Author Topic: Right hand bolt gun for left handed shooter? (Read 1764 times)

Questor · « **on:** March 23, 2007, 04:02:03 AM »

My son is a leftie and I have a right handed 270 that I'd prefer that he use because I don't want to buy another gun. If you are left handed and have shot with a right-handed gun, how has it worked for you? Did going to a left-handed gun make an improvement for you? Thanks.

dukkillr · « **Reply #1 on:** March 23, 2007, 04:59:27 AM »

With a bolt it makes very little difference. I shoot a 700 a pre-64 70 a mauser and a ruger. All right handed. The only think I've noticed is that if you don't have a rest I tend to lose the target through my scope and have to refind it.

The real issue with right handed rifles for me are the autos and pumps. Those guns plus right ejecting shotguns tend to get stuff in my eyes and can be distracting with all of the motion in your field of view.

I don't own a left handed bolt simply because in shooting them I've never noticed a performance difference. Someday I'll get one, just for fun.

The Sodbuster · « **Reply #2 on:** March 23, 2007, 11:20:10 AM »

I grew up having to make do with right-handed things. Most don't even offer the choice of a left-handed version (circular saw, band saw, shears, etc.). When I bought my first rifle in my 30's, I bought a lefty gun. All my rifles are left-handed. They won't make 'em if we don't buy 'em, so I always encourage leftys to buy left-handed guns (admittedly selfish motives, but hey, I ain't no prince!).

Slamfire · « **Reply #3 on:** March 23, 2007, 06:12:53 PM »

Can he use it? Yes! Is a left handed action better, OH HE77 YES! You don't have to dismount the rifle to work the action.

jvs · « **Reply #4 on:** March 23, 2007, 07:08:03 PM »

I have a good friend who is a southpaw. He has almost never shot a left handed rifle, but it is the one thing he always wished he had. One of the odddest things I have ever witnessed is him working the bolt on a right handed rifle between shots at the range. I wish he would just go buy a left handed rifle.

I think that unless a left handed person shoots a left handed rifle, alot of the funs things are missed for the shooter because just working the bolt is a pain in the azz.

Do your kid a favor, look for a lefty on the used rack or buy a new one if he intends to stay at it.

Skunk · « **Reply #5 on:** March 23, 2007, 10:30:41 PM »

My oldest Son is a lefty, but he has no left-handed bolt action rifles, so he shoots his right-handed bolts from the right side. He was a good switch hitter in baseball too.

He does really well with them, however, his dream is to have all his bolts in left-handed models so he can shoot from his left side like he was designed to do. He feels he could shoot much better with a rifle designed for his dominent side.

Skunk

2eagles · « **Reply #6 on:** March 24, 2007, 02:55:17 AM »

I'm a leftie that has shot a right hand bolt for 40 years. Bought a left hand Ruger and it didn't feel right. Have a right hand Tikka now. Love it!
BUT, if I were just starting shooting, I would get a left hand rifle in a heartbeat.
Jim

kyelkhunter3006 · « **Reply #7 on:** March 24, 2007, 03:27:50 AM »

My uncle is left handed, all he's ever used are right handed guns. He shoots from the left and reaches over the reciever to work the bolt. He'd like to try a leftie gun, but he doesn't want to pay for a new one, or go to the trouble to find one. He's the only leftie in the family, so none of us have a gun he could try. He said that if one of his boys ended up a leftie, he'd buy them a leftie gun. But both of his boys ended up right handed.

I say get your son a left handed gun, there is nothing worse or more dangerous than being uncomfortable or awkward with a loaded gun. It might not make a difference at the range, but in the woods under stress and excitement, it could.

jpsmith1 · « **Reply #8 on:** March 25, 2007, 02:12:36 AM »

At least borrow a lefty gun for him if that is an alternative. I understand that the family budget may not have room for a new gun and the used racks aren't exactly flooded with lefty guns, but shooting a right handed gun is just a pain in the butt. I wind up carrying a pistol or a lever gun rather than my right handed bolt, simply because they feel better in my hands.

Another option to consider would be something like a handi. Ambidextrous rifles are nice.

Slamfire · « **Reply #9 on:** March 25, 2007, 05:43:23 PM »

You don't have to reach over the action, just rotate the rifle 90 degrees counterclockwise. However, this will take the rifle's sights from your line of sight and slow down subsequent shots. That ain't always a bad deal, if you're an excitable type.

