Lefty AR Advice

[bedidin]

I'm am one of those oddball left handed shooters. I want a true left handed AR-15. I know that Stag Arms is the only company to make left hand uppers. My question to you guys is which is the most cost effective (short and long term) and sound way to go about it?

1. Just shell out the money for a Stag built AR.

2. Buy AR pieces individually including a Stag LH complete upper or build with Stag LH upper assembly and bolt carrier assembly. Combining all and build from scratch.

3. Buying any brand AR fairly inexpensively and converting using complete or partial Stag LH parts.

Those are the options I think I have to choose from. Any ideas, recommendations, or resources that can be offered is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!!

[gunsmokeTPF]

Forget about the AR altogether. Save up and buy the Steyr AUG and it can be converted from right to left hand and back to right in the blink of an eye. It's a fact that the bullpup is the weapon of the future and this one's been around a very long time and is proven.

Why fool around with a pieced together Frankenstein, sans the stitches, when you can get something that will last you a lifetime and as an investment will continue to rise in value. I realize it's committing a sin to criticize the AR, but the true history of those weapons speak for themselves.

You can find good and bad features where all weapons are concerned, but I'm just putting in my 2 cents concerning your needs due to the fact that you're left handed and you asked for it. You'll be getting lots more advice, which will lead you to make your own final decision. Good luck with whatever you choose to do.

Uh, oh, the ground is beginning to rumble beneath my feet!....And it's not Godzilla.

[bedidin]

That is extremely sound advice. I didn't know the AUG has that ability. I thought the only option for me was an AR. I know nothing about that weapon, obviously, so I will start researching it immediately. This is exactly why I didn't post on an AR site.

Thank you for your thoughts!!

[gunsmokeTPF]

You're very welcome. Many will say that they're way too expensive, but I say that one great toy is better than having twenty crappy toys. They're not available everywhere, but can be gotten. I would save and wait longer in order to get one rather than being in a rush and settling for less. This should get some pretty quick responses, maybe even angry ones. Sorry for that.

[bedidin]

I am finding a few issues with the AUG. First and foremost it's the price. Wow! That is 3x what I wanted to spend. It would be $250 more for a left hand bolt. Which I guess is nothing on a $3k rifle. Also they're availability isn't great. All that plus the fact that, IMHO, I think they're very unattractive rifles. I again appreciate your input but I think I'll keep researching.

[gunsmokeTPF]

It's not for everyone and that's for sure. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but shooting it is the real test. At least for me it's great, when you spend good money you have to really like it and bullpups are bullpups and nobody comes even close to their compactness. I wouldn't buy anything that I had trouble looking at either, but tastes change and I thought they were odd looking back in the 70's, but love the way they look today.

The prices you probably saw were probably their list price. You can save a lot on a nice used one with a bit of effort searching. Regardless of what you eventually get, don't disregard something solely due to the price, cause the better ones go up in value much quicker, which can help down the road when selling it to purchase something else. Hope you find something to your liking.

[X_shooter]

Just buy a lefty. Its not worth messing around building unless you want to be one of those guys telling everyone you built your AR. I don't see the value personally. It won't make you shoot better than the bullseye if you can already hit the bullseye. My stock Stag does that for me.

I picked a Stag 3L for $730. Done. Shoots great. You can always upgrade parts later when you get the bug. They will still fit.

[ClydeFrog]

I'm left handed too so I understand your issues.
I like the Stag Arms left hand firearms. They aren't great feature wise compared to other high end brands(SIG, Colt, S&W, HK 416, etc) but they can do very well for left handed gunners.
I saw a little known outfit that markets cool ARs & tactical rifles with ambi controls. They use a lot of Robar NP3 plated parts too.
It's SOF something. If I can get the full name, I'm shoot you a PM.
They offer the ARs with different barrel lengths & popular calibers: 5.56mm, 7.62NATO, 6.8SPC.

[4V50 Gary]

If you are on a budget, DPMS makes a lefty upper, but it is not a true lefty like Stag's.

[thallub]

As a lefty, if i were the OP there would be a Stag Arms gun in my future. i own the Stag left hand models 2L and 3L. Both are well made, accurate and trouble free guns. i also own a left hand rock and roll Steyr AUG that i purchased in Saudi Arabia. Carried that gun in Saudi for years. The Stag Arms guns are much more accurate than the Steyr AUG.

