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View Full Version : Ambidextrious doodads- As in AR



NETim
06-03-2012, 08:56 AM
I've only recently become moderately serious about AR's. I'm a natural righty who shoots lefty 'cause of the cross-dominance thing.

I notice all manner of ambi AR doohickeys out there produced for the lefthanders.

My present rigs are stock, as in no ambi anythings on them.

I'm able to run the guns "as is." My fingers and thumbs manage to find bolt releases, mag catches and charging handles. I haven't played with any malfunction clearances as of yet but in my ignorance I'm having a difficult time understanding how and why an ambi anything would help.

Bob Hostetter
06-03-2012, 09:29 AM
I use an Ambi safety/selector on my AR just to make it easier to activate when shooting left handed.

rob_s
06-03-2012, 10:09 AM
I think we need to first define some terms. To me, "ambi" implies that the controls on one side are identical, or very nearly so, to the controls on the other side. Many parts, such as the BAD lever and copies, claim to be "ambi" and I do not define them that way.

That out of the way, let's look at the parts that are commonly "ambi-fied".

Safety.
Easiest part to change out and probably the most common and most beneficial. The upside to this is not only the ability to change hands with the firing controls, but also that you can change up your manual of arms a little bit wherein you disengage the safety with your firing hand thumb and re-engage with your trigger finger first knuckle. The downside is that if you go with a standard 90* lever with standard length levers on both sides it can bump your firing knuckle and actually fail to disengage. The fix to this is the BAD-ASS-ST 45* throw ambi safety with shortened lever on your strong side.

Charging handle.
Maybe even easier to change. Upside, or perceived upside, is allowing the operation of the charging handle with the right hand without having to "rabbit ear", which means you can keep your left hand on the pistol grip when shooting from the left shoulder and have to reach a little less far over with the right hand to run the charging handle. The downside is that the forward assist tends to get in the way of this concept. Most lefties I know have just gotten used to rabbit-earing, and it's what I do shooting leftie.

Magazine release.
A little less easy to change. Upside is that you can reach forward with your left trigger finger when firing left-handed and drop the magazine like a rightie. Downside is a more complex part, and that the release button tends to be a little further to the rear than the right-side button, which means you may have to curl your finger more than it is capable, or you start to choose a pistol grip that is best for magazine releases which in turn probably isn't best for trigger operation. Natural lefties will just reach up, grab the magazine in the gun, and strip it out as they press the button. Slower, potentially, but also closer to a 100% solution than relying on gravity.

Bolt Catch/Release.
There really is no truly retrofit option for this. The BAD lever and similar would be the closest but they mean the controls aren't really mirrored. The truth is that the catch/release as is can actually be easier for lefties to operate than righties by simply using the left trigger finger to press in on the bottom of the paddle to lock, and top to release. There are dedicated lowers that move this part, or control of this part, to the right side of the gun but most are release only and do not offer the lock portion. The AXTS A-DAC lower integrates a right-side release as well as a linkage to allow the locking of the bolt to the rear by pressing in on the magazine release. It's good to note that with proper technique of inserting the magazine for a right-handed shooter the left thumb falls almost exactly on the release allowing you to pause briefly to hit the paddle before returning the left hand to the forend, or simply using a magwell hold if you need to shave 0.0001 seconds from the process.

Little Creek
06-03-2012, 07:48 PM
I've only recently become moderately serious about AR's. I'm a natural righty who shoots lefty 'cause of the cross-dominance thing.

I notice all manner of ambi AR doohickeys out there produced for the lefthanders.

My present rigs are stock, as in no ambi anythings on them.

I'm able to run the guns "as is." My fingers and thumbs manage to find bolt releases, mag catches and charging handles. I haven't played with any malfunction clearances as of yet but in my ignorance I'm having a difficult time understanding how and why an ambi anything would help.

I am LH and my first AR-15 is the S&W M&P15 Sport. I know it is not a high end carbine and I do not represent it as such. It does not have a forward assist to get in the way of an ambi charging handle operated by the right hand. I will eventually get one. I do have a LH safety and recommend a LH or ambi safety. I think I will get a Knights Armament ambi mag release at some time in the future. I think an ambi bolt release would be a step backward. I am new at this as I have fired just over 1000 rounds through this carbine. It has been an enjoyable journey so far.

G60
06-06-2012, 12:25 AM
Colt produces a single-sided safety lever that is cut on both sides for the detent and can be reversed for us left-handers. Really cool if you want your trigger finger free of possible obstructions or don't trust the extra parts needed on an ambi-safety.

http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=4902/Product/FIRE-CONTROL-SELECTOR

BWT
06-08-2012, 11:26 PM
I use an LMT Ambi-Selector and KAC Ambi-Mag release.

I love them both, and was very fortunate the first time. I stuck with the stock size on the right side of the magazine release with the KAC, because... I mean it's so big it can be activated on accident because it's bigger than the A2 receiver formings which are specifically there to prevent that, and I thought it was fine.

I don't like shortened/reduced/scalloped safeties, the full size is what I want.

The way I see it, I use it because I need it, I never want a diminished platform on one side, I mean honestly, if you want a smaller lever on one side, I'd say just go ahead and run a one sided Safety?

You will become very fast at getting the safety on and off with an ambi-Safe.

Ambi-bolt release, never messed with one, I'm probably not going to.

