Lefties

How many lefties here shooting right-handed rifles? Does anyone know how rare/common it was for a gunmaker in the 18th century to make a lefty gun?

I have one lefty rifle all the rest are righty. They all get shot from the left side. On the other question I haven't any idea how common it was but I'm sure only the well to do could afford a lefty gun. Welcome to the forum.

Magungo1066 said:

How many lefties here shooting right-handed rifles? Does anyone know how rare/common it was for a gunmaker in the 18th century to make a lefty gun?

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I shoot right handed guns left handed. I have two left handed guns. I don’t think left handed were very prevalent. I have one original left handed gun.(cheek piece on the right) but even that still has a right hand lock.

Welcome, Magungo.
Being a member of the lefty minority I've shot many right hand guns, only 1 left hand muzzleloader. I created it myself, an early Lancaster.

I think back then you would be made to shoot right handed, unless physically unable to do so.

My 1st day in school I tried drawing with my left hand. The teacher told me to put my hand in my pocket and use my right.

I got home and told dad, he took me back to school and almost went to jail over it.
But I never was told to use my right hand again.

Magungo1066 said:

How many lefties here shooting right-handed rifles? Does anyone know how rare/common it was for a gunmaker in the 18th century to make a lefty gun?

Click to expand...

I'm a lefty, but shoot right handed flintlocks almost exclusively. It has never bothered me at all.
There have been similar threads here before, and other leftys have stated how they are terribly bothered by shooting right handed guns. My suggestion is try out both if possible.
I think that historically left handed guns were virtually non existent, since nobody was left handed
Cankeny

It's a wrong brained world so the left eyed have to be can-do people!
Eh, who sometimes have itchy right arms.

There always has been them sinister people out there, but they were taught to do things right handed.
I’ve never seen an historic left hand gun. I have shot a double barrel or two with a left handed lock held on my right side.

tenngun said:

There always has been them sinister people out there, but they were taught to do things right handed.
I’ve never seen an historic left hand gun. I have shot a double barrel or two with a left handed lock held on my right side.

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Here’s a historic left hand gun.Made about 1720 ish, but it has the lock still on the right

I don’t consider where the lock is as the deciding factor as to whither a gun is left or right handed. The shape of the butt stock having cast on and the cheek rest on the right side makes a left handed gun. Any gun I can get the sights lined up on target is my left hand gun.

I shot right handed guns left handed for many years, while trying to find a left gun that didn't look bassackerts, so I just switched to shooting right. I'm right eye dominant anyways....

Phil Coffins said:

I don’t consider where the lock is as the deciding factor as to whither a gun is left or right handed. The shape of the butt stock having cast on and the cheek rest on the right side makes a left handed gun. Any gun I can get the sights lined up on target is my left hand gun.

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If you look at mine the cheek rest is on the right, for a left handed shooter and the Patchbox is on the left, so definitely a lefty

Being as most guns historically have been, or started their lives as, martial weapons, and no allowance for lefties is generally given by the military, there are not many and would, until the industrial revolution, be a near completely personal and custom occurance.

Further limiting their numbers is what others have said above, lefties adapt. Being left handed, I have two lefty guns one modern, one muzzleloader. All the rest are not left handed.

I will admit to having a leaning towards ambidextrous arms. The humble SxS shotgun is illustrative of such a weapon and large numbers existed in black powder days. I would be inclined to think that period lefties would have gravitated in that direction. Note: righty's have no issue with the lock of a SxS on the "wrong" side.

Modern weapons such as bolt actions and autoloaders that eject cases into a Lefty's face are much more unfriendly to southpaws than any muzzleloader or black powder arm.

TNGhost said:

I will admit to having a leaning towards ambidextrous arms. The humble SxS shotgun is illustrative of such a weapon and large numbers existed in black powder days. I would be inclined to think that period lefties would have gravitated in that direction.

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I strongly agree. Lefties have always had to adapt, though in the flintlock era, as today, lefties can shoot right handed flintlocks just fine. Figuring out how to consistently plant our cheeks aside....

As a kid starting with BB guns I shot left handed. Even with a kids bow I still shot lefty. I'm actually right eye dominant but that dominant eye is going bad. I just may have to go back to lefty again.

Cositrike, that's a beautiful jaeger.

I have shot both lefty and righty muzzleloaders over the years. I am left-handed, but for years could not find/afford a properly made gun (with the lock on the left side.) I now have nine lefty flinters and four lefty cap locks. (I collect left handed guns of all types; shotguns, rifles, pistols) and just HAD to have lefty flinters when they became available. Thank the Lord for TVM and Mike Lange.

if you look in "The French Trade Gun in North America (Gladys, 2011) pages 93 and 94 you will find an original lefty smoothbore trade gun from North America (south-central Pennsylvania) c.1730s. There weren't many, but they did exist.

ADK Bigfoot

hanshi said:

As a kid starting with BB guns I shot left handed. Even with a kids bow I still shot lefty. I'm actually right eye dominant but that dominant eye is going bad. I just may have to go back to lefty again.

Cositrike, that's a beautiful jaeger.

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Thank youThe rifling is as good as the day it was made. Shoots well too. Not bad for a 300 year old rifle

My wife is a lefty. She wanted to shoot. So I bought a SMR in the left hand mode. Only one problem. The rifle is as tall as she is. I have to do the loading.

I am 6'3" tall and shoot a SMR with a 14.5" LOP and a 44" barrel. Perfect fit, but boy do my arms get tired from "running it up and down" (I wet/dry patch between shots)l That's a lot of exercise!

ADK Bigfoot

My only problem is the castoff in a RH stock. Sometimes it makes it hard to get behind the sights. Depends on the comb shape. A rounded comb will work. A flat top comb with sharp edges is more difficult. Other than that no problem.

I am left handed, as well. Two of my guns are left handed, one is right handed. I decided that which side the lock was on was irrelevant when I was shooting a double percussion shotgun many years ago. I am enjoying shooting my new FDC which is right handed. The stock has no cast on/off but is perfectly straight, which makes mounting the gun a little easier than if it had some cast off to it.

Thanks for mentioning the two left handed guns in the Gladysz book, Bigfoot. I was going to comment on those, but you got there first.