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Left-Handed Bolt Action Rifle?

insight99insight99 Member Posts: 7 ✭✭
edited October 2009 in Ask the Experts
Another new shooter question:

I'm left-handed, and my left eye is dominant. I just got my first handgun and shoot it most accurately holding it in my left hand and sighting with my left eye.

I'm planning on eventually getting a bolt-action rifle with a scope. I'm assuming that I would be best off getting a left-handed rifle. Is that correct?

Thanks. You guys are great.
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Comments

  • JohnnyBGoodJohnnyBGood Member Posts: 1,443 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by insight99
    Another new shooter question:

    I'm left-handed, and my left eye is dominant. I just got my first handgun and shoot it most accurately holding it in my left hand and sighting with my left eye.

    I'm planning on eventually getting a bolt-action rifle with a scope. I'm assuming that I would be best off getting a left-handed rifle. Is that correct?

    Thanks. You guys are great.


    Can't say for sure that you would be better off getting a left handed gun. I'm left handed and I don't like LH guns. Mostly because they look very odd, and I guess I just have gotten used to a right handed world. I would also THINK that you are limiting your market greatly when it comes time to sell (if that is a consideration to you).

    Really depend upon what you feel comfortable with, but I could shuffle the bolt on a RH gun pretty darn quick even when shooting LH. And shooing a RH flintlock LH, now that's cool [8D]

    John
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  • joshmb1982joshmb1982 Member Posts: 8,228 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    i would practice with a right handed rifle for a while first. see if you can get used to it. left handed rifles seem to be much more rare and more pricy in general. ive been thinking of trying to learn to shoot my pistol and rifles left handed just so i can.
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  • XXCrossXXCross Member Posts: 1,379 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    As a long time lefty in this world and a long time rifle shooter as well, I can tell you that if you get used to using a right hand rifle it will just seem "normal". I got into "master class" in HP competition with a M-70. (long before there were any LH factory rifles) It's just a matter of practice. Ever see a LH piano, or car?
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  • MobuckMobuck Member Posts: 13,991 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I'm not a lefty but grew up with two and have a lefty daughter. All I can say is my dad and brother prized their left handed bolt rifles highly. Dad was in WW3 and shot with best of them using both an Enfield and 1903. His military technique was to reach over the top while dropping the butt to the center of his chest. Worked well enough to keep him alive. I shoot my daughter's rifles using the same style. Last year during the late deer season my right hand was in a cast so I shot my Mauser lefthanded to down 2 deer with 2 shots in less than 30 seconds. If you pick a righthanded rifle with an internal magazine, you may find it more difficult to load from the right side. I noticed this more than anything else when my right hand was unuseable. I had to lay the rifle across my lap to put rounds in the mag.
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  • catpealer111catpealer111 Member Posts: 10,695
    edited November -1
    Look into Savage Arms for left handed bolt actions. For the most part everything they make in right hand bolt, they make in left hand. Also, there is a marginal, if any, price difference in price between their right and left. If bolt action isn't your thing, as a lefty, I find Marlin lever actions very accommodating to the left handed shooter.
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  • Horse Plains DrifterHorse Plains Drifter Forums Admins, Member, Moderator Posts: 39,837 ***** Forums Admin
    edited November -1
    I am left handed, and have been shooting for 40 years. I have never fired a left handed anything. They just seem strange to me.
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  • SCOUT5SCOUT5 Member Posts: 16,181 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    My son is right handed, but left eye dominant. I started him shooting left handed and have always got him left handed, or ambidextrous guns. The locations of the safety matters, and that depends on brand. There are many left handed rifles out there and an extra $50 one way or the other isn't the end of the world. You can use a right handed rifle, many do, as long as the safety is handy enough for you. But if it were me I would go with a left handed rifle if I shot left handed. The bottom line is get what you are comfortable with. Unless you a figuring on trading often resale issues are or only a minor consideration.
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  • Laredo LeftyLaredo Lefty Member Posts: 13,451 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I have these 3 left hand Remingtons. They are quicker to operate than their right hand cousins, but not a lot quicker.

    [img][/img]IMG_0036.jpg

    You will be just fine with a right hand rifle. Right handers are easier to unload if you decide to sell later.
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  • insight99insight99 Member Posts: 7 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Thanks to everyone for their input. Let me see if I can ask a follow-up question before we hit the 10-message limit:

    Is there a problem if I hold a right-handed rifle using my right hand and shoulder but look through the scope with my left eye? My right eye sucks.
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  • Laredo LeftyLaredo Lefty Member Posts: 13,451 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    If you can bend your neck that far and still be comfortable it may work. Doing that with iron sights is nearly impossible.
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