Upsides to shooting a left handed gun?

[savage388]

Before I spend all the time and effort searching out an old aics thumbhole to build I'd like to ask the hide, am I missing out shooting right handed guns as a lefty or are the pros simply not worth all the hassle? I've been curious what a left handed bolt gun is like but have always owned rhd rifles.

 

[BuildingConceptsllc]

It's so much better. It's a pain to deal with lefty ar stuff because it's so rare (but I do have 3), but lefty bolt gun stuff is a lot easier to come by and definitely worth it. No way would I ever do it with a right hand rifle again. Zero chance of that.

 

[Kwtaylor]

If the gun you want is a dedicated bench or prone gun it is great. I had a right bolt left hand stock Match 54 Anschutz that worked very well from the bench. Position Shooting? Forget it.

I was in the Army when left hand shooters had to put up with hot brass in their face. A left hand eject AR is a dream!

 

[savage388]

It's so much better. It's a pain to deal with lefty ar stuff because it's so rare (but I do have 3), but lefty bolt gun stuff is a lot easier to come by and definitely worth it. No way would I ever do it with a right hand rifle again. Zero chance of that.

I'll have to ask around and see if I know anyone that has a lefty bolt gun to try, as my first dedicated medium-long range rig I'd like to do it right the first time.

If the gun you want is a dedicated bench or prone gun it is great. I had a right bolt left hand stock Match 54 Anschutz that worked very well from the bench. Position Shooting? Forget it.

I was in the Army when left hand shooters had to put up with hot brass in their face. A left hand eject AR is a dream!

I don't have too much of a problem with my right hand Ar's as long as they're properly gassed. I have shot a few though that were over gassed that weren't fun to shoot.
There is no way anything I'd build on an aics chassis could be shot unsupported with me trying to run the bolt with my support hand, but I am talking about a dedicated prone gun for this one.

 

[BuildingConceptsllc]

I'll have to ask around and see if I know anyone that has a lefty bolt gun to try, as my first dedicated medium-long range rig I'd like to do it right the first time.

I don't have too much of a problem with my right hand Ar's as long as they're properly gassed. I have shot a few though that were over gassed that weren't fun to shoot.
There is no way anything I'd build on an aics chassis could be shot unsupported with me trying to run the bolt with my support hand, but I am talking about a dedicated prone gun for this one.

Once you finally have a lefty , you will find yourself only wanting to shoot that one and then you will start switching them all over. At least that's what I did. It's just so much better.

 

[savage388]

Once you finally have a lefty , you will find yourself only wanting to shoot that one and then you will start switching them all over. At least that's what I did. It's just so much better.

I was pretty set on my plan going into this now I am a bit curious. I may have to buy a cheap .22 or something just to see although I doubt I'll convert anything I already have over. I also won't pass on an old thumbhole aics chassis if I find one just to have for a rainy day either though.

 

[pineoak]

If you are Left eye dominant, definitely go Lefty all in.

If you are right eye dominant, you might want to ask a lefty owner to try it.

I believe if you went lefty, you'd be happier.

a cheap lefty .22 would be a perfect way to check it out

 

[savage388]

If you are Left eye dominant, definitely go Lefty all in.

If you are right eye dominant, you might want to ask a lefty owner to try it.

I believe if you went lefty, you'd be happier.

a cheap lefty .22 would be a perfect way to check it out

I am full lefty, left eye dominant. I've been toying with buying a .22 in left hand just to see. Maybe after Christmas I'll pick up whatever is on sale.

 

[pineoak]

Yes, and then get whatever you want in a rifle but lefty

Then sell off all your right hand rifles unless you have family members that use them

 

[J McGriddle]

Once you shoot a left bolt you will want to kick yourself for even thinking about building a right handed rifle.

 

[Badjujuu]

Once you finally have a lefty , you will find yourself only wanting to shoot that one and then you will start switching them all over. At least that's what I did. It's just so much better.

That's my experience as well

 

[ron_c]

Save yourself the time and effect. I'm 76 and I'm right handed in everything, however I found my left eye is my master eye. I did not want to shoot left handed and tried and tried to make myself shoot right handed. Hunting with a shotgun was worst. My master left eye kept trying to take over. Finally I realized it was best to admit it and start shooting left handed with left handed rifle and shotgun.

I shoot hand guns with my right hand but aim with my left eye.

 

[iceng]

I shoot pistol and shotgun lefty, and rifles right. I only shoot righty because 95% of rifles and chassis are righty. I shoot better lefty.

