Lefty

[Dainslef]

I'm a lefty when firing a rifle. Will this be a problem when firing an M-16? I was told that I'd get hit by the brass... and someone else informed me that there is a 'guard' that can be attached to deflect the brass. I'm just curious. I did a search on this subject and couldn't find anything. Sorry if it has been posted elsewhere. Thanks.

[jryanjack]

Being right handed I cannot answer with absolute certainty :) However I knew several left handed Marines and they had no problem firing the M-16, nor did they have a "guard" installed to deflect brass.

I believe that one of the changes from the M-16A1 to the M-16A2 was the addition of a brass deflector, but I could be wrong on that.

[Future-USMC-LT]

The M-16A2, M-16A4, and M4A1 have brass deflectors built-in behind the ejection port to deflect brass away from your face.

[Ignition]

shooting left or right handed is basically the same... just depends on hand control and eye dominance.... among other good shooting techniques

[Echo_Four_Bravo]

The brass is usually ejected far enough away that it isn't a problem. You may have a stray piece of brass or two hit you, but you may also get hit from brass being ejected by the shooter next to you. Its nothing to worry about.

[Brooklyn]

heh...my 1911 has an unflared ejection port. That thing shoots brass 4-6 feet almost straight back!!! It's very interesting to shoot. When my fiance shoots it I stand behind her and try to catch the flying shells.

On the bright side, the instructors will probably have us wearing eye protection ( I'll be wearing glasses ) so the brass probably won't blind us if we get hit with it.

[Echo_Four_Bravo]

Ummm, unless they changed something, the only people with any kind of eye protection are those with glasses. I never saw a Marine wearing eye protection on the KD range.

[Future-USMC-LT]

Same here. They did make us wear eye protection in my unit when qualified last October, though.

[jennifer]

You'll be good to go devil pup. The Marine Corps has already though about this. No worries!