LEFTIES AND RH ACTIONS
 

GUYS,
I'M A LEFTY THAT GREW UP SHOOTING RH ACTIONS. I'VE GOTTEN SO USED TO THEM THAT NOW I FIND IT DIFFICULT TO USE A LH ACTION. I WAS JUST WONDERING HOW MANY LEFTIES OUT THERE SHOOT LEFTY WITH A RH ACTION?

RE: LEFTIES AND RH ACTIONS
 

Swampman I am the same as you with a twist. I grew up shooting righthanded actions or pumps as a south paw until I bought my first LH bolt a number of years ago. Now I wouldn't buy or consider a RH bolt rifle.

BTW 2 guys I hunt with that are southpaws 1 is like me only LH and other uses RH b/c that is all he has ever known. He admits to being scared to try a LH action;).

If it works for you then great! I personally would never try to talk a LH'd shooter into a RH'd equipment based on what I endured and have learned.

RE: LEFTIES AND RH ACTIONS
 

I'm young and still shoot only what my father has collected over the years. Autos don't bother me like some lefties complain of, and I only shoot 2 bolts. One is unscoped and I can work the action pretty well with my left hand (use thumb mostly, and its still definately slower) the other is scoped...and I pretty much aproach it as a single-shot. I've been dreaming of a LH mauser for about 6 months. Ever since I was at a gander mountain and got my hands a newer *smoooooth* mauser. It was RH and I quickly found out all mausers are RH...except for CZ which aren't true mausers and Charles daily makes some. Pistols...two are single action and give me no problems, two are double. One gives me fits, the other has such a nice trigger group in it that I rarely notice the inconvience :D

RE: LEFTIES AND RH ACTIONS
 

I am a lefty and have only shot rt handed bolts. When I started the only caliber I could find in a let-handed bolt was a 30/06 and I was way too cool and knowledgeable to settle for something so mundane. I bought a Model 70 in .264 Win Mag thank you very much and learned to cycle the action around the scope. I've shot shotguns which were lefty and didn't feel proper. I shoot right handed guns now because this is what I am use to.

Dr Fatguy

RE: LEFTIES AND RH ACTIONS
 

I'm with the others, i'm left handed and grew up shooting a RH bolt gun..

As an adult i "finally" bought a LH bolt gun and a lot of ammo. By the time i shot all the ammo up i realized how much i had been missing before to be "stuck" with a RH action!!!

I sold almost all of the 45 right hand bolt guns i had, and started building LH guns in the cals. i wanted!!!

I'd NEVER go back!!!!

Drilling Man

RE: LEFTIES AND RH ACTIONS
 

My problem is that although I am right handed, I recently discovered that I am left eye dominant. I went to the range and shot my RH bolt action rifle left handed and found that I could indeed see the target much better but not being left handed, handling and firing the gun felt awkward. My .300 Weatherby Magnum gave me bruises on my left shoulder that I never got before when shooting right handed.

Since I have no idea how eye dominance can be changed or even compensated for, would it make sense for me to obtain a LH bolt action rifle and try to become, through practice, a left handed shooter?


Californiadoctor

RE: LEFTIES AND RH ACTIONS
 

Californiadoctor, don’t switch. A scope should not cause any troubles, only iron sights.

This has nothing to do with left eye dominance. Your left eye just basically sees better than your right. If you’re left eye dominant you should in essence be looking in a different direction than the gun muzzle is pointed. This isn't good. To fight this, a smudge can be positioned in a spot on the lens of the shooting glasses over the dominant eye. The spot draws that eye's concentration, making the brain rely on the other eye to follow the target. The dominant isn’t stronger, just merely the one that focuses first. To find out the dominant eye, look at a remote object, and then frame it in a "window" shaped by your hands, hold palms out at arm's length. Now shut one eye. If the object is still able to be seen, the open eye is dominant. If it vanishes, you've closed the dominant eye.