Qaz · « **Reply #10 on:** March 26, 2007, 06:45:36 AM »

Questor- This is a funny post because I was thinking of this same thing last week. I am left hand dominate, but I was taught to write with my right hand and to shoot right handed. Everything else is done with my left hand. I picked up a left handed rifle for the first time 3 weeks ago and it came to my shoulder naturally, sights fell into place and cycling the bolt felt great. Did I buy a left handed gun? No, but it is always an option. I have been using the right handed bolt so long that it feels right.
One good thing that has come out of this is some times I shoot left handed, some times right and I feel perfectly comfortable either way after 40+ years of shooting this way. I am glad now that my dad taught me the way he did. I don't think it matters wich side the bolt cycles in the long run as long as he is comfortable with the gun.

Qaz

coyote trapper1928 · « **Reply #11 on:** March 26, 2007, 07:20:08 AM »

The Ruger No.1 Single Shot Rifle is an excellent alternative for a left handed shooter. It is a little higher in price than a bolt rifle, but worth the extra cost.

hunt127588 · « **Reply #12 on:** March 28, 2007, 07:41:32 AM »

Let your son make the determination. I'm lefty and have always shot right-hand bolts. In fact, I have tried a friend's left-handed bolt and it feels awkward to me since I have been shooting right-handed bolts so long. Had I had a choice early on, I would have gone left handed. However, right-handed bolts feel fine for me. As for speed, get an auto-loader if you want speed. I have been able to make a triple shot and hit everything I was aiming at.

Devy55 · « **Reply #13 on:** March 29, 2007, 01:09:16 PM »

My brother is a lefty and has the same problems. He liked my Ithaca Model 37 because it had bottom ejection. That way, he can shoot left handed without throwing casings into his face.

He's got several right hand rifles and just bought a left-hander from CZ. He's learned to adapt to right handed shooting, but says he still prefers doing it "the right way" which for him is left handed. He also said, that trying to shoot backwards can be awkward because (for most people) the dominant eye is on their "strong side."

So even though a person may have satisfactorily adapted and coped to shooting right handed; performance, comfort and accuracy should improve by shooting the way you are naturally designed.

Slamfire · « **Reply #14 on:** March 29, 2007, 06:13:43 PM »

Quote from: coyote trapper1928 on March 26, 2007, 07:20:08 AM

The Ruger No.1 Single Shot Rifle is an excellent alternative for a left handed shooter. It is a little higher in price than a bolt rifle, but worth the extra cost.

Not really so excellent. The cutaway at the loading ramp is on the right hand side, meanin' a lefty can't get his thumb under a low mounted scope. So he has to switch hands, after usin' his left to open the action, he now has to hold the rifle with his left so he can load another round with his right.

Savage .250 · « **Reply #15 on:** March 30, 2007, 02:22:47 AM »

As a "lefty" of the first order i`ve been using right-handed rifles for years and for me it`s never been a problem.
Even buy right-handed rifles when the need arises. Never really thought about a lefty.
My choice for the last ten years or so has been a (1952) SAVAGE 99......... How sweet it is!

huntswithdogs · « **Reply #16 on:** March 30, 2007, 06:37:23 AM »

Another lefty here,that's been shooting right hand bolts for years. Lefty rifles are generally harder to find, let alone trying to sell one. I had one dealer that talked me back into a right bolt here recently. He said that most guys were back in there within a short time to trade them back in on standard bolts. This was with older shooters. If a lefty rifle was bought for a younger shooter,he rarely see it return unless the youngun is upgrading. When this happened,they were buying another lefty rifle. Of the times that I've shot lefthand bolts,I've felt awkward. I reckon it all goes back to what you learned originally.

Like others have said before here,try to find a lefty rifle and let him shoot it in a comparison test against a righty one.

HWD

Heavy C · « **Reply #17 on:** April 03, 2007, 04:52:09 AM »

Because of an eye injury I had to learn to shoot left handed. I purchased my first bolt action a Rem. 700 with a right hand action because it was available and cheaper than a lefty. My biggest issue is getting a good cheek weld on the stock. Other than that I shoot just fine with it, but it's not my favorite by any means. I think it's why I've taken to the Encore so much more. I do believe that if I had started life out as a lefty I would have gone through the trouble of finding a good left handed rifle.

