Left-Handed Rifles??????

[muleyslayer52]

Okay. To start off with I am a newbie when it comes to long range shooting (500+ yards).
I am looking into a new rifle setup for the hunting ranges of 500-800 yards. I have been researching a lot of rifles and what I want. Here is the main problem. I am LEFT-HANDED so I am limited on what I can get.

Basically what I have found is that I have to go custom or build my own rifle. I don't know where to start. There are too many options.

I was wanting a Sako A7 (love the Sako action) but there are no left-handed models.

What I want is 300 RUM. I want a hybrid type platform (heavy barrel bench rifle/lightweight sporting rifle)

I do reload my own ammo so sub MOA is a possibility.

I already know what optics I am going to put on it. Just need the gun.

I forgot to mention that my budget is about $2000-$3,000

Any help is appreciated.
Thanks

 

[PEEWEE69]

I'm in the same boat as you not many options in left hand
I've come to the conclusion I'm gonna have to build what I want

 

[matemike]

Weatherby chambers a lefty Mark V in 300 Wby and 30-378. But if you're set on a RUM they'll make one for you. I think it's like a year lead time. And as you know you could always contact GAP, Quarter Minute Magnums, Len Backus and the list goes on for a custom rifle.

I suffer from being left handed too and have nothing but factory rifles. All shoot though. I'll get a custom one day.

 

[benchracer]

Okay. To start off with I am a newbie when it comes to long range shooting (500+ yards).
I am looking into a new rifle setup for the hunting ranges of 500-800 yards. I have been researching a lot of rifles and what I want. Here is the main problem. I am LEFT-HANDED so I am limited on what I can get.

Basically what I have found is that I have to go custom or build my own rifle. I don't know where to start. There are too many options.

I was wanting a Sako A7 (love the Sako action) but there are no left-handed models.

What I want is 300 RUM. I want a hybrid type platform (heavy barrel bench rifle/lightweight sporting rifle)

I do reload my own ammo so sub MOA is a possibility.

I already know what optics I am going to put on it. Just need the gun.

I forgot to mention that my budget is about $2000-$3,000

Any help is appreciated.
Thanks

As a fellow southpaw, I feel your pain. For awhile, I only bought left-handed bolt action rifles. I eventually got tired of the limited selection and not being able to get rifles with the features I wanted. Once a person goes through the trouble to get what they want in a left-handed rifle, a decision to trade or sell often leads to taking a substantial loss.

I finally just got tired of that and started buying right-hand actions. With some minor tweaks to my gunhandling habits, I am much happier now.

Food for thought...

 

[WildRose]

Just a thought Muley but there are lots of Remington 700 Long Action rifles around that can be bought reasonably.

You can pick up a low mileage Sendero 300 Rum barrel relatively cheaply. I have in fact picked up several of them off of the classified's here over the years.

Buy a nice lefthanded McMillan or Manners HTG stock and you have the basics of what you need right there.

Have it trued, put together, bedded and you are "in" with pretty much exactly what you want for far less than 2k and for far less of a wait vs having one built from scratch.

You will find LH 700 stocks fairly frequently on Ebay or here in our Classifieds too for a considerable discount over ordering one new.

I've scrapped together quite a few rigs over the last 5 years in such a manner and have been very pleased with the results.

In fact I'm fixing to take one of my300 Rum's and pull the Sendero Profile barrel and brake off of it and replace it with a nice 30" #3.5 profile barrel and drop it into a McMillan so I'll have one in a reasonably light weight package for mountain hunting to go along with the heavy Sendero I already have.

There are lots of ways to get where you are going.

 

[benchracer]

Just a thought Muley but there are lots of Remington 700 Long Action rifles around that can be bought reasonably.

You can pick up a low mileage Sendero 300 Rum barrel relatively cheaply. I have in fact picked up several of them off of the classified's here over the years.

Buy a nice lefthanded McMillan or Manners HTG stock and you have the basics of what you need right there.

Have it trued, put together, bedded and you are "in" with pretty much exactly what you want for far less than 2k and for far less of a wait vs having one built from scratch.

You will find LH 700 stocks fairly frequently on Ebay or here in our Classifieds too for a considerable discount over ordering one new.

I've scrapped together quite a few rigs over the last 5 years in such a manner and have been very pleased with the results.

In fact I'm fixing to take one of my300 Rum's and pull the Sendero Profile barrel and brake off of it and replace it with a nice 30" #3.5 profile barrel and drop it into a McMillan so I'll have one in a reasonably light weight package for mountain hunting to go along with the heavy Sendero I already have.

There are lots of ways to get where you are going.

This is sound advice. If you are going to go with LH actions, it is a smart approach and the best way to obtain what you really want.

