Is there anything to make the AR more left handed friendly?

DPMS makes a SOUTHPAW upper...

The AR, or any rifle for that matter, should not be considered left handed or right handed.

A rifle is like a car: Righties AND leftied BOTH sit on the same side!!! You should learn to shoot correctly: Buttstock in the right shoulder, left hand on the handguard....

Flame away

^^ Agree with him. Im right handed and can shoot some (read M1 Garand) rifles left handed but ARs are a made for a right handed world.

TxAg, I am a lefty shooter and I have never been hit by ejecting brass.  Thank God for the brass deflector.  Don't let being left-handed hold you back from buying an AR15.  The only AR you might have trouble with shooting left-handed are the old Colt SP-1s because they have no brass deflector.  Other than that you will be okay.

Add an ambi-saftey selector and you're good go.

No problem here, and never been hit by my own brass, not counting rebounds.

One must have is the DPMS ambi safety.  

Also nice, but you could live without:  Badger or PRI oversized charging handle latch and Norgon ambi mag release.

Have fun!

I bought a left handed DPMS and like it very much....I have no trouble shooting right handed rifles since I grew up shooting that way....I have yet to ever been hit by brass shooting left handed with a garand,SKS,AK47,Mini 14 or ar15, but, saw the left handed DPMS and bought it, and have no regrets, it's nice. there are enough lefties around that you will have no problem selling the left handed one if you ever had to..........

Despite Mugs comments, most left-handed are left eye dominant and [b]ya should shoot using your dominant eye[/b]. FWIW, I was born righty but damaged good eye forced an eye dominance change and as others have spoken, except to change the grip to a Pachmeyer on my comp rifles the AR woks for lefties just fine, the index of your left hand can be trained to work the safety with a little practice right where it sets and your right hand thumb will work for mag changes.

Mike

In all fairness AR are the most southpaw friendly modern military rifles. with the deflector the brass will NOT hit you in the face. That being said, the DPMS upper is not a necessity. Save your money for an ambidextrous safety and magazine release. That should cover you perfectly and leave some $ in your pocket too.

I'm a lefty, and an Ag [8D] , and I have zero problems shooting either of my ARs.

I shoot lefty and have never had a problem.  I'd like a lefty upper just to have one, but dont really need it.  The only time left-handed kinda sucks is changing mags while in a sling and prone slow fire reloads, during high-power shooting.

Left eye dominant here, no probs. Get an ambi. saftey and your all good.

Im a lefty and have never had problems operating any of the controls or being hit by hot brass. One thing I would like to see is a bullpup for us lefties (that is moderatly affordable)

Lefy here - no major problems.

After a tactical carbine course.... I did learn a few mods that I now consider necessary:

1.  Ambi safety.  In the class, we were constanly going on and off safe.  At the end of the day, I had a nice blister worked up from manipulating the safety with my index finger like I normally did.

2.  Extended bolt release.  A lefty, when doing high speed tactical mag changes, has to rotate the rifle and slam the bolt release with the left hand, removing your hand from the grip.  This takes precious time, and I found the bolt release small and difficult to always strike reliably in this awkward position.

3.  Tactical charging handle.  This helps clear malfunctions under duress, allowing a lefty to take his right hand and charge the rifle, while still keeping a sight picture on the enemy.

I do not really see the need for the lefty-mag release.... as simply dropping your right hand back and manipulating the mag release works just fine for me.  The only problem you can run into is if your mags dont drop free, high speed changes can be a drag.

If you arent interested in high-speed mag changes, or training with your rifle, then I dont think any changes are necessary to the besic A2 style rifle (with shell deflector) as it is already very lefty friendly.

Let's not forget that lefties are predominatly more intelligent and artistic than our counterparts. We are more able to adjust to a right handed world. They are unable to make any compensations for what feels "uncomfortable".
Keep in mind some of greatest people to ever live were of left hand and right mind.
Albert Einstein
Michelangelo
Ronald Reagan

Everybody is born right handed, only some of us have overcome it. LOL (All in fun)

Another lefty who has no problems shooting AR's with a brass deflector.  In the Army, I'd get hot brass down my sleeve, but that was with a A1. No problem now.  BTW, I'm actually right handed but shoot left as it's my dominant eye.
Sleepy717

Actually, I've owned a short barrel SP1 for 25 years, and only once have I ever gotten an empty in a bad place.  Just a few months ago, one caught in the collar of my shirt and the hot case parked itself at the base of my neck. Aprat from that time, the cases will occasionally brush by my cheek, but as long as they don't burn me, I don't really mind it.  Of course, I HAVE been getting used to it for 25 years[:D]

Recently put together an M16A1 clone, and had it out this afternoon. In over 100 rounds, not one case even touched me.

I wonder what you get out of a lefty talking a lefty out of buying one. If he likes the idea and wants one then hell, I suggest he buy two of them. I was under the impression that he was asking leftys (which includes ME) what is REQUIRED, of which a southpaw upper is NOT. I guess an ambi safety & mag release isn't either, but these things make it easier for the shooter. The deflector eliminates the NEED for a southpaw upper and therefore is a waste of money, IMHO.

So it is your contention then, that spending the $ on a LH upper will make the weapon more "friendly" than spending the $ on an ambi safety and/or mag release?

Geesh! Mugsie.... I would love to shoot with the stock in my right shoulder....only problem is the right eye had a macular tear...so in the middle of the vision is a disappearing spot...that is, anything deliberately focused on literally disappears...so I have had to learn to shoot left-handed using my left eye....would that everything were simple, but it 'taint so, Magee mmm it is a pain in the you know what...but even a natural righty can learn ta shoot lefty better'n some righties with two good eyes

Mike, who doesn't wear a patch on the right eye either

The only problem I have encountered from lefty-ing my AR has been some slight chaffing of my left hand from the selector switch after each round is fired.

Maybe it's just the STAR type selector itself, but it wears my skin a bit. Not enough to complain though so do not worry about it.