Why were so many rifles designed with the bolt handle on the wrong side?

[NoirFan]

With the majority of shooters and soldiers being right-handed, doesn't it make sense to have the bolt or charging handle on the left side of the gun? That way the weak hand can easily rack the bolt after inserting the magazine without any awkward crossing over motion. So why were so many semiauto rifles designed with the bolt handle on the right? AK47, SKS, Garand, M14, etc. it's a long list. Not to mention almost every single semiauto shotgun is also designed this way.

These days many modern guns are made with ambi bolt handles, but why did it take so long to correct the issue? Was it once common military practice to swap mags with the right hand? Was this a 'slow-down' feature designed to keep soldiers from using up ammo too quickly, or something else I'm not thinking of?

 

[Arkansas Paul]

With the majority of shooters and soldiers being right-handed, doesn't it make sense to have the bolt or charging handle on the left side of the gun?

No, because every time you fire a shot, it would eject the casing across your field of vision.

 

[Hanzo581]

Uh....what?

It is way easier to move your right hand to work a bolt while your left supports the gun as it is up against your shoulder....then your right hand can go right back to the trigger.

 

[NoirFan]

No, because every time you fire a shot, it would eject the casing across your field of vision.

Not necessarily. You could have right side or bottom eject with a left side or ambi handle.

It is way easier to move your right hand to work a bolt while your left supports the gun as it is up against your shoulder....then your right hand can go right back to the trigger.

Modern 'tactical' shooting schools all seem to teach charging the bolt with the left hand while maintaining grip with your right.

 

[desidog]

No, because every time you fire a shot, it would eject the casing across your field of vision.

Thats the ejection port, not the charging handle...

It's a good question, i think it has to do with the structural integrity of the receiver.. most have a hole for the ejection port and bolt handle on one side - not both sides. The more material you remove, the more flex you get, and overall strength suffers. However, There are modified AK's with a charge handle on the left, and the CX4 has reversible charge handle, ejection, safety and mag release.

Personally, as a lefty, i think you are right OP, in that they are currently on the proper side for me...so for a righty it'd be better on the left. The ejection port is another deal... i have a scar above my right eye from a 5.56NATO casing doing a cookie cutter hot out of a slick sided AR... so we lefties have the downside of burnt powder in the face and the occasional hot casings bouncing off your right forearm too.

 

[GoWolfpack]

Simple hold over from bolt rifles. The bolt of a Mauser is on the right side, so the bolt handle on early semi autos was placed on the right side. Then it continued.

You can maintain more positive control of your firearm with your forward hand while manipulating the bolt with your rearward hand.

The CETME and variants has the charging handle on the left side, up by the forward grip to make it faster to manipulate with the left hand. The AR15 and variants has the bolt release on the left side. IMO, a serious flaw in its design is how difficult it is to manipulate the charging handle, no matter which hand you choose.

The charging handle of the BAR was on the left side.

The action of most repeating rifles required manipulation by the firing hand between shots. Semiautomatics only require firing hand manipulation between magazines.

Just random thoughts.

 

[GBExpat]

With the majority of shooters and soldiers being right-handed, doesn't it make sense to have the bolt or charging handle on the left side of the gun?

Nope, that certainly does not make sense to me. Stronghand operation of the bolt handle of a bolt gun seems logical to me.

Autoloaders are a different animal and the first time I operated an FAL I could understand the value of a left-side charging handle for a Righty.

I agree with GoWolfpack: Holdover.

 

[NoirFan]

Nope, that certainly does not make sense to me. Stronghand operation of the bolt handle of a bolt gun seems logical to me.

I should have clarified that I was thinking only about semiauto rifles (and shotguns). I have edited the OP. Thanks

 

[Hanzo581]

Modern 'tactical' shooting schools all seem to teach charging the bolt with the left hand while maintaining grip with your right.

Right, you should be able to use either hand (depending on the situation you may need to) but in everyday shooting you aren't going to convince me it is easier to run the controls on a rifle with your left hand, especially on a weapon with some weight to it. Your strong hand running the gun is just the most logical, which is why every gun is pretty much set up that way. It's not merely coincidence.

 

[taliv]

the 'modern' stuff is also based on a pistol grip and carbine that is not just very light weight but also very short, so what little weight it has is mostly right over the grip.

for general bolt gun use, it's best imho to run the bolt with your trigger hand because there's no reason to have your finger on the trigger while you're running hte bolt (it's not a pump shotgun and we don't shoot it like one). your support hand holds the gun up so you can run the bolt without losing your sight picture.

for prone, supported use (e.g. f-class), it's best imho to run the bolt with your support hand because the rifle is already supported by bags/bipod/rest.

 

[JustinJ]

It seems to me that such a high level of importance given to super fast mag changes is a relatively new thing. I often wonder if the importance of super fast mag changes isn't grossly exaggerated. I've never once seen war footage in which shaving seconds off a mag change would have mattered at all as the vast majority are done from behind cover to begin with. The drills we see of "shoot, shoot, swap mag, shoot, shoot", all while standing out in the open, don't seem to translate to real combat but my perspective is certainly limited.

 

[HB]

Holding a garand or sks up with just your right hand would be difficult at best. I also agree that the importance of a quick mag change is a recent development and that it probably isn't that necessary if you have a couple dozen other guys around you firing as well.

HB

 

[rcmodel]

50-75-100 years ago, solders were taught to shoot using the sling as added support for increased accuracy.

