dumb left handed ar question

jborushko · December 9, 2009, 01:04 AM

ok, so i know that this may come off as a really dumb question but oh well, i've searched on my own and havent come up with anything.

Q: i have a left handed AR-15 (my main AR) but there is no shell deflector on the left-side of the upper receiver (where the spent casing are ejected). i am an ambidextrous shooter, and when i shoot my lefty AR right handed i, obviously) get hot casings tossed at my neck. Is there a aftermarket shell deflector for left handed AR's?

the stupid/funny thing is that the upper receiver i have on this weapon was cast as a right handed, so there is still a shell deflector on the right side of the receiver!... i might mill that off... hell if i cant find a shell defector i might just mill one up, but time is money!

!!!AND PLEASE DONT JUST SAY "duh, dont shoot it right handed" - that is not helpful!!

teeroux · December 9, 2009, 01:37 AM

The only folks I know of that deal in lefty ARs is Stag arms. I don't know if they deal in just complete rifles or
in seperate lefty parts but it wouldn't be a bad idea to look them up.

bcarver · December 9, 2009, 02:11 AM

Actually they have three. one for an a2 upper
one for a flat top. and one for a removeable carry handle. all for 22.95 per

jborushko · December 9, 2009, 02:26 AM

i hate it when other people make others do their work but, i just looked through the stag arms web site and i couldn't find any left handed shell deflectors- or any aftermarket shell deflectors at all for that mater left or right-, could you post the link? please!

EDIT: i looked through their newest version of the stag catalog also.

teeroux · December 9, 2009, 07:04 PM

Quote:

i hate it when other people make others do their work

Comming from someone asking for help looking for a product?

I do know they make an upper with the shell deflector cast in reciever you could mabe price a new upper reciever (phone call may be the ticket here) if you would like one with all the stuff on the left without extra on the right.

Quote:

so there is still a shell deflector on the right side of the receiver!... i might mill that off

jborushko · December 9, 2009, 07:55 PM

teeroux

*cough* the idea is that bcarver said that stag had a attachment like im looking for- i cant find it so i request a link. I've already searched high and low for what im looking for - so ive put the time into this search.

i'm willing to entertain the idea of getting a new upper receiver blank, BUT id rather not have to strip what i have, buy a new one, and put it all back together. hence im looking for an aftermarket attachment. not to mention the difference between $30 and $200 is alot of money. i already have the rifle dialed in perfect and dont want to mess with having to set up a new one

i know STAG arms but couldn't find what im looking for- but your right a phone call would be a pious idea.

Joat · December 10, 2009, 10:39 AM

There is a simple reason why the Stag L receiver does not have a shell deflector on it.
The shell deflector was added to the M16 (and reclassified as the M16A2) in the 1980s for left handed shooters. The stag, as designed for lefties, doesn't need it. The "switch shooter" is not taken into account.

Joat

jborushko · December 10, 2009, 07:58 PM

joat,
take a look at the receiver... there is a shell defector there (linked from STAG home page) look ALL of there lefty ARs, for the most part they all have shell deflectors

*unfortunately i was unable to call STAG today, will have to in the morning*

SnoProG · December 10, 2009, 11:25 PM

I have a question, as I have never shot an AR. I am a lefty and have no problem with my 870 standard pump shotgun.

Do the ejecting shells in AR's hit you in the face if you were to shoot as a lefty. Can lefty's own RH AR's.

FYI, I own an awsome MSAR STG-556, 16" barrel, 28" overall length....totally feelin' like I'm in SBR territory. The STG is an ambi rifle. Just have to swap the ejection cover to the other side and use a LH bolt.

jborushko · December 11, 2009, 12:21 AM

SnoProG-
when shooting my LEFT-handed AR using my right hand i get shells hitting me in the neck.

I own 6 AR's, five right handed and the one left handed. I got my left handed when there was no real support for the left-handed crowd, so what i got is a right handed receiver that was cut with a left handed eject port. hence the shell deflector being on the right side, along with the forward assist. My other 5 ARs (RIGHT handed) have shell defectors on the right side, so when i shoot left handed the shells are bounced off of that and away from me.

i shoot all of my weapons in either hand, and the only one i have a problem with (getting pelted with hot brass when shooting with the opposite hand) is the LEFT handed AR due to the fact it has no shell deflector on the left side.

bottom line: to answer your question "Can lefty's own RH AR's" and answer is absolutely!

