Left-handed AR-15s

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gooch

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My girlfriend has started shooting some 3 gun and wants to get herself an AR, but she's a leftie.

Other than Stag, are there any other options for leftie AR-15s?

Or is she better off looking at an ambi set up? She's been using my rifle and the right handed ejection doesn't bother her, just the awkward right hand only controls.

Any lefties out there with some experience that can chime in?
 
gooch said:
My girlfriend has started shooting some 3 gun and wants to get herself an AR, but she's a leftie.

Other than Stag, are there any other options for leftie AR-15s?

Or is she better off looking at an ambi set up? She's been using my rifle and the right handed ejection doesn't bother her, just the awkward right hand only controls.

Any lefties out there with some experience that can chime in?
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I'm a southpaw myself. Just throw on an ambi safety and work the bolt catch with a right-hand reacharound and she should be fine. Or if she has a long enough finger she can work the BC with her trigger finger.

Also, teach her to use a two-finger hook on the charging handle, hook the latch with her right index finger--I like the original Badger Ordnance "tactical latches" because they have a big open box that the pad of either left middle/ring or right index finger can hook into. Or just easy-button with a Geissele Airborne, BCM 4x4 or Radian Raptor ambi.

That's the thing about lefties, we usually have a talent for making right-hand things work for us forged by a lifetime's experience... my first suggestion would be to put one in a room, empty with no ammo, point out what control does what and just let her play with it for a few minutes to figure out what workss best for her.
 
https ://www.rockriverarms.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.display&category_ID=13

https ://faxonfirearms.com/arak-21-xrs-complete-rifle-custom/

https ://www.shootingillustrated.com/articles/2014/9/15/left-handed-ar-15-round-up/


https ://stdgun.com/left-handed-firearms/

Or build one.

https ://blackrainordnance.com/collections/left-handed/
 
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I almost forgot to show your gf the Ferrari of LH AR'S. Different colors too.

https ://f-1firearms.com/lefty-udr-15-3g-style-2-skeletonized-rifle/

https: //f-1firearms.com/search.php?search_query=Lefty&section=product
 
As a lefty I have never had an issue with right handed AR’s, even without an ambi safety or charging handle they are easy to manipulate, and you have the added bonus of looking directly into the chamber if you have problems, ftf, fte etc. If she decides to run a traditional right handed AR an ambi safety, charging handle are all you really need for her, and believe it or not a BAD lever actually works like a charm for a lefty on a righty AR! They definitely don’t work for a lefty on a left handed AR lol.
Now, all that being said, there is nothing cooler for a lefty than a lefty AR, they are f’ing awesome and she should have one simply because they are awesome:). I absolutely love my Stag Arms lefty upper, run it on an ambi lower which gives me the option of running a righty upper whenever I want. The two main reasons I love it are as follows
1- so funny to watch every RO/SO swear when they realize they are on the wrong side of you :)
2- you will never have an out of battery detonation right at your face, I know a lefty who took some facial damage from exactly that( chances of this are slim but not zero)
I say if she is shooting competition get her the lefty, she will love it!
This is my lefty 3 gun
View attachment 337792
View attachment 337793
 
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I also love my left handed stag uppers. Not many dedicated left handed parts besides the upper reciever and the bolt carrier group so nothing much extra in terms of maintenance. The one thing I don't care for is the ejection port cover has to open upwards on the lefty upper so it doesn't interfere with the bolt catch and I find it rubs on optic mounts and gets in the brass catchers way at times.

Rock River Arms also makes a lefty AR and they have a dedicated lower that has the bolt catch on the right hand side. Not sure how many of those are in Canada though .
 
edgy said:
As a lefty I have never had an issue with right handed AR’s, even without an ambi safety or charging handle they are easy to manipulate, and you have the added bonus of looking directly into the chamber if you have problems, ftf, fte etc. If she decides to run a traditional right handed AR an ambi safety, charging handle are all you really need for her, and believe it or not a BAD lever actually works like a charm for a lefty on a righty AR! They definitely don’t work for a lefty on a left handed AR lol.
Now, all that being said, there is nothing cooler for a lefty than a lefty AR, they are f’ing awesome and she should have one simply because they are awesome:). I absolutely love my Stag Arms lefty upper, run it on an ambi lower which gives me the option of running a righty upper whenever I want. The two main reasons I love it are as follows
1- so funny to watch every RO/SO swear when they realize they are on the wrong side of you :)
2- you will never have an out of battery detonation right at your face, I know a lefty who took some facial damage from exactly that( chances of this are slim but not zero)
I say if she is shooting competition get her the lefty, she will love it!
This is my lefty 3 gun
View attachment 337792
View attachment 337793
Click to expand...

Nice rig, love the PA 3X Prism.
 
gooch said:
My girlfriend has started shooting some 3 gun and wants to get herself an AR, but she's a leftie.

Other than Stag, are there any other options for leftie AR-15s?

Or is she better off looking at an ambi set up? She's been using my rifle and the right handed ejection doesn't bother her, just the awkward right hand only controls.

Any lefties out there with some experience that can chime in?
Click to expand...

If she isn't bothered by right hand ejection then a typical AR receiver with lefty furniture is all you need.

