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Lefty here. How do I sling my AR without the deflector punching me in the sternum?! (imgur.com)

submitted 4 days ago by shalafi@lemmy.world to c/guns@lemmy.world

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If it's high and tight, very comfortable for hiking and dodging in and around trees and swamps, able to get on target instantly, the shell deflector bumps me right at the bottom of my sternum. Have not figured out a path to engineer my way out of this. Makes me not want to carry it. Grinding it off seems a really poor solution.

Do I have to wear amour in the summer?! I'm seriously considering a plate-carrier style vest, just can't find one that could replace my backpack. I'm kinda needy in the woods, pack out a kitchen sink kinda needy. Carriers look quite nice, and would keep my gear out the water when I wade or slip, don't seem to carry much.

Maybe get a simple one and attach bags? Maybe attach more crap to my Fighting Load Carrier (FLC)? OK, you talked me into it. Thanks rubber ducks!

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[–] SomeAmateur@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

What kind of kit do you wear? I'm not a lefty but for me a chest rig is enough to keep the rifle away from my body most of the time

[–] shalafi@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

No chest rig except in the winter! And really not much more than a backpack. Your question hits to the heart of mine: What if I'm just wearing a T-shirt?

And the tips on replacing my upper? Can't afford it and I doubt Ruger makes a matching, white, left-handed version. :)

[–] SomeAmateur@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 day ago

If you're just in a tee not much you can do with the rifle as it is. The brass deflector is supposed to help lefties when they shoot so going without one isn't a great option but yeah like you said going with a lefty upper is a problem too....

[–] Mostly_Gristle@lemmy.world 4 points 4 days ago (1 children)

I'm not a lefty so unfortunately I don't have any good tips for running your sling. But if it were my rifle the first thing I would try is sticking a big wad of Sugru over the area between the deflector and the forward assist, and mold it so it flattens the area out, or rounds it out, so it doesn't poke as much.

Beyond that, you can get upper receivers that don't have a forward assist or brass deflector at all. It's more common for pistol-caliber uppers, but they do make them for 5.56 as well. Probably just be conscious of the size of the ejection port so you don't accidentally buy an AR-9 or AR-22 upper.

Also, you can get just full-on left-handed upper receivers as well. They're basically just a mirror opposite of a regular one. These tend to be on the expensive side though because they also need a left-handed bolt and bolt carrier to work.

[–] SomeAmateur@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

If I remember right the brass deflector is there because of lefty and offhanded shooting situations. Without it brass can fly back and hit your face

[–] Mostly_Gristle@lemmy.world 1 points 23 hours ago

You can tune your gas system to mitigate that if you need to. There are some variables involved, but it's usually not too hard to get your brass ejecting around a 3 o'clock angle.

[–] SupraMario@lemmy.world 4 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

https://palmettostatearmory.com/ar-15/barreled-upper-assemblies/left-handed-uppers.html

Why are you running a right handed upper if you're a lefty?

Get a left handed upper so brass isn't ejecting on the wrong side and gas isn't burning your face.