Left Handed bolt in 375H&H or bigger?

[Tanks]

Being a lefty is both a curse and a blessing. Curse as every rifle purchase has to be planned. And a blessing because hardly any impulse buys.

 

[sgt_zim]

Being a lefty is both a curse and a blessing. Curse as every rifle purchase has to be planned. And a blessing because hardly any impulse buys.

Sort of. Any time a decent lefty comes up, I punish my credit card anyway.

 

[rinehart0050]

I'm a lefty who historically used right handed guns... until I got my Blaser R8 Left Handed. Now I have access to every caliber I could ever desire in a left handed gun.

Blaser R8 is the way to go.

 

[Nevada Mike]

An ancient thread, but the problem remains. I am limited to shooting LH bolt rifles and this has been a problem all my life. However, I have managed to collect a number of fairly good LH bolt guns. They are usually hard to find. After years of seeking out LH rifles I currently I have:

LH Remington 700 in 22/250
LH Dakota 76 in .257 Roberts
LH Winchester Model 70 in 7 X 57
LH Mathieu in 7mm Remington Magnum
LH Ruger M77 mrk II in 30-'06
LH Granite Mountain in .404 Jeffery

The most affordable is the Ruger M77 mrk II. I would consider buying one and converting it to something like a .400 H&H or .404J for an african rifle and the tab would be less than most of the rifles that are (occasionally) available.

 

[gbflyer]

An ancient thread, but the problem remains. I am limited to shooting LH bolt rifles and this has been a problem all my life. However, I have managed to collect a number of fairly good LH bolt guns. They are usually hard to find. After years of seeking out LH rifles I currently I have:

LH Remington 700 in 22/250
LH Dakota 76 in .257 Roberts
LH Winchester Model 70 in 7 X 57
LH Mathieu in 7mm Remington Magnum
LH Ruger M77 mrk II in 30-'06
LH Granite Mountain in .404 Jeffery

The most affordable is the Ruger M77 mrk II. I would consider buying one and converting it to something like a .400 H&H or .404J for an african rifle and the tab would be less than most of the rifles that are (occasionally) available.

Ancient thread but it’s an ancient topic. Lefty here too.

I’d probably convert that Ruger to one of their cartridges like 375 or 416. Stuffing an H&H length cartridge in that magazine is probably not practical. 9.3x62 or X64 also works well.

I have converted a standard magnum Model 70 Classic to 300 H&H. A mag box, bolt stop, and ejector along with a little machining is necessary. I haven’t messed with the ejection port. It works at 99% as is. If I were to go with .375 or .400 for something that might bite me, I would try again to compel a real gunsmith to open it up. So far I have been refused, I suspect because of the rarity and replacement difficulties if it ends up wrecked. Better yet I would get a H&H length Zastava lefty Mauser. I have a standard ‘06 length and I am impressed with its functionality.

With all that in mind, it’s hard to beat a Remington 700 long action for a lefty H&H. Plenty of donors and plenty of magazine room. I’ve never had the feed, extractor, or trigger issues that one reads about. But I’ve never filled it with sand and tried it either. Maybe just lucky.

 

[LEVI HILL]

I took a Ruger M77 Hawkeye in .375 Ruger with me in 2019. It did wonderfully on all game from impala to buffalo. In fact we had a 1-shot buff with it. My PH who was also a lefty, was in love with the gun. I'm taking a different .375 Ruger this time because the Hawkeye's stock broke and I'm getting a new one from Boyd's. I have used the .375 on Oryx in New Mexico and Elk and it does wonderfully on both. If you want larger you might buy a .375 and have a gunsmith convert it to .416 Ruger. I'm in that boat right now. Ruger only made about 550 left-handed .416 M77s so they are hard to find. I have a third .375 I'm planning on converting. Ammo of any kind is hard to find these days buy you shouldn't have an unusually hard time of finding .375 Ruger. My suggestion if you get one is have a better recoil pad installed and possibly have the interior of the bolt polished. They have a riveted on piece and the rivets inside can cause the firing pin spring to drag and slow lock time. I've seen this on two of these 375s so far. Alaska Arms LLC makes some great quick detach rings for the ruger and he will make you a lower set of 30mm rings if you go with a scope without a big front bell and you want to lower it closer to the bore. I hate Ruger's proprietary scope mounts and that they don't make any really low enough for those of us who still like to get our cheek down on the comb to shoot instead of putting our chin on it.

 

[Bert the Turtle]

I have a custom 404 on a GMA action and a Blaser 375. If I were starting today is probably just have a couple of Blasers and a few barrels and a lot more room in my gun safe.

 

[leslie hetrick]

my left hand rifles, no 375,s tho. the biggest is in 300 win mag. my 375rifles are a rem 700 classic and a CZ american. i used a CZ 550 in 375 on six hunting trips to africa and no animal complained.

 

[Nevada Mike]

... I hate Ruger's proprietary scope mounts and that they don't make any really low enough for those of us who still like to get our cheek down on the comb to shoot instead of putting our chin on it.

I swapped out the factory rings on my Ruger for a low set of Leupold 1" mounts. My Leupold M8 4X sits nice and low now. No need for the QD rings on my 30-'06. Fits me fairly well with the factory stock, but could use more LOP.

The Mathieu action was made in the 60s and 70s and made actions for Weatherby and one specifically for left handers. I've had this 7mm RM rifle since the early 70s...

 

[Nkawu]

I have spent countless hours searching for good LH rifles and I am now very satisfied with my collection to cover all game and most hunting environments.
All left handed and all CRF:
CZ .22lr
Win M70 Classic .270
Ruger M77 .308
CZ550 .375
And another CZ550 in 375 that is destined to become a 458.

 

[Tanks]

Lefty bolt action centerfire rifles I have:

McMillian .308
McMillian .375 H&H
Custom, M70 action .416 B&M
Custom, M70 action .456 B&M
Custom, Montana action .500 MDM

I do have a custom Defiant action ready to build a .300 RUM.

Most likely will not use the .375 H&H unless I do a brown bear hunt in adverse conditions. It has been sitting in the safe for that occasion, though every time I think of a brown bear hunt I talk myself into Africa instead.

 

[Boxlock]

Lets see, all left hand....
Winchester M70 Safari Express 375H&H
CZ 550 Safari Magnum 375H&H
Steyr Mannlicher SM12 9.3x62
Winchester M70 Classic Sporter 30/06
CZ 527 223Rem.

also some Zastava rifles not used but for future projects
375H&H
9.3x62
30/06
7x57

Cheers