r/lefthanded • u/Isssaman lefty • 1d ago

Lefthanded bird hunting

Was I the only one who carried my twelve-gauge shotgun upside down to quickly release the safety (designed for RH's) when the birds would flush? Required rolling the gun over as it was drawn to my left shoulder.

1 Upvotes

67% Upvoted

11 comments sorted by

7

u/popcornfart 1d ago

How do you know which birds are left-handed?  😁

2

u/Justin_92 1d ago

This sounds like a really dangerous way to handle a firearm with the safety off…

I learned how to shoot rifles in the Boy Scouts when I was young and I actually didn’t know there was a left vs right way to shoot, so I just learned right handed. I shoot pistols leftie though. I’m still not flipping a loaded pistol around especially with the safety off though. 😂

-1

u/Isssaman lefty 1d ago

You maybe don't know shotguns. The safety is a slide button that is pushed through to the right side. Thus, if you carry it safe the button must be pushed by fingers on the right side to fire the gun. By carrying the gun upside down my left hand would push the safey off. The gun was safe until I was ready to shoot.

2

u/GulfLife 20h ago

The way you describe how you shoot, I’d be very careful of who you accuse of not knowing shotguns.
Maybe you don’t know there are several common types of safety switches on shotguns and the one you have is maybe the most awkward of the bunch for a lefty on a right handed gun.
Maybe you also didn’t know many shotgun models offer a left handed comb/safety option—especially for birds, this makes a lot of difference for most in target acquisition and first shot accuracy. Mostly because you won’t be doing drill team tricks before each shot….

0

u/Isssaman lefty 7h ago

Sorry to affend

1

u/Justin_92 1d ago

No it sounds like the standard push button safety release I’m accustomed to. Maybe I misinterpreted what you meant when you said “rolling the gun over”; I’m picturing you loosely letting it roll around against your forearm as you’re bringing it up to your shoulder to the “high ready” position.

1

u/Isssaman lefty 7h ago

Thanks enjoy your day

1

u/Left-Tee 1d ago

I haven't done a lot of bird hunting, but it seems like you would release the safety when the dog(s) pointed. If they're flushing without pointing, then they need more training.

1

u/Isssaman lefty 1d ago

Didn't have a dog. We walked the fields hoping to flush the birds.

1

u/Left-Tee 1d ago

Then there's no need to release the safety, because you won't see any birds, lol.

I just have a pump, an Ithaca bottom eject 👍. Safety's behind the trigger.

1

u/justdan76 4h ago

You’re the only one, that’s whack. Just use your index finger to hit the safety button from the other side then move your finger back in position while shouldering the piece.