Left handed muskets???

[Bigmon]

I guess this is as good a place as any to ask this since I am concerned with original muskets>>/??

Even though in most cases it does seem that most newer made shows, movies, stuff on the history channel, etc do try somewhat to be as authentic as possible.  I see allot of "LEFT HANDED" long guns, muskets, etc. on these TV shows.

And I am aware of the Civil War photo reversal, the Billy the Kid  photos that appears like a left handed 73 Winchester, etc.

Comon' guys, were there actually left handed Brown Bess' or other flintlocks being made in the black powder era?
I wait to hear your answers
Bigmon

[JTR]

Simply put, no.

Of course there has been a long gun made for a lefty in the past, by a private maker, but they're decidedly far and few. Consider that until relatively recently, left handedness was considered an abnormality, and lefties were forced to become righties.

Now, I do know one lefty, and at times he does seem a bit abnormal, but that generally has to do with his voting habits! 

John

[Hungry Horse]

 Left handedness was considered a mark of the devil in the not so distant past. If you examine many old paintings, and illustrations, you will notice that Satan is quite often depicted as left handed.
 Military firearm are almost never left handed, even in modern times. There are however a few examples of Northwest trade guns built left handed. These were no doubt special gifts for powerful chiefs.
  The gun club I belong to has more lefties than any other organization I have been involved in. At a club meeting where we were deciding on a design for our shooting bench, I asked if we should make one left hand bench. After polling the twenty members present regarding left handedness we found that out of the twenty members present seven of them were left handed. So, all our benches are ambidextrous.

     Hungry Horse

[mr. no gold]

Kindig shows a left handed KY Rifle on page 114 in his "Thoughts…" book. Nice carved flint made by John Fondersmith who worked in the Lancaster area and who also made some military contract guns, thus saith Kindig>
Dick

[JV Puleo]

I've seen exactly two left-handed flint fowlers, both British and both dating from around 1790-1810. As has been pointed out, in medieval icongraphy the devil is left-handed and the belief that this was a mark of evil has persisted to the present day. I can clearly remember my mom going into my elementary school to let my 3rd grade teacher know that she was to stop trying to force me to use write with my right hand.

[Hungry Horse]

 The gun that confused me, was a nice little longrifle with a left handed lock, and a right hand cheek piece. I could understand the possibility of a smith having to build a gun for a lefty, and not having a left hand lock. But, the other way around just seems unlikely. I would love to hear the true story of how this rifle came to be.

           Hungry Horse

[James Rogers]

The only ones I have seen in person were on English guns. Although not common, they were available to the gentry. My friend owns a nice left hand round faced lock by Turvey which is too early and too large to be off a double IMO and IIRC Krank had a left handed 18thc fowling piece for sale a few months ago.

[debnal]

I too, am left handed. When I was in grade school a teacher told me that the Latin word for left is sinistrum (or something like that). From that Latin word comes the English word: sinister. We lefties have had to adapt to a right hand world.
Al

[Levy]

There is a left-handed flintlock (fusil fin, I believe) pictured in T. M. Hamilton's work on archaeologically recovered firearms.  I had the opportunity to clean this piece when I was a conservator for the State of Fla.  We did the work on contract for the State of Louisiana, I believe.

James Levy

[retired fella]

I build and shoot lefties for myself and (she who must be obeyed) has always said the I am abnormal, so I guess she is right...

[JV Puleo]

I too, am left handed. When I was in grade school a teacher told me that the Latin word for left is sinistrum (or something like that). From that Latin word comes the English word: sinister. We lefties have had to adapt to a right hand world.
Al

The Latin is "sinister"... the English word is identical or, more accurately, the word "sinister" in English is the Latin word for left.