Looking For A Lefty Bolt Action Big Bore ~8k

[VertigoBE]

The key is to buy what is at a great price, not what you dream of. I dream of owning a nice collection of guns for all occasions, so I'm going to jump on the deals I see, not sit around spending my life looking for a $20,000 28 gauge best gun being offered for $2000. That's just a nonsensical way to spend one's life if you're looking for "Deals".

Exactly, in order to get the best deals, do not go for only a very specific caliber+maker+engraving+options+etc. subset, one at a time. Investigate all manner of firearms, makers, calibers, etc, and keep cash ready to make the jump. Deals are out there, usually because the seller has no idea what they have, or because there is so little interest for truly quality firearms compared to the latest plastic-fantastic.

I must admit it helps enormously to have a soundboard, or a few experts to ask their opinion if you find something that could be deal worthy. Perhaps the low price is trying to blind you from many faults with it. @rookhawk , @Red Leg and a few others have been very helpful in these matters, giving their informed opinion.

Finally, especially on auction, do not get too excited, put out a bid and do not go chasing it unless you really really want it. There will be others. If I were to have the inclination, I could fully replace my current collection of fine rifles with others I have found. But they will not be one-to-one same caliber, maker, etc.

A nice example, is my Dumoulin Centurion in 7x64. I was browsing around online in the used gun sections, came by surprise to it and posted it in the "Good Gun Deals this Week" thread. I did not even know the caliber, nor the model. Just that it looked okayish from the grainy pictures. And the gunstore was only asking 3300 euro. The aforementioned users gave their lofty praise for it and I trusted their judgment.

It turned out to be probably the nicest general purpose stalking rifle one could come across.
(With all respect, even a Dakota looks quite bland next to it.) Easily worth 4 or 5 times as much as what I paid.

Was I looking for a stalking rifle? Or a Dumoulin? Or a bolt-action specifically? Or a 7x64 caliber? No to all accounts. But it looked good enough to investigate. Got it cross-checked by a few others and one hour drive later it was in my hands. A lot of money? yes for sure. But I'll easily sell it for 2-3 times the purchase price. (although I have nicked the wood quite badly on my last safari...).

I scour the web weekly and a few other collector's know my name and when there is something, I'll go and take a look.

 

[VertigoBE]

If you are in Europe or willing to import from Europe, this one has been lanquishing for over a year online. I'm sure a good offer around 60% of the asking price could get people thinking.

MAGNIFIQUE Carabine Henri Dumoulin IMPERIAL MAGNUM 375 HH INTEGRALE GAUCHER

MAGNIFIQUE Carabine Henri Dumoulin IMPERIAL MAGNUM 375 HH INTEGRALE GAUCHER en vente dans la catégorie Carabines à verrou Calibres Africains ( 375 H&H, 416 Rem...) sur www.naturabuy.fr

www.naturabuy.fr

 

[rookhawk]

Exactly, in order to get the best deals, do not go for only a very specific caliber+maker+engraving+options+etc. subset, one at a time. Investigate all manner of firearms, makers, calibers, etc, and keep cash ready to make the jump. Deals are out there, usually because the seller has no idea what they have, or because there is so little interest for truly quality firearms compared to the latest plastic-fantastic.

I must admit it helps enormously to have a soundboard, or a few experts to ask their opinion if you find something that could be deal worthy. Perhaps the low price is trying to blind you from many faults with it. @rookhawk , @Red Leg and a few others have been very helpful in these matters, giving their informed opinion.

Finally, especially on auction, do not get too excited, put out a bid and do not go chasing it unless you really really want it. There will be others. If I were to have the inclination, I could fully replace my current collection of fine rifles with others I have found. But they will not be one-to-one same caliber, maker, etc.

A nice example, is my Dumoulin Centurion in 7x64. I was browsing around online in the used gun sections, came by surprise to it and posted it in the "Good Gun Deals this Week" thread. I did not even know the caliber, nor the model. Just that it looked okayish from the grainy pictures. And the gunstore was only asking 3300 euro. The aforementioned users gave their lofty praise for it and I trusted their judgment.

It turned out to be probably the nicest general purpose stalking rifle one could come across.
(With all respect, even a Dakota looks quite bland next to it.) Easily worth 4 or 5 times as much as what I paid.

Was I looking for a stalking rifle? Or a Dumoulin? Or a bolt-action specifically? Or a 7x64 caliber? No to all accounts. But it looked good enough to investigate. Got it cross-checked by a few others and one hour drive later it was in my hands. A lot of money? yes for sure. But I'll easily sell it for 2-3 times the purchase price. (although I have nicked the wood quite badly on my last safari...).

I scour the web weekly and a few other collector's know my name and when there is something, I'll go and take a look.

Yes, but you paid 3300 Euros for a gun that cost $30,000 US dollars new. Do you want to own nice guns, or do you want your way, even if you pay full retail? A 3300 Euro gun new at full retail is not something I want to own myself. (a 3300 euro new gun is worth about 300 euro in ten years)

 

[Nevada Mike]

Amusing commentary. The most vociferous is some one who is not left handed, but knows all about it. Hmmm.