Cocking handle. Lots of good options that can be used by pinching the right side of the handle with the right thumb and forefinger.
Magazine catch. Right thumb will easily hit the catch when she grabs the mag and lower, or an ambi catch can be worked by the trigger finger if she needs to drop the mag to the ground.
Bolt catch. Any of the BAD levers should work as a bolt catch extension which will be easier for her to reach with her trigger finger if her trigger finger isn't long enough to hit the actual bolt catch. Nice thing is that the BAD lever can also be activated by the right hand in a slap or right thumb in a press. Her hand will automatically be in teh correct position to hit the lever from the right side after loading a mag.

BAD Lever may interfere with her ability to use an Ambi-Mag catch. Depends on finger length. While the beaver tail ergo grips are very comfortable, people with short fingers or small hands may find it more difficult to reach the controls.

All of the professional militaries in the world running AR platforms use Ambi furniture for their lefties, so there is really no reason why your GF can make something work for her.
 
BAD Levers are one of those things that are subjective and YMMV, though. I tried one, and ripped it right back off almost as fast as it went on preferring to stab the BC paddle with my middle fingertip, but I know other southpaws who swear by them as much as I swear at them.

This goes back to Let Those Who Ride Decide--have her try different ideas out for herself and see what works for her. :) I'm gonna have all kinds of fun with my own GF on this since she's cross-dominant... The C8 I'm going to teach her canted, but if we ever build her a ground-up custom I'm wondering if offset sights might be a solution.
 
Diamondback Six said:
BAD Levers are one of those things that are subjective and YMMV, though. I tried one, and ripped it right back off almost as fast as it went on preferring to stab the BC paddle with my middle fingertip, but I know other southpaws who swear by them as much as I swear at them.

This goes back to Let Those Who Ride Decide--have her try different ideas out for herself and see what works for her. :) I'm gonna have all kinds of fun with my own GF on this since she's cross-dominant... The C8 I'm going to teach her canted, but if we ever build her a ground-up custom I'm wondering if offset sights might be a solution.
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Interesting you bring up the cross dominant thing. My GF isn't actually a leftie... She's left eye dominant though, which is why she shoots rifles left handed.
 
In basic / SQ , never had a problem with the basic C7 or drills being a lefty , in fact there were a lot of benefits

10 years ago now so pretty hazy. Owned one basic AR like 6 years ago. Sold
Now waiting for any day for a comp type righty AR for 3 gun.

Anyhow. Ya I'm not worried about it - being a southpaw ( R&Sgs anyway )
 
gooch said:
Interesting you bring up the cross dominant thing. My GF isn't actually a leftie... She's left eye dominant though, which is why she shoots rifles left handed.
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That's like me.
Still shoot pistols right handed.
Head just a bit more crooked over shooting pistol
Magazine placement seems to compliment eachother on the gun belt too - pistol mags grab left , rifle mags grab right

I'm still working on shotgun reloading technique. Doubles and quads i seem to prefer shoulder mount and use left handed.

Have the vertical style holders too , rip off 3 at a time and load more traditionally , but that's a different story
 
If you aren't completely stuck on the AR15 platform but just want some thing for 3 gun. Have you considered a bull pup. The Keltec RDB is completely ambi and the brass comes out the bottom. Becareful if shooting from a bench.
 
gooch said:
Interesting you bring up the cross dominant thing. My GF isn't actually a leftie... She's left eye dominant though, which is why she shoots rifles left handed.
Click to expand...

I am also a right handed individual who is left eye dominant, making me a left handed shooter. I echo the remarks of the others who have recommended the ambi furniture. At the very least buying an ambi charging handle, mag release, and safety selector is almost always cheaper than buying a left handed AR, or the parts to make it left handed.

Over the years I have learned to shoot both right and left handed. In doing so I have discovered a few advantages of shooting left handed with a right handed rifle;

1) If there is a malfunction, you don't need to move the rifle to observe the ejection port. A lefty's eye is already in position to do it. A righty needs to cant the rifle 90 degrees to observe it. If there is an issue in the ejection port a righty needs to tun the gun another 180 degrees to use the assistance of gravity to help clear a malfunction. A lefty only needs a 90 degree turn to accomplish the same.

2) If a mag isn't falling freely, a lefty can simultaneously hit the mag release with their thumb while ripping the mag out, all without taking their hand off the fire control or even re-adjust their finger positioning on the grip. A right handed shooter needs to use the index finger of 1 hand while using the other to rip the mag out. Essentially a lefty can do with 1 hand what a righty needs 2 to accomplish the same task. If you're dealing with a heavier rifle, or when you're already tired, this can be a huge "economy of motion" save.

3) The big complaint with lefties using right handed rifles is occasionally taking hot brass to the face. Not the most fun experience. When I first started shooting I had the wide weaver stance and "chicken-winged" my shoulder to get a stable firing platform. This stance is what gets a lefty hit in the face. I had to adjust and move the buttstock a little closer to my midline, which translated into a more isosceles-type stance and squaring up to the target. This also happened to reduce my overall profile to make me a smaller target to hit. I started doing this in the 90's and a few years later it became a pretty commonly taught technique as guys in combat were getting hit on their side where the plates/kevlar wasn't protecting. The idea was that if guys squared up their stance they stood a better chance of surviving if they got hit, because the round would hit their plate or armor.

There are some other minor things that can probably be debated as being advantageous, but these are the big 3. Of course if you're not training to fight for your life, and just want to have a fun day plinking at the range, they may not be relevant.

Hope this helps in some way.
 
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