Hi, I'm left handed and left eye dominant and considering buying a bolt action. I'd like to buy an economical center fire rifle for target and maybe eventually for hunting. There are so many great deals for right handed bolts ex. Stevens 200 and others, that for my occasional use, it may not be worth buying a more expensive lefty bolt action. What do you think? Thanks
Who is a lefty and shoots a RH bolt?
- Thread starter Detective_Special
- Start date
Got Juice?
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Peoples Republik of Kanukkistan
Lucky Dog.
I am left handed and right eye dominant. To shoot shotgun, I have to patch my glasses while shooting left. If I shoot Shotgun right handed, (when I forget my tape) I am just a little slower in my mechanics.. Shooting Rifle, I don't do anything (using a scope mitigates that need to patch as you lose peripheral vision) and shoot left handed.
Shooting Pistol is great, I am ambidextrous.
To answer your question, I can shoot, chamber another round and shoot my right handed rifles left handed faster than a right handed person can.
You take your right hand off the forestock and operate the bolt is all
I would not buy a LH action myself. I am too used to shooting left to change, and if there is no speed difference, why bother anyways?
- Location
- Sudbury, On
Buy a Savage. Problem solved.
Got Juice?
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Peoples Republik of Kanukkistan
the safety is easy, Just rotate the gun 90 degrees from vertical and use your left hand thumb to disengage it. Works for cross-bolt, and mauser style safeties quite well
- Location
- Sudbury, On
Prophet River (IIRC) is selling a left-hand .223 FCXP Savage for $569 on CGN.
Oh wait, I wanted that one... Nope nothing to see here folks move along.
Oh wait, I wanted that one... Nope nothing to see here folks move along.
I'm a left handed & left eye dominant.
I have only ever owned right handed bolt rifles. Never been a problem.
NAA.
leftie here. IMHO RH rifles are designed for left hand shooters. Why would anyone want to remove thier trigger hand, cheek weld from the rifle to operate the bolt when thier is a perfectly useless hand on the forearm which can be detached during recoil, operate bolt and be back on the stock by the time you can regain a sight pic?
I also like the fact that the loading port is on the side I can see/access. Again I can top off a magazine with the rifle still in the proper hand. This is especially noticable shooting prone. Ever notice which side a BR rifle loads from.
, and at least with mausers and 870s the saftey is perfectly designed for a left hand thumb.
I also like the fact that the loading port is on the side I can see/access. Again I can top off a magazine with the rifle still in the proper hand. This is especially noticable shooting prone. Ever notice which side a BR rifle loads from.
, and at least with mausers and 870s the saftey is perfectly designed for a left hand thumb.
Edward Teach
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- who cares?
I was born left handed, but my mother in her infinite wisdom listened to some dingbat who told her I'd have nothing but problems so she forced me to learn to write with my right hand. I can't throw worth #### with my right and throwing left feels weird. I do favour my left for some tasks, but not others. I'm slightly left-eye dominant but I prefer shooting right, but the eye dominance is not particularly strong so sighting with my right eye isn't an issue.
Brutus
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Lucky Dog.
I am left handed and right eye dominant. To shoot shotgun, I have to patch my glasses while shooting left. If I shoot Shotgun right handed, (when I forget my tape) I am just a little slower in my mechanics.. Shooting Rifle, I don't do anything (using a scope mitigates that need to patch as you lose peripheral vision) and shoot left handed.
Shooting Pistol is great, I am ambidextrous.
To answer your question, I can shoot, chamber another round and shoot my right handed rifles left handed faster than a right handed person can.
You take your right hand off the forestock and operate the bolt is all
I would not buy a LH action myself. I am too used to shooting left to change, and if there is no speed difference, why bother anyways?
I am in the same situation myself. Being that left eye dominant and shoot left handed with rifles/shotguns.
But in the most part, for casual plinking & hunting this is not a problem using rifles designed for right handed persons.
(thankfully M37 Ithacas & lever guns are very LH friendly) And I have several RH action rifles, two Mausers, a 788 & a few other rimfire bolt actions too.
But when it came to high power target rifle events (TR) iron sighted rifles shot off a shooting mat, at comparatively long ranges, I had to purchase a LH action rifle.
(no bipod allowed in this discipline)
The primary reason for this, if one had to loose and reacquire elbow position after every shot, because of the high reach reloading with the bolt,
(as a lefty w/RH bolt) & this is not conducive to good & tiny shot groupings at distance, from the prone position.
If I had taken up F-class competition instead, I could get by with a RH action rifle, as one is allowed to use a bi-pod.
International Harvester
CGN Regular
- Location
- Republic of Saskatchewan
I'm left eye dominant but there's no way I could feel comfortable holding a rifle lefty.
- Location
- In lalaland, that is Ottawa.
Rt. Hand Bolt shot left handed.
At the EOHC Milsurp shoot May 1st, I was surprised just how many were shooting bolt guns, SMLE, Patern 14 & 17 Enfileds, left handed.
Looking at the scores, the lefties held their own.
it is amazing how many shooters do not know which is their master eye.
Most good shotgunners shoot with both eyes open. Ideed, deer hunting with a rifle and scope, I leave both eyes open, taqking advantage of the much broader field of vision.
At the EOHC Milsurp shoot May 1st, I was surprised just how many were shooting bolt guns, SMLE, Patern 14 & 17 Enfileds, left handed.
Looking at the scores, the lefties held their own.
it is amazing how many shooters do not know which is their master eye.
Most good shotgunners shoot with both eyes open. Ideed, deer hunting with a rifle and scope, I leave both eyes open, taqking advantage of the much broader field of vision.
I am right handed and left eye dominant. Learned to shoot left handed at 15 years old so I could see my targets. Over 35 years of shooting right hand bolt guns left handed, has never been an issue after I got used to it. Natural as breathing now and don't think I could go back the other way very easily. Kind of an advantage with my CZ 858 anyway, as the safety lever is no where near any skin. Still shoot hand guns right handed.
My wife is left handed left eye dominant and shoots a right hand Remington model 7.She has the choice to shoot Left hand bolt actions as I have a 7mm-08 and a 30.06 that I shoot as I am RH left eye dominant,but she prefers the RH bolt.
Buy a left handed rifle off the bat, no bad habits to overcome later when you might want to get more serious about shooting.
You will get over the extra cost in time but you will never regret it.
Note: God made only so many perfect people, all the rest he made right handed.
You will get over the extra cost in time but you will never regret it.
Note: God made only so many perfect people, all the rest he made right handed.
fat tony
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
I shoot my SMLE's and my #5 MKI crosshanded - the #5 MKI is slick as owl snot - the other 2 smle's I have are relatively easy to shoot cross handed too, but they have mismatched bolts, so they are not as smooth. I hope to have them both restored someday.
Pudelpointer
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Lethbridge, Alberta
I don't know about you DD, but if I tried to keep my cheek weld while cycling a RH bolt I would bust my nose! Only through the use of a proper action (left for left, right for right) can you keep your cheek weld.
For bench work, a RH action can be beneficial, for hunting a LH action is ideal. How come you never hear the RH'ers on these threads going off about how perfect a left hand action is for them?