If you can get a lefty setup, do it.

 

[EKane]

So Im left handed and left eye dominant and I have run both left and right bolts. There are professional shooters that run weak side bolt very well.
That being said I still enjoy a left handed bolt for PRS. See this article for in depth detail

Weakside Bolt Placement — When and Why It Works « Daily Bulletin

Most bolt-action rifle shooters work the bolt with their trigger-pulling hand. This is because most rifles sold to right-handed shooters come with right-side bolts, while lefty rifles come with left-side bolts.

bulletin.accurateshooter.com

If your looking for a left handed action I just saw that Impacts were back in stock. My favorite lefty action by far.

737R - Left handed

Choose the action that the pros use! We have been the most popular action in the Precision Rifle Series for the last 5 years. Impact shooters have won the last 6 golden bullets and have won more two day matches in the last three years than all other manufacturers combined. Don't settle for...

impactprecisionshooting.com

 

[savage388]

Thanks for all the feedback, I think I will just go left handed on this one, there is a ton more out there now than just a couple years ago. Still kind of wanting to build on an ai thumbhole or at thumbhole conversion but I doubt I'll ever find one in lefty.

 

[clcustom1911]

I went from right hand bolt rifles to left and I kicked myself for not going sooner. I eventually sold my remaining right-hand bolt guns for left.

AR's, no. I put in an ambi charging handle and call it good. That's my setup for my Mk18 at work.

For home I have 1 LMT MARS-L which is full ambi and I find myself not really using the "lefty" controls much. I find it better to keep the same manual of arms across all my semi-auto platforms so in the event of a stressful encounter, I don't go fingering for a mag release or bolt catch on my work gun that isn't there.

 

[nitehawk]

To the OP :
Great question for someone who who hasn’t had the opportunity to experiment with one:

My experience, (23 years Law Enforcement… I do have a Law Enforcement Sniper Cert….Reserve and Active duty Army 31 years), and observations have led me to the following;

If you ever shoot for time wrapped up in a sling nice and proper you will see the advantage of operating a left hand bolt with your left hand…. If you ever have the chance to legally harvest multiple animals and they present themselves at one time your freezer will thank you for operating a lh bolt with your left hand….

without question a lefty can shoot a right hand bolt but under time constraints or multiple targets in the same engagement area you will be glad for the left hand bolt

If you are operating a benched or otherwise stabilized rifle… bipod and pod, tripod, ect… A right hand bolt can be manipulated lightning fast by a lefty because your grip never has to change and your support hand isn’t busy doing anything necessary …

I am a lefty and shoot anything that is available anyway necessary however when I have a choice and fast accurate shots are required I take my lefty bolt.

Best of Luck
Charles

 

[iceng]

I think it could be a skill to be left handed, and universally swap between a LH and RH bolt, and shoot both well.

Also, left handed people should have been drowned at birth. Stupid Molly dookers.

Why are left-handed sportsmen called 'mollydookers'?

www.smh.com.au

 

[longrange772]

Your friends probably won't ask to borrow your gun.

 

[lte82]

Thanks for all the feedback, I think I will just go left handed on this one, there is a ton more out there now than just a couple years ago. Still kind of wanting to build on an ai thumbhole or at thumbhole conversion but I doubt I'll ever find one in lefty.

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/966472047

An extremely rare lefty AI AW.

 

[savage388]

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/966472047

An extremely rare lefty AI AW.

I want one real bad but sadly I don't have 8.5k to toss at that right now. It's a shame because I doubt I'll see another for years.

 

[Colt45guy]

Thanks for all the feedback, I think I will just go left handed on this one, there is a ton more out there now than just a couple years ago. Still kind of wanting to build on an ai thumbhole or at thumbhole conversion but I doubt I'll ever find one in lefty.

Post a WTB in the PX here. The lefty versions are hard to find in the wild, but there's several of us southpaws in this community.

I found both of my lefty AICS AT 2.0 chassis here. One was posted in the Left Hand Sales and I scooped it. The other was a reply to my WTB ad that had only been posted for about 24 hours. Both of the members I bought mine from were upgrading to a newer chassis system.

 

[BuildingConceptsllc]

Be very careful doing wtb adds. Frank has cautioned against it many times because if the invitation it gives to scammers. You can word it differently so that those of us who are precision rifles people know what you mean but scammers won't automatically know.

 

[Colt45guy]

Be very careful doing wtb adds. Frank has cautioned against it many times because if the invitation it gives to scammers. You can word it differently so that those of us who are precision rifles people know what you mean but scammers won't automatically know.

