Left Handed Newbie

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Neologian

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Apologies for what might turn out to be a foolish question but I'm new to pistol shooting and have a question around conversions for left handed shooters. I'm in the market for a good 9mm pistol. I have looked carefully at the Beretta 92FS, Sig P226, and the Glock 17. Setting aside other considerations, are there any reasons for a left handed shooter to prefer one make/model over the other in terms of refitting for a lefty? Are any of these particularly ambidextrous in terms of ease of relocating things like the safety catch or de-cocking levers?

Any advice would be welcome.
 
Neologian said:
Apologies for what might turn out to be a foolish question but I'm new to pistol shooting and have a question around conversions for left handed shooters. I'm in the market for a good 9mm pistol. I have looked carefully at the Beretta 92FS, Sig P226, and the Glock 17. Setting aside other considerations, are there any reasons for a left handed shooter to prefer one make/model over the other in terms of refitting for a lefty? Are any of these particularly ambidextrous in terms of ease of relocating things like the safety catch or de-cocking levers?

Any advice would be welcome.
Click to expand...

I am a lefty and my all my guns are set up for righties. Over time, I have gotten used to the wonky movements I must do with my gun, and have gotten pretty good at them.
 
My 1911 is easier for a lefty I think. I have LH Medallion A-Bolt and find I was more used to RH bols guns. My AR is a LH Stag. Lefties rule.[rockon]
 
I'm a lefty but right-eye dominant. I didn't understand that a while back when I purchased a left-handed shotgun. Not a big deal, but I found that my aim was much better when I shoot using my right hand. Took a while to get comfortable shooting that way but it's working out ok. Which are you - left or right eye dominant?
 
The glock (and maybe the sig? Unsure) doesn't have an external safety, which is the major problem point for lefties. I usually just swing my left-hand thumb over and hit it on my 1911 when I need to. Mag releases can be manipulated easily with your index or middle finger. The only thing I really run into (which will be a problem on basically any semi-auto) is the slide lock, I can't for the life of me figure out how to manipulate that left handed to lock the slide back. I just switch hands. Wheel guns require some dancing to reload, but don't have any of that other sillyness that semis do.

Many guns with external safeties have ambi safeties, and many that don't can be fitted with one (1911s).

One thing to watch out for - rifles eject rounds into you, not away from you. That can smart.

Find someone with the guns you are looking at, and take some time to fondle each one. It might be a little awkward at first, but it should be okay. If you are really concerned about being able to manipulate the controls left handed - get a gun without an external safety, or make sure it is ambi.

You can just do what I do - ignore the fact that the controls are set up for a righty (fairly easy to work around, anyway), but then b*tch and moan any chance you get about the injustice of it all [grin]
 
I shoot handguns lefty. I have a beretta 92 and 96 and both work well lefty. I also have a smitty 6906, 5906, keltek 9mm and those all work well lefty. All my revolvers are fine lefty too. Long guns, well, I shoot both sides depending on my mood. The only guns I found uncomfortable lefty is my Browning BLR and Marlin 22. The 22 drops cases on my shoulder and neck when I shoot it lefty. Some days my left eye is dominant and some days neither is. Ever tried shooting left handed while aquiring the target with your right eye? Its interesting but I practice it because you never know if a punch might shut an eye on you in an altercation.

It is said that left handed people are smarter than everyone else. its true. Its because we go through life finding ways to adapt to the inferior things righties invent for themselves.
 
PM me if you want to go try the P226, G17, or even the HK as a lefty shooting a righty gun. It just takes getting used to.
 
With the new Gen 4 Glocks you can swap the mag release to the right side so it can be easier manipulated for a lefty. Only downside is if you do this you can not use older mags as they are not cut for the ambi catch.

As far as manipulating the slide release you can either get an extended slide release of just rack the slide on a full mag loading. Just my input on the Glock setups.
 
bostonasphalt2 said:
It just takes getting used to.
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plain and simple. i use my left hand thumb decock the hammer into DA on my 229.

also think if you were to bring a friend to the range, hopefully not getting discouraged because they have to shoot left handed, or uncomfortably.

