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left handed rifles

Those in the 'I managed it with an SLR' camp seem to have forgotten that GPMG,84mm etc were available during the same period & i'd be most suprised if they didn't find themselves using them from time to time (ie having to fire a right handed weapon cos there's no way they can be fired from the left!)

Disclaimer: I'm an SLR-era left hander!
 
KhakiCrab said:
Last year in Eyerack, I left the plastic PoS tucked up in the armoury and relied on my ambidextrous 9-milly, snug in my US Army issue left-handed thigh holster. You can do the pistol drills left-handed if you practice, it just freaks out the range supervisors!


Perhaps REME or SASC can clarify these points;

1) Using non UK issued parts/accessories leaves you open to BLAME in event of an accident.

2) Carrying out left hand drills on right-handed weapons/equipment will also land you in it if someone gets hurt.
 
fingers_1661 said:
Perhaps REME or SASC can clarify these points;

1) Using anything other than pussers kit leave you open to BLAME in event of an accident.

2) Using left hand drills does same.

Wouldn't that be an interesting newspaper headline?

"Barmy MoD discipline left-handed officer for using his left-handed pistol left-handed"
 
KhakiCrab said:
it's called a Steyr, but I could be wrong) can be switched, in a matter of seconds, from right-handed use to lefty-handed use, and it doesn't need an armourer to do it. :wink:

Shame the boffins that dreamed up the SA80 couldn't have come up with something similar :x

Switching the AUG to left-handed requires the replacement of the bolt head, so is hardly a "matter of seconds" job. Also, the blanking plate needs to be moved. The only current ambidextrous bull pup is the FN 2000.
 
Also the M16 in't all that, in fact on automatic its nothing at all except rubbish.

For accuracy the SA80 is pretty good. For robustness, aparrently the A2 has got it together (not used teh A2 personally).

No matter what rife you use, it wouldn't be perfect but i have used a lot worse that the SA80
 
The GPMG can be operated left handed. The decision to procurethe SA80 series or family was one that ensured that Royal Ordnance had contracts so BAE would buy them. Nothing more. The cost argument was weighted against the SLR using an SA80 (wasnt designated L85A1 then) without optics against an SLR with optics. Stocks of spares for all 7.62 weapons were deliberatley run down from 1986 onwards including ammunition. This was to make acceptance of the new system a relief to all involved. The trouble is we all could see through that.
 
ISTR that when the SA80 was originally due for issue they were going to issue a percentage (10ish) of left handed varients to all units for left handed use. This would have necessetatied (??) the converting of the firers' S10 to left-handed use (about a five minute job for a CBRNI) to enable left-handed APWT shoots. Before you ask, yes I could shoot an SLR left and right handed to Markman standard and wish we still used Lee Enfield .303" - cos I'm old, and if you hit a target/person with a 7.62 or 303 they stayed hit and fell down in a lot of pain and would stop shooting back!! ;)
 
Just out of interest - the SA80 is nothing more than a bit of 1950s technology with a tacky plastic stock. The only reason the British Army adopted the SLR in preference to the EM2 (as it was known then) was because the septics decreed that NATO should standardise its ammo at 7.62. Then promptly went for the M16.
One of the reasons that we had so much initial trouble with the SA80 is that it was originally designed in 4.85, nor 5.56.
No problems firing the SLR left or right handed - we practiced it all the time for NI tours.
I could rave about the SLR, but won't. Cracking weapon.
 
could fire the gpmg left handed
could fire the slr from either shoulder its a handy plus look at the fn2000 that ejects the rounds downwards so can be fired from either shoulder handy thing to have
 
As posted elsewhere earler by myself:

The M16 can be fired left handed due to it having a full stock and a spent case deflector. But I have never heard of a left handed version?

The old 7.62 SLR could also be fired left handed, but we never made a leftie version of that either, or the .303 Lee Enfield before it.

Out of interest, How many armies in fact supply 'South Paw' Firearms? Or a 'Universal Fit' for Right/Left handers.

For starters,

I know the French FAMAS can be altered by the user for both Right & Left handed use,

and that the Steyr Stg.77 AUG assault rifle (Austria) as used also by the Australian Army has an interchangeable bolt for left handed use (Spares wise it uses the same extractor claw by the way)

Note both of the above need to be pre-set Left or Right handed.

However the futuristic FN F2000 assault rifle (Belgium) is designed for multi use with a forward ejecting cartridge port and a cocking handle placed well forward from the face.

So perhaps the British Army should look at a Multi Handed/Eyed Weapon for its future replacement after all! But not a Right & Left Handed variant of the same weapon, which would be a logistics nightmare to supply in the 'Right Place at the Right Time' (Excuse the Pun!)
 
Mike_2817 said:
So perhaps the British Army should look at a Multi Handed/Eyed Weapon for its future replacement after all! But not a Right & Left Handed variant of the same weapon, which would be a logistics nightmare to supply...

For what it's worth that's spot on in my view. It would have to be something which could be converted from L to R-handed in seconds by the soldier, not something that would have to go away to an armourer to be converted. Such utility would be crucial to a useable battlefield weapon. If the mechanism were so simple that it could indeed be done in seconds, then as per my original post it would enable maximum use of cover.

And whilst I'm dreaming can they bin the SA80 soonest and find something that fits the bill?
 
Left-hand SA80s were fully developed to production stage - there is at least one specimen in the Warminster collection.

The only reason they are not on issue is nothing to do with technical problems or tactical consideration, and there was not even a cost difference in producing left over right versions - the MoD simply refused the slight extra expense of having a few spare weapons on unit establishment (naturally you'd need a couple of spare left- and right- versions to cover changes in personel).
 
KC, I would go one further and demand a multi-handed rifle such as the F2000 or indeed the M16 that requires NO conversion whatsoever to fire from the Right or Left Shoulder. The two aspects that need designing to achieve this is the Spent case ejection (forward or use a deflector) and cocking handle. The SLR cocking handle locked in place once cocked, so why a flouting handle is required is beyond me.
 

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