left handed pistol
Just got my NYS pistol permit. I am looking for: a pistol that is left hand friendly, contoured grip, composite or aluminum frame and either 9M or 40. Can anybody suggest something? All of the dealers around here only seem to want to show what they have in stock, and, they do not want to offer any suggestions.
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The Springfield XD's are hard to go wrong with; only the mag release is ambidextrous though. Randall Portsider? Those are expensive and all steel, I believe. Given a revolver any thought? Charter Arms makes a left hand small frame that should be fairly cheap? For that matter, is cost of great concern? Left hand comes at a price both literally and figuratively.
Edit: Sorry for the gaff! Anybody remember who made the Portsider line? The Brand escapes me, but as I recall they were supposed to be good guns?0 -
I believe a right hand pistol would work just fine for you as long as it has an ambidextrous safety. BTW, I have been "correct handed" all of my 66 plus years and never felt the need for a left handed firearm. Eddie 0 -
+1 on elubsme's assesment. Never found anything objectionable about using a 1911. 0 -
Pretty sure that Para and Springfield both build ambi's. 0 -
I'm a NY lefty and love my Springfield XD. 0 -
Pretty much any 1911 with an amby safety will fit your needs. Having the mag release on the left side can be a benefit for a lefty because you can work it with your trigger finger very easily. 0 -
The Portsider was not a Randall....
As far as left handed goes, the USP can be configured for left handed shooters.
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A P7 is probably the most ambidextous pistol you could acquire. No slide release, ambi mag release, and no safety (except the squeeze cocker).
REPLY to Lefty: I agree. I have a Service Model with adjustable sights and it took awhile for me to get used to it.0 -
I have a Springfield XD in 9mm and find it difficult to operate the left hand side of the mag release as I have been shooting right hand guns for 50 years and have adapted to them.
I bought this left hand Randall as a collector not a shooter and its not a "portsider", but a "service model". Its the most awkward gun to operate and Iam left handed.
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My agency issues SIG P-series pistols and in addition to me shooting ambidextrously I train many southpaw shooters. Based upon my experience I can tell you that any of these type pistols would do you just fine.
First off, they have no external safety which must be manipulated to fire.
The slide catch lever is located on the left side, but you shouldn't be using this to release the slide during a reload anyhow. Pulling the slide slightly to the rear to release is a much more positive move when you're operating under pressure. This lever is actually there only in order for you to lock the slide to the rear during maintenance/disassembly. Notice it's correctly called the 'slide catch', not the 'slide release'.
If under exigent circumstances and only one hand is available to release the slide during a reload, this lever can be reached with the left hand's thumb or index finger without problem.
The magazine release on these pistols can easily be swapped to be depressed from the right side, but many left handed shooters I deal with actually choose to leave it set up in the right hand configuration. They find it more convenient to depress with the trigger finger rather than the thumb.
The bottom line is that the only port side mounted control you have to deal with while using the gun is the decocking lever, which even stubby fingered southpaw shooters find conveniently located to stroke down with their trigger finger.0 -
As mentioned, for most guns this shouldn't matter.
If you're lefty, any controls you're supposed to work with your right hand thumb you can usually learn to work with your left hand index finger.
I know this because even though I'm right handed, I do occasionally try to practice with my left hand only. For example, like the other lefty posters, I can work all the controls on a standard (ie NOT ambidextrous) 1911 with my left hand. Not a big deal once you practice a bit. Ambi safety would probably make working the safety a little easier lefty, and these can generally be installed aftermarket on any 1911-pattern gun, but they're not absolutely necessary.
Of course there are some guns that lack external safeties (eg Glocks) making THAT issue moot.
Plenty of guns have ambidextrous safeties (eg the Smith "number" autos, Beretta, CZ-85, etc), and some guns offer the ability to switch the mag release over to the right side of the frame, if you need to (eg EAA Witness).
A few guns (eg Walther p99) have ambidextrous mag releases.
The way I'd look at this is, instead of looking specifically for a left handed gun, just try a few different ones and see which ones you like.0
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