Many modern semiautomatic handguns have at least partially ambidextrous and/or switchable controls,* but changing the position of the ejection port would require replacing at least the slide, if not other bits (depending on how the ejection system works). That's basically the second largest part after the frame, so not really an expense most shooters (or manufacturers, come to that) are going to be interested in. (I think some military rifles can actually be configured to eject out the left or right, but don't quote me.)

* For example, the Beretta Px4 has an ambidextrous safety, meaning there's a lever for it on both sides, and the magazine release can be removed and reinstalled on the other side. Ambidextrous safety levers are a common retrofit for older firearms, as well. Even some manufacturers have added them to new production of designs that didn't originally have them; my Browning Hi-Power, for instance, has one, and they didn't originally. That was added in the late 1980s.

The only control that almost always remains one-sided, because it would be too complicated to move or mirror, is the slide release lever. Most left-handed shooters, myself included, just never bother using that. In most semiautos, you can get the same result by pulling the slide slightly farther back on a loaded magazine and letting it go.

>What's it like shooting left? Lotta brass dodging? Or do you just
>learn how to shoot right?

I've never had any really significant problems with brass ejecting out of the right side of a handgun. The usual shooting position more or less centers the gun anyway, and I'm agnostic about which side the empties fly off to. It's only a real issue with rifles, since your supporting arm tends to be out there where the empties can bounce off it. In that instance, you just wear a long sleeve and put up with it.

Shooting at an indoor range can occasionally be an adventure, whichever direction the empties eject in, because they can bounce off the walls of the lane you're in and come back along unexpected vectors. I've had casings down my shirt collar several times at indoor ranges. It's... unpleasant, but handgun cartridge cases are not actually hot enough to do any serious injury. It's just annoying.

"Learn how to shoot right" is one of those phrases that's either hilarious or punch-in-the-face-inducing to lefty shooters, by the way. Most of us are also left-eye-dominant, and if you want a real good time, try shooting with your off eye and your off hand. It's not like, say, playing golf, or using a computer mouse. :)

--G.
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Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
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