Because you're in the minority and it's not necessary for everyone to bend over for you. I am allergic to caffeine and alcohol I don't cry when places don't have drinks that fit into my weird disability.
Levers for Lefties
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Because you're in the minority and it's not necessary for everyone to bend over for you. I am allergic to caffeine and alcohol I don't cry when places don't have drinks that fit into my weird disability.
I can't think of a single lever action model that is made specifically for the left hand shooter. That includes injection port and loading gate.
I'm a left handed but right eye dominant so this is not really an issue for me.
Seems odd, to me, that manufacturers would ignore a very large group of shooters of lever guns when you consider they all make left hand bolt guns.
I'm a left handed but right eye dominant so this is not really an issue for me.
Seems odd, to me, that manufacturers would ignore a very large group of shooters of lever guns when you consider they all make left hand bolt guns.
I'm a lefty and have owned and shot a lot of lever action rifles. Never a problem, except with one Marlin 1894 in .45 Colt with a fat chamber. It sometimes spits hot powder into my face with mouse fart loads.
I think the new Winchesters are well built guns, better built than any Marlin I've ever owned, but I got rid of them all except for a couple of old Marlins. If I had only one, it'd be an 1895 in .45-70.
Chris.
I think the new Winchesters are well built guns, better built than any Marlin I've ever owned, but I got rid of them all except for a couple of old Marlins. If I had only one, it'd be an 1895 in .45-70.
Chris.
hometownhero
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In a catastrophic failure I doubt it really matters what side of the gun your face is on. What did people do 75+ years ago? Left handed guns are a relatively new trend
I am right handed, and left eye dominant, and did not have an opportunity to shoot let alone own a left handed bolt action rifle until I was nearly in my 30's. Once I had one, it was a lot more pleasurable to shoot and hunt with! I only own two right handed bolt actions at the moment. And the one is for sale. The 22 is of the same make and model as the one my Grandpa got me as a kid, which has been gone for over 30 years.
I love the lever actions as these were the rifles that my Dad and Grandfather had in 30-30 (Winchester and Marlin) and I harvested my first deer and black bear with. Shot my first whitetail buck with a friend's Dad's BLR 308. My main back up rifle isa BLR in 358. Awesome rifle!
I have shot, owned and still own lever action rifles in Winchester, Marlin and Browning (22 LR, 243 Win, 30-30, 284 Win, 308 Win, 348 Win, 356 Win, 358 Win, 375 Win, 45/70 and 41 Rem Mag) over the course of the last 34 years. I have never had a safety issue with a lever action rifle. But I do not shoot hot loads in these rifles, and for handloads use only listed loads from manuals in new cases for hunting, or factory ammunition. But yes, case separation could still occur and pose a potential problem. It is not a frequent thing. A more likely situation would be snow or ice in the end of the barrel while hunting in the late season causing a barrel rupture, but this is easily prevented with some electrician's tape over the endof the muzzle, that blows off when the rifle is fired, and will not cause any issues.
As for hot brass being an issue, the only time was from a Ruger10/22 and the brass was caught by the collar of my jacket and directed it onto my neck while shooting from the bench at the range. Adjusting the collar of my jacket solved that issue!
I love the lever actions as these were the rifles that my Dad and Grandfather had in 30-30 (Winchester and Marlin) and I harvested my first deer and black bear with. Shot my first whitetail buck with a friend's Dad's BLR 308. My main back up rifle isa BLR in 358. Awesome rifle!
I have shot, owned and still own lever action rifles in Winchester, Marlin and Browning (22 LR, 243 Win, 30-30, 284 Win, 308 Win, 348 Win, 356 Win, 358 Win, 375 Win, 45/70 and 41 Rem Mag) over the course of the last 34 years. I have never had a safety issue with a lever action rifle. But I do not shoot hot loads in these rifles, and for handloads use only listed loads from manuals in new cases for hunting, or factory ammunition. But yes, case separation could still occur and pose a potential problem. It is not a frequent thing. A more likely situation would be snow or ice in the end of the barrel while hunting in the late season causing a barrel rupture, but this is easily prevented with some electrician's tape over the endof the muzzle, that blows off when the rifle is fired, and will not cause any issues.
As for hot brass being an issue, the only time was from a Ruger10/22 and the brass was caught by the collar of my jacket and directed it onto my neck while shooting from the bench at the range. Adjusting the collar of my jacket solved that issue!