BTW: nice weapon you have, though bullpups were never really my thing, with the shells ejecting too close to my face for my likes it freaks me out when im shooting, and could never get used to it. I got to shoot the Steyr AUG with the Australian boys when i was in the sand box.

jborushko · December 11, 2009, 08:09 PM

weak... well the answer from STAG is no.

so again bcarver please send me a link?!

robmkivseries70 · December 11, 2009, 08:23 PM

SnoProG,
I shoot a standard A2 left handed and have NO problem with fired brass hitting me.
Best,
Rob

GHF · December 13, 2009, 09:58 PM

Quote:

Joat said

The shell deflector was added to the M16 (and reclassified as the M16A2) in the 1980s for left handed shooters.

I was in the Army from July 1967 to July 1970. I trained on an M-14 in basic, had a clerical MOS, and did not fire an M-16 until I reached Fort Lewis, Washington, in December 1968, when I took jungle training prior to shipping out to Vietnam.

The initial M-16 I trained with did toss the brass back in my chest, and given that I was wearing a hoodie, the rounds burned my neck. My muzzle control while tossing the brass out of my clothes was based on having been trained to handle shotguns and rifles in the Pennsylvania woods.

We were told that the Colt-built weapons tossed the brass a little more to the right, so if we got issued an M-16 when we got to Vietnam, we should try to get one of those.

While in Vietnam I was in service support and combat support (artillery) in administrative roles, and I carried for the first year an M-15 (a full auto M-14), and latter an M-79 Granade Launcher with a M-1911. I bought the M-1911 from somebody, since the one I should have been issued disappeared from the unit before I got there.

I extended my tour of duty for 6 months, and I was issued an M-16 while with the 1st Admin Company, 1st Calvary Division, for use while on guard duty at night. I took control of the M-60 Machine Gun while I was in those bunkers at night.

The unit I had spent the first year with in I Corps had a number of people who had been in the Tet Offensive the year before, and I had access to, and training on, the M-60. While in those bunkers, I was the only person who knew how to use the machine gun.

The people I did guard duty were not into thinking about getting invited to a gun fight. True, we were at Bien Hoa, not exactly on the front lines on the Cambodian border, but I made sure that if we were attacked at night I was ready. I always took the 0000 to 0300 shift, and had the M-60 ready to go. Never needed to fire it in anger. The people before and after me would unload and stick the gun in the corner.

When Jessica Lynch got involved with that shootout in Iraq, I knew what the mindset of the people in that unit was. I hope that since then, the Army is making sure that the rear area types understand that they can get invited to a gun fight, weither or not they want to be there.

Knowing that there are Left Side ejection AR-15s is a nice thing to know.

teeroux · December 13, 2009, 10:17 PM

Here is the link to the shell deflectors by Bushmaster you asked for just scroll down the only problem is they are for right handed ARs. (face palm)

http://www.bushmaster.com/products.asp?cat=9

If you scroll down further there is a rigid shell catcher maybe you can mount it on the left and cut off the plastic you don't need and make one.

eric75 · December 17, 2009, 08:42 PM

After shooting my friends A1 style AR-15 without the deflector, I knew that I would have to buy a left handed model.

When shopping for left handed ARs I found one from DPMS that was a right handed casting with the ejection port cut from the wrong side. It must have had other modifications to the bolt as well, because the extractor must also be on the other side. The quality of the DPMS model looked terrible because it is a poorly engineered solution to the problem. It doesn't even have the ejection port cover.

Then I purchased a Stag which was actually designed as a left handed rifle. Most parts and functions are interchangeable with the right handed model except as follows:
The bolt is a mirror image part.
The ejection port cover flips up instead of down so that they can use the same parts as the standard model.
The upper receiver casting is roughly a mirror image except where it mates to the standard lower and where it pivots the ejection port cover.
The bolt carrier is a mirror image part. (Without mirroring the carrier, the clearance bump in the upper for the bolt would have to stay on the left side, precluding the use of an ejection port cover, and the forward assist would have to stay on the right side.)