Pretty hard to run a bolt left handed when your left arm is attached to the rifles forend with a tight shooting sling.

It's also pretty hard to hold a 10 pound army rifle by the pistol grip and get enough leverage to run a bolt fast.

rc

 

[Robert]

The charging handle on my FAL is on the left side and it works just fine. I like it better than the rear handle on my AR if I am honest.

 

[briansmithwins]

There are some bottom ejecting rifles (P90, G11) but they use top feed magazines. The only top ejecting auto rifle I can think of is the F2000, which stuffs the cases into a ejection tube that runs parallel to and above the barrel.

BSW

 

[Dr T]

On many sporting guns, the charging handle is attached to the bolt and moves to the rear during recoil. If the charging handle moves with the bolt during recoil, I really don't want that thing coming directly at my eye after a squeeze off a shot. It would tend to make be blink and flinch.

Since the AR-15 charging handle doesn't move during recoil, it is not an issue. The ejection port is on the right because of the constraints of mass production for military use. There are a lot more right handed shooters than left handed shooters.

While I am fairly ambidextrous, that part doesn't really matter as much to me as the economics. And, I am very right-eye dominant (which does matter).

As for running a bolt gun fast, take a look at how the British were trained with the Enfield.

 

[BigG]

Who wants a bolt action anyway?

 

[Carl N. Brown]

: Why were so many rifles designed with the bolt handle on the wrong side?

With the balance point between the rear grip and the forearm or foregrip, regaining the rear hand grip is easier than regaining grip on the forearm or foregrip on most rifles I own (some are really muzzle heavy).

Operating a manual bolt action with the trigger finger hand assures that the firing mechanism is disconnected during ejection and feeding. (If I hold my Mosin left handed and operate the bolt with the right, and keep the trigger depressed, the firing pin decocks as the bolt is closed. Just about all bolt action rifles I own require finger off the trigger as you work the bolt.)

The only exception I have seen is the Volunteer Arms semi-auto "tommy gun" look alikes Commando Mark III, Mark V, Mark 9 and Mark 45, which were butt heavy with the handgrip/trigger at the balance point and cocking handle on the left hand side for right handed shooters (although a left hander could use it as a mirror image of a right handed gun). Most semi-auto and full-auto firing mechanisms include an internal disconnector so if you have the trigger depressed as you work the bolt, you have to release and squeeze to fire. But other than the Voulnteer Arms series, most semi autos I own are balanced like bolt actions: muzzle heavy.

 

[9mmfan]

On my Garand, I use my right hand to insert the clip and block forward movement of the bolt. Then the heel of my right hand to smack the bolt if needed. I can't imagine trying to use my left hand, but I'm accustomed to using my right, so take it as you will.

I want to say that I hold my AR in my left hand and work the charging handle with my right, but it's been a while since I've been shooting. Fuzzy memory says I might lock the bolt open to show clear, then when I get ready to shoot, insert magazine and smack bolt release with the heel of my left hand.

 

[Texan Scott]

One of my biggest complaints about the M16 was that the controls are meant to be operated with the left hand. If the rifle jammed (or just needed reloading) when I REALLY NEEDED IT, I'd being trying to get it back into action with my (clumsy, shaky, less-than-dextrous) non-dominant hand.

If your life depended on it, what would be the point of maintaining a "full firing grip" on a weapon that WON'T FIRE? Use your good right hand to get it back into action, and get back into the fight!

I've known plenty of guys who swear the left-handed controls are superior, but the M1 carbine, the Garand, the M14/M1A, AK, SKS, Mini-14, Thompson, and plenty of other "right handed" long arms have shown themselves usable to good effect over the years.

 

[Fishbed77]

Holding a garand or sks up with just your right hand would be difficult at best.

This.^^^

Also, it is much easier and faster for most folks to load an en-bloc (Garand) or stripper clip (SKS) with their right hand. The bolt handle is definitely on the correct side for these rifles.

 

[taliv]

texan, not sure what you're saying. with the m16 and a right-handed shooter
safety selector - right thumb
mag release - right booger finger
charging handle - right thumb and finger
bolt release - left palm, but you can still slingshot the charging handle with right hand
trigger - right finger
forward assist - right palm

what am i missing?

you can operate all those without taking your shaky left support hand off the handguard. you use your clumsy left to hold mags, but the right finger operates the controls on the gun.

 

[Texan Scott]

Which makes sense... but my instructors would insist that the ONLY things done with the right hand should be the mag release and safety switch, with the hand on the grip AT ALL TIMES (yelled just like that- "hand on the grip AT ALL TIMES!").

Even the forward assist (requires rotating the rifle over to do, but since it "should be already" from inspecting the chamber, that was not a valid complaint. Nothing is a valid complaint to a USAF range instructor.)

 

[itsa pain]

I should have clarified that I was thinking only about semiauto rifles (and shotguns). I have edited the OP. Thanks

yes bolt action handles should be on the right side and semi's should be on the left like the FN FAL

 

[BCRider]

I didn't read everything in here but in considering the big differences between a WW II bolt action like the Lee Enfield or Mosin and the modern military style AR/M whatever styles it makes a lot of sense. Really as soon as there is a PROPER pistol grip to hang onto that is located pretty close to the point of balance then it frees up the front support hand to do much of the scut work such as pulling back a bolt handle.

And it would appear that not ALL makers are ignorant of this idea. H&K's MP5 and another of their PCC's I've handled had the bolt release on the left where it can be slapped down by the shooter's mobile support hand.