100% agree! It doesn't take too much effort to verify if the seller is legit--especially when they're long time SH members.

Personally, I wouldn't send any money to anyone that doesn't have a posting history and some positive PX feedback

 

[savage388]

Be very careful doing wtb adds. Frank has cautioned against it many times because if the invitation it gives to scammers. You can word it differently so that those of us who are precision rifles people know what you mean but scammers won't automatically know.

100% agree! It doesn't take too much effort to verify if the seller is legit--especially when they're long time SH members.

Personally, I wouldn't send any money to anyone that doesn't have a posting history and some positive PX feedback

Thanks for the advice, I have a pretty good track record on a few other gun and car related forums of buying and selling so I have run the scammer gauntlet before a few times looking for hard to find parts. I'll post a wtb and hopefully someone has one laying around.

 

[StrayDog]

I ran a LH AICS for a while with an old Bighorn, sold that stock years ago, dangit.
But, I find the Manners thumbhole stocks to be more comfortable.
Take a look at the T5 or EH5 with a mini chassis built in.

 

[Colt45guy]

You know that you want an AICS chassis......;-)

They're out there.....you just have to look hard and be ready to pounce when one shows up.

 

[StrayDog]

At this point, just saving and waiting for the loooong coming LH AT-X rifle and LH AT-X chassis for the V360

 

[LeftyJason]

One of the best reasons why it is good to match the hand of the gun to the hand of the shooter was recently brought up again by @karagias. Not really a good idea to shoot a right hang gun left handed or a left hand gun right handed especially bolt guns. Mistakes in reloading, mis loads from factory, or barrel obstructions can cause guns to grenade. Do you really want the port under your face?

Here he was responding to someone asking about bolt and port being on opposite sides.

Over the years, many people have asked us for this. I've been reluctant to do it because I don't want my customers blowing their faces off in the event that they drank to much whisky while handloading and carelessly dumped a bunch of Varget into a 300 WM or 338 LM.

We blow actions up during obstructed chamber tests to ensure they stay together after people make mistakes. The ensuing blasts are terrifying and if your head is in close proximity to fragmenting receiver, well it's like the YouTube video says, "It was at this moment that Jackson knew, he fucked up!"

Thus left-port right-handle worries me. I'd need to talk this over with a good attorney before offering such a thing for sale. Same goes for aluminum receivers and switch-barrels with split receivers, with the notable exception of Accuracy International. Those guys smartly do obstructed chamber tests. Aluminum receivers are obviously used in millions of AR-15s but the majority of those guns shoot a tiny 223. Bolt actions are different. They're often used with big cartridges that release enormous amounts energy.

I normally don't do this but I decided to attached three pictures of actions blown apart while testing materials, heat treatment, and finishing. Take this seriously. Handloading mistakes can result in serious injury or death to you and to bystanders. We work hard to make these as safe as possible and to safeguard against carless errors made by shooters but there are limits to what we can do.

Enjoy the pics and be careful. Don't be like Jackson.

Ted

View attachment 8056419View attachment 8056420View attachment 8056421

 

[EKane]

About 2 years ago I purchased a left hand Desert Tech SRS A1 in a 6.5CM. The next year I had Short Action Customs spin a 26" 300 Norma barrel and have really enjoyed the build. All in I had about $6000 in the rifle. I just saw this post on Snipers hide for the same rifle @ $2800 running a 6.5CM. I think its a hell of a rifle at that price and when you get ready to stretch it out with a magnum you simply order a different barrel and mags. Its the only rifle that I know of that can run a .223 to a .338 lapua at less than a 1/2 moa guaranteed. I have shot alot of rifles over the years and I will die still owning an SRS A1. It is the most versatile, consistent, reliable, and accurate workhorse I have in my safe. Hell I'm really tempted to buy this one but I thought maybe you could use it more. Best wishes in your rifle quest

SOLD - WTS/WTT Desert Tech SRS A1 6.5 CM - Price Reduced

Selling a Desert Tech SRS A1. 26" 6.5 Creedmoor Barrel SilencerCO ASR Flash Hider 2x 10 Round Mags Borka Tools 80lb Torque Wrench Original Box & Manual (Bipod & Optic/Mount not included) Round count is probably around 5-600 2800 OBO Interested in the following Trades: - Impact LH Action +...

www.snipershide.com

edited 1/25/23 3:46pm central
should read (.223 to 33xc) just read about some guys running the 33xc of the DT SRS A1 platform

 

[Garvey]

Before I spend all the time and effort searching out an old aics thumbhole to build I'd like to ask the hide, am I missing out shooting right handed guns as a lefty or are the pros simply not worth all the hassle? I've been curious what a left handed bolt gun is like but have always owned rhd rifles.