The winchester 1895 is as close you will get to a lever for a left hand person.It ejects through the top and loads from the top like a bolt action as it has a non detachable box magazine.I have have one of the miroku win 95s and shoot left handed and have no problems.Browning made a reissue of the 95 as well in 30/06 ,270 ,and 30/40 krag.Winchester miroku made several models including a takedown and a version in 405 winchester.Actuall there is a high grade in 405 for sale in the EE
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Off the top, in my experience, I'd say the Model 94 ejects straight up and most times, slightly back. Having said that here is something you lefties can consider as some useful knowledge. About 10 years ago I contacted Browning and Marlin. I asked if they would consider manufacturing a Left Load, Left Eject lever rifle. Marlin seemed annoyed by my inquiry and said that they would never manufacture any left handed rifles of any sort. So in response to that I stayed away from Marlin.
Now Browning's response was a bit different. They said that they have considered producing left handed levers but can never find suitable numbers to make it happen. They haven't closed the door on the possibility, but they admitted that if they can justify the tooling etc then they would keep the idea on the back burner. Fortunately there are employees at Browning that I have spoken to - and they keep left handed bolt guns in production, so that's a partial win for lefties. I often wonder why a gunsmith has never taken a Winchester M 94 or a Marlin 336 and modified it with the loading gate plate / and the same ejection gate plate on the left. It doesn't seem like it would be too difficult to do the modification with proper machining.
And on a historical note... Given that over 7 million model 94 rifles have been manufactured, that could mean that upwards of 700,000 users may have been left handed. Many of whom have gone on to the happy hunting grounds. And only the loading gate is on the right side of the rifle. The rest of the configuration is neutral in design. There is another interesting stat that ought to be considered, and that is that upwards of 40% of the population may be left eye dominant. This stat has been proven in the archery world at a local archery shop. They order 40% bows in left handed arrangements. The bow companies asked why his orders were comprised of 40% left handed bows. His response was that in his testing of every archer he tests them for eye dominance and 40% are left eye dominant. And when a right handed person is left eye dominant they shoot a left handed bow better then a right handed bow. It makes sense because humans have two eyes and one of those two eyes demonstrates a dominant preference over the other eye. Yet many who are right handed may not know that they are left eye dominant. And they may experience some discomfort when shooting right handed due to eye dominance. So the stat of approximately 10% of the population that are left handed are mostly - also left eye dominant. Also if one picks up a Browning lever with the pistol grip one will find that it has a palm swell that favors the right handed shooter.
Now Browning's response was a bit different. They said that they have considered producing left handed levers but can never find suitable numbers to make it happen. They haven't closed the door on the possibility, but they admitted that if they can justify the tooling etc then they would keep the idea on the back burner. Fortunately there are employees at Browning that I have spoken to - and they keep left handed bolt guns in production, so that's a partial win for lefties. I often wonder why a gunsmith has never taken a Winchester M 94 or a Marlin 336 and modified it with the loading gate plate / and the same ejection gate plate on the left. It doesn't seem like it would be too difficult to do the modification with proper machining.
And on a historical note... Given that over 7 million model 94 rifles have been manufactured, that could mean that upwards of 700,000 users may have been left handed. Many of whom have gone on to the happy hunting grounds. And only the loading gate is on the right side of the rifle. The rest of the configuration is neutral in design. There is another interesting stat that ought to be considered, and that is that upwards of 40% of the population may be left eye dominant. This stat has been proven in the archery world at a local archery shop. They order 40% bows in left handed arrangements. The bow companies asked why his orders were comprised of 40% left handed bows. His response was that in his testing of every archer he tests them for eye dominance and 40% are left eye dominant. And when a right handed person is left eye dominant they shoot a left handed bow better then a right handed bow. It makes sense because humans have two eyes and one of those two eyes demonstrates a dominant preference over the other eye. Yet many who are right handed may not know that they are left eye dominant. And they may experience some discomfort when shooting right handed due to eye dominance. So the stat of approximately 10% of the population that are left handed are mostly - also left eye dominant. Also if one picks up a Browning lever with the pistol grip one will find that it has a palm swell that favors the right handed shooter.
My winchester 94 and norinco lever .22 are great despite shooting as a lefty. I really can't see any downfall to either as opposed to being a right handed shooter.
