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.

 

[Riflecrank]

Yes, the 500 Jeffery can be built on a standard M98 action, or a Winchester M70 LA, RH or LH.
I have .510 caliber wildcats built on both of those action
(FN M98 with Duane Wiebe .500 Jeffery bottom metal
and M70 Classic RUM action with Sunny Hill drop floor plate in McMillan stock designed for it).
Both of those use the .416 Rigby or .338 Lapua Magnum bolt face.
But ...
Do you have a .458 Winchester Magnum ?

Here is what I said to one person recently who scoffed at the .458 WinMag:

"Bless your heart.
You either have a case of Bore Envy Syndrome (BES), which is akin to an inferiority complex,
or Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) if not low IQ before you even pulled a trigger.

A good psychiatrist can help you with BES, but those are hard to find, as most shrinks are crazier than their patients.
They do prescribe drugs, and you might get lucky and get some help from the right medicine, if the side-effects don't make you worse.
Sometimes the only real treatment for BES is a religious conversion.
Have faith in the .458 Winchester Magnum and you will overcome your delusions of grandeur.

If you have CTE it will only be confirmed by autopsy of your brain to include microscopic studies.
But the treatment is just the good, clean living and a good social support system, like we all should strive for.
Will your family take you back in when it gets tough to care for yourself ?
Relying upon the .458 WinMag for elephant hunting instead of a .458 Lott or bigger bore
has been shown to slow the progression of CTE.

Low IQ: Most morons can choose to be happy, and a few idiots too.
Get a .458 WinMag and be happy."

I must confess that I own many rifles more powerful than the .458 WinMag.
Among them a .458/.416 Ruger WM-Throated, .458/.338 Lapua Magnum Unimproved, 470 Capstick, 470 Mbogo, 12.7x68mm Magnum, .505 Gibbs, .500 Jeffery, .500 Bateleur, .500 Mbogo, 20ga From Purgatory 3.5" (aka .615 NE), 12ga From Hell 3.85" (aka .730 NE).
That last one knocked my socks off with a 1400-gr conical slug at 1800 fps, and it can be loaded to higher MV, no thanks !
Do the .408 Chey-Tac, .416 WeatherbyMag, .416 Barrett and .50 BMG count ?
When you have BES they do !
Notice I did not mention my one .458 Lott, made by re-chambering a .458 WinMag,
since it is only of same level as a .458 WM+.
The SAAMI .458 Lott is less powerful than the .458 WM+.
.458 WM+ loads may be fired in any SAAMI .458 WinMag but may be unsafe in a SAAMI .458 Lott.
I have been cured of BES by my religious conversion to the .458 Winchester Magnum Faith.
When the chips are down I would want nothing other than a .458 WinMag in my hands.

Now, anything other than a .458 WinMag is just a toy for me.
I confess it took me 21 years to assemble a .500 Jeffery starting with a set of handloading dies purchased in Rapid City, SD when I was just passing through town
in a delirious state of BES.
I realized what a weird duck the .500 Jeffery was and finished it up as a joke, a conversation piece.
Like for this conversation right now. Heh-heh-heh.

Live long and prosper and don't get CTE.

PS:
Forgot to mention the two .500 A-Square rifles I had built in 1999.
And the .450 Barnes Supreme I had built in 1987.
And the 460 WbyMag MK V purchased in 1984,
and another 460 WbyMag "custom" BBK-02 I had built in1993.
I converted to the .458 Winchester Magnum Faith as a true believer in 2017.
That was 33 years (1984 to 2017) before I was cured of BES.
Amen.

 

[Riflecrank]

Getting a 50-cal or bigger built on a make-do action is not the easiest thing
or least expensive thing to do.
Getting it to feed, eject and retain cartridges properly requires expertise and
cartridge-specific, well-fitted parts.
Easiest thing to do, besides a religious conversion to .458 WinMag (cures BES)
would be a Weatherby Mark V with an in-line vertical stack magazine.
With the drop floor plate from the custom shop you can get 3-down +1 in chamber
with a .500-A-Square, or even Neal Shirley's .550 Magnum if your BES is that bad.
That is the format of Weatherby's DGR rifle in a .416 WbyMag I have.
I have done this with my .500 Bateleur wildcat using the .510/.338 Lapua Magnum Improved,
having a 2.7" case length and room in the Mk V magazine to load some long-ogived bullets,
like 647-gr BMG bullets for plinking.
Fail-safe feeding is assured by in an in-line stack with the feed lips on the Mk V magazine.

 

[Riflecrank]

Get thee behind me Satan !

 

[Big_Easy]

Yes, the 500 Jeffery can be built on a standard M98 action, or a Winchester M70 LA, RH or LH.
I have .510 caliber wildcats built on both of those action
(FN M98 with Duane Wiebe .500 Jeffery bottom metal
and M70 Classic RUM action with Sunny Hill drop floor plate in McMillan stock designed for it).
Both of those use the .416 Rigby or .338 Lapua Magnum bolt face.
But ...
Do you have a .458 Winchester Magnum ?