LH shooter running a RH gun:

Prone, your right hand will have to let go of your rear bag, reach up, and cycle the bolt. You might maintain sight picture somewhat, using your firing hand to keep the rifle a bit still. But you're going to lose your point of aim in the scope. It is NOT faster to cycle and get off another shot this way.

Field position, rifle unsupported you can keep your right hand holding the forearm, and your left hand reach across the rifle to cycle the bolt. It is as awkward as a pig on roller skates. Or rest the forearm on a leg, release the forearm with your right hand, and cycle the bolt. Now you've got a chambered rifle pointing at the ground. Not good. Rifles should be chambered with them aimed at what you want to shoot, ONLY!

Barricade, rifle supported, you can do alright. Leave your left hand on the grip, and use your right hand to cycle the bolt. But, if you were shooting the barricade well, your right hand "was" doing some work steadying the rifle.

I'm left eyed and left handed. My ARs and shotguns are right handed, and I've developed ways to use them very efficiently. But there is no good reason for a LH guy to use a RH bolt action.

 

[Leam]

You know that you want an AICS chassis......;-)

They're out there.....you just have to look hard and be ready to pounce when one shows up.

View attachment 8055413

What chassis are those? I keep looking for a chassis, and I figure I'll have to buy the action based on the chassis.

 

[LeftyJason]

What chassis are those? I keep looking for a chassis, and I figure I'll have to buy the action based on the chassis.

Or you can convert it yourself. Had to do that with my whiskey 3 for my T3x and my MDT xrs for my t1x.

 

[Colt45guy]

What chassis are those? I keep looking for a chassis, and I figure I'll have to buy the action based on the chassis.

AICS AT 2.0 (folding) on both.

The B14R (lefty .22 training rifle) is now wearing Viperskins to better mimic my centerfire. If I hadn't been able to find the lefty AICS chassis I was going to do exactly what LeftyJason did above. You can find right hand used chassis for a Rem 700 SA all day long--the southpaws are few and far between. Watch the PX here and be ready to pounce when something you like shows up

 

[mikeshaw2]

So Im left handed and left eye dominant and I have run both left and right bolts. There are professional shooters that run weak side bolt very well.
That being said I still enjoy a left handed bolt for PRS. See this article for in depth detail

Weakside Bolt Placement — When and Why It Works « Daily Bulletin

Most bolt-action rifle shooters work the bolt with their trigger-pulling hand. This is because most rifles sold to right-handed shooters come with right-side bolts, while lefty rifles come with left-side bolts.

bulletin.accurateshooter.com

If your looking for a left handed action I just saw that Impacts were back in stock. My favorite lefty action by far.

737R - Left handed

Choose the action that the pros use! We have been the most popular action in the Precision Rifle Series for the last 5 years. Impact shooters have won the last 6 golden bullets and have won more two day matches in the last three years than all other manufacturers combined. Don't settle for...

impactprecisionshooting.com

The thing that first article is missing is that if you're shooting weak handed rifles, your support hand is moving away from stabilizing your rifle every time you manipulate the bolt.

Takes a small bit of time to reacquire the target and restabilize the rifle every time you do that.

90sec isn't a lot of time to be faffing about restabilizing every time you chamber a round

AMHIK

If you're shooting off a bench or have all the time in the world, it's probably a different matter

M

 

[LuvDog]

Your friends probably won't ask to borrow your gun.

Since this thread got bumped... I agree with this statement. Probably one of the best upsides to a left handed bolt gun.

 

[BuildingConceptsllc]

What chassis are those? I keep looking for a chassis, and I figure I'll have to buy the action based on the chassis.

You mean which ones can you get lefty? KRG W3, VISION, MPA, and I'm sure others. As far as the PX, they are out there you just have to keep a watch.

 

[iceng]

Heres one of the Mollydooker's in Aussieland at a PRS match. He said once he went full spastic (all left), he loved it. Worth trying if you can borrow someones gun for a match ??

 

[DudeBro]

I'll have to ask around and see if I know anyone that has a lefty bolt gun to try, as my first dedicated medium-long range rig I'd like to do it right the first time.

Where are you located? If you're near DC, I have several high end LH rifles you can try.