Questions about 50 caliber (or larger) project rifle

[Big_Easy]

As a left handed shooter I rarely see (if ever) a left-handed rifle in a 50 caliber (or above). However, a used 375 H&H still seems to be fairly common from time to time online. I'm curious as to whether or not I can purchase a used 375 H&H rifle and use it as a donor, and have a custom rifle built in the .50 (or greater) range. Say, in a 500 Jeffrey, 500 A-Square, or a 550 magnum round? Some folks have recommended that I use an existing .416 Rigby action, but those are very hard to find in a left-handed action. So my main question would first be, can I use a 375 H&H donor action, or do I need something larger? My understanding is that it'll come down to the size of the bolt face? If I use a 375 H&H, is there any downside to using it versus a larger .416 Rigby one?

Second question would be which action to choose from? As a LH shooter, the two main ones used for donors that I've seen are the CZ 550, and the Win. Model 70. I've seen some used Dakota 76's, just not that many as of late in LH. Perhaps an old Sako action, or a Ruger? Does it ultimately come down to ones own preference, like when I hear a Chevy vs Ford argument?

Any help for this big-bore novice would be appreciated.

 

[odonata]

As a left-handed shooter, I feel your pain. But as a fellow novice, any advice I give should be taken with a grain of salt since it will be based on intuition not in-field experience. I solved my larger bore problem by rebarreling a LH Ruger M77 MkII from a 7mm Rem Mag to a 458 Win Mag and it was a fun project. The rifle shoots & feeds great since both rifles used the same parent case. Because the 500 A-Square uses a 460 Weatherby Magnum parent case, intuition tells me you could similarly rebarrel a left-handed model of one of their rifles & maybe be able to achieve what you're looking for if you can find something like this:

www.rockislandauction.com/detail/1040/3093/left-handed-weatherby-custom-mark-v-rifle-in-460-wby-mag

One item to check with any rifle will be if the 375 H&H bolt face can be enlarged to the 50 caliber base size. Google shows that at least one person has done this with a CZ 375 H&H conversion to 500 Jeffery. I'm assuming the left-handed nature of a donor rifle would have no bearing on this and that a conversion would work equally well for R or L. I would also guess that additional work to the follower may be required to get it to feed properly:

This has absolutely nothing to do with your question so I apologize for the tangent in advance. But if you were looking for a rare LH African rifle, then buying this one next month as an alternative would save me from temptation & would be a big favor:

www.rockislandauction.com/detail/4093/3441/american-hunting-riflescz-model-550-lh-safari-magnum-rifle

 

[AZDAVE]

Interesting question.

My first response is
1."What is your budget?
Granite Mountain arms makes their double square bridge african express action in left hand.
2. Talk with your gunsmith on the options of new vs Donor actions.
3. For the stock are you looking for a classic wood stock? or a good synthetic?
a. If wood is your gunsmith doing the fitting or a custom stock maker?
b. Cost can get KRAZY depending on the grade of wood you select.
4. Rifle fitting is critical in a 50 cal or bigger!

Make sure you lay out your requirements and budget and have fun with the experience of building a a big bore.

 

[K-man]

Before someone else chimes in, have you looked at the Blaser R8? Left is simple, get a 505Gibbs barrel, go hunt. Maybe not what you were asking, but a thought.