[mxaexm]

Hello,

I'm new to the sport of shooting!
I'm left handed and I would like to get bolt action rifle to do some target shooting. My question is if I should get standard rifle or one for left handed shooters?

What's your experience and opinion on this subject?

 

[jb12string]

I've seen leftys shoot right handed bolt actions, not the prettiest thing in the world but with practice, its doable. Are you left eye dominant as well as being left handed.

 

[density1]

I shoot lefty. If it is target shooting, a regular right sided bolt is indeed doable. If you go hunting, find a lefty bolt. They are far and few between but Ruger and Remington make them.

 

[br549y]

I'm left handed as well as left eye dominant and I shoot right handed actions . As far as I'm concerned it's no different than shooting a falling block or single action . You only need one shot! I've smacked hundreds of yotes and other such varmits with my 220 swift ( right hand action ) and many a deer and elk with my 8 mm . Overcome , improvise and adapt. I prefer a wheel gun but sometimes that just don't get er. I've been doing it for 40 years and it works for me .

 

[Gil Martin]

It depends

I am right handed and left eye dominant and have been shooting right hand guns just about all my life. I am so used to right hand guns that left hand guns seem awkward. All the best...
Gil

 

[duane]

i am left handed and have always shot right handed bolt guns. my cousin is also left handed and shoots right bolt guns. it is actually kind of easy to operate the action with a little practice. once you have pulled trigger raise the muzzle slightly operate bolt with right hand and by the time your right hand is back on forend you are back on target

 

[broom_jm]

My son was shooting like this just a couple of hours ago with a little Marlin .22 and the soda cans were jumping just as much when he shot as when I did.

 

[Farrier Matt]

I shoot left handed and have bolt actions both right and left handed, and honestly cant tell a whole lot of difference. Just practice. I think everyone should learn to shoot with both hands, it comes n handy somtetimes.

 

[MikeG]

Amen. I don't see any downside to practicing from both shoulders. You never know when it will be useful.

 

[squirrelsniper]

no harm practicing lefty,missed a doe,i HAD to shoot lefty!or fall out of my treestand!

 

[roberto mervici]

I am lefty and own many bolt actions rifles, but only two are in left hand configuration,
a savage 110 LH in 30.06 ( my first purchase ) and a ruger m77 ssteele laminated stock chambered for the .300 win.mag all the others are right hand action, some sitting in a left hand stock, on some I ad to modify the stock to suit my style and other are ok as they came.
The first shot once the rifle is on battery no difference if the gun is left or right hand configuration, the sussequent rounds yes I am a little slower with a right hand configuration compared to a left hand action. I learned to cycle the bolt with dexterity on a righty rifle with the left hand passing over the scope without problem .
_______
roberto

 

[Skyler]

I do the exact opposite... With my new rifle I shoot it right handed but with a left handed action. In my mind this is almost perfect for prone distance shooting because I do not have to remove my hand from the trigger. It allows me to have a fast follow up shot as well as more comfort when firing from prone positions. The "perfect" action for me would be a left handed action, right side ejection. I haven't fired my LH rifle offhand yet though but rotating the rifle with my left hand and reaching over the scope is fairly quick.

 

[marsms]

My sister in law is right eye dominant, left handed, shooting right hand rifles. She makes it work just fine! As br549y mentioned, she just tries to make her first shot count. In some cases such as gopher hunting, she just snugs the rifle up to her shoulder by holding it with her left hand, and works the bolt with the right. She's not strong enough to manage this with a full size gun, but with the smaller .22's and such, it doesn't seem to bother her...

 

[1KBOOM]

Remember the sniper in Tom Hanks's makeshift unit in Saving Private Ryan? Don't remember the actor's name or what gun he used but he was one bad dude shooting left handed on a right hand bolt action.

 

[TheDude]

I think most lefty shooters, myself included, have shot right handed bolts. I grew up that way and didn't think anything of it....until about 6 or 7 years ago. I decided to buy a lefty bolt rifle just becuase. It was a Ruger M77 MK II in 30-06. Well...it didn't take long to clear out my right handed bolts and replace them with lefties.

Can you get by with right handed bolts? Sure, but why, assuming you are left eye dominant? If target shooting is all you will ever do, then it matters less but even then I would recommend getting a left handed rifle. After a few times of swatting myself in the face when I was young and in the heat of the moment, I decided to drop the rifle down to my hip for bracing and then cycle the bolt, re-shoulder it and re-aquire my target...what a PITA.

Of course the above is simply my experience and opinion, I recommend going down to a gun store that has several models of each and try shouldering and operating as many as you can. It wont take long before you will see what configuration you prefer.

Regards,

Josh

 

[300rum]

i'm a left hand shooter and shoot left hand bolt rifles

from what i can see i understand why we don't have much option in rifles
as most leftys will buy right hand rifles anyway.
i think if every lefty would buy left hand, the manufacturers would be more willing to improve their offerings.

but as said above it works even for hunting. the first shot is the most important
and the followers will come faster than a single shot.

 

[Sandman1]

I shoot lefty, and my rimfires are righty (no other choice), but in my centerfires I much prefer LH action. They are pretty much readily available now. Ruger, Savage and Browning immediately come to mind as offering LH bolt guns.

 

[Nalgi]

you know as well as all us sp's

that we have had to adapt all our lives. I learned to shoot my dads old bolt 22. as a lefty your left thumb is right under the bolt. I got so I could open and close that bolt in an instant with my thumb.

Cant do that with a larger rifle, so i guess it depends what you are shooting

 

[MMichaelAK]

My wife is right handed but left eye dominant. She didnt find out until she was in the Army. She got good enough shooting/operating the M16 left handed that they had her demonstrate the clearing drill to left handers. She still shoots rifle left handed, even my RH bolt guns and the Krag carbine her grandfather left her. Does a very accurate job of it too.

 

[Brad Y]

Heres a good one for those mixed up like me... a left hand thumbhole on a howa 1500 action (right bolt) cal is 22BR.