RE: LEFTIES AND RH ACTIONS
 

SKEETER7MM,
I TRIED A LH ACTION. A NICE BROWNING MEDALLION IN 270. THE RANGE SESSIONS WENT GREAT. BUT THE FIRST TIME I TRIED TO MAKE A FAST FOLLOW UP SHOT I FOUND MYSELF AUTOMATICALLY REACHING OVER THE @#$%@ SCOPE FOR THE BOLT. AUTOS ARE NOT A PRBLEM AS I SHOOT A BAR WHICH EJECTS FORWARD AND TO THE RIGHT. I THINK THIS OLD DOG NEEDS TO STICK WITH HIS RH'S.

RE: LEFTIES AND RH ACTIONS
 

swampman, it is all personal like i said you do what feels right to you. I was one who tried a LH action and when going back to rh one it just felt ackward, so from that point I started looking for LH bolts.

Cal, I would look into it a bit more before buying LH stuff, try using a 22 and see how your groups fair from L to R. If you truly find a benifit to shooting off the Left, with time/practice will come comfort and confidence to make a switch. I found in my case that after years of being told boy your holding it wrong and trying to fight nature that it was well worth it to make a switch...even if it meant less options and more money spent.

RE: LEFTIES AND RH ACTIONS
 

I'm a lefty that shoots RH action rimfires but use the LH action for centerfires. Only reason being is the centerfires have such a long bolt throw that it hits my thumb on most rifles.

RE: LEFTIES AND RH ACTIONS
 

SKEETER 7MM,
BOY, IF I HAD A NICKEL FOR EVERY TIME I HEARD THAT ONE. (BOY, YOU AIN'T HOLDING IT RIGHT. )(YOU'RE USING THE WRONG SHOULDER.) HAHA. THAT BROUGHT BACK OLD MEMORIES.

RE: LEFTIES AND RH ACTIONS
 

I'm also with the others. I grew up shooting RH bolts and just got used to operating them. My Mom and Dad couldn't really afford to buy me a "new" LH bolt and there were very few used ones on the market around here back then. I did end up buying a used BDL 30-06 once, but it felt very awkward after shooting the righties for so long. I got hooked on T/C's single shots a few years back and don't see myself ever looking back.[8D]

RE: LEFTIES AND RH ACTIONS
 

I avoided bolt actions like the plague except for bench rest shooting, where it comes in handy slipping a cartridge into the open chamber. I learned to shoot them right handed when I had to use one. Then I lost the vision in my right eye, and it has been southpaw firearms ever since. I even bought a left handed pump shotgun, but was never bothered by the ejecting shell before I got it. Now that I don't see from the right eye, autos are no problem. I have found that some ambidexterous firearms are in reality right handed ones. Try to slip a cartridge under a low mounted scope on a Ruger #1 with your left hand.

RE: LEFTIES AND RH ACTIONS
 

Grew up shooting RH guns because that's all that was available. Rifles and shotguns. I liked the O/Us and SxS shotguns, my 1906 .22, and the model 94 the best as they didn't seem to care if you were RH or LH. Started buying leftys as soon as possible and now I would have a hard time going back.

One place that I really like a RH bolt gun is on the bench at the range. It's easier to get the shells out and put them back in the box. Half the time when I cycle the bolt of a lefty, the shell hits the dirt.

RE: LEFTIES AND RH ACTIONS
 

I'm left-handed and have tried shooting right-handed bolts, but I just can't get the hang of it. I wouldn't trust myself to get off a quick follow-up shot that way.

RE: LEFTIES AND RH ACTIONS
 

I'm left handed and have been shooting right handed guns and compound bows for years.I just bought a left handed bolt gun but have not shot it yet.

RE: LEFTIES AND RH ACTIONS
 

Buckmaster9, Thanks for your response. The method you described is what I used to find out that I am indeed left eye dominant. I will stick with my RH bolt action and follow your advice. Again, many thanks.

Californiadoctor