market (stay away from the Henry). But when all's said and done, I think lever is the way to go for a young lefty: that's what I learned on.

 

[Pinned&Recessed]

I would look at the Savage left handed bolts. The have youth single shot bolt rifle and a 10-round magazine fed bolt.

The bolts are smooth and the triggers (in the one's I've had) are crisp and sharp. The accuracy, smoothness and quality rivals the "biggies": Remington and Winchester, but Savages are much more inexpensive.

Savage has a larger range of calibers in lefty rifles compared to other makers too. Savage is very friendly to us Sinistrous Shooters. In fact, my first centerfire bolt rifle is going to be a Savage in .30-06 with a wood stock.

Try their youth line of rifles. Stocks are good sized and they can come single shot or multi-shot.

 

[Dave Markowitz]

Hmm. When I turned 8 I got a BB gun.

Seriously, in the unlikely event you can find one, a lefty Remington 581 would be a fine choice. I bought one when I was 13, sold it off many years later, and have been regretting it.

The leverguns are also good for lefties. I have a Winchester 9422 which is as accurate as most .22 bolt actions. I'd stay away from a semi, since an 8 year old is just learning to shoot, and a manually-operated gun is more conducive to working on the basics, rather that just blasting lead downrange.

 

[VictorLouis]

Savage has the only true LH 'youth' model. The Taurus 62 pump is avaiable with twin butt-stocks, with one being sized for youths. FWIW, even the normal stock is on the short side, IMO.

 

[inGobwetrust]

I got my kids one of the H & R Sportster Youth models. Light, accurate, and only $119! It's a single-shot break-open design so it's equally appropriate for righties or lefties. You can also get another barrel in 22 mag or .17 later on.

http://www.hr1871.com/firearms/index.php?cat=4&subcat=9#27

 

[OneShot]

I just listed a nice little pump 22 in the for sale section It would probably be about right. I would ship it if it were going to a kid. Maybe you can find a similar one in your area. It's a Rossi Model 62 gallery Gun.

The only reason I'm selling it is because I'm outta room in the safe. I'm probably going to regret selling it later.--Rob

 

[yankytrash]

Being a lefty myself, I'd say let's not start him out on the wrong foot here. Teach him on typical right-handed rifles (but shooting lefty of course), so he won't have troubles later trying to adjust his shooting style to the plethora of right handed rifles he'll encounter later in life.

There's a better choice in right-handed models, whether youth or grownup. Most decent models aren't even available in lefty.

I actually find right-handed rifles & shotguns to be easier to maniulate now, and find the lefty models are nothing more than harder to find, goofy to operate, and sometimes more expensive.

That's the way I'm teaching my twin girls, both lefties. By the way, they're 6 and each have their own 22 youth rifles already. You gotta get on the stick, girls are beating him early in the game!!


Editted to add: You can't beat an H&R single shot youth rifle. I carried one from 7 years old to about 12, and I'd grab one up in a second if I found a real H&R again. NEF's are probably alright though, for the beginning shooter.

 

[AR-10]

Ditto what yankytrash said.

 

[Onslaught]

Double-ditto YT, except for one thing...

I too always learned on "standard" stuff, and have adapted quite well. EXCEPT for bolt-actions. The left handed bolt action is the only weapon that I can operate better than a right handed version. My wife, also left handed, never knew there was a "lefty" bolt action until I bought mine. She's hunted with a Remington 700 30-06 since she was 14 (downloaded handloads of course). When she cycles the bolt, she has to put the barrel on something (lap, knee, floor, limb) to support the weight while she cycles the bolt.

When she first handled mine, the light bulb went off in her head... "Hey! I can work this one without having to prop the barrel!"

Other than that, left handed features are mostly wasted on me.

 

[larryw]

A lefty trying to work a right-handed bolt action while slinged up is going to have serious problems.

You also want the action protecting your face in the event of a KB (I had an AR fire out of battery once, watched the bolt buzz by my nose. Lucky to still have my 'good' looks). Not much of a concern for a 22LR, but the idea is to start him off right so he's a safe and good shooter as he grows into larger calibers. So, wherever possible, match the gun for your shooting side. For rifles, that means left-handed bolt actions for a left-handed shooter.

The only time I find shooting a right-handed action advantageous is from a benchrest or other rest.

 

[VictorLouis]

You also want the action protecting your face in the event of a KB

Fellow southpaw Gen. Craig Boddington pointed this out in an article of his that I read recently. That's one thing that never occurred to me, and it certainly is something to be concerned about EVEN with a rimfire.

 

[Lars]

I like the idea of the H&R. I looked at a Browning lever action that seemed real nice. The stock was way too long for him though. The out of battery situation is something that I have never concidered. The local gun shop had a Bushmaster AR with a short stock that I thought would be pretty cool a few years from now.

 

[Andrew Wyatt]

I got started out in a right hand boltgun (i'm left handed) and i don't have much trouble with right handed bolt weapons, provided they're not military m98 or m98k mausers made in the dark days of wwii, when a light bolt lift was not as important as speed of production.


my first rifle was a remington 514 in .22LR that my grandfather gave to me.

my second rifle was a mini-14, which is decidedly left hand friendly.


as for having the action protect you in the event of a KB! i don't really rate that very high on my list of advantages to a left hand boltgun.

I like right hand guns better, because i can diagnose feeding problems more easily, since i can see the entire feeding stroke, and they're easier to load, since the ejection port is facing the proper way for me to load with my right hand.


I'd like to acquire a left hand bolt/righthand ejection boltgun sometime so i'd have the best of both worlds.