Lefties With Rifles

[jcizzle]

So, I have a couple of pistols and shottys but only one rifle. It's a Bushmaster AR15. I'm interested in grabbing a .308 rifle as I've decided that hog hunting is fun and would like a little larger caliber.

Problem I have is, I'm a lefty. It seems that good ole mr reliable reputation is the Remington 700 and the idea of a trusty bolt gun seems nice. However, being a lefty, any prone shooting leaves me having to run the bolt with my rest hand rather than my trigger hand.

What say the OSA?

Is this no big deal and go for mr. reliable reputation or should I go with a semi-auto so I need not run a bolt and eliminate the problem?

(I know that the 700 is available in left handed bolt but I'm sure they'll be super hard to find used)

 

[4play]

I was in the same situation a long time ago. Wanted a bolt gun and settled for the Rem 7400 30-06, its a nice gun and shoots good but I still want a bolt. I decided to get the semi-auto because its a little goofy to cycle a RH bolt action when shooting LH and no LH bolt guns were readily available. Only problem with the 7400 when shooting LH is sometimes when the shell ejects it will land in the pocket of my right elbow and it will burn skin instantly.

 

[Lightsluvr]

Gee, I thought this was going to be a political discussion!

 

[Sanford]

Ruger M77 if you can find one - Standard and African models come in a variety of different calibers. Browning X-Bolt for a few dollars more.

 

[Hobbes]

Gee, I thought this was going to be a political discussion!

I was going to say lefties don't need rifles; They need double barrel shotguns.

 

[BIG_MIKE2005]

I'm a fellow lefty as well. I never really paid much attention to left/right on guns. Guess I just grew up shooting whatever people had which was always righty stuff. Whats weird about me is I shoot a pistol with left hand dominance but for a rifle I find it much eaiser to shoot & sight while shooting right handed instead, I cannot shoot a left handed rifle worth a crap.

 

[tyromeo55]

I'd lean towards a right handed rifle unless you have a special need to get a lefty like eye issues.

 

[thegomezclan]

Sooner State pawn has a lift handed rifle, Ruger model 77 scout in 308 at the north location.

 

[criticalbass]

Some time back I noticed several left hand bolt guns at H&H. You might call them. The guns were in the used long gun cabinet at the east end of the main display racks.

If you aren't in a big hurry, you will be able to turn up a nice .308 in left hand bolt config. The downside of shooting autos left handed is lots of stuff in your face.

I don't suppose you are right eye dominant? Rifle shooters aren't affected a lot by this, but shotgunners, if they want to be good, have to convert to the dominant eye side. But, although it's a long process, converting to shooting right handed can be done. This opens up a world of possibilities.

I know two formerly nationally ranked skeet shooters who had crossed dominant eyes. Both converted to shooting from the side of the dominant eye. I also knew an old man who shot equally well (and he was a AA skeet shooter) from either side.

Good luck.

 

[cscokd]

I'm in the same boat, so I have gravitated to lever actions. You can find left-hand bolts (I have a Win M70 7mm BOSS), but as you stated, they are few and far between (exemplified above- SSP has 1). If you are the type who likes to buy and sell guns then I'd stick with a right-hander. The NIB market is so small there are no deals to be had. The used market is just as small so when you decide to move on you may be "bumping it to the top" for a long time.

Let's get back to your original reason- hogs. I'm guessing your hunting in open fields since you mention shooting prone. I'm also guessing you are shooting really big hogs at really long distances, thus you are looking for something that will "reliably" put-down at that range. I say that because a lot of people use AR-15's for hogs. Even in today's crazy political market, you will probably have more luck finding either an AR-10 or a 300 Blackout upper for your AR than you will have finding a left-handed bolt gun.