Youth left handed shotgun

Joe Dunleavy

Joe Dunleavy

Active member
I have a youth 870 for my right handed son that works great.
As part of my mounting the gun tutorial the safety gets set to off when the gun hits the shoulder and the target is aquired and safe to shoot at. The trigger finger rides on the trigger guard until all three happen.

My daughter turned 10 and she is ready to try to shoot. The problem is that she is left handed and the safety is on the other side of the trigger guard on the youth 870 (because it is right handed).

Any ideas on a youth shotgun that is left handed or has a top mounted safety?
I really like the youth 870 beacuse of the weight and shorter size.
I may be cutting down a left hand 20 gauge shotgun otherwise.
Thanks,
JD
 
Lee,
My son still shoots the gun - so I want no confusion on the safety. We have too many shotguns in the safe to switch the safety over on any of them.

I'm guess I'm looking for 20 gauge with a top mounted safety, bottom ejecting gun, straight (not canted stock) in a pump or a lefty semi-auto that I can cut the stock down.

The 870 doesn't come in a youth lefty.
The Mossberg 505 may be an option - I'll have to check to see if it has a canted stock or if it's a straight stock.
Or maybe I can come across a used lefty Ithaca 20 gauge somewhere.

The browning bps upland 20 with the straight stock may be an option - but I'd have to cut down the stock.
This gun looks the perfect pump as it is back bored to take recoil out. But it's a little more than I want to spend.

If I'm going to spend that much I'd look at picking up an lefty auto for her. It will take care of the recoil and I can always limit the shells to one.
 
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Gotcha. Have you made sure her left eye is dominant? Having that problem with my grandson..right handed..left eye dominant..it will come to a head on Christmas when he gets his new pellet gun with scope...he will either have to shoot lefty or train his right eye. Maybe, if she is right eye dominant she should start right off the bat shooting right handed. There is usually a lot of 20 ga Ithacas on Guns America..I had one about 25 years ago and that thing kicked like a mule..it was light though. I also had a Browning upland bps 20 ga with an english straight stock, it had the 21 or 22" barrel but I couldn't even hit Pheasant farm birds with it. My buddy bought it for his son who was about 9 and small in stature..he could shoot it better than I could.
 
Yep, she's a confirmed lefty. We did the dominant eye test a few years ago when she started shooting her pellet gun and her bow.
 
Have you checked out those new Marlin O/U ? A new 20ga 870 express with short barrel should be cheap enough..get a kids butt stock for it and change the safety around..
 
The hardest part for lefty using an 870 is learnig how to take the saftey off. An 870 was mu first gun. I learned to reach around with my middle finger and push it off. After a while I did it without even thinking.

I still have the 870 but prefer my American Arms O/U with the top tang saftey. I have two youth model 20 ga, Mossburg and 870. My wife and kids have shot them both. The 870 is the preferred gun but no one complains about having to use the Mossburg either.

Lefties learn how to live in a right handed world.

Good luck,

Tom
 
My daughter is right handed, but left eye dominant so she shoots lefthanded. I bought her a 20ga Ithaca Model 37 youth. It is bottom eject, but the safety is on the trigger guard. It is so light that my daughter complains about recoil, even with light target loads.

My 2 cents
 
Left handed auto? Tom Reder of the Mighty Layout boys is a lefty and he said what a distraction it is for that shell to fly out and got a lot of powder when shooting into the wind.He finally found a left handed Beretta..I think.Every once in a while I will get cocky and shoot lefty and it doesn't seem to bother me..of course when I do it I have to close my right eye but when I shoot righty, I have both eyes open. Good luck, I hope she gets a nice gun.
 
JD,

Look for a used Mossberg 500 and buy a youth stock for it. You shouldn't have any problems at Quinby's or Tanner's.

There's a gun shop up off of 309 in the Slatington area called Boyer's Hardware. Well worth the trip for any gun. They have an outdoors section in the back with all kinds of weaponry and you can't beat the prices. I just picked up a 1928 Lefever in very good condition for $200. You should be able to find her something there.

Mike
 
Here's a great link for youth guns.
http://www.ocshooters.com/Gen/kidshooting/youth-firearms.htm

Mike where do you live? I know the Tanners pretty good.
I haven't been in Quinbys in a long time. Good idea.
I'll check out Boyers next week. Thanks.
 
I started with a left handed 870. I just bought a used stock and cut the stock down and installed a recoil pad. As I got older I put the new stock back on the gun.
I bought several used right handed 870 and 1100 and had the safety switched by Remington. You could put a piece of tape on the stock with left handed safety so that you can tell the difference in the gun. If you daughter gives up hunting you could always send it back to Remington and take the tape off and you will have a right handed gun again.
 
JD,

I live over in Perkasie, just a couple of minutes from Nockamixon.
Boyers is a great little gunshop. If the door isn't open, ask about what's in the back room. And don't be afraid to ask what is the best that they can do on the prices. They came down almost $75 on my Lefever. Take plenty of $$$ as I'm sure you will find something for yourself as well. They take credit cards but tack on a % to the bill.

Have a merry Christmas,
Mike
 
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