Left Handed bolt in 375H&H or bigger?

[Marlin Mike]

I need some advice from experienced left handed hunters as to what make of bolt action they have used in 375 H&H or bigger to hunt Africa. I know about the Ruger #1H but I think I want a left handed bolt action. Thank you in advance for any and all info.

 

[Royal27]

There is good news and bad news here....

The bad news is that your options are relatively limited, especially once you get above the .375. The good news is that especially on the used gun market you can find some deals if you look hard enough. There just aren't many lefties looking for a .458 Lott!!!

Current production CZ makes a left hand .375 H&H. I have one and love it. They do charge I think about $600 more than the right hand version. I think Ruger also makes a .375 Ruger in left hand, but ammo is limited unless you handload. The most options you'll get are from Montana Rifle. Jeff is a lefty himself and he has options and its a good solid rifle. You'll read some poor reviews on them, but you will on CA as well. For ANY off the shelf rifle I would always buy it at least a year before I needed it if at all possible. That will give you time to get it right or switch gears if need be.

I was going to buy a Montana until I found a used Brockman in .458 Lott (Montana action ironically), with which I've been happy.

The last thing to keep your eye out for is a Winchester Model 70 left hand. They don't make them anymore but they did and I's love to have one. You won't run into one very often....

Hope this helps! Let me know if you have anymore specific questions. I shot right hand bolt my entire life, but after getting used to left hand I only buy those now. they are there, but like I said you have to do some looking.

 

[Bullthrower338]

MM,
There is a NIB Zastava LH 375 on gunbroker right now for what seems to be a good price, item # 619255469
MRC also offers LH models in big bore cartridges but don't expect to get it fast!
Cheers,
Cody

 

[Bullthrower338]

There is good news and bad news here....

The bad news is that your options are relatively limited, especially once you get above the .375. The good news is that especially on the used gun market you can find some deals if you look hard enough. There just aren't many lefties looking for a .458 Lott!!!

Current production CZ makes a left hand .375 H&H. I have one and love it. They do charge I think about $600 more than the right hand version. I think Ruger also makes a .375 Ruger in left hand, but ammo is limited unless you handload. The most options you'll get are from Montana Rifle. Jeff is a lefty himself and he has options and its a good solid rifle. You'll read some poor reviews on them, but you will on CA as well. For ANY off the shelf rifle I would always buy it at least a year before I needed it if at all possible. That will give you time to get it right or switch gears if need be.

I was going to buy a Montana until I found a used Brockman in .458 Lott (Montana action ironically), with which I've been happy.

The last thing to keep your eye out for is a Winchester Model 70 left hand. They don't make them anymore but they did and I's love to have one. You won't run into one very often....

Hope this helps! Let me know if you have anymore specific questions. I shot right hand bolt my entire life, but after getting used to left hand I only buy those now. they are there, but like I said you have to do some looking.

Royal,
There is a lefty M70 on GB right now # 618729759
Seems priced higher than giraffe vajaja though!

 

[Ryan]

The Ruger M77 Hawkeye in 375 Ruger. They got smart when they introduced the caliber 10 years ago and put it in Lefty.

 

[Royal27]

Royal,
There is a lefty M70 on GB right now # 618729759
Seems priced higher than giraffe vajaja though!

yikes!

Agree too rich for my blood! They are hard to find though... If the seller is willing to wait he may get close, but if he needs to sell he will have to come down I think? I'll have to try and remember to watch and see what it goes for, or if it sells.

 

[selous71]

I have a ruger 375 left hand. Had it bedded and a pachymer pad put on. They offer it in two models. I am not rich so it allowed me to have a decent gun without breaking the bank.

 

[Ryan]

Just looked them up and the Ruger M77 African Model also comes in left handed 416 Ruger too if you're after something heavier than 375. It's true, neither caliber is as common as the 375 H&H or 416 Rigby and Remington. But Hornady supplies both (read some so so reviews on their DG ammo) and Swift supplies the 375 Ruger too, so it is catching on. If you reload there's plenty of good info for the 375 out there too. It got me into reloading and when I bought one for hunting giraffe. Worked wonderfully.
Good luck and good shooting.

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

Typed in "Left Handed" in the search on Gunbroker and the narrowed the search by selecting "bolt action rifles" and came up with this:

Somebody posted a link a few months back to a sporting goods place in Texas that has some good deals on left handed rifles: https://www.cdnnsports.com/firearms.html
They have both the Ruger Alaskan and African in left had 375 Ruger for $599

 

[matt85]

first question, what do you intend to hunt with this rifle?

second question, what is your budget?

the 375 H&H is the legal minimum for DG and is passable for most of the big 7. however, i prefer at least a 416 for dangerous game hunting. im not a fan of Ruger rifles but i like them more then Montana rifles. there are other left handed options out there but as mentioned they arent cheap.

here are a couple of reasonably priced rifles in 416 RM. i would recommend having the barrel shortened a bit on the Remington and id throw away that horrible muzzle break (muzzle breaks have no business in Africa).

http://www.gunsinternational.com/gu...ery-rare-left-hand-rifle.cfm?gun_id=100738477

http://www.gunsinternational.com/gu...rifle-s-n-3442-left-hand.cfm?gun_id=100734327

-matt

 

[sgt_zim]

I need some advice from experienced left handed hunters as to what make of bolt action they have used