I AM a left handed shooter and have dealt with the problems it presents most of my rather long life. I buy double guns and bend or restock them. Almost all my rifles are custom jobs. And I can tell you that a LH M70 is not selling below the cost of a RH M70 of equal condition and caliber. I own three. I own a LH Dakota 76, I own a LH 98 Mauser, a LH Mathieu, a letf hand Ruger, Savage... etc.

Cost of a nice custom LH rifle? Let's see...

Action - Granite Mountain provided a magnum length LH DSB, small ring Mauser 98 action for my 404 Jeffery - $3500, possibly more now
Barrel - about $500 - $600 from PacNor
Stock blank - $1500 - $2000 for a good blank of French (or similar) walnut - My most recent rifle used a beautiful piece of Franch that I got for only $500 because I bought it over 30 years ago. Wood is a lot more now.
Stock Work - Figure $5,000 to $6000 for a top stock maker by the time you're done. Extra for fittings and options.
Metal and metal work - $5000 and up for sights, scope mounts, barrel profiling, tuning the action for feeding, work on the bolt, safety, trigger, etc. and add polishing, color case hardening, nitre bluing, minimal engraving, etc.
So budget something north of $15,000 for a custom gun by a competent maker, and consider the wait time - possibly 2 YEARS OR MORE.
I've done this over and over with rifles and game guns. To me, it's worth having something done as I like it and I can afford the cost. Others may not but can now buy a second hand M70 in the LH model - now discontinued - or get a Dakota. Very good guns, but they will not be cheap.

 

[IdahoMo]

@Garrett89

Here’s a ruger M77 LH 458 win mag on gun broker. I’m a fellow leftie. You could turn this into a great rifle.

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/1004735049

 

[HankBuck]

@Garrett89

Here’s a ruger M77 LH 458 win mag on gun broker. I’m a fellow leftie. You could turn this into a great rifle.

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/1004735049

That’s some nice wood on that Ruger .458. I believe that’s a Mauser type action, as a Lefty _ I could sell my .470 NE then buy that Ruger and have $$ left over towards a Safari

 

[NIGHTHAWK]

@Garrett89

Here’s a ruger M77 LH 458 win mag on gun broker. I’m a fellow leftie. You could turn this into a great rifle.

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/1004735049

Ok, I’m curious. What would you do? How much would you pay for this rifle and how much would you spend to turn it into a great rifle?

 

[HankBuck]

Ok, I’m curious. What would you do? How much would you pay for this rifle and how much would you spend to turn it into a great rifle?

How would “great” be defined? I would think that any functional upgrade might include a trigger job or dropping in an upgraded trigger and tune/smooth the action - that’s it. Adding a new barrel seems a waste - it’s unlikely to be sub MOA and would Not matter if it was. Adding better wood and a custom stock would look nicer and maybe make it a “labor of love”. Or leave it “as is” - fully functional, decent looking, and fine DG rifle.
My personal opinion and admitted bias (for No good reason) is that other calibers (416 Rigby, .375 H&H, .470 NE) better “deserve” the work & investment required to make a Great rifle - they are already “great” traditional calibers and slightly more versatile calibers —— . I think a “great gun” must start with a Great caliber. Hope I didn’t offend anyone - just my personal opinion. I’m interested in others POV and expect i’m Over looking a lot.

 

[IdahoMo]

@NIGHTHAWK . Fun questions. To start, I think the base material is pretty good. The M77 is CRF and is supposedly a tough action. I listened to an interview with Kevin Robertson that in the Zim PH shooting tests, the only bolt actions that stood up to that abuse were the M 77, Win M 70, and the CZ 550. To be fair maybe the beginner PH's don't have access to the beautiful and well made firearms coming out of custom shops or famous British or German gunmakers, but bottom line is that those are workhorse actions.

This rifle seemingly has some nice wood to start with so that's nice. I think a person could buy it, do some trigger work, make sure the LOP fits their frame (you could trim or add a spacer and play around with recoil pads) and slap on a good low power scope on it, and it would be formidable.

The only other thing I would consider doing is reaming it out to 458 lott, have the action tweaked to feed those bullets well, and have that stamped on the barrel in addition to the 458 win mag.

Since it can be such a pain to get decent LH rifles, maybe a person could get lucky and have a decent looking, accurate, dependable DG rifle for 3-4k and the remaining 4-5k would be a deposit on your buffalo or tuskless hung.

 

[NIGHTHAWK]

@NIGHTHAWK . Fun questions. To start, I think the base material is pretty good. The M77 is CRF and is supposedly a tough action. I listened to an interview with Kevin Robertson that in the Zim PH shooting tests, the only bolt actions that stood up to that abuse were the M 77, Win M 70, and the CZ 550. To be fair maybe the beginner PH's don't have access to the beautiful and well made firearms coming out of custom shops or famous British or German gunmakers, but bottom line is that those are workhorse actions.

