I'm really not sure where to put this so I'll just leave it here since it's a custom build with me and my old man.  My father and I will be building a rifle over the holidays this year for him.  He was diagnosed with Stage IV cancer in most of his right side (arm, leg, hip, back).  So he wants to build a left handed 5.56 with me and shoot it a couple times if he can.  He is retired LEO so he was trained to run on both sides but it will be difficult for him to hold it nonetheless we are determined to try anyway.  I have searched through here quite a bit (google as well) but still need some help deciding on what to do.  If you guys can help us out on this it would be really beneficial.  My questions are these:

How many of you Southpaws "ACTUALLY" say that you need a LH upper as opposed to a RH upper?
LH upper and bolt are required and we will be using an AMBI safety for added ease. I just found out about an AMBI barrel extension and now I'm really worried if this is "ABSOLUTELY" required as well?
I want to reduce recoil as much as possible so I'll run a H2 or H3 buffer and brake.  Any other tips in this department?  

Thanks again for the help.  Like I said I have found other threads on this using search but most of them are a little older.  

Hi,
First off, Happy Thanksgiving. I wish your Father a complete recovery.
I'm a southpaw and I've never fired a left handed AR. I have always used right handed models and would regularly get hit in the neck and get burned with ejected cases before the brass deflector built in to the upper receiver was invented. I haven't ever needed a lefty model.
I don't use ambi controls ever on any of my builds. I can use the standard controls and don't need the added expense, weight, or "gingerbread" as I call it.
The 5.56 already has a low recoil, I would leave the standard buffer in the rifle and add a compensator.

Since your Dad is ill, you may want to consider buying a Stag Arms left handed rifle, and you could make changes as you see fit. It takes me months to make a build the last one was 10 months. If you want some holiday shooting fun buy a complete left handed model if you have your heart set on it. You could then start a project together which will take time.

Best of luck to you and your Father. -William

Sorry to hear about your Dad, I know how it feels. Hang in there.

Pretty much this

Im a lefty and i shoot right handed uppers. I use ambi controls on all my lowers.

Sorry to hear about your dad.

Pretty close to this for me.  If the upper has a shell deflector, I don't care which side the casing is ejected from.  I'm fine with the standard mag catch/release button, and while I like an ambi selector and put them on everything, I'm acclimated to using the standard left-sided lever with my left index finger.  But the two things I'll admit I just HATE using as a lefty, are the standard bolt catch/release or charging handle, enough so that I'd rather run some other semi-auto instead.  For me, an ambi charging handle like the Rainer Arms Raptor and something like the Magpul BAD lever are mandatory, not for me to use an AR, but to use an AR and have any semblance of enjoyment while using it. But as internet wisdom often is, YMMV.

Sorry to hear about your dad, but hope the build is a good experience for you both.  Let us know what happens.

Sorry to hear about your father.  I am a lefty, get him a left handed upper.

Sorry to hear about your dad, but glad you are spending time together.

Most important:
Ambi charging handle
Ambi safety


Anything else is non-essential.
I have both lefty upper and standard
Lefty upper is kind of nice but no big deal really.
As long as I have ambi charging and ambi safety I'm perfectly happy.

Ps - I have about 1,200 rounds on the lefty using a standard barrel extension with no visible wear. Seems to work just fine despite Stag saying I shouldn't do it.

Your best bet may be to get a lefty complete upper or complete rifle from Stag Arms if you can get a good deal on it (LEO discount maybe)...If you want to do
a build with him get the complete upper and then you can build a complete lower with him together...

As a Southpaw that shoots many righty AR's sometimes you may get brass to the face and neck, etc and that is a PITA...So a lefty AR is a safe bet in that regard,
also, a ambi safety selector is a good Idea, you may what to consider an extended charging latch, just makes things easier...While a muzzle comp may not be
necessary due to the low recoil it can help to reduce perceived recoil even further (I happen to like the Miculek style comps)...You may also want to look Into a
Magpul ambi style pistol grip to help round out the package...

As far as triggers go, the lighter and crisper the better (within reason, don't go less than 3 lbs.), It can make a huge difference in shooting comfort and accuracy,
I'm a big fan of the dope in trigger modules like CMC versions and they are very easy to Install

One other note you may want to consider, the shorter 16" Carbine length barrels are very loud (produce a lot of muzzle blast), so a 20'' barrel will help keep it
to a more acceptable level and may help with recoil reduction, etc.

Hope this helps, and best wishes to you and your Dad...Happy Thanksgiving.

Thank you so much for the kind words everyone.  Sincerely, it means a lot.  My old man is a tough one.  He was diagnosed Stage IV back in January and he's still here (worse now though).  But he was also training for a triathlon when he found out.  He was in excellent shape at the time or so he thought.  Just thought it was horrible pain that he associated with sports injuries due to training.  Anyway, we are both determined to build one from the ground up together.  The biggest problem is he has lost 70-80% of strength in his right arm.  So holding the rifle will be difficult.  But he is not adverse to sand bagging it and sending a few rounds down range with his left arm only.  

Great advice and knowledge.  Thank you and please keep the replies coming.  

BTW...  I know all of us have families and I don't want anyone to think I only came here looking for sympathy.  That's not it.  I just want to do one more build with my old man.....

I'll talk to him tomorrow and see if he is completely opposed to a RH upper.  I think he is just worried mostly about brass in the neck and face.  That seems like the logical choice at the moment.

Have a left handed son, he shoots my ARs without any problems.  I asked him about putting a left handed safety on it and he said not to as he is use to the standard one.

Good info so far...

