CHIPW Posted October 26, 2008 Share Posted October 26, 2008 Hello, I have been interested in shooting, especially practical shooting for a long time now. I havent had the time to get involved until recently. My wife and I were able to watch part of the GA state championship today. Afterwards we stopped by a gun shop to handle some of the guns we saw. I shoot left handed and what little shooting I have done has been with a 1911. I can hit the slide release with my trigger finger. On all the double stack guns I handled today(glock, sig, hk, XD ect) I am not able to hit the slide release with my left hand. I can see this causing me a big problem with reloading. All that to ask this question. What is the best hand gun for practical shooting for a left handed shooter? Both of us plan on shooting in the production class. Thanks! Chip Whitworth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sslav Posted October 26, 2008 Share Posted October 26, 2008 I am a lefty and I work the mag release with my middle finger. So far Ive been able to comfortably work mag releases on every handgun I have handled and is a fairly long list. Try it and see if it will work for you. The only things that give me trouble are the extended mag release buttons. I have replaced the ones on my G-35s with standard length ones. I got so comfortable with it that I prefer "right-handed" mag release on the guns that have an option for a "left-handed" version. Hello,I have been interested in shooting, especially practical shooting for a long time now. I havent had the time to get involved until recently. My wife and I were able to watch part of the GA state championship today. Afterwards we stopped by a gun shop to handle some of the guns we saw. I shoot left handed and what little shooting I have done has been with a 1911. I can hit the slide release with my trigger finger. On all the double stack guns I handled today(glock, sig, hk, XD ect) I am not able to hit the slide release with my left hand. I can see this causing me a big problem with reloading. All that to ask this question. What is the best hand gun for practical shooting for a left handed shooter? Both of us plan on shooting in the production class. Thanks! Chip Whitworth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kz45 Posted October 26, 2008 Share Posted October 26, 2008 What ever fits you best.I'm left handed and find that the 1911 and CZ75 are perfect for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean.McCanne Posted October 26, 2008 Share Posted October 26, 2008 I shoot left handed as well, but I don't use the slide release at all in a match. If I run empty before changing mags, once the new mag goes in I can pull the slide back and it drops into battery. I also hit the mag release with my trigger finger. Prevents any of those pesky RO warnings. As for a gun with an ambi slide release, try the M&P. I shot my XDm in my first two matches, and I just picked up a Tanfoglio Witness Match. Neither of them have ambi slide releases. For me it's not an issue. Sean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-ManBart Posted October 26, 2008 Share Posted October 26, 2008 The Smith M&P has an ambi slide stop and a reversable mag release...it should fit the bill perfectly. Add a kydex holster, four or five mag pouches, five or six mags and you're set! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHIPW Posted October 26, 2008 Author Share Posted October 26, 2008 Thanks for the replies guys. Sean, manually pulling the slide back makes sense. I'll try that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neomet Posted October 26, 2008 Share Posted October 26, 2008 I'm a lefty. I don't use a slide release but when I did I was taught a technique to release the slide. What you do is insert the mag with the right hand and then bring your right hand fingers up underneath the trigger guard and pull down on the slide release. You can then quickly move your hand down to its normal support position. Worked way faster than either using my trigger finger or racking he slide with my weak hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shootingchef Posted October 26, 2008 Share Posted October 26, 2008 I too am a lefty and prefer to use my trigger finger for mag release. I shoot a 2011 and when I have to use the slide release (not very often) I also use my index finger. No Problems. I have many of the plastic pistols and prefer the M&P. I did some work on the slide release and it easy to operate. Can't say the same for the glock or the XD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wideload Posted October 26, 2008 Share Posted October 26, 2008 Another Southpaw here. When I shoot Production, I like Glocks and CZ SP-01 series. But for the most leftie friendly gun, I would look into CZ 85s. They have full ambi controls -- Safety and Slide Release on both sides of the gun. Think you are doing the right thing by trying to hold and get actual feel for the gun before making your decision. Also suggest budgeting for decent holster and quality magazines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Gundry Posted October 26, 2008 Share Posted October 26, 2008 The Smith M&P has an ambi slide stop and a reversable mag release...it should fit the bill perfectly. Add a kydex holster, four or five mag pouches, five or six mags and you're set! +1 Right gun for the wrong handed (sorry, had to ) It is a great Production gun as is, and the full lefty controls should be perfect for ya. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JorDanO Posted October 26, 2008 Share Posted October 26, 2008 I'm a lefty and have never felt disadvantaged shooting my SP-01. