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Tex1961 wrote: ↑Mon Jun 25, 2018 9:37 am I'm with oohrah, Plus I've been shooting righty's so long, I don't know if I could figure out how to shoot a left handed anything. Heck.. I have a set of left handed golf clubs in my attic that I can't give away... Which if your in the Plano / Frisco area and need a set. Let me know...

oohrah wrote: ↑Mon Jun 25, 2018 7:40 am Just one other point - you will have difficulty selling a LH rifle if you decide to.

The Annoyed Man wrote: ↑Fri Jun 22, 2018 1:52 pm

flechero, where are you located? If you’re near me, I’d be happy to let you shoot a couple of my ARs, plus let you take a stab at my FN SCAR 17S, in case you’re not poor enough! The ergos on the SCAR are very “AR-like” - which was a stipulation for the military contract - and it ejects out the left too. So that would give you some idea of what firing an AR10 might be like. Then you can decide if it’s worth the extra cost of ownership to have a left-handed one or not. For me - a confirmed lefty - it wasn’t worth it.

I’m sort of a militant left-hander, in the sense that I resent the fact that I have to pay more for a left-handed anything, when I’m left-handed and left-eye dominant by birth, and it’s not something I chose.


But when it comes to AR platform rifles - or rifles with similar egos, like the SCAR, it matters much less whether it is right or left handed than with other kinds of guns.

Lynyrd wrote: ↑Fri Jun 22, 2018 3:23 pm The only time I've had trouble with hot brass from a right handed rifle while shooting left handed is when I am standing near to something on my right side.

The Annoyed Man wrote: ↑Fri Jun 22, 2018 10:52 am

flechero wrote: ↑Fri Jun 22, 2018 7:48 am Thanks for the replies. Are there any other option I should be looking at? Anything pre set up as ambi that would make a case for not buying lefty?

I’m a lefty and own several ARs - none of them left handed. I have installed ambi safety levers on all of them, as well as ambidextrous charging handles. Only one of the lowers - a Spikes Tactical Gen II Billet lower - came with ambidextrous controls built-in, including a bolt release paddle one the right side of the receiver. The mag release is not ambidextrous and still located on the right side of the receiver. But all of mine still eject brass to the right. I own two left-handed bolt action rifles, and a left-handed semiautomatic shotgun. The fact is, other than having the proper cast for a left handed shooter, that shotgun isn’t any different to shoot for me than a right handed one. The fact that it ejects to the left is not that much of a noticeable benefit for me .....if that’s what you’re thinking about when it comes to a left-handed AR.

Now, before I spent the price ($450) for that Spikes billet lower with the ambi controls, I got by fine with just an ambi safety lever and an ambi charging handle. Before that, an ambi charging handle alone was enough. The fact is, it’s not that hard to manipulate the right-handed controls with your left hand. Of course, you have to take your left index finger off the trigger to do so, but that’s not that big of a deal to me. Today, even with ambi safety levers on my ARs, I still use the right-handed lever about half the time because it feels more natural to me. Of ALL of the ambi features, the charging handle is the one without which I would probably find it hardest to adapt to a right handed rifle.

Disadvantages to a real lefty AR ..... You can find replacement mil-spec parts (or better) for a right-handed AR, at reasonable prices, from almost any of the thousands of outlets that sell AR parts. How many of them sell left-handed bolts with the ejector and extractor on the other side of the bolt? Those parts are considered to be consumables, even though they may last thousands of rounds. I do this as a matter of course anyway, and stock a few replacement bolts and bolt rebuild kits in my shop, just in the event that I break something. Ditto for cam pins, firing pins, etc. But if I didn’t, those parts are still easily obtainable for a right handed rifle. Maybe not so much for a left handed one. It’s cheap to buy and stock replacement parts Heck, with the exception of one of my rifles which is a gas-piston gun, all of my bolt carriers are interchangeable between rifles, so I don’t find it necessary to stock extra bolt carriers. AR part prices, like any other product prices, are largely dependent upon economies of scale. I’m guessing that a left-handed bolt probably uses the same extractor and ejector as a right handed bolt - just on the opposite side of the bolt. But the bolt body is another thing entirely - as would be the bolt carrier. If you have any intention to stock consumable parts, it’s doable, but most likely at a higher price and longer delivery timeline.

Bottom line for me ..... if you’re considering this AR as just another rifle in the safe, for range and maybe hunting use, none of the above matters. Buy a lefty and be done with it. You’ll be happy you did, JUST like I’m really happy that I bought left-handed bolt actions. But if you’re intended uses include social work and the zombie apocalypse, consumable parts are going to be more expensive to procure, and harder to replace.

All of the above applies, whether you’re considering a 5.56 or a .308 AR.