Like a lot of the lefties here, I use an ambi safety selector (BAD-ASS-ST), charging handle (Raptor), and BAD lever, but also an ambi mag release (Troy).

Additionally, I use uppers without a forward assist as I find it gets in the way occasionally.

I use this UPPER and this LOWER for my own builds...not the absolute cheapest, but great quality and function.

BTW...Palmetto State has a lower parts kit with MOE grip and trigger guard, and an ALG ACT trigger for $90 right now.


I lost my dad to cancer in 2013.

sorry to hear about your dad.   make all the moments you have last.

as a lefty i never saw the point in a lefty upper.  tried one & didnt care for it.

as far as how to build...
the only thing i have on all of my guns is a Norgon mag release  ( norgon )
it is not really needed but a nice option to have, that i have become accustom to using.

as others have mentioned an ambi charging handle can be nice. (Rainer Arms Raptor )
i could also recommend use of an aftermarket trigger.  just start w/ a regular trigger in a build kit & you can decide later if you'd like a lighter pull  (geissele's are nice)
standard buffer of h2 will be fine for a basic build
i only have one build w/ an ambi safety.   i do like it.  & will eventually upgrade to them ( badass safety )

you could also look at using either a CTR or MOE buttstock & added the thicker rubber butt pad.  however i dont think you'll need it w/ just a basic 5.56 build


oh & f*ck cancer

I'm a southpaw and I was debating back and forth on my first build if I should build a lefty or a normal right hand eject upper. Well I was talked into shooting a normal upper. Depending on what type of ammo I was shooting I would get different ejection patterns. It ran flawless with what I feed it but Tulammo would eject into my cheek or go down my shirt. The other thing I didn't like was the gas blowing at me through the forward assist. I did have a raptor ambi charging handle and my lower had a bad ambi selector switch norgon ambi catch I also had a teal blue pdq ambi bolt catch installed. Needless to say I got rid of that upper and built a  new left handed upper and I couldn't be happier. Also I did trade the lower for a ambi seekins lower and I bought a santan lower as well. When I get home I'll take some pictures.

Still need a few things like a new sight mount, bipod mount, flash hider and fore grip mount

I've never had a problem with an A2 upper.
I've been hit on the cheek with brass using an A1. It just bounced off. No big.
Mine are all standard builds and only one has the ambi CH. I've adapted.

I built a lefty for my son and he absolutely loves it.  Stick with the lefty build you will not regret it.

Glad to hear this. I just landed an upper and bcg from the EE to convert one of mine to left hand for my son.

Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile

I'm so stupid sometimes.... I completely forgot about looking in the EE.  

Thanks guys!  I'm gonna go with the lefty upper since that is what my old man requested originally.  Plus it's something I never would build for myself.

You guys have been awesome in your support.  Thank you so much.  

Which reminds me....

Where can I find "said" left handed uppers besides Brownell's???  

Thanks again.

Sorry to hear that about your pops.

I don't know what finances are like, but if I were you, I'd work my butt off to make sure he had the biggest smile on his face.

Whether it's a tricked out ambi* righty or ambi lefty rifle.  I don't think you can go wrong either way.

*Norgon, BAD-ASS, Raptor, etc.

As a lefty with righty kids and gf I had to build to work for everyone.  I went with the SanTan Tactical ambi lower and LOVE it with the BAD-ASS.  Because there is no charging handle on the bolt though I never saw the need for a lefty upper, just the ambi CH (Raptor, btw).  

I will say, however, I build only piston guns because the one down side to standard uppers for lefties is a wet DI gun spatters my shooting glasses with oil.  Running a piston and grease in my internals eliminated this for me.

Good to see your father hasn't stopped living.  A friend of mine died a few months ago from advanced colon cancer.  We had him at the range less than a month before he passed.  He could barely hold his LC 380 but his shot was still true and the smiles were still genuine.  

Cherish the time you have with your dad, it is prescious.

Another lefty.
Standard right side upper and safety. My first AR had a ambi safety and honestly I like flipping it off with the trigger finger. You get use to doing it one way then switch on one rifle it screws up your muscle memory, such as reversible mag releases on pistols. I dont do that either.
No issues with hot brass unless prone.
Sorry about your Dad.

Well,  for those that are interested, we got it completed.  Shot it the other day and took some photos today.  Ran like a top.  I actually operated it right handed and had no issues.  He did so left handed as intended and was able to run it just fine as well.  Thanks for all of the help from this thread.  You guys were awesome.  

Which upper is that? How was the fitment with the billet Lower?

That is CMT's billet left handed upper.  It fit well with the lower.  There is a tiny bit of wiggle but not really noticed when running the gun.

Thanks. I'm actually doing a 300blk build now on a Hellbreaker lower. Wasn't sure which upper I'd go with on that. I'm also doing a San tan stt-15 ambi lower but using a Warsport Lvoa upper. So no lefty.

Looks awesome   Wish that receiver was available when I was doing my build. Does that receiver have the ability to have a dust cover?

Certified (by Gawd) Southpaw here.

I built mine over ten years ago using a DPMS upper.  Today I have a Stag dedicated upper that was not just the left side milled out.  So, here's what you minimally need.

1) Left hand ejection port upper
2) Leftt handed bolt

Not necessary but very nice to have:

3) Ambidextrous safety (it's nice to be able to operate the safety one handed)
4) Norgon (my choice) ambidextrous magazine release (I like the lower profile)
3) Ambidextrous charging handle (I don't have one on mine).  

I hope you two spend a lot of range time together with that rifle you built.  If you have a kid, bring him/her along but swear them to secrecy.  No need for the teacher or il dottore (doctor) to know.

Nice work.
Happy ArfCommer is best ArfCommer.