.223 LH bolt options

Butcherbill

Butcherbill

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Looking around for LH .223 bolt action, so far my only available option's are savage axis and tikka t3x. I’m preferably looking for something with 20-22” barrel, detachable mag or mag options. Will be mainly targets shooting but hunting use would also be nice, so not looking for a chassis out of the gate. Preferably a field stock with the ability to upgrade the stock as I need.

Rem 700 sps seems hard to find, Ruger American or predator doesn’t seem to come in a LH in .223. Anything else I’m missing in LH actions in .223?
 
Buckmastr said:
CZ made a nice mag fed lh 223. Scope needed to be mounted high for bolt handle clearance
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Not 100% sure but I think their is a guy in the states that makes a modified bolt handle for the 527.
http://jamescalhoon.com/

Had a LH 527, nicely made rifle. Maybe look at a older Savage 110, barrels are super easy to swap if you can't find the correct length.
 
I’d wait till Black Friday and try to find myself a LH tikka in 223 Varmint ideally stainless. I’ve tried other brands of lefties and always end up back at a tikka, for me they have always shot better and felt better.

I know reliable has a sale coming and a few stainless lite’s in 223. Not the best for target but still going to be a good deal.

B
 
I’d like to find a LH version of either of the .308 rifles I shoot, Howa doesn’t make a LH .223 mini action. Ruger doesn’t make a LH .223 Scout anymore and finding a 700 sps tactical seems like my only real option, the more I look at Savage the less I like them. The 110’s possibly on the maybe list

I remember the X-bolt and Tikka’s were nice and fit me well when I was looking for LH .308’s a few years back, will have to see if I can handle some again.
 
bdb.hunting said:
I’d wait till Black Friday and try to find myself a LH tikka in 223 Varmint ideally stainless. I’ve tried other brands of lefties and always end up back at a tikka, for me they have always shot better and felt better.

I know reliable has a sale coming and a few stainless lite’s in 223. Not the best for target but still going to be a good deal.

B
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Same here. It's just really hard to beat a tikka for the price you pay and the aftermarket parts market is really coming around. People are starting to catch on i guess. To the op, I would look really hard at a tikka with a 1-8" twist.
 
savagelh said:
Same here. It's just really hard to beat a tikka for the price you pay and the aftermarket parts market is really coming around. People are starting to catch on i guess. To the op, I would look really hard at a tikka with a 1-8" twist.
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The T3x CTR fits my criteria, it’s on the higher end of my price range for a .223 plinker/target rifle but I know it’s a very well built rifle. The price of mags is a bit wild, was hoping to find something that takes AICS mags or something that isn’t $200 plus a mag.
 
Butcherbill said:
The T3x CTR fits my criteria, it’s on the higher end of my price range for a .223 plinker/target rifle but I know it’s a very well built rifle. The price of mags is a bit wild, was hoping to find something that takes AICS mags or something that isn’t $200 plus a mag.
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You can get a standard tikka mag setup for the CTR. I have one in 6.5 PRC that came that way, the. You just run standard mags or get some NDr shooting supplies mags. Then have a 10 rnd made for the tikka I believe.

B
 
Butcherbill said:
The T3x CTR fits my criteria, it’s on the higher end of my price range for a .223 plinker/target rifle but I know it’s a very well built rifle. The price of mags is a bit wild, was hoping to find something that takes AICS mags or something that isn’t $200 plus a mag.
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You can also swap out the bottom metal for aics compatible bottom metal.
 
I have no information to answer your LH rifle availability question.

But, a thought.
Since all the lefties I have known are somewhat ambidextrous (growing up in a right handed world), could you just practice enough to get comfortable with right handed guns?

I have forced myself to do some left shooting for practice, and after a while it didn't seem so foreign, and I became decent at it.
 
Cocked&Locked said:
I have no information to answer your LH rifle availability question.

But, a thought.
Since all the lefties I have known are somewhat ambidextrous (growing up in a right handed world), could you just practice enough to get comfortable with right handed guns?

I have forced myself to do some left shooting for practice, and after a while it didn't seem so foreign, and I became decent at it.
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I’ve shot RH guns ever since my dad taught me to shoot as a kid, I’m not interested in shooting RH bolt guns anymore. I’ll shot rh semi autos or pump action shotguns happily, but any new bolt gun I buy will be LH from now on. Especially if it’s got a scope in the equation.
 
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Browning X bolt in the Hunter model is made in 223 with a 1 in 8 twist. Should be able to shoot the heavy for caliber bullets. A couple of gun shops said it's been slow getting Brownings in.
 
I’m in a similar conundrum as the OP, though I intend to run an 18” 6x45 barrel and whatever else strikes me as a good idea. I agree that the LH 700’s are like hens teeth, and a notable smith informed me that getting different complete bolts is a lot tougher than it used to be, so that sort of rules out buying a more common .473” LH rifle for modification.

I haven’t handled the Savage 110’s but they certainly are cheaper and more available. They might work in my case since I pretty much plan on only using the action, but I can understand how in stock form they leave a lot to be desired.

With the Tikka, I bet in stock form they shoot quite well, and with all actions being the same from 223 up to 30-06 lengths, you have a lot of room to seat long bullets in the mag. If you’re planning on using only the original action, it’s almost the same money as a no frills custom action.

I have an X bolt and they fit me well with typical Japanese fit and finish, but aftermarket support is dismal for lefty rifles.
 
Had a chance to handle three LH rifles, a savage axis and a 110 as well as a Tikka ctr. Axis was a no go, bolt lift was pretty awful and seems like a typical axis thing. The 110 wasn’t bad, smooth bolt but the overall savage package just didn’t wow me. The ctr was pretty nice, great fit with a real smooth bolt/action. Will keep looking for a used Rem700 or M77 but the tikka will fit the bill I have no doubt.
 
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