LH, Southpaws, Right minded...

[CombatDiver]

I recently found this forum while researching long range shooting (after decades of shooting I finally am serious about learning the science behind the bang). First thing I noticed in looking at the posts is there are more left handed individuals than I'm use to so I would like to ask, how many are here? And what can you tell me about your experiences. I have been the only left eye dominant left handed shooter I have known and know it is a right handed world so never really looked for other southpaws like myself. So please advise.

 

[sambo3006]

I'm a lefty. I can tell you that it is much more fun now to be a lefty than it was 25 years ago when I first got into shooting. Back then you could have anything you wanted as long as it was a Remington or Savage in 270, 30-06 or 7mm mag. Weatherby offered more chamberings in lefty but they were a pipe dream for me back then.
Now there are LH rifles available in multiple chamberings from Remington, Savage, Ruger, Browning, Tikka, CZ and Weatherby to name a few. These are heady times we're living in, I tell you.

 

[subsailor]

Left handed here also. Gotten so used to shooting a right handed bolt gun with a left handed cheek piece, I almost can't work the left sided bolt now.

What kind of info are you looking for?

I'm shooting mostly a M 700 SPS Varmint (left hand of course) in .308 Winchester. H & S stock from Numrich Arms for $97 and a timney trigger because I didn't like the smooth factory trigger shoe. Call her Linda because of the long throat.

Shoots well, 3/8 - 1/2 moa when I do my part. Pet critter getter load is a 155 Berger VLD hunting bullet in front of 45.0 grains of IMR 8208 seated to 2.805" COAL. Yes, a Berger with shoot with a long jump. Got a nice slick head Sunday at 305 yards (lasered) quartering away. DRT. The boiler room looked like a tomato puree. Unbelieveable performance. The only way I can describe it is imagine a .224 90 grain driven at 3600+. The 168's and heavier ought to be a real killer on big stuff.

Ask away, we might have to make up some of the answers but we'll give you one.

 

[jrw1976]

(Call her Linda because of the long throat.)

Subsailor,
I have to say thank you, your post really cracked me up. I dont know why but it really struck me funny I needed that.


Thx, JRW

 

[Bravo 4]

I'm a lefty as well, and the shooting world is definitely geared toward the right-handed. There are benefits of both left and right-handed actions. If I'm shooting a LR rifle I prefer a right handed bolt gun, as they are easier to shoot (load, work the bolt, adjust the scope, etc with the non-firing hand) in the prone or with a solid front rest. Even though my personal LR rifle is left handed. If it's a pure hunting rifle (mostly close to medium range) then I prefer a left hand bolt or an auto. The bad thing about auto's is that sometimes you get some blow back to the face…no big deal just make sure you wear safety glass.

 

[CombatDiver]

I just wanted to get some general feedback from others like me. I have four generations of hunters and am the only southpaw (some years deer camp numbers in the high 70s-80s). I have a couple hunting/target rifles but am going to really get into the long range end of things. My primary hunting rifle is a Savage LH 300 WSM (it was the first affordable LH that I came across) it sports a basic VX Leupold and does a fine job hunting. Second to that is another LH Savage in 204 Ruger with a heavy Shilen barrel. Before those I could hold my own with a RH bolt but preferred the semi autos butn they came with ridicule. My plan is to learn to read distance more accurately and how to better adjust things to be able to convert that to first shot hits. I got a taste of it at the range this past summer when some local police snipers read the wind for me and I already knew the range and was able to hit both the 300, 400 and 600 yard gongs with my 204 Ruger first shot on each one merely by adjusting the scope. So from you LHs (and RHs) point me in the right direction to learning mils, click and moas (if you will, if not I'm working on finding out myself). And keep posting those who have not already as I would like to see more comments from fellow southpaws.

*oh yeah, the 204 tends to be obvious as I merely reload the few components out there but when I went to a 300 WSM from a M1A (308) I kept the 168 grain CT Ballistic tip silver point. I have used standard powders for it (can't remember which and I'm in Texas away from most my guns and my load data).

 

[bigngreen]

I'm right handed and in my right mind but my dad, my father in-law and my hunting partner and his entire family are lefties. I'm handy with a lefty rifle

 

[silvertip-co]

"Correct" handed for last 60.3 years here. I don't understand right handed people, they dont even write upside down. My long range rifle is RH and the rest of my rifles are correct hand.

 

[threejones]

I recently found this forum while researching long range shooting (after decades of shooting I finally am serious about learning the science behind the bang). First thing I noticed in looking at the posts is there are more left handed individuals than I'm use to so I would like to ask, how many are here? And what can you tell me about your experiences. I have been the only left eye dominant left handed shooter I have known and know it is a right handed world so never really looked for other southpaws like myself. So please advise.

I'm smart handed as well. I too, was pleasantly suprised at how my of us are on the site. My dad taught me pretty early on that I should just get used to wrong handed guns. The biggest gripe with wrong hands guns is the scar on my hand from jacking the bolt on a buddies winny over my hand, and the fact that most ejection ports seem to put hot shells right into the crook of my arm (ARs, SKSs, and just about anything in 22lr). Maybe I ought to just quit being so cheap and fork out the extra $$$ for lefty guns. I just hate the fact that we're expected to. I do however love my smart-handed tikka, and shoot it twice as often as anything else I own.