I had a semi-custom 6.5-284 built on a LH Ruger 77 MKII action. Including a Krieger barrel, I have about $1500 in it from start to finish. I like the way it turned out and it was a worthwhile build.

 

[Outlaw6.0]

As a fellow southpaw, I feel your pain. For awhile, I only bought left-handed bolt action rifles. I eventually got tired of the limited selection and not being able to get rifles with the features I wanted. Once a person goes through the trouble to get what they want in a left-handed rifle, a decision to trade or sell often leads to taking a substantial loss.

I finally just got tired of that and started buying right-hand actions. With some minor tweaks to my gunhandling habits, I am much happier now.

Food for thought...

Being a lefty definitely isn't what i'd call a blessing when it comes to rifles however, there are ways to overcome any obstacle.

I do have to disagree with a couple of your points. A rifle being left handed does in no way make it less valuable. The market itself is smaller yes, but at a substantial loss?! Do you have any rifles you willing to sell at this substantial loss? My checkbook is in hand Just poking fun of course... but seriously.

There will be no righty rifles in my safe outside a couple vintage "keepsakes"... ever. In a marketplace where we are seeing more & more lefty offerings (factory & custom), why purposely handicap yourself?

Let me say that I do understand your frustration, i've been there. Which is probably why I haven't bought a factory rifle in years. That decision based on preference more than availabillity; what I mean is, factory rifles don't meet my desires anymore (left or right hand) which lead me to a great gunsmith. I build exactly what I want to begin with; no frustration & no hassle.

OP- in your budget range, I can recommend the SMR Paladin rifle. Full blown custom right under your $3k budget cap. Defiance action, benchmark barrel, Timney trigger.

SMR Paladin | Custom Long Range Precision Rifles | Snowy Mountain Rifles



t

 

[yobuck]

Well if you think things are bad for leftys now, you should have been around say
50/60 years ago. Can you believe at one time some teachers would punish kids for using their left hand. Even the military was known for trying to make you switch at one time.
As for lefty rifles we can thank Savage for being the first to recognise the lefty
need. I personaly prefer lefty actions for the most part. But for guns used from a bench i dont consider it a handicap. Fact is ive gotten to the point i might even prefer
it.
If you go to the Savage Shooters website you will find lots of options for building
your own gun both right and left with lots of good products listed there. Not a thing
wrong with starting with one of the very accurate Savage rifles to begin with either.

 

[benchracer]

I do have to disagree with a couple of your points. A rifle being left handed does in no way make it less valuable. The market itself is smaller yes, but at a substantial loss?! Do you have any rifles you willing to sell at this substantial loss? My checkbook is in hand Just poking fun of course... but seriously.

There will be no righty rifles in my safe outside a couple vintage "keepsakes"... ever. In a marketplace where we are seeing more & more lefty offerings (factory & custom), why purposely handicap yourself?

It's funny that you mention that. As it so happens, I have been thinking seriously about putting my 6.5-284 up for sale. It is accurate and has a low round count, but there is no way that I will be able to sell it for anywhere near what it cost to build. If I were to sell it, I would consider myself lucky to get half the build cost and I would expect to have to be patient to get that.

I traded one of my other LH rifles off a few years ago and feel like I got a pretty even trade for that one.

My remaining LH rifles are a CZ 452 and a 700 VS, neither of which will ever go down the road.

A big part of the reason I am considering sending my 6.5-284 down the road is that I bought a RH Model 70 in .264 Win Mag shortly after it came back into production. I like it better than the 6.5-284. Had it been in production in 2009, the 6.5-284 would never have been built in the first place.

When I first entered into the world of centerfire rifles, I had it firmly in mind that I would ONLY consider LH actions. I felt that way because my first firearm of any kind was a bolt-action .410 hand-me-down that I used to hunt ducks and pheasants. It was incredibly awkward for me to manipulate and I HATED that shotgun, but not as much as I hated staying home from the hunt. Being the only southpaw in the group, there was no one to offer advice on gun-handling. I solved the problem by saving money from my paper route to buy a Remington 1100 and swore I would never go back to a RH bolt action anything.

Many years later, I bought a milsurp mauser because I wanted something I could use to teach myself some basic gunsmithing tasks. While messing around with that mauser, it became apparent to me that using a RH action actually has some advantages at the bench and that I could overcome most of the speed disadvantage of a RH action by simply rotating the rifle about 45* with my non-firing hand, while cycling the action or loading the magazine.

Once I figured out how to manipulate a RH bolt action from my left shoulder more efficiently, my resolve to restrict myself to LH actions evaporated and I have been much happier since. With some minor changes to my gun handling habits, I don't feel particularly handicapped by a RH action and have broadened my options considerably in the bargain.