Here is what I said to one person recently who scoffed at the .458 WinMag:

"Bless your heart.
You either have a case of Bore Envy Syndrome (BES), which is akin to an inferiority complex,
or Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) if not low IQ before you even pulled a trigger.

A good psychiatrist can help you with BES, but those are hard to find, as most shrinks are crazier than their patients.
They do prescribe drugs, and you might get lucky and get some help from the right medicine, if the side-effects don't make you worse.
Sometimes the only real treatment for BES is a religious conversion.
Have faith in the .458 Winchester Magnum and you will overcome your delusions of grandeur.

If you have CTE it will only be confirmed by autopsy of your brain to include microscopic studies.
But the treatment is just the good, clean living and a good social support system, like we all should strive for.
Will your family take you back in when it gets tough to care for yourself ?
Relying upon the .458 WinMag for elephant hunting instead of a .458 Lott or bigger bore
has been shown to slow the progression of CTE.

Low IQ: Most morons can choose to be happy, and a few idiots too.
Get a .458 WinMag and be happy."

I must confess that I own many rifles more powerful than the .458 WinMag.
Among them a .458/.416 Ruger WM-Throated, .458/.338 Lapua Magnum Unimproved, 470 Capstick, 470 Mbogo, 12.7x68mm Magnum, .505 Gibbs, .500 Jeffery, .500 Bateleur, .500 Mbogo, 20ga From Purgatory 3.5" (aka .615 NE), 12ga From Hell 3.85" (aka .730 NE).
That last one knocked my socks off with a 1400-gr conical slug at 1800 fps, and it can be loaded to higher MV, no thanks !
Do the .408 Chey-Tac, .416 WeatherbyMag, .416 Barrett and .50 BMG count ?
When you have BES they do !
Notice I did not mention my one .458 Lott, made by re-chambering a .458 WinMag,
since it is only of same level as a .458 WM+.
The SAAMI .458 Lott is less powerful than the .458 WM+.
.458 WM+ loads may be fired in any SAAMI .458 WinMag but may be unsafe in a SAAMI .458 Lott.
I have been cured of BES by my religious conversion to the .458 Winchester Magnum Faith.
When the chips are down I would want nothing other than a .458 WinMag in my hands.

Now, anything other than a .458 WinMag is just a toy for me.
I confess it took me 21 years to assemble a .500 Jeffery starting with a set of handloading dies purchased in Rapid City, SD when I was just passing through town
in a delirious state of BES.
I realized what a weird duck the .500 Jeffery was and finished it up as a joke, a conversation piece.
Like for this conversation right now. Heh-heh-heh.

Live long and prosper and don't get CTE.

PS:
Forgot to mention the two .500 A-Square rifles I had built in 1999.
And the .450 Barnes Supreme I had built in 1987.
And the 460 WbyMag MK V purchased in 1984,
and another 460 WbyMag "custom" BBK-02 I had built in1993.
I converted to the .458 Winchester Magnum Faith as a true believer in 2017.
That was 33 years (1984 to 2017) before I was cured of BES.
Amen.

@Riflecrank
Thank you for the entertaining information. Sadly I'm afraid that I do in fact have BES, and that my religious conversion is going the other way. I had a LH Wby Mark V in 458 Win Mag that I ended up selling a few years ago, as I felt it was underpowered (plus, I can always buy a LH 460 Wby. if need be).

I see that you haven't really converted to the 458 Win Mag faith just yet my friend, not until you dispose of either your 500 Jeffery, or one of your 500 A-Square rifles. Specifically to me. I must take one of those off of your hands so that you may further your path to true 458 Win Mag enlightenment. It's ok that they may not be Left-handed, as I grew up shooting my dads right handed rifles. Since the 500 Jeffery is a weird joke/conversation piece, let us start by relieving you of that one, and get you closer to true enlightenment...price TBD...Amen.

 

[Big_Easy]

View attachment 645274

View attachment 645275
Get thee behind me Satan !

@Riflecrank
Sadly, it appears that the Mark V DG and Safari versions have been discontinued on their website, hopefully it's only temporary. Right now they don't even offer the 460 Wby in a LH version in the regular deluxe model on their website. Their custom shop isn't what it used to be either.

 

[Altitude sickness]

@Riflecrank
Thank you for the entertaining information. Sadly I'm afraid that I do in fact have BES, and that my religious conversion is going the other way. I had a LH Wby Mark V in 458 Win Mag that I ended up selling a few years ago, as I felt it was underpowered (plus, I can always buy a LH 460 Wby. if need be).

I see that you haven't really converted to the 458 Win Mag faith just yet my friend, not until you dispose of either your 500 Jeffery, or one of your 500 A-Square rifles. Specifically to me. I must take one of those off of your hands so that you may further your path to true 458 Win Mag enlightenment. It's ok that they may not be Left-handed, as I grew up shooting my dads right handed rifles. Since the 500 Jeffery is a weird joke/conversation piece, let us start by relieving you of that one, and get you closer to true enlightenment...price TBD...Amen.

It’s like a 12 step program. You can not claim sobriety from the 500’s if you still own them. In a moment of weakness you may fall off the wagon.

To claim fealty to the .458 you must renounce and remove all 500’s and above from ownership. Otherwise your just a 500 guy in denial