Tackleberry · « **Reply #18 on:** April 04, 2007, 09:36:42 AM »

I'm a lefty and do not have a problem with shooting my own right handed guns. I have Savage 110B, Browning A- Bolt, Krag, Enfield Mk4s and also a few Mausers. Even follow up shots really aren't a problem. Some of my rifles I have restocked to have right side cheekpieces even though the gun is right handed. This makes for more comfortable shooting. Otherwise, most of my stocks have straight, no cheekpiece stocks like my Win 94 or Marlin 1895. I actually only own one lefty gun, a 12 gage 1100 Remington shotgun, which makes dove hunting sooo much more fun...

alsaqr · « **Reply #19 on:** April 05, 2007, 03:02:04 AM »

i'm a lefty who shot right handed guns for decades. Then i bought a Mathieu. What a difference!!! Now all my bolt action rifles are left hand. No more wrong side bolt guns for me.

toysoldier · « **Reply #20 on:** April 13, 2007, 04:04:15 PM »

The first thing to determine is which eye is dominant. Some lefties are right eye dominant, and vice-versa. Either hand can be trained to use the action, but you'll always pick up the sights better with the dominant eye. There's a lot of right-handed people who would be better served by a left-hand gun.

To determine dominance, focus on a distant point. Overlap your hands, leaving a small opening between the webs. Bring your hands up, arms extended, into your line of sight. Close the left eye. If you still see the point you focused on, you're right eye dominant.

Some stocks exhibit "cast-off". The stock is angled slightly to the right, and snugs up nicely for a right-handed shooter. These are horrible for a lefty. Look straight down the gun from the muzzle, to see if the buttstock is straight or angled.

lilabner · « **Reply #21 on:** April 13, 2007, 05:08:31 PM »

I'm not left handed but I doubt shooting a right handed rifle is a problem for most shooting. However, if I was left handed and planning to hunt something that could eat me or stomp me, I would get a left handed rifle and practice followup shots with it.l

lwisconsin · « **Reply #22 on:** April 13, 2007, 05:26:31 PM »

I'm left handed and I can imagine being happy with a right-handed bolt action myself. I used an Ithaca 37 for many years deer hunting. A few years ago Wisconsin opened up my area to rifles. So I went off and a left handed Savage .270 bolt for $300 and some odd dollars. I had a heck of a time being able to find one, but finally a very good dealer in town located and ordered one for me. I couldn't be happier. It's a right handed world out there and I'm able to get by with lots of right hand things but a bolt action rifle wouldn't be one of them. If you can swing it, definitely go out and get a decent quality gun. You don't have to spend a whole lot of money It could be something he could have a treasure the rest of his life plus he'll be off to a good start. I went out and bought my son his first rifle this week, but he's right handed. A Stevens 200 in .270 Win. I played around with it a bit and quickly decided I be very unhappy, real quick trying to use it as "my gun". No complaints at all about the gun but it's backwards!

Being left handed is a nice way to be different. We are "all right".

kenscot · « **Reply #23 on:** April 15, 2007, 03:51:45 AM »

My first rifle was a right handed marlin 22 used in my youth to learn how to shoot and small game, never bothered me. after that a few lever guns for big game. Now I will not consider a right handed bolt gun with all the left handed models available at all price ranges.
My advice is that if he really shows interest buy a lefty

youngbdv · « **Reply #24 on:** April 16, 2007, 06:19:38 AM »

I'm a lefty but have always shot a right handed bolt ,I considered switching but was informed that lefty's can shoot right handed bolt rifles faster if a follow shot is needed,the reason this is possible is to work the bolt your left hand stays near or in the trigger guard . Try it for a comparison.

ncsurveyor · « **Reply #25 on:** April 16, 2007, 06:36:13 AM »

If the gun will be shot from a rest primarily, the right bolt may be better. With a supported gun, the right hand can work the bolt, the left hand can stay in the firing position.

If he's going to be stalking/walking with it, then look for a left hand, (or as Savage .250 said, get a 99).

I shoot lefty and have used both left and right bolts from a stand. But early in life, right hand bolts while walking left a bad taste with me.

Now, all my stalking guns are levers.
JC

toysoldier · « **Reply #26 on:** April 17, 2007, 02:35:16 AM »

There's also the safety issue. Right-hand guns are designed to vent stuff out the right side in the event of a case failure. That puts it in your face if you're a lefty. This is true of bolts and levers. Only guns with left-hand ejection provide the same level of safety for lefties.

dukkillr · « **Reply #27 on:** April 17, 2007, 04:54:16 AM »

Quote from: toysoldier on April 17, 2007, 02:35:16 AM

There's also the safety issue. Right-hand guns are designed to vent stuff out the right side in the event of a case failure. That puts it in your face if you're a lefty. This is true of bolts and levers. Only guns with left-hand ejection provide the same level of safety for lefties.

I sold my first 870 for just this reason.