The left handed stag is modeled after the A4 upper, meaning it uses a detachable carry handle, and includes a built in deflector. This would explain why they don't sell and aftermarket deflector. The deflector design works well for the army and for my right handed friends.

I recommend trying to convert a right handed deflector, or make something from scratch. It wouldn't look too much worse to glue on a chunk of aluminum and repaint the whole upper. Or make something that clamps to the picatinny rail.

December 9, 2009, 01:04 AM	#1
jborushko Senior Member Join Date: August 5, 2009 Location: Tacoma WA Posts: 469	dumb left handed ar question ok, so i know that this may come off as a really dumb question but oh well, i've searched on my own and havent come up with anything. Q: i have a left handed AR-15 (my main AR) but there is no shell deflector on the left-side of the upper receiver (where the spent casing are ejected). i am an ambidextrous shooter, and when i shoot my lefty AR right handed i, obviously) get hot casings tossed at my neck. Is there a aftermarket shell deflector for left handed AR's? the stupid/funny thing is that the upper receiver i have on this weapon was cast as a right handed, so there is still a shell deflector on the right side of the receiver!... i might mill that off... hell if i cant find a shell defector i might just mill one up, but time is money! !!!AND PLEASE DONT JUST SAY "duh, dont shoot it right handed" - that is not helpful!! __________________ EDIT: yeah i always "edit" my posts Last edited by jborushko; December 9, 2009 at 02:53 AM.

December 9, 2009, 02:11 AM	#3
bcarver Senior Member Join Date: February 22, 2007 Location: Jackson,Mississippi Posts: 838	bushmaster has one Actually they have three. one for an a2 upper one for a flat top. and one for a removeable carry handle. all for 22.95 per

December 9, 2009, 02:26 AM	#4
jborushko Senior Member Join Date: August 5, 2009 Location: Tacoma WA Posts: 469	i hate it when other people make others do their work but, i just looked through the stag arms web site and i couldn't find any left handed shell deflectors- or any aftermarket shell deflectors at all for that mater left or right-, could you post the link? please! EDIT: i looked through their newest version of the stag catalog also. __________________ EDIT: yeah i always "edit" my posts Last edited by jborushko; December 10, 2009 at 08:00 PM.

December 9, 2009, 07:55 PM	#6
jborushko Senior Member Join Date: August 5, 2009 Location: Tacoma WA Posts: 469	teeroux cough the idea is that bcarver said that stag had a attachment like im looking for- i cant find it so i request a link. I've already searched high and low for what im looking for - so ive put the time into this search. i'm willing to entertain the idea of getting a new upper receiver blank, BUT id rather not have to strip what i have, buy a new one, and put it all back together. hence im looking for an aftermarket attachment. not to mention the difference between $30 and $200 is alot of money. i already have the rifle dialed in perfect and dont want to mess with having to set up a new one i know STAG arms but couldn't find what im looking for- but your right a phone call would be a pious idea. __________________ EDIT: yeah i always "edit" my posts Last edited by jborushko; December 11, 2009 at 12:24 AM.

December 10, 2009, 10:39 AM	#7
Joat Senior Member Join Date: March 31, 2008 Location: Dayton, TX Posts: 383	There is a simple reason why the Stag L receiver does not have a shell deflector on it. The shell deflector was added to the M16 (and reclassified as the M16A2) in the 1980s for left handed shooters. The stag, as designed for lefties, doesn't need it. The "switch shooter" is not taken into account. Joat __________________ All things being equal, fat people use more soap. (I know I am one.) High speed, low drag does not even come close to describing ME.

December 9, 2009, 01:37 AM	#2
teeroux Senior Member Join Date: December 12, 2006 Posts: 1,512	The only folks I know of that deal in lefty ARs is Stag arms. I don't know if they deal in just complete rifles or in seperate lefty parts but it wouldn't be a bad idea to look them up.

