Left or Right - does it matter?

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Iron Glove

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Decided to pick up a 30-06 bolt action for my "do all" hunting rifle. Up 'till now, all my rifles have been right handed and I'm a south paw. Hasn't really bothered me too much, you get used to hot brass flying past your face. :D
Now have the opportunity to pick up a nice Remington 700 Lefty.
Other than the obvious, i.e. bolt on the left, safety easier to access, what differences are there between left and right bolt action rifles?
The stocks all seem to be ambidextrous so the "fit" dosn't seem to vary.
Is it really worth it to go silly sided?
Will the resale value, if I ever sold it, be less as the demand may be less?
Thanks.
 
i've always wanted a full lefty bolt,( that's why i've got semis and levers) but never got around to actually buying one- of course, i also want it in some caliber i don't have or something that can "do the job" so i've got a herd of 308s, and a 338- sometimes the stock is actually built for left,( the cheekpiece is on the"wrong" side, etc and it's not noticeable until you heft the gun- to tell the truth i'm a little envious of you, having this chance- i say go for it and don't worry about the resale value- chances are some"lefty " guy down the road will also be looking and in the meantime you've got the enjoyment of it- it should be a mirror image of the standard action(at least the weatherbys are)- so no differences
 
most of my guns are for righties except my 7mm mag .sometimes i must retrain myself to shoot it :p but you will never regret buying one
 
I am in the same boat as you. I kept hearing guys saying once you switch you will never regret it and they were right.

I bought a south paw A Bolt last summer and I love it. I always thought it would take a fair bit of getting used to, I was wrong, it was very natural. Mind you, I didn't find long actions as natural.

Jump in with both feet.

Resale value, check out EE, not that many lefty guns, don't worry about that.
 
Another Leftie Shooting Right...

Republic of Alberta said:
I am a lefty and have owned both. I prefer right handed rifles. There was a time when i like lefty rifes better but those days are gone
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I'm also a south paw. Left eye dominant as well. Never owned a left handed bolt rifle, though. All my bolt rifless are right handed & I prefer them that way. ;)

Funny as this may sound... left handed bolt rifles just don't look right to me. :D
 
Ever notice that it's righties who tell you to use the right hand bolt rifles.
Just suggest to the righty why dont they just switch to a left hand bolt if it's such a non issue.
Left hand bolts for lefties is the only way to go, of cousre the ambidextros actions count too. I actually like being able to see the ejection posrt, you can clear stoppages(rare as they are) really easy.
You'll really like your left hand bolt, so go for it.
 
I would think that it would alot easier once you get used to the rifle. But I cant imagine what it would be like to keep switching back and forth.
 
My wife is a lefty and from a safety stand point, I will only get her left handed firearms.

When anything fails and comes back, it will come back into your face shooting a right handed gun, left handed. I know that is not likely to happen, but I have seen pictures and I don't want that to happen to her.

And besides her length of pull is 1" shorter than mine so all of her firearms are custom fit to her.

Just my thoughts.
 
Iron Glove said:
The stocks all seem to be ambidextrous so the "fit" dosn't seem to vary.
Is it really worth it to go silly sided?
Will the resale value, if I ever sold it, be less as the demand may be less?
Thanks.
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If possible, try out a lefty rifle and see if you like it. It may feel just natural after shooting it. As for resale, I don't think you'd have any trouble selling it, as there is a market for used lefties, but not much supply, or just keep it!:D
 
Began the transition to shooting lefthanded with shotguns as I could hit ducks, geese, grouse, etc. much better and more consistently. Went with Browning's BPS - bottom feed, bottom eject although I could have gone with Ithaca's Model 37. Then continued with neutral cast O/Us - Browning again, although I've been told there are lefty versions of its O/U and other manufacturers. I've been pretty much a left handed shotgunner and have had few dissappointments since making the switch.

Rifles are a similar story.

Four years ago, got a Browning Stainless Stalker in .30-06, took a bit of practice, but feels much more natural than any right handed gun. Still can shoot right-handed guns, just doesn't feel as comfortable but I can do it. Have had some situations where I've switched from left shoulder to right shoulder for the better shooting angle - nice to be an ambidextrous shooter.

Bottomline, some lefties take to shooting left-handed well and don't look back; others, it's still a comfort issue and have to practice until they they feel comfortable. You won't know how you do until you try making the switch.
 
Get the left-handed model, you won't regret it. It's faster, safer and just plain better.

All these left-handed guys who shoot right is part of the reason the manufacters don't offer much in the way of options for us 'wrong-sided folks'. :(
 
If most all manufactures made all their guns in L/H & R/H models, in all calibers,would you buy the R/H or the L/H gun :rolleyes:
They make L/H guns for a reason. but for pure economics----not many, as the demand is limited.
 
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BIGREDD said:
Get the right handed model... left handed ammunition is very hard to find... unless you reload.
Poor mutant bastards.....
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Heh, heh, gee, I never thought about the scarcity of left handed ammo. :rolleyes: When I worked on the house I used to throw away all the nails if the head was on the wrong end until I realized they were for the other side of the house. :p
The used Left Handed Remmy 700 BDL I'm looking at is sweet but the cost is a bit more than I can handle right now so I'll keep looking. Wish there were more Lefty options out there, 'specially in the "entry" level rifles.
Another dumb (???) question - if you set up your lefty rifle and scope for a left handed shooter, is there any effect on the sighting if a righty uses it?
Thanks again for comments, particularly from fellow lefties. I'm sure you all know that the latin word for left is sinistre, from which the English word sinister comes from. Says a lot about us mutants.
 
BIGREDD said:
Get the right handed model... left handed ammunition is very hard to find... unless you reload.
Poor mutant bastards.....
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At least us lefties use all of our brain, not just one half of it... :p
 
if you set it up for left ,and switch it over to right, i've found there SEEMS to be about a foot shift horizontally - however, it just "feels "wrong- same as playing pool- there's no difference in the cues, but it just feels bloody wierd playing right handed- besides, is this your gun or someone elses?- if it's yours , you set it up for you- i know that sounds selfish, but that's also the reason no one can sight in your gun for you
 
t-star said:
besides, is this your gun or someone elses?- if it's yours , you set it up for you- i know that sounds selfish, but that's also the reason no one can sight in your gun for you
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Hmm, good point. Sorry son, my rifle is set up for a lefty and you're a righty so it just wouldn't work for you !
 
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