ETA: the M&P is ambidextrous too.
 
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op4guy said:
With the new Gen 4 Glocks you can swap the mag release to the right side so it can be easier manipulated for a lefty. Only downside is if you do this you can not use older mags as they are not cut for the ambi catch.

As far as manipulating the slide release you can either get an extended slide release of just rack the slide on a full mag loading. Just my input on the Glock setups.
Click to expand...

They also make ambi mag releases for the gen 1,2,3 versions. Its an aftermarket part that costs $20 or so. One other consideration is the M&P. I didn't see it on your list but as a lefty, I've come to love all the ambi controls.
 
I have a Sig p229 (and I'm a "lefty") and have found it much easier to manipulate all the controls with my trigger finger. I have no problems with using my trigger finger for the decocking lever from the beginning and the only thing i needed to work out was the slide release. When locking the slide back i found it easier to grab forward of the chamber on the slide and use my trigger finger to come up and manipulate the slide lock. Otherwise it gets pretty difficult when you have your right hand manipulate the slide rearward of the chamber. The mag release is simple, but if shooting with both hands it can be a plus (when not doing a tactical reload) to use one of your right hand fingers (index or middle) to use the mag release. This can be beneficial so when reloading you do not have to change your shooting grip with your left hand whatsoever.
 
Neologian said:
I'm in the market for a good 9mm pistol. I have looked carefully at the Beretta 92FS, Sig P226, and the Glock 17. Setting aside other considerations, are there any reasons for a left handed shooter to prefer one make/model over the other in terms of refitting for a lefty? Are any of these particularly ambidextrous in terms of ease of relocating things like the safety catch or de-cocking levers?

Any advice would be welcome.
Click to expand...

I'd look seriously at the M&P pistols. I bought one in .40 'cuz ... it was different, and I like it enough that I bought another in 9mm. All the controls are either ambidextrous, or can be swapped really easily. The stock trigger is kinda craptastic, but it can be made very very nice with not a lot of work and almost no money.
 
honestly being a lefty and always shooting right handed guns I seem to think in my head that it would feel weird making my gun/s lefty, just because I am so use to shooting them with a righty set-up.
 
My son is a lefty LEO., who wanted something that would suit him. I pointed him to a Walther 99. It's made to be totally ambi.

Or you could be like me, a lefty, and simply be determined to shoot righty. It's totally instinctive in me now.
 
Timber said:
if it was me, i'd run the glock 17. sure the mag release is on the left hand side of the gun, but when you slap a mag in on a reload the slide trips on its own. and you should practice an over the top slide release on your reloads anyway. i'm sure there's a technical term for that that some harcore MF will chime in with shortly, but i don't recall what it is right now. of the three, i'd run the striker fired, non-decocking, no safety glock anyway.
Click to expand...

Also Neologian, depending on where you live anywhere but mass, you could get a new Gen4 Glock 17 with the ambidextrous mag release.
 
MA_Shooter said:
I'm a lefty but right-eye dominant. I didn't understand that a while back when I purchased a left-handed shotgun. Not a big deal, but I found that my aim was much better when I shoot using my right hand. Took a while to get comfortable shooting that way but it's working out ok. Which are you - left or right eye dominant?
Click to expand...

I'm definitely left eye dominant. Learned that lesson years ago when getting involed in target archery. Shot for a long time as a righty then one day the range/shop owner sees me signing my check with my left and says: "Hold on a sec....have you ever checked....etc etc" Sold all my righty gear and re-trained as a left handed shooter. Scores plumetted for awhile but eventually rose higher than I ever shot right handed/right eyed.
 
you are right eye dominant, you shoot rifle/shotgun right handed. what made you shoot a hand gun lefty
 
S&W M&P this gun has ambi slide stop and the mag release can be converted to the right side in seconds by almost anyone. This will give you a complete left hand control gun.
If you are concerned about the Mass. trigger we can do a trigger job and reduce the pull to 6.5lbs for around $85.00
 
I'm a lefty and make sure that all my handguns have ambi saftys. 1911's, Beretta 92FS and Glocks all fit the bill. Sig's offer no option to get a ambi safety.
 

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