A Quality Left-Handed Hunting Rifle for $1000 or less

Spotswood

Spotswood

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Good morning all,
I've been reducing my gun collection here lately, mostly due to the addition of a new member to the family and the cost/time associated with them! I've sold 4 of my rifles and shotguns and will replace them with 1 rifle.
As such, I am looking for a left-handed rifle that is made well, looks good and is chambered in a caliber that can be used for any big game I'm likely to hunt (deer/moose/elk).
Budget is ~$1000, I like blued steel and walnut stocks. The caliber I'm most interested in is 6.5 CM, not interested in magnums, but I'm open to other chambering suggestions. Already have an optic lined up, so that is not figured into the budget.
What are my options?
 
A quality left hand rifle will cost more than 1000. I would start by looking for a good used rifle on the EE on this forum. I would choose a 270 win, 280 rem or a 30-06 as a do all cartridge. That's just me though. :)
 
A Henry, Browning, or Savage lever could fit the bill for a lefty (and still work for rightys too!) Used prices should be below $1000 (not too sure what the Henry's are going for though.) Off the top of my head, Henry Long Ranger is chambered in 223, 243, 308. Savage 99 in 243, 250 sav, 7mm08, 300 sav, 308 win, 358win. The BLR opens you up to the long action cartridges as well if thats what youre interested in. Not saying you have to - or even should - go with a lever action, but its food for thought.
 
Tikka t3x or savage 110. The Tikka's are very nice and have a couple options in left hand for right around $1000. Savage has a few options under $1k. Both very accurate and have a few chambering options. I'd pick the Tikka if you're looking for a hunting gun that you just want to leave the way it came out of the box.
 
pete dobinson said:
A quality left hand rifle will cost more than 1000. I would start by looking for a good used rifle on the EE on this forum.
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+1 to this^^^

A quality LH bolt will run you more than $1000, unless you consider a savage axis a quality rifle. I’m a lefty and was going through the options, Tikka, Browning, Ruger, Remington were all ones I look at and they were in the $1200-1400 range. The Rem 700 sps was under $1000, $7-800 iirc but it wasn’t what I was looking for in regards to fit and finish. The bolt was real gritty, the Browning X-bolt was really nice. I found a couple old Tikka T3’s that were in the $800 range that were nice, they just weren’t chamberd in .308, you might see if you can find a T3 that’s on discount due to the new T3x being made.
 
Spotswood said:
Yeah I know, it doesn't HAVE to be wood stock and blued, definitely not something tactical looking though.
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Ah. That'll open up some options for you. :)

If you really want a 6.5 CM, I'd do as a few others have suggested and go Tikka. We southpaws don't have many choices in that chambering, but Tikka does offer the T3x Lite in both SS and Blued. Maybe you could get the blue version and find a wood stock taken from someone's Hunter version. Tikkas aren't the finest firearm I've owned, but are reliable and very accurate, IME. They can be had for slightly under $1000, in the blued/synthetic model.

If you're open to other chambering options, Remington used to make the CDL line left-handed in 243. They were a sharp looking, classic wood/blued rifle. Might find discounted, new/old-stock somewhere, with a little digging?

The M77s I mentioned earlier were also available SS & wood/blued in 25-06, 270, etc. Again, not currently produced, but can be found on occasion.

Best of luck with your search!
 
A tikka hunter or browning x-bolt or A-bolt should do you well. A browning medallion might be perfect, but not sure if they make them in LH. I have had a LH tikka and A-bolt, liked them both very much. Now I have a LH steyr which scratches the itch just a little bit better. If CZ made a LH I would try that too, or Haenel Jaeger.

You could find the odd steyr model M, but they are few and a bit far between and probably difficult to find in 6.5CM unless it's much newer and they may not make them in a model M, might find one in a prohunter though but I'm not sure if anyone is importing, and they are a composite stock only I think
 
Prophet River has several left handed rifles available.
Shooterschoice.ca in AB has: h ttp://shooterschoice.ca/product/remington-700-bdl-left-hand/
Elwood Epps has bunch
Dante Sports has some
You just have to look through the site sponsor websites and dealer network
 
Spotswood said:
Thank you all for your input! I'll keep looking around a bit.
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Given the time of year, there's lots of time to cruise the EE for a good deal. After the holidays, there seems to be a few more good deals on the EE. A WTB ad might help as well.

Also, as mentioned, a left hander might have to have a bit more flexibility in chambering choice. A 308 or '06 might be a better choice if there might be a moose hunt in your future.
 
SuperCub said:
Given the time of year, there's lots of time to cruise the EE for a good deal. After the holidays, there seems to be a few more good deals on the EE. A WTB ad might help as well.

Also, as mentioned, a left hander might have to have a bit more flexibility in chambering choice. A 308 or '06 might be a better choice if there might be a moose hunt in your future.
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Yeah, there's nothing wrong with a 308 or 30-06, they are great calibers and I would reccomend them, but I don't own.. Wait actually I do have a 308..

Anyway, the 6.5CM might be a bit on the small size for big game, really it's about midway between a .243 and 308, a bit smaller than a 7mm-08, sure it should work, I'd call it more of a deer caliber then a big game but to each their own.

The OP should consider a 270 as well, similar enough to the 6.5 with a bit more energy and probably easier to come across.



I'll add a bit of a story. Im a left handed shooter (right handed but left eye dominant) and I've been through a few on my way to find the perfect (not most expensive) but the ideal LH rifle for me.

I've been through a couple, like I said including a new browning A-bolt which I ended up making more of a heavy weight target rig, a nice tikka hunter and then found my unicorn, a full stock steyr model M. I sold the first two, they were nice, I really did like the tikka but I had two and was just shooting the steyr so I sold it. I had the steyr rechambered/re-bored to 9.3x62 by ron smith.

Now I'm building a 6.5CM (slowly), well technically someone else is doing the gunsmithing, I found a LH Remington 788, 308 action, ordered a barrel from carbon six/mystic precision and am building a one off ultralight stock for it. I recreated the trigger and trigger guard to move the trigger forwards 30mm, shortening overall length, which a rear locking lug action also does, and am doing a thumbhole somewhat similar to an AICS to shorten overall length considerably while keeping a 21" barrel.

I'm sure I'll be into it for well over $2K before it's done, but it's part of the hobby, and I'm getting something that is built to fit me, how I want it, with some unique features not found anywhere else (when I'm done).... Point is, you may find yourself wanting to go something else, once you reach the end of your journey, and thats ok too.
 
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While it isn't in 6.5CM, there are several Zastava M70s that could fit your needs, being left-handed, blued, and with a wood stock. TradeEx has them for under $1000, and they are a nice Mauser-action rifle. They are available in 6.5x55, which isn't 6.5CM but is a pretty nice round.
 
Thank you all for your assistance! A member on here hooked me up with a store that was clearing out their old inventory of left hand Tikka T3s. I managed to pick one up in .30-06 for $660, that was a deal I couldn't pass up!
 
Congratulations on your purchase- let us know how things go once you've had a chance to shoot it a bit.
 
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