Many left handed shooters go to the Browning BLR's, as they are essentially ambidextrous and with a removable magazine can shoot pointed bullets and many different and larger magnums with a broader range of ballistics than most traditional levers.
You may want to consider a winchester 88 as well, you see them used for around $500 on the EE in .308, or more in 243, and much much more in 358, or the savage 99 in the same range.
Many left handed shooters go to the Browning BLR's, as they are essentially ambidextrous and with a removable magazine can shoot pointed bullets and many different and larger magnums with a broader range of ballistics than most traditional levers.
You may want to consider a winchester 88 as well, you see them used for around $500 on the EE in .308, or more in 243, and much much more in 358, or the savage 99 in the same range.
Highwind brings up a great point on eye dominance. I too, found that I was ordering about 30% of the bows in LH beacuase of eye dominance. Another observation that I found was that women tend to be more left eye dominant than men, and that First Nations people also tend to be more left eye dominant than caucasian people.
As for a nice 22LR in lever action, the 9422 is great, but getting expensive, the Henry's have a very slick action, and the Browning BL-22 is very nice. I like the fact that the Browning trigger mechanism moves with the lever and has a very short throw. While finger pinch has never been an issue for me on any levergun in over 35 years, it can be a problem when teaching a new shooter that is unfamiliar with lever actions.
Most modern bolt action rifles are designed to direct gases away from the shooter in the event of a case failure (out ports on the side of the action or down through the magazine box), so regardless of left vs right, the shooter should be better protected. While not a common occurrence, it can and has happened. There have definitely been more cases of failure from improper care and maintenance of the firearm or hot loading handloads than from case failures in the last few decades. As I am not into milsurp rifles or some older manufactured firearms, and do not fire old or hot-rodded ammo, this has not been a big issue for me. But this is just me. Others need to look at it for themselves.
As for a nice 22LR in lever action, the 9422 is great, but getting expensive, the Henry's have a very slick action, and the Browning BL-22 is very nice. I like the fact that the Browning trigger mechanism moves with the lever and has a very short throw. While finger pinch has never been an issue for me on any levergun in over 35 years, it can be a problem when teaching a new shooter that is unfamiliar with lever actions.
Most modern bolt action rifles are designed to direct gases away from the shooter in the event of a case failure (out ports on the side of the action or down through the magazine box), so regardless of left vs right, the shooter should be better protected. While not a common occurrence, it can and has happened. There have definitely been more cases of failure from improper care and maintenance of the firearm or hot loading handloads than from case failures in the last few decades. As I am not into milsurp rifles or some older manufactured firearms, and do not fire old or hot-rodded ammo, this has not been a big issue for me. But this is just me. Others need to look at it for themselves.
As suggested top ejecting models like the 1892 design and the pre-side eject 1894's are completely ambidextrous besides the loading port which is no big deal.
Otherwise as also suggested moving your face slightly while cycling the action will take care of the potential issue of getting hit by a side ejecting case.
I can't understand any complaints by lefty's towards a lever action design.
Scope mounting is obviously easier on a side ejection model, but the OP's is fine with irons or peeps.
Otherwise as also suggested moving your face slightly while cycling the action will take care of the potential issue of getting hit by a side ejecting case.
I can't understand any complaints by lefty's towards a lever action design.
Scope mounting is obviously easier on a side ejection model, but the OP's is fine with irons or peeps.
nomad 68
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
I am the same but being left handed ended a few physical confrontations for me in my younger years lol. Why is it that everyone who picks a fight assumes you're a righty? Lmao!
You are worrying about nothing. Like wearing a hardhat every where you go because of meteorites
I am a lefty.
I and many others on here have fired millions and seen hundreds of millions of rounds of the queens ammo fired by lefties and righties. Through everything from pistols, machine guns, crew served weapons and from vechicles. All from "right handed" weapons. And I have not seen or even heard of anything happening to a righty let alone to a lefty, other than lefties getting dirty faces firing suppressed.
Yes it has happened, no it does not happen to any relevant amount
Buy what you like and buy it in right hand. Enjoy the money savings and the ability to buy parts and get repairs anywhere.
Shawn
Thx for that, I Have fired thousands of rounds of the Queens ammo as well through right handed firearms and own a left handed bolt gun. The question came up as I am considering buying a right handed rifle to permanently complete my hunting inventory and see all kinds of designs to protect the shooter. However most of the designs are created around that particular handed action.
