doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Left handed shotguns

Wouldn't dare list this in the "Anything Goes" section. Found a "Lefty" Remy 1100.
Other than obviously standing on the wrong side of most guns, I got to thinking about how handicapped our South Paw bretheren must/might be in a right handed shooting world. i.e. safety, top lever, barrel selectors(?) etc. Any thoughts??

Speaking as a very left-handed person, I can say I never really felt at a disadvantage using a right-handed gun. I grew up shooting a Mossberg 500, which tossed the empties across my face, no problem. Concentrate on the target.... The tang safety on the 500 was a nice touch, but the Remington ads of that era touted how their cross-bolt safeties could be reversed, and Ithaca's 37, well, you know.

Similarly, my M16A1 had a brass deflector so, other than the occasional hot empty going into my right sleeve, I had no problem in my military shooting. I wasn't an M60 operator, so the few times I did shoot one, I think did it from the right and tried to walk the rounds in.

And my sxs are all righthanded. I can't say I'm the greatest of shotgun shooters, but I know I have broken 25/25 (well above my average) shooting trap with my very right-handed (English stocked) Simson, so I suppose it's more operator error and in my head, than in my gun.

The two places I can see having problems shooting RH are (a) bolt action rifles and (b) German guns with a "baecke" cheekpiece. The former are a pain in the butt, which limits my selection in rifles. The latter, the cheekpiece winds up being added dead weight. I've seen about 1 gun with such cheekpieces set up for a lefty, for every 100 for a righty.

YMMV.

i`m left eyed dominant n right handed,so i have always shot lefthanded.i too grew up shooting right hand boltactions,and shotguns.starting shooting skeet with 870 pump n graduated to a 1100 all rh.ive hunting with a double since iwas 18 so double triggers and top safeties arent a problem.when i did get a couple lefthanded bolt action rifles it was like putting my shoes on the wrong feet!i still shoot both right n lefthanded rifles but like dave said cheekpieces on rhthanded gun just adds weight !

I am right handed, but lost central vision in my right eye in my teens. I have peripheral vision on the right side.
I have always shot long guns from the left shoulder .
Shouldering on the right side is downright weird to me (not to mention that I can't see squat).
I use right handed SxS guns and put cast on the stock.
Regular lever opening is just fine.
The trigger order does not matter.
Cheek pieces are really hard to find on the right side of the stock, except with a restock which I get done in some cases.
Some triggers are bent for the right hand, some are pretty ambidextrous.
I don't own a gun that was Lefty to begin with except my Bolt action rifle.
Jones underlevers are tough to use as well and can't really be adapted at a low cost.
Greener safety is not good either.
Grant Sidelevers are OK.

Overall, it's not a real problem. The shooting is the real problem... :-)

Best regards,
WC-

You poor Lefties. Life's is so unfair. If I were in your shoes I would buy Browning Superposed. Most have 0 cast and single triggers. They are a little right handed in terms of the thumb hole but could be made easily lefty plus they have an excellent single trigger. They are very good guns. Good Luck!

My Dad shot a DT Parker his whole adult life. From 1935 to about 1955, he shot it right-handed. Then he cut off his right trigger finger in a construction accident and switched to shooting the same gun left-handed from 1955 to about 1985. Seemed to work out just fine for him. His biggest problem was holding his cigar in the right hand while he shot.

I've been able to shoot my entire life as a lefty w/little or no problems. My AR-15 is an early Colt model (SP2xxxxx) so it isn't my favorite (ever get hot brass down your shirt?) but most American guns have little or no cast and I'm used to empties flying past my right ear after all these years. I can shoot any bolt gun with little trouble, but I do own a lefty Weatherby that has kept me in elk and deer now for almost 20-years. I've shot doubleguns on game since my early teens and they are very easy to adapt to. Presently, I'm shooting an Arietta that is cast-on, with it's triggers bent to the left (the rolled edge on the trigger-guard is on the left side as well). This gun was a revelation for me as I shoot it as well as anything I've ever owned. I know that there are "mirror-image" doubles built completely opposite from standard (top lever swings to the left, left tube fires first, etc.)but a little cast-on and tweaked triggers are all that I really need. Any fairly neutral English game gun seems to work just fine as well.

I'm a southpaw and shooting right handed guns doesn't bother me a bit. Agree with Lloyd about M16's though. Never enjoyed hot brass in my sleeve or others hot brass hitting me in the face and neck. Hot powder residue could be problem for your eyes at times too. Remington 1100's seemed to do that alot more than other guns. The only other guns that are a bit troublesome to me are bolt guns. Trying to smoothly get off a quick second shot using a right handed bolt gun is kind of comical to watch. I hate reaching across my face to manipulate the bolt. Had to do it for years though and it never occurred to me what a PIA the whole rigamorrow is until I bought my first left handed Winchester Mod 70. Now I really don't like using right handed bolt guns.
I messed with a true left handed double once. It was totally awkward. I did not like using the reverse top lever. It just didn't feel right.

Odd to be discussing AR-15s/M-16s here, but...most of the newer versions (and all the clones) have a feature that projects out from the upper receiver behind the ejection port (a port buffer?) that deflects the brass away from the face of a left-handed shooter. I carried mine on a job many years ago and this feature wasn't commonly available then (early 1980s). I could have added a newer upper receiver to include this option, but FWIW, this gun is still all original "Colt", and I'd much rather spend the time and money on a nice double or an old Winchester. I've got nothing against black guns, but they aren't what I'm really drawn to.

Am not particularly good with a shotgun, Bob, and much prefer big game hunting with a double rifle. Do like to bird hunt and own a number of shotguns. All my shotguns are double triggers, only one o/u double, and set up for right handers, but generally have little or no cast to the butt. Exception is a Darne 10 ga. I had restocked and gave it a very slight left-handed cast.

Also have a number of double rifles (and one bolt action). The bolt is a left-handed Dakota with no cast to speak of. The doubles are all right handed, most with a cheekpiece that generally obviates need for right-handed cast, so they are easy to use left-handed.

Am having Butch Searcy build a sxs in .375 H&H flanged magnum. That rifle will have the triggers set for left hand, and a lefty cheek piece with, perhaps, a slight left-handed cast. But, the top lever will be "right handed" because pushing it over with my left thumb just makes better sense and, besides, I don't want any possible confusion with a rifle that might be used against dangerous game!

Regards, Tim