 

[Outlaw6.0]

Bench,

Your post has merit, similar to the other gent that mentioned similar thoughts. It seems to me that where we differ of opinion is in the intended us of said rifle. Most gents talking about using a Righty rifle as a lefty discuss the merits of operation while at the bench. That's where the issue is. I don't have, own or use a bench, for anything.

I am a 99% prone shooter. Prairie dog fields to big game hunting, if i'm not prone, I'm probably not shooting. Even 'yote hunting, it's either out the pickup window or off sticks, neither of which would lend itself to bass-akward bolt manipulation.

So, It's it seems that the intended use of the rifle should have a high value in the decision of right vs left handed; what do y'all think?

Bench= Righty isn't a problem (might even be better)
Actual field use= Big problem (at least in my eyes)


t

 

[benchracer]

Bench,

Your post has merit, similar to the other gent that mentioned similar thoughts. It seems to me that where we differ of opinion is in the intended us of said rifle. Most gents talking about using a Righty rifle as a lefty discuss the merits of operation while at the bench. That's where the issue is. I don't have, own or use a bench, for anything.

I am a 99% prone shooter. Prairie dog fields to big game hunting, if i'm not prone, I'm probably not shooting. Even 'yote hunting, it's either out the pickup window or off sticks, neither of which would lend itself to bass-akward bolt manipulation.

So, It's it seems that the intended use of the rifle should have a high value in the decision of right vs left handed; what do y'all think?

Bench= Righty isn't a problem (might even be better)
Actual field use= Big problem (at least in my eyes)


t

Prone shooting at long range targets is typically a slow fire exercise. The same basic manipulation from a bench applies to prone. I don't see any disadvantage there. The only time I am going to do something with a bolt action that involves speed will be from standing, kneeling, and perhaps sitting. That is where rotation of the rifle with the non-firing hand comes into play.

Having said that, if manipulating a right handed action doesn't fit your shooting style, then RH actions are clearly not for you. I just got tired of taking the long way around to get a rifle I wanted simply because of an ergonomic issue that can be easily circumvented with a little bit of thought and practice. Clearly, not everyone feels that way. That is why LH rifles are still being made. I just won't be buying any of them.

 

[Outlaw6.0]

Prone shooting at long range targets is typically a slow fire exercise. The same basic manipulation from a bench applies to prone. I don't see any disadvantage there. The only time I am going to do something with a bolt action that involves speed will be from standing, kneeling, and perhaps sitting. That is where rotation of the rifle with the non-firing hand comes into play.

Having said that, if manipulating a right handed action doesn't fit your shooting style, then RH actions are clearly not for you. I just got tired of taking the long way around to get a rifle I wanted simply because of an ergonomic issue that can be easily circumvented with a little bit of thought and practice. Clearly, not everyone feels that way. That is why LH rifles are still being made. I just won't be buying any of them.

I do not feel those two positions are the same, there is nothing of similar discipline other than trigger manipulation. You will have to completely break battery to manipulate a bolt on the wrong side of the rifle while prone. You either drop your rear bag skewing your POI or reach completely over the rifle to run the bolt as you cannot rotate it far enough on a bipod. Either way, you're way out of position & completely unnecessarily, bad Ju-ju (IMHO).

I completely understand your second paragraph. Each to his own, it's what makes our sport as awesome as it is. It also allows us to discuss topics such as this (without getting sideways with each other, thank you for that).

 

[Lefty7mmstw]

I'll use either a rh or lh action, but I prefer a lh action. There are plenty of lh options both on the new and used market for lefties; you just have to be a bit more patient. You can't spaz and buy like you can for a rh rifle. I was looking for a lh lss in 7rum that actually shot for a spell. I waited a couple of years for a rifle to show up locally. Savage, tikka, nosler, rem, wby, cooper, and a few others are building lh rifles.

 

[benchracer]

I completely understand your second paragraph. Each to his own, it's what makes our sport as awesome as it is. It also allows us to discuss topics such as this (without getting sideways with each other, thank you for that).

I agree with you about the value of not getting sideways. Especially relative to this topic, I am keenly aware of the feeling of being at a disadvantage that comes with being a left handed shooter.

I found my own way out of the wilderness, by myself, over a period of many years, by starting with a clean sheet of paper, evaluating what I do and why I do it, and coming up with a solution that fit MY needs. Whether or not my solution fits someone else's needs is hardly something to get wrapped around the axle about, especially when the entire point of the conversation is to help someone find a satisfactory solution by considering their options.

The basis of my advice is to stop and think about what you are doing and why you are doing it. Don't be afraid to break rules that don't fit your needs or situation.