December 10, 2009, 07:58 PM	#8
jborushko Senior Member Join Date: August 5, 2009 Location: Tacoma WA Posts: 469	joat, take a look at the receiver... there is a shell defector there (linked from STAG home page) look ALL of there lefty ARs, for the most part they all have shell deflectors unfortunately i was unable to call STAG today, will have to in the morning __________________ EDIT: yeah i always "edit" my posts

December 10, 2009, 11:25 PM	#9
SnoProG Junior Member Join Date: December 10, 2009 Posts: 2	I have a question, as I have never shot an AR. I am a lefty and have no problem with my 870 standard pump shotgun. Do the ejecting shells in AR's hit you in the face if you were to shoot as a lefty. Can lefty's own RH AR's. FYI, I own an awsome MSAR STG-556, 16" barrel, 28" overall length....totally feelin' like I'm in SBR territory. The STG is an ambi rifle. Just have to swap the ejection cover to the other side and use a LH bolt.

December 11, 2009, 12:21 AM	#10
jborushko Senior Member Join Date: August 5, 2009 Location: Tacoma WA Posts: 469	SnoProG- when shooting my LEFT-handed AR using my right hand i get shells hitting me in the neck. I own 6 AR's, five right handed and the one left handed. I got my left handed when there was no real support for the left-handed crowd, so what i got is a right handed receiver that was cut with a left handed eject port. hence the shell deflector being on the right side, along with the forward assist. My other 5 ARs (RIGHT handed) have shell defectors on the right side, so when i shoot left handed the shells are bounced off of that and away from me. i shoot all of my weapons in either hand, and the only one i have a problem with (getting pelted with hot brass when shooting with the opposite hand) is the LEFT handed AR due to the fact it has no shell deflector on the left side. bottom line: to answer your question "Can lefty's own RH AR's" and answer is absolutely! BTW: nice weapon you have, though bullpups were never really my thing, with the shells ejecting too close to my face for my likes it freaks me out when im shooting, and could never get used to it. I got to shoot the Steyr AUG with the Australian boys when i was in the sand box. __________________ EDIT: yeah i always "edit" my posts

December 11, 2009, 08:09 PM	#11
jborushko Senior Member Join Date: August 5, 2009 Location: Tacoma WA Posts: 469	weak... well the answer from STAG is no. so again bcarver please send me a link?! __________________ EDIT: yeah i always "edit" my posts

December 11, 2009, 08:23 PM	#12
robmkivseries70 Senior Member Join Date: November 15, 2005 Location: free territory Posts: 203	SnoProG, I shoot a standard A2 left handed and have NO problem with fired brass hitting me. Best, Rob

December 13, 2009, 10:17 PM	#14
teeroux Senior Member Join Date: December 12, 2006 Posts: 1,512	Here is the link to the shell deflectors by Bushmaster you asked for just scroll down the only problem is they are for right handed ARs. (face palm) http://www.bushmaster.com/products.asp?cat=9 If you scroll down further there is a rigid shell catcher maybe you can mount it on the left and cut off the plastic you don't need and make one.

December 17, 2009, 08:42 PM	#15
eric75 Member Join Date: October 22, 2006 Posts: 53	After shooting my friends A1 style AR-15 without the deflector, I knew that I would have to buy a left handed model. When shopping for left handed ARs I found one from DPMS that was a right handed casting with the ejection port cut from the wrong side. It must have had other modifications to the bolt as well, because the extractor must also be on the other side. The quality of the DPMS model looked terrible because it is a poorly engineered solution to the problem. It doesn't even have the ejection port cover. Then I purchased a Stag which was actually designed as a left handed rifle. Most parts and functions are interchangeable with the right handed model except as follows: The bolt is a mirror image part. The ejection port cover flips up instead of down so that they can use the same parts as the standard model. The upper receiver casting is roughly a mirror image except where it mates to the standard lower and where it pivots the ejection port cover. The bolt carrier is a mirror image part. (Without mirroring the carrier, the clearance bump in the upper for the bolt would have to stay on the left side, precluding the use of an ejection port cover, and the forward assist would have to stay on the right side.) The left handed stag is modeled after the A4 upper, meaning it uses a detachable carry handle, and includes a built in deflector. This would explain why they don't sell and aftermarket deflector. The deflector design works well for the army and for my right handed friends. I recommend trying to convert a right handed deflector, or make something from scratch. It wouldn't look too much worse to glue on a chunk of aluminum and repaint the whole upper. Or make something that clamps to the picatinny rail.