Southpaws! - Page 2

Sibilant_Ghost · 07-31-2005, 08:24

My reference was to the right and left flanks of a line squad. A weapon at the ready would be oriented to the left on a right handed person and to the right on a left handed person, on a weapon at the ready or low ready. A right-handed soldier would almost have to place their steps backwards to hold a weapon at the ready in order to guard the right flank of the file.
And on the M16 the weapon tends to discharge brass at a 45 degree angle rearward on the righthand side, and a southpaw soldier would get brass in the face with-out the usage of a brass deflector (an item used regularly in basic training units to prevent the nice welts caused by the 5.56 casing)
My experience with traveling through forested/jungle terrain has consisted mainly of OpFor missions against 6 CAV and 2 ID. We havea few south paws in our unit and they usually end up carrying the SAW for this reason.
Of course with a little bit of experience a left-handed firer can also orient themselves to avoid brass, but the ease of use with the brass deflector (a seperate piece which clips into the between the rail and upper reciever) can take a lot of the hassle out of firing on the move.
~Sibilant~

Doc · 07-31-2005, 08:28

There is even a brass deflector on my AR 1200 which is a M-4 wannabee.

I shot right handed and left handed extensively yesterday and yes I was able to hit what I was aiming at.

It's not an unusual feat for anyone that practices at it.

Doc

Sibilant_Ghost · 07-31-2005, 08:32

Maybe I was incorrect then. It does happen from time to time perhaps it was merely a training aid used for when us simple soldiers were in diapers so we wouldn't whine if we got hit by flying brass, who knows.

**The Reaper** · 07-31-2005, 08:40

SG:

A right handed soldier just needs to switch to a left handed carry when on the right side of the formation.

A good soldier has practiced left and right handed shooting (particularly in pre-deployment training) and is at least competent with the weak-side technique.

TR

Doc · 07-31-2005, 08:40

Hot brass is why I always wear long sleeve shirts, pants, and a hat on the firing line. If you shoot with other people, you're going to have shell casings come down on you.

Doc

Sibilant_Ghost · 07-31-2005, 16:05

had tons of hot brqass coming down on me during the CLFX .... I was sitting on theright side of a SAW on the truck

RHRP · 08-10-2005, 00:06

I’ve probably come in late to the discussion but for what it is worth. I can confirm in Oz that for the AUSSTEYR with lefties it is also the case of switching ejection ports (just moving the cover over) and changing the ejector claw attached to the bolt (no surprise there). Cocking handle stays in the same spot. The position of the cocking handle is the main concern from the lefties that I’ve spoken to as the design requires them to remove their master hand from the trigger grip when cocking the weapon, particularly when carrying out their IA drills. Some do practice using their non-master hand however they feel that if they do have a stoppage and the weapon isn’t firing, then it doesn’t matter if they take their master hand off the trigger grip to clear the stoppage.

Smiddy