Ambi-Charging handle, I just hook my right finger over the top of the receiver and pull it that way, that being said, the downside is the rear BUIS has to be deployed if it's foldable, but for how I shoot, I keep it deployed anyway. The other thing to consider is... Well, I guess in malfunction drills you'd use it quite a bit. I was about to say how often do you use the charging handle? I've never had a double feed on my rifle, I had some weird mis feeds that went away when I started using magpul followers when I *first* got the gun.

But after that, nadda, other than two stucks cases. But I'm satisified with that, and I run my gun pretty much left handed, being left eye dominant, but I'm right handed, so, I feel pretty comfortable doing either.

ETA: But that's also because I shoot Wolf.

rob_s
06-09-2012, 04:54 AM
Colt produces a single-sided safety lever that is cut on both sides for the detent and can be reversed for us left-handers. Really cool if you want your trigger finger free of possible obstructions or don't trust the extra parts needed on an ambi-safety.

http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=4902/Product/FIRE-CONTROL-SELECTOR

Any Colt bought in the last several years *should* have this lever in it.

That Guy
09-20-2016, 02:10 AM
Charging handle.
Maybe even easier to change. Upside, or perceived upside, is allowing the operation of the charging handle with the right hand without having to "rabbit ear", which means you can keep your left hand on the pistol grip when shooting from the left shoulder and have to reach a little less far over with the right hand to run the charging handle. The downside is that the forward assist tends to get in the way of this concept. Most lefties I know have just gotten used to rabbit-earing, and it's what I do shooting leftie.

I simply use my left hand, pinching the unlocking doodah (that's the correct technical term, right? :) ) between my thumb and index finger. Kinda like running a bolt in a bolt action - right hand on the handguard tilts gun (so I don't hit myself in the face), left hand goes to the charging handle, pulls it smartly to the rear, releases it at the end of travel, and the gun stays on my shoulder and well controlled the whole time.

I realize this means I have to break my firing hand grip, but is this really such a big deal? I mean, you only run the charging handle when the gun is not ready to fire, right?


Any Colt bought in the last several years *should* have this lever in it.

...Are you telling me that instead of waiting several months for a fancy ambi safety, I could simply cancel my order and turn the part I already have in my rifle around? Sonuva... How come no one ever tells me these things? :P I feel like such a n00b...

Little Creek
09-20-2016, 06:27 AM
I am LH and my first AR-15 is the S&W M&P15 Sport. I know it is not a high end carbine and I do not represent it as such. It does not have a forward assist to get in the way of an ambi charging handle operated by the right hand. I will eventually get one. I do have a LH safety and recommend a LH or ambi safety. I think I will get a Knights Armament ambi mag release at some time in the future. I think an ambi bolt release would be a step backward. I am new at this as I have fired just over 1000 rounds through this carbine. It has been an enjoyable journey so far.

Fast forward. This carbine now has a simple Stag Arms ambi safety, a Norgon ambi mag release, and a raptor charging handle. 3500 rounds and no issues. Happy with this configuration. Forward assists dig into my abdomen when slung, and I don' like them anyway.

QuickStrike
09-20-2016, 01:06 PM
I have some ambi stuff on my 6920.

Battle arms safety (the dovetailed version)
Norgon mag catch
Raptor charging handle

Definitely easier to use left handed, and I think more versatile in some instances.

Strictly a house/range gun, not sure if these deviations from teh milspec will get me kilted or un-kilted in the streets.

That Guy
09-20-2016, 04:31 PM
...Are you telling me that instead of waiting several months for a fancy ambi safety, I could simply cancel my order and turn the part I already have in my rifle around? Sonuva... How come no one ever tells me these things? :P I feel like such a n00b...

Update: Yup. Pop the safety out, flip it around, pop it back in, and you have yourself a left-handed safety. I still feel stupid for not knowing this earlier. :p

Thank you Colt for making the safety that way, and thank you Rob_S for telling me they are made that way.

LittleLebowski
09-20-2016, 05:33 PM
I use the BCM ambi charging handle, BAD ambi safety, and KAC mag release. I've never had any of these parts fail during non-work-related training and I believe firmly in making things ambi if the parts are reliable and not too expensive.

MVS
09-20-2016, 06:03 PM
I am a lefty. When I was issued an M-16 and later could sign out an AR-15, I made due with the stock layout. On my own guns I use an ambi safety and charging handle.

texasaggie2005
09-21-2016, 08:30 AM
Colt ambi safety and a Geissele ambi charging handle for me.

Talionis
09-21-2016, 09:36 AM
I am cross-eye dominant. Most of my long-gun shooting has been with right hand oriented rifles, and it isn't really a big deal to work them effectively from the left shoulder. I recently put together an AR with ambidextrous features (AXTS 45deg ambi safety and Troy ambi magazine release) and find that I strongly prefer this setup for my purposes. In some ways it is actually more ergonomically optimized for things like locking the bolt back since the bolt lock/release is within easy reach of my left index finger.

While not necessary, I do plan on updating all my AR's with those features.

Erick Gelhaus
09-21-2016, 02:49 PM
Born a left handed but my drill sergeants' took that tendency out of me when it came to shoulder fired weapons. I switched back to shooting rifles, shotguns left handed in the '03 time frame. I've shot the m249 SAW left handed but do not recommend it.

My work and personal ARs have ambi selectors / safeties and ambi charging handles as well. Nothing else. Those seem to be enough for me.