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sslav Posted October 26, 2008 Share Posted October 26, 2008 I shoot left handed as well, but I don't use the slide release at all in a match. If I run empty before changing mags, once the new mag goes in I can pull the slide back and it drops into battery. I also hit the mag release with my trigger finger. Prevents any of those pesky RO warnings. Seating the mag firmly usually drops the slide on my glocks. It works about 99 times out of 100. If it fails, I use the "slingshot" method above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean.McCanne Posted October 26, 2008 Share Posted October 26, 2008 I shoot left handed as well, but I don't use the slide release at all in a match. If I run empty before changing mags, once the new mag goes in I can pull the slide back and it drops into battery. I also hit the mag release with my trigger finger. Prevents any of those pesky RO warnings. Seating the mag firmly usually drops the slide on my glocks. It works about 99 times out of 100. If it fails, I use the "slingshot" method above. That works on my Match, but it never really did for the XDm. Since I'm changing guns I have a lot of relearning to do. Sean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MemphisMechanic Posted October 26, 2008 Share Posted October 26, 2008 (edited) Glock 34. (My slide-lock reload is at 0:17 and 3:24 in that video) Watch the second load. You can see the trigger finger come up along the side of the slide to rest just above the slide stop. I shoot a lot of IDPA, and so I get to do a ton of slide-lock reloads. To drop the magazine, I shift my grip and roll my ring finger up the frame onto the mag release. Easy. Works on pretty much everything. Slide-stop is tougher. Racking the slide takes too long. I tried several things, and found that resting the first knuckle of my index finger (the joint at the base, not out at the tip) on the slide, just above the stop, caused it to drop the slide when a magazine was slapped in. You bump the gun up into your finger, instead of bringing the finger down onto the lever. I loathe M&Ps. True, they have an ambi slide-stop. Try to use it in a hurry. It's so carefully recessed that it's much easier to use the extended lever on a Glock, and it's on the wrong freaking side of the gun. And you can't shave off that plastic ridge around the stop, because that's an external mod. (My particular 34 won't drop the slide unless you absolutely hammer the mag into the gun. As hard as you can. And that's slower than using the slide stop. Some Glocks do it, some don't.) At the last match I shot, I absolutely killed a slide-lock reload. Probably a 1.1 to 1.2 second load. Another shooter came up to me and complimented it, while expressing regret that he was a lefty, so it would always take him longer than that. I just stared down at my left hip until he noticed the holster's location. That was funny - until he wanted a detailed rundown on exactly what I did, and when I do it. Over and over. Edited October 26, 2008 by MemphisMechanic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sslav Posted October 27, 2008 Share Posted October 27, 2008 (My particular 34 won't drop the slide unless you absolutely hammer the mag into the gun. As hard as you can. And that's slower than using the slide stop. Some Glocks do it, some don't.) I think it has to do with the recoil spring. I run 13lb in both of my G-35s and a 15lb in my G-19 and all of them will drop the slide when the mag is seated. When I swap to the factory spring assembly it is a lot harder to get the slide to drop. Slav Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nemo Posted October 27, 2008 Share Posted October 27, 2008 M&P, XD and Tanfoglios (Witness) have ambi or reversible mag catch. I think some new Glocks do too, don't know which models. So it will all depend on what USPSA division you want to shoot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baa Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 Another lefty here- Shoot what feels right to you. Pretty much every popular pistol is great for a lefty (or can be easily adapted for left handed shooting.) I am partial to the 1911 with an ambi safety. I hit the mag release and slide stop with my index finger and that works very well. Glock, XD, M&P, CZ, etc all also work great. I have tried all of them and they all work fine for lefty use. I agree with the above posters that the M&P is probably the most ambi friendly gun on the market. The only pistol I would caution you against is a SIG 2xx series pistol. The decocker and slide stop are very difficult to manipulate with your left hand. Pick the pistol which points best and feels good in your hand. Then adapt to left handed use if needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHIPW Posted November 3, 2008 Author Share Posted November 3, 2008 Thanks for all the replies everyone. After handling many and shooting a few I have decided on a CZ-75 SP-01. Fits my hand the best. Now I need belt, holster, mag pouches, ect. Getting there, but slowly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kz45 Posted November 3, 2008 Share Posted November 3, 2008 Good choice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnzilla Posted November 16, 2008 Share Posted November 16, 2008 I'm a lefty. I shoot a M&P 40 or M&P 45 in IDPA and have no problems. Very comfortable and easy to work. I swapped the mag release myself (piece of cake). I have recently been shooting a 1911 and also have no problems except my thumb is a little weak so I don't flip the safety with as much "authority" as I'd like but I'm working on it. On the 1911 I work the mag release with my middle finger and the slide release with my trigger finger as needed. No worries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveU Posted November 16, 2008 Share Posted November 16, 2008 my thumb is a little weak so I don't flip the safety with as much "authority" as I'd like but I'm working on it. Don't flip the safety with TOO much authority as a lefty, you'll break it. I'm left handed and have shot an XD, 2011, and 1911 with no difficulty. When I got an extended mag release for my XD, I put it further out on the right side to hit with my thumb. But after shooting the 1911 frame guns, I've gotten used to hitting the mag release with my trigger finger, as noted above. I then switched it around on my XD so I hit the mag release with my trigger finger on all my guns. It becomes pretty natural. The only ones you can't shoot really are 1911s with no ambi safety, but you can always modify that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spray_N_Prey Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 best gun for left handed shooter? A GLOCK!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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