doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com OT: Lefties Shoot Right-Hand Bolt Guns?

I had a gun dealer today try to tell me that I should teach my son (a right-hander with a dominant left eye, whom I've taught to shoot left-handed) to shoot a right-handed bolt rifle. He claims his buddy has done so for years and prefers it to shooting a left-handed gun. I'm away from my guns and can only imagine this, but it seems to me that it would be a clumsy process, require considerable strenth (supporting an 8-lb. gun with little leverage), and possibly dangerous (catching a bolt in the teeth). Thoughts? TT

I'm left handed, and shoot a VZ 24 (Mauser 98) action in a right handed stock. The action came cheap, and I tell myself it is only "clunky" if I muff the first shot. Hence, while I'm doubtful I have Lee Harvey Oswald reload capability, I make an effort not to need it. The kid will figure out what works best, and the reasons why that is for him (for me, its 'cause I'm cheap) if he gets some time with both types of gun.
Best,
Ted

I have a good friend who is right handed/left eye dominant. Well, now that I type this I can think of 2 toher friends who are the same. All 3 of them shoot either right or left handed.

I have some physical limitations and shoot off of whichever shoulder I am able to at the moment (I am right hand/right eye). At times I am physically able to shoot off of either shoulder, so I just pick the one that is easiest for that particular shot.

If you teach him to shoot from each shoulder, he will be a better hunter.

One thing I have noticed is that I would say 80%+ of the people I have met who were cross eye dominant are women. I have often wondered why that is. There must be some advantage to it or those genes would not be floating around in the pool.

I shoot from the left shoulder but the rifle I use is a right handed Remington. The only time I ever tried a left handed gun it was too awkward for me.

Years ago I tried to convince myself that I could shoot a right handed bolt action rifle. But once I held a left handed rifle you realize just how awkward it really is. It is just like the shotgun that you think is a beautiful gun but it really does not fit you and you convince yourself that "I can shoot this". Being the adaptable creatures that we are you can actually make them work. But it is a chore. I finally bought a custom Remington 700 left handed rifle that I really love and I don't buy a shotgun that can't be fitted for a lefty.

Bill G.

I'm a lefty that shot RH bolt guns until 8-9 yrs ago. You can make do with them but once I got my first LH bolt I haven't looked back.

I only buy LH guns now.

Get him a Ruger Model 77 left hand action and be done with it. The are built in all the popular calibers and don't cost and arm and a leg. I handi-capped myself for years with a right handed bolt action and can only look back upon how foolish this was.
Jim

Being left handed I can get away with using a right handed semi-auto gun, but a bolt gun is a whole different ball game.

I have a left handed Remington 700 as well, and I would not even consider a right handed bolt gun.

I have a left handed shooting buddy (who is no novice by the way) who oddly enough would just as soon own and shoot a right handed bolt gun as a left. I found him a nice left handed bolt gun several years ago (his first and last) and he shot it some, but got rid of it. If he has a need for speed, he has that covered with a real sweet shooting BAR in .308 with the BOSS and a tricked out .223 AR. For varmit hunting off of a bench and deer hunting out of a stand (which is the what and how he hunts), he has no problem reaching over the wrong side and working the action. So I suppose once a lefty learns to use a left handed bolt, with some left handed shooters anyway, it isn't much of an issue for them. In most hunting situations, the first shot is the one that counts most (some of the better hunters I have known use nothing but single shots) and I can see how he does not feel handicapped. But in a high power rifle competition with timed fire stages, I doubt there are many left handed shooters shooting right handed bolt guns. Because guns and shooting are his primary hobby, he does tend to buy, sell and trade frequently, and moving a left handed gun can be a bit more difficult.

Doug

JBG could have been me writing. For too long I made do. I even shot Summer Biathlon competitively with a right-hand bolt gun until I made my own custom rifle using the Ruger 96 lever gun - which has proven to really mow down those metal plates just as fast, if not faster, than those using Anschutz Fortners.
When I had a bit more funds I sprung for a left hand Weatherby after using a Remington Classic right hand bolt for 20+ years. At first I was "all thumbs" handling the Weatherby but quickly retrained myself. Now I eagerly await my DuBiel LH .375 that is in quarantine. All rifles now are LH, lever, or pump.
Like someone said above, concentrate on the first shot. I don't think I was ever handicapped in the hunting field. (Shooting for time in Biathlon was a different story.)
Shotguns? Perhaps I haven't reached that level of sophistication yet because all of my autos and pumps are right hand affairs.
Lou