Left handed

[Mrs. Hoppes]

My son (age 6) is left handed. How much of a problem could that be when learning to aim and shoot?

I know it has created more than one head-ache when learning to write.

 

[rhino]

Aiming and shooting? Zero problems.

Manipulating the controls on a given weapon? That depends on the specific gun. Some are more and some are less lefty friendly. Some can be made to be more so.

 

[USMC_0311]

My son age (9) is left handed also. What I found out real quick is the problem was not him learning, but it was with me teaching. I was right handed. Now I have taught 100's of Marines to shoot and a bunch of lefties and I wish I would have tried this a long time ago.

I got a little frustrated so (now I don't know if this is bad or good but it worked) I made him learn right handed. Now my thinking was he golfed and batted right handed, but he wrote and eats left handed, why not. He is a pretty good shot now.

If your son just has to go right, try shooting left handed for a while? Then it is easier to visually demonstrate. Knowing what the left feels will help you to teach.

 

[obijohn]

i see no inherent problems. cross eye dominance may get tricky with long guns, but very doable. as rhino states, the biggest issue will be the same as with scissors, being a lefty in a righty world. let us know if you need help.

 

[Mrs. Hoppes]

Thank you, all. We are considering getting him his first rifle for Christmas. We went to Gander Mountain the other day so he could try out guns so we would know what he felt comfortable with.

I spent half that time telling my 21 month old "Hannah. Leave the guns alone." She did not want to be in the cart and wanted to walk around and try to pick up and hug the long guns.

 

[JD31]

My son is left handed as I am, and he has been doing very well. My right handed kids are doing equally well.

Us lefties are used to getting along using right handed EVERYTHING. I have made firearm purchases only after reading about the lefty friendly arrangement of safeties, mag releases, etc.

So far, we are all getting along fine, and the brass ejecting has not been a real problem either. The only time I had an issue was with my M-16 in the Army ejecting the hot brass into my chinstrap. As it was only about 20 degrees outside, I didn't feel it until hit had burnt my cheek pretty good.

I learned to golf, bat, and most other things right handed, but when shooting, right handed has never worked. Must be the left eye dominant thing.

Good Luck!!

 

[USMC_0311]

I bought my son a couple softair guns. You can get them replica size and excellt tool for teaching range safety and procedures indoors. Not to mention my force on force training He got an M4, M9, and S&W MP40.

He surprized me, he saved up his own money and bought his first rifle Rossi combo .22/.410. I was having hard trying to decide when to get him his first gun, but that kind of behavior made it easy. Of course I had to reward him and buy a pistol (for when he gets older) for him. I told him I was going to shoot it until he was a little older.

 

[Soundslikejosh]

I echo JD31. I am left handed also. It is a bit inconvenient, but the best thing you can do is NOT buy him a left handed this and that. Unless you are going to try to teach him to be right handed (thats a whole other discussion), he will be left handed his entire life, so he should learn to accomodate asap.

I have heard others say that a left ejecting AR can be a big improvement, but on most guns it simply isnt necessary. Mag releases, etc, can be manipulated with the left hand, it just requires a little ingenuity and determination. Mag changes and even revolver reloads can be quite quick, once you learn the movements.

In my experience, the biggest problem is not with the gun, but the gear. That can be a big fat rosie odonell sized pain in the butt. Again, unless he is willing to learn to shoot right handed, its just one of the things that we have to deal with. On the other hand, some of the cheapie gear isnt available in left-handed, so it prevents him from getting junk.


Having said all that, I would encourage him to try shooting right handed and see if he is comfortable. Due to his young age I know its not quite that simple, but I think that if I had really tried shooting right handed, it would be a big benefit. I am right eye dominant, so shooting a long gun left handed is a problem. But, I had been shooting pistols left handed for a long time so it was hard to transition to a right handed rifle stance. If he can make the switch now, at his young age, it would benefit him greatly. I know that its darn near impossible once you build the muscle memory.

 

[right winger]

Thank you, all. We are considering getting him his first rifle for Christmas. We went to Gander Mountain the other day so he could try out guns so we would know what he felt comfortable with.

I spent half that time telling my 21 month old "Hannah. Leave the guns alone." She did not want to be in the cart and wanted to walk around and try to pick up and hug the long guns.

You might want to try Plainfield Shooting Supplies

3735 Shady Lane Centre, Plainfield, IN 46168

(317) 839-6095 They are real good people there. Great Prices.

 

[wolfman]

My suggestion would be to determine which of his eyes is dominant, and then teach him to shoot that side. My wife is a leftie but right eye dominant, which makes holding with left hand, while sighting with right eye, akward enough that she is considering learning to shoot right handed.

 

[G McBride]

I have a friend at work that is a lefty. He shoots handguns right handed and shoots long guns left handed. He said that is just how he always did it. Your son may do the same thing. Give it a try and let him decide which feels comfortable to him.

 

[Bubbajms]

I dunno - I'm a right-handed shooter that's left-eye dominant. I've always shot right handed, simply taking a slightly askew stance when shooting handguns and rolling my eye when shooting a long gun. The sensation takes a little while to get used to, but once I get used to it I'm fine.. and my scores when shooting have always been good enough for me..

 

[EdC]

My son is left handed, right eye dominant. He shoots pistols left handed and does better shooting right handed with long guns because of the right eye dominance. Glock pistols and revolvers are no problem. Ruger 22/45 and a 1911 took a little getting used to, because the controls are laid out for right handed, but he adapted to them quickly enough.