Too bad i can't get that Steyr back to the US.

[bedidin]

Thank you everyone for advice. I think I'm going to do what makes sense and listen to experience. Im going to start shopping for a complete Stag. I'll start looking for resale but if I can't find a decent one I'll buy new.

Thanks again!!!
Blake

[X_shooter]

Good Luck! I looked for a used one for a couple of years and could not find a new one much below MSRP. During that time Stag upgraded their upper to add a diamondhead aluminum forearm that you can add rails to suit your needs or not. They did not raise their price. Good company in my book.

[Mike40-11]

I shoot lefty and own a Stag 4L. I also have a Rock River right handed. I don't really see a benefit, honestly. In fact, shooting matches, I find it easier to do the single round load in the RH rifle. With the built in brass deflector that they all have now, they don't eject into your face anyway.

[DaveMN]

I was shooting a bushmaster carbon 15 righty for awhile and I had problem after problem with casings in my jacket hood down my shirt in my pockets it was awefull. I have since purchased a lefty stag 8L and love it. I do however find myself always fumbling with the right side because I am so used to right hand guns. I do the same thing with my lefty auto shotguns lol. Hard to get away from what you grew up with using.

[Navy joe]

Dunno, if you got to have LH, buy the Stag complete. I am a pretty dedicated lefty and have shot ARs, military M-16s and such since 1994 with no mods or issues, it's a training/software thing. I don't cross my thumb over the back of the pistol grip, about the only weird thing. I run the charging handle with right hand while engaging/disengaging the bolt stop as needed with my trigger finger. Mag release is stabbed with right thumb that is holding new mag.

As for the rest, it's why I don't visit TFL more than once a week. First reply post out of the gate doesn't even attempt to address some aspect of the question, just buy a completely different $3K rifle with crappy parts and accessories availability and a **** poor trigger. Yay experience.

[4V50 Gary]

Davemn - check out the Norgon ambidextrous magazine release as well as an ambi safety. It doesn't matter which side you're on then.

[TMD]

I'm a lefty and in the last 30 years of shooting AR's and M4's I have never had an issue of brass hitting me. If your stuck on getting a left hand AR, Stag model 3HL uppers can be had for under $500.

[ClydeFrog]

The new FNH SCAR rifles are fully ambi & have polymer parts(black, desert brown). They are not cheap but are available in 5.56x45mm & 7.62x51mm(.308).
See the US FNH website for product information. POF, www.POF-USA.com was the small firearms company that sells LE/military model ARs & M4s.
As posted, for a "full" left hand AR system; a Stag Arms rifle may do best.

I use the great website; www.GunsAmerica.com often.

ClydeFrog

[bedidin]

I value everyone's opinions and thank you for responding. I think I will probably get a right handed AR. I too have extensively fired them in the military and aside from the occasional rogue piece of brass, I have adapted well to them. Another reason is because I have 4 boys that will learn to handle it also. They are all right handed. I'd rather accommodate then have them learn. Besides it is my first AR. I'll play around with it and find out what I like and don't like and then I'll get one dialed in for me.

On a side note... Rock River Arms now has true lefty ARs

http://www.rockriverarms.com/index.c...ategory_id=549

[tango1niner]

Odd ball Lefty !!! I resemble that remark ! For your info, left handed people are in their right mind! And... supposed to be more creative. Back to the post. Before they came out with the shell deflector (US Army-1972) I had 1 case, and just one case go down my shirt. Top button was always buttoned after that. Just this point, It would be much, much harder to sell a left handed rifle should you need to do so. I have a couple AR's and never a down the shirt issue w/them.

[4V50 Gary]

For the first time since I bought it I took my Stag left handed upper out. It was mounted on a Spike lower that I had been shooting. I have an EO Tech sight I wanted to sight in. Pulled the bolt back and it would not return to battery. What? So much for shooting. Got back inside (about a minute of walking in the mud) and with some difficulty, worked the bolt and it's carrier forward. Examining the Spike lower, I discovered there was no buffer or buffer spring. The Spike came as a dedicated 22 LR and the small blowback bolt is self contained. It never enters the buffer tube so it didn't have a buffer.

One of these days I'll learn.