Hi all!
Any left handed doublegun shooters out there?

I shoot left handed. Many years ago at a shoot, I tried a side lever out and found it great to open the action with my left thumb on the side lever on the right side of the action.

I am thinking about buying a nice Damascus with this side lever action.

Any opinions, ideas, or knowledge of a gun like this for sale?

Any and all comments, help is greatly appreciated.

Best, Brian

Grant made some very nice side levers. Bit pricy but very well made. We. Moore made a more basic entry level side lever.

At one time, say around 1870 to 1890, several well-known British makers produced sidelever shotguns. Most had the lever on the right. Stephen Grant made some while at Boss and then under his own name as probably the best known. Blanch, Woodward and others more occasionally had sidelevers particularly on hammer guns with Damascus barrels. Modern side lever guns have come out of Italy but are scarce. Prices for all range from moderately high to high.

Yeah, I'm left handed and I shoot a side lever Grant. You are right. The use of your left thumb on the side lever is a perfect fit, almost making it an 'ambidextrous' gun. I've seen several other side lever guns by other manufacturers, and some of them swoop the lever in such a way as to make it awkward for the left hand to use. Grant's design places it just where it accommodates the left thumb. I really enjoy shooting this gun. Good luck finding a good one.

https://www.gunsinternational.com/s...idelever&start_row=1&the_order=6

There’s a few
Check Kirby Hoyt as well.

I'm right handed, but with a left eye dominance, so rifles and shotguns are shot from the left side.

The side lever is very easy to use with my left thumb. I have two side levers, Grant 12 g hammer gun and a Rigby 16 g side lock.

I have a Lancaster left side side lever hammer gun and it is near to perfect for a right hand shooter. I once emailed Grant and asked how much would they charge to convert a right side to a left for a right handed shooter, 5000 £. Needless to say I have acclimated to the right side. Both the Grant and Lancaster are my favorites and for some reason I seem to break clays better with them.

Left and right side levers for Reilly..one from early 1870's...top from 1886: In one of the discussions someone mentioned that left-hand side levers were actually better for right hander shooters ergonomically but...the right-hand side levers were better for loaders... It was speculated that if one had a left-hand side lever...somehow you were "plebeian" or something or other. Didn't quite understand it. (Top gun is mine - really like it).

Don't think it will make much difference to your shooting if you key the lever from thumb over top of wrist...or take hand off wrist to key it. - you're still loading with your off hand.)(maybe a "loader" handed the gun by the shooter would take it in left hand, key the lever with thumb over wrist, then load with right hand?

Great this is the topic I was always embarrassed to ask about. I never understood why most of the side lever guns ( beautiful guns) had lever on right side of action, when it would seem right handed shooters would need it on left side so they could open action with right thumb while holding stock in right hand and forend in left hand? So lever on right side of action was to accommodate a loader standing on my right side( I’m right handed) to grasp the gun with his left hand, open it with his left thumb and load it with his right hand? Anyone have a video of this side lever 2 gun transaction between shooter and loader? Or do I have this thumb thing confused? Never was much of a dancer, I’m sure you understand why!

I have a Perrins of Worcester 12g Pinfire side-lever. Perrins was one of the best regional gunmakers, and was well known for his side-levers.

I was told, by Kirby Hoyt, if memory serves well, that right side levers were as per above for loaders in driven shooting. Either way side levers are the cat’s meow.

Here is a video of Diggory Hadoke shooting a Grant side lever.

Nice YouTube. I wonder how many clays he broke.

Side business?

I'm left handed and side levers are among my favourites. My current side lever is a J.P. Sauer & Sohn hammer Drilling 12/12/8x57IR; the lever is on the left, which suits me just fine.

With kind regards,
Jani

The side pedal looks more ergonomic than the top lever in use. I suspect it also saves a whole lot of machining that would go into the top lever spindle and it is most likely easier to fit.

Like anything mechanical, trade offs are involved. The tear drop shaped spring that seats the sidelever is a pain, they break frequently and require more wood removed from the head of the stock. That said, I do have room in the safe for a nice Grant side-lever hammerless model.

I have a beauty if you are interested Steve.

A small point, but if a lefty cradles the gun across their belly/chest while walking, the sidelever pokes them in the belly (just like a righthand bolt action).

John,
I have just spent my fun money but in the future it could work out. One of the few guns I regret selling is a Grant side-lever extractor gun.
Steve

Here's a side lever. Great handling when you get used to it. Auto ejectors and assisted opening.

Certainly for a lefty or righty, I think most, if not all, Lefever sidecockers levers were reversible.

Another sidelever, a Scottish gun. Dougall Lockfast patent on a Richard Jeffrey. It seems that the sidelever could easily be on either side of the action, but I have never seen one on the left.

earliest Reilly S-L in my database - like Darryl's gun it's a pin fire and looks as if it could be on either side....no SN mentioned so it can't be precisely dated but probably mid-1860's.


I wonder who created the original patent for a side lever? I have this patent mentioned in the patents found on Reilly DB - was it Needham or is the Dougall Lockfast patent by definition side-lever?:
1860, May - J.D. Dougall “Lockfast” action patent 1128
1862 - Needham patent 1544, rotating single-bolt snap-action side-lever

Here's a somewhat obscure gun from Milwaukee. A Huels, who seemed to be a schutzen maker, too. It appears the sidelever could operate on either side.