This rifle seemingly has some nice wood to start with so that's nice. I think a person could buy it, do some trigger work, make sure the LOP fits their frame (you could trim or add a spacer and play around with recoil pads) and slap on a good low power scope on it, and it would be formidable.

The only other thing I would consider doing is reaming it out to 458 lott, have the action tweaked to feed those bullets well, and have that stamped on the barrel in addition to the 458 win mag.

Since it can be such a pain to get decent LH rifles, maybe a person could get lucky and have a decent looking, accurate, dependable DG rifle for 3-4k and the remaining 4-5k would be a deposit on your buffalo or tuskless hung.

Sound advise. I’ll take this into consideration… Aside from the obvious, “it’ll sell fir what someone pays for it”, how much is this gun worth? Or let’s say, should I consider bidding on it? Or what would you (the collective DG rifle community) bid to?

 

[IdahoMo]

I don't do enough buying/trading to know it's value. I recently bought a NIB win model 70 LH in 375 that was an early 2000 model with CRF. I paid nearly 4k for the gun. I think some folks would laugh me out of a room for that, but this is what I was working with. I wanted a CRF rifle with that classic "safari" build look. I actually first bought a LH CZ 550 and just did not like how it felt/handled for me, or it's looks so I sold it to buy the Winchester. After doing the math with a friend who is also a gunsmith and gunstock maker, I did not think I could piecemeal build a rifle that would look as good as the win 70 for 4k. Ultimately, I think I overpaid, but it was worth it for me.

 

[HankBuck]

I don't do enough buying/trading to know it's value. I recently bought a NIB win model 70 LH in 375 that was an early 2000 model with CRF. I paid nearly 4k for the gun. I think some folks would laugh me out of a room for that, but this is what I was working with. I wanted a CRF rifle with that classic "safari" build look. I actually first bought a LH CZ 550 and just did not like how it felt/handled for me, or it's looks so I sold it to buy the Winchester. After doing the math with a friend who is also a gunsmith and gunstock maker, I did not think I could piecemeal build a rifle that would look as good as the win 70 for 4k. Ultimately, I think I overpaid, but it was worth it for me.

Maybe that’s a trend for Lefty’s - over paying - I know I’ve done it. Bought a double .470 NE by Chapuis and paid extra for LH stock in exhibition grade Turkish walnut , detachable mounts, some engraving, when all done - Total $14,500.(used on one Safari). Then wanted a nice .375 H&H, had one made - semi custom ie: Bought Winchester 7mag just for the action & stock, rebarreled in .375 H&H, jewel trigger, had stock refinished and ebony tip added - looked very nice but not a high grade wood. Total investment was $5500 - used on one Alaska Griz hunt..., BUT at least now - I have a couple of very nice “Lefty” guns and I never had that growing up. Not sure what I’ll do with them as both my Son & Daughter are Right Handed !!

 

[Nevada Mike]

I bought a NIB LH Win Classic in 375 H&H two years ago for <$2500. But I searched for about six months. Discontinued and rarer tha hen’s teeth. I have found and bought three LH M70 Classics in the past five years. All about this price level.

 

[quiz]

I looked hard for a true lefty in a big bore caliber. My definition of “true” is stock, triggers reversed and barrels regulated for lefty. Couldn’t find that for 6 months so shopped around in the US and settled on ordering new.

 

[Wishfulthinker580]

I looked hard for a true lefty in a big bore caliber. My definition of “true” is stock, triggers reversed and barrels regulated for lefty. Couldn’t find that for 6 months so shopped around in the US and settled on ordering new.

For $8k?

 

[quiz]

No. $15k. But like I said neither myself or several European brokers could find a true left handed double. Some with lefty stocks, but to me that’s not a lefty. I ordered and additional set of barrels for $5k and had them regulated with the receiver. So basically 2 true lefty guns for $20k. Know the availability out there, I don’t think they will lose value. Just my 2 cents. Good luck on your search.

 

[quiz]

For $8k?

See below. I didn’t use reply

 

[Wishfulthinker580]

See below. I didn’t use reply

The OP is looking for a bolt action

 

[quiz]

For $8k?

The OP is looking for a bolt action

Yep. I see that. Was just throwing out options. Hopefully he is watching the US market for the bolt gun. I did for 6-8 months and there were decent American made lefty’s from 458 down for under $8k.

 

[HankBuck]

No. $15k. But like I said neither myself or several European brokers could find a true left handed double. Some with lefty stocks, but to me that’s not a lefty. I ordered and additional set of barrels for $5k and had them regulated with the receiver. So basically 2 true lefty guns for $20k. Know the availability out there, I don’t think they will lose value. Just my 2 cents. Good luck on your search.

I’m a Lefty, we have something in common - I’ve also had to “work” at finding lefty guns including my double .470 NE Chapuis. I actually did Not want a true “lefty action” on my double - I’ve worked right handed double shotguns all my life and don’t think I could learns something New....at least not reliably in a DG “charge” where my memory would become automatic. Also, I disagree that you double gun will not lose value - for the next 10-15 years you may not get what you paid for it. I know my Chapuis will not resell for the 2006 $14,800 purchase price - not for several more years even though it is mint.