NOTE: I will add a link to this post in the FAQ shortly. This post has already been tagged "Do not archive".

PLEASE KEEP YOUR COMMENTS CONFINED TO QUESTIONS/ANSWERS SPECIFIC TO LEFT-HANDED AR'S; I WILL EDIT OUT GARBAGE COMMENTS SO THAT PEOPLE LOOKING FOR SOLID INFO DON'T HAVE TO WADE THROUGH A BUNCH OF INANE RESPONSES - Z

Every day there is another post about I am a lefty shooter. With posts like what will I get hit in the face with brass? what about ambi controls?  I figure a single post that could be stickied would be a good place for people to look for info.

I am left handed and left eye dominant. I write left handed and shoot every thing left handed. I can shoot right handed but naturally I am a lefty. The  biggest question I see on the forums are these.

Q: Will I get hit in the face with brass shooting left handed?

A: For the most part No, With the brass deflector and using quality ammo I have never been hit by ejected brass. How ever using underpowered wolf ammo I do get grazed once in a while but again this was only with wolf ammo.

Q: Will I get gasses blown back at me shooting left handed?

A: Yup you will  ejection port is on your face side so on a standard AR you will get some gasses and dirt in the face but this is why we wear eye protection. A little dirt on the face is just a sign of a good time at the range.

Q: I am a left handed shooter what Ambi controls/mods do I NEED to shoot left handed?

A: The answer is none. A standard AR can be operated easily with out any modifications done to it for a left handed user.  Some say ARs are better shooting left handed because you can see the ejection port and easily identify problems or an empty chamber with out flipping the gun over. That is not to say ambi controls wont improve your ability to operate the rifle and I will get into that further down.

Q: Do I need a left handed upper?

A: I used to think this when I first got into ARs and I bought a Stag 2L which is a left handed upper, meaning the ejection port is on the left side of the gun. After lots of shooting of my rifle and friends standard rifles I found I didnt need the left handed upper as I never got hit by brass on a standard upper. One down side which might mater to some Stag uppers are not mil spec, mine did not have M4 cuts and some of the other features found in mil spec rifles. The other down side to left handed uppers is that Stag seems to be the only company that makes left handed bolts so replacement parts and upgrades are limited. Noveske makes left handed uppers but I have no experience with them

Ambidextrous Modifications

Below is a list and links to recommended upgrades lefties  or any one can do to make their rifles more ambi friendly NOTE this is not a complete list

Battle Arms AR15 Safety Selector

BCMGUNFIGHTER Charging Handle

Troy Ind. Ambidextrous Magazine Release

Norgon ambi mag-release

SanTan STT-15 ambi lower very pricy

Battle Steel ambi mag release

STRIKE INDUSTRIES ENHANCED BOLT CATCH

RADIAN WEAPONS RAPTOR CHARGING HANDLE

RADIAN WEAPONS TALON SAFETY SELECTOR

Forward Controls Design Ambidextrous Magazine Release For AR15 & AR10 Rifles

Geissele Maritime Bolt Catch

Aero Precision ambi lower

Everything I know (so far) about ambi lowers

Feel free to add more if I missed anything major

Ok, this is not a hard problem to worry about, if someone wants a left handed rifle, buy it. I bought a DPMS lefty and like it very much and I also have a righty AR and it works fine even if I am a lefty. I grew up like every lefty with hardly anything made for us but now there are some AR's along wiith bolts now with lefty features and the notion that they would be hard to sell is BS, there are a lot of lefties out there.
Well anyway, my thoughts are if you want to buy a lefty, go right ahead and do it... why not??

The upper part of an AR IMO is not the issue for me and most people. Its the main control I see most people asking about. If some one wants a left handed upper then Stag Armsand Noveske would fit there bill

None of my ARs have ambi controls except the BCM gunfighter handle

I shoot left-handed and own both "standard" and left-handed ARs.

With the AR platform I don't notice a difference, except that it's easier to check the chamber on a standard configuration AR (like looking at the palm of your left hand instead of the back of your left hand).

While I find right-handed bolt rifles much more difficult to effectively use than left-handed bolt rifles, with an AR the difference is minimal.

I love the Norgon ambi-catch. You don't need any bolt release assist because your left trigger finger likely reaches the bolt release.

As for safeties, I've gone with Stag ambi selectors and Bushmaster ambi selectors (Bushmaster before buy-out). The Bushmaster ambi selector fixes the additional selector lever with a roll pin while the Stag model uses a tongue-and-groove coupled with a screw. I prefer the Stag model. The BADASS seems to be top-notch, so I'd definitely consider that as well.


PS all my ARs have brass deflectors. I'd avoid slick-side uppers.

This is a great post with some great links. A lot of these products are even great for right handed shooters who want to be able to manipulate their weapon with their reaction hand. I have been replacing all of my selectors with BAD 45* ones. They are a great improvement to the AR platform.

<Off-topic comment removed - Z>

Nope you dont needany accessories to shoot an AR left handed but people still ask the same questions everyday having one thread to point them to just like any thing else seems logical

Whats the second component you tease?!

<Off-topic comment removed - Z>

In order to train to be able to use any standard AR pattern rifle, without needing the upgrades.

I shoot lefty with a rifle with no modifications, as those mods aren't available for the ones I've been issued, so there's no point in training with them.  It's far easier for me just to deal with the differences that are required in order to use a right-handed rifle.

It would be good to have a sticky––but for those interested in a left handed or ambidextrous rifle.  that way, we can also avoid the posts about how everyone should just shoot right handed.

Add these:
Armadynamics charging handle. http://www.botachtactical.com/nsearch.html?.autodone=http%3A%2F%2Fstore.botachtactical.com%2Fnsearch.html&catalog=botach&query=armadynamics
KZ (Botach brand) charging handle. http://www.botachtactical.com/kzamchha.html

<Off-topic comment removed - Z>

This is an interesting south-paw (it comes in right-hand and ambidextrous varients, too) product. Here is the link: http://largrizzly.com/web/guest/ops-4-uppers

It is a replacement upper complete with bolt carrier group that has a reciprocating charging handle attached directly to the bolt carrier (on one or both sides of the rifle). It removes the standard non-reciprocating AR-15 charging handle, puts a threaded plug in its place, and gives the AR a fixed charging handle.

I'm rebuilding/modifying my wife's AR to a lefty. Sure wish I found this thread before I ordered the lefty upper from stag. Try finding only a lefty ejector. She like many of us learned to shoot while in the military and "NOW" I figure that since she learned on a standard AR she should continue to shoot with a standard AR.

i am a lefty and had to shoot with a right handed AR in the Corps. If your upper has a brass deflector, then you wont get hit in the face or have hot brass go down your shirt. If you don't have a brass defector then go with a brass catcher. Also having a right handed AR, my wife can shoot it.

has anyone used this? http://www.tealbluebravollc.com/ PDQ ambi bolt release , it requires you to modify the lower slightly and i'm wondering if it will harm the integrity of my lower any thoughts?

Mech Armor Defense TacOps-1 charging handles



TacOps-1

Added a couple things to the list that I am currently using on my rifles and updated or removed dead links

I appreciate a left-side brass tosser for two primary reasons. I enjoy, as righties do, not seeing brass tossed across my face which can be a distraction, albeit a minor one. With a shortie and not shouldered, shouldered but cross-chest, etc, you can indeed be hit with brass from forehead to neck or even with brass deflecting from a nearby object, wall, etc.

With all that said, I do appreciate having the ability to do a quick glance at my my bolt with a right hand discharge while firing lefty. I'm fine with the bolt / mag releases and selector as is. I do appreciate an ambi CH on a non-side-charger.

I have four lefties (beginning 18 months or so ago) and to this day, even being a lefty, they have yet to feel natural. But I'll get there.

I built my 13 yr old Sinister a left-handed .22.  Used Stag's left-eject adapter, likely made by CMMG.  Rather than pay for a Stag upper, I cut out a left side ejection port in an ATI polymer/steel upper.  Threw on an ambi selector stolen off FW_wife's rife, still need to get him a left-side mag release and a better bbl.

There are a few other companies that offer left handed uppers and parts besides Stag.
CMT Tactical makes a very nice LH billet upper
F-1 Firearms has LH versions of some of their complete rifles as well as all the parts to build your own.
Gibbz Arms makes the nicest side charging upper for either hand IMHO. They also make full ambidextrous Glock magazine compatible Pistol caliber lowers with left or right side reversible ejector, Ambi Mag Release. Side charging uppers in Left side ejection, and pistol caliber bolts with a reversible extractor.
Underground Tactical makes LH bolts in several calibers.

I agree that nobody “needs” a Left side ejection AR, but as an AR owner of 24 years, I absolutely love all 12 of mine!

Never been hit in the face with brass, but getting hit on the right forearm with hot brass is definitely a thing. Gas in the face doesn’t bother everyone apparently, but I didn’t enjoy it at all.

Right handed shooters frequently complain that shooting my LH ARs are not very pleasant. The most obvious example is when a right handed person shoots my Left handed Stag 9mm SBR suppressed.
They get a face full of gas and sparks.  Most people never finish one magazine before giving it back.

So I will say it again- you don’t NEED aLeft handed AR, but if you WANT one, then get one. There is no actual  downside based in reality for not trying one.

IM inbound backbencher

Shooters that say ambi-selector levers are not needed....
A: Are right handed shooters
B: left handed shooter who have never shot under pressure IE gun match or with a Pro timer
C: Never used a AR against a real threat

Reason Army finally in 2010 started outfitting all M4s with ambi-selectors

1st issue ambi-selectors military used were DMPS for early MK12
circa 2000.

Here are a few more companies offering L-handed stuff:

Red X Arms

Black Rain Ordnance (pricey)

Bear Creek Arsenal

I had issues with brass hitting my face.
It was not caused by cheap ammunition. (I use S&B and Geco ammo. NO Wolf or any other steel cased rounds)
I use a 2a Armament upper which has a small shell deflector.
I also use a lightweight bolt carrier. The lighter carrier speed up the cycle, so the spent case is missing the deflector on the way out.
I asked here on ARFCOM for a solution.
There are two possibilities to fix this issue (ok, three. The third one is not to use a lightweight carrier...):

1. A heavier buffer will slow the cycling speed down, so the empty case should hit the deflector.

I chose the second option

I did this one year ago, and since then I fired around 3000 rounds. Since then no brass hit my face again.

I have a 20inch m16 A1 upper with not brass deflector. I picked up a metal deflector that has spring loaded bearing. When mounted it pops into the hole in the carry handle and then gives me a brass deflector. All my other guns are righties that I shoot left.

Southpaw checking in:
I had a Noveske rifle made by lefthandedrifles.com which is no longer in business. They were the only company authorized to make a left hand builds using Noveske parts. I really like this rifle and it's a shame lefthandedrifles.com went under or I'd buy more.
I love my Core15 Hardcore left handed ARs. I have 2. It's the only AR out of the box that functioned flawlessly for me. If you're looking for a top tier AR in the left hand, this one is perfect. The people there were good to me to. I hope their service remains good.
I have 2 left handed stags. Their customer service could use some retraining for sure, and the quality seems good, but I've had a couple problems with my Stag 3GL and frankly, I don't shoot it much. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another stag if I wanted another low cost AR, but with a Noveske and Core15 I never take it out of the box.

I've never tried Black Rain Ordnance and Rock River Arms yet.


As far as do you need a left handed model? If you're left handed, it's a good idea. I was reading reviews and a military guy complained using a RH model nearly cost him permanent vision loss. If everything is going right, I suppose using a RH model is almost as good as shooting a left hand, and if your muscle memory is trained on a RH model you should stick with it. If something goes wrong though, I'd be worried about losing an eye.

As a left hander shooting a RH model here are some of my complaints. My right eye is too close to the chamber. If something went wrong like shooting a squib and following up on a "mag dump" it could tear up my face and possibly penetrate my ballistic glasses. I don't shoot reloads often, but if I did and something went wrong, I don't want my face too close to the chamber.  
My eye naturally tracks fast moving objects, the ejected brass distracts my attention.
I do get oil in my face.
I don't sleep with my ballistic safety glasses, and I probably won't have time to put them on.
I'd breath considerably more smoke with the ejection port closer to my face. It's not carbon I'm worried about, it's the lead primer gas. Dirt on my face doesn't bother me, but lead poisoning is a real concern if you want to enjoy this hobby long term.
The controls are more ergonomic for me. Yes, ambidextrous gets me close.  

The negative?
Interchangeability: It's not mil-spec. There isn't going to be a lot of interchangeability between different brands of uppers. It's been a long time, but I've read Stag and Rock River Arms (2 main players in the left handed AR15 world) won't share parts. This could be a big problem. If my stag died today, I wouldn't cannibalize my Noveske to make it work. I'd just shoot my Noveske instead. If an extremely unlikely TEOTWAWKI happened, and my Noveske broke and I had to pull an AR15 off of a dead guy I wouldn't be able to use his bolt to fix mine, but I'm ok with that. I'd have a dead guy's functioning AR15. To some guys compatibility is extremely important so I won't discount this fact, compatibility and modularity adds to the AR15's popularity.  It's unimportant to me, and I willingly accept this trade-off.
Muscle Memory: If I was in the military and had thousands of hours behind one pattern I don't think having a left hand model is so great that I'd switch now.

If anyone knows of any top tier boutique AR15s, or any previously unlisted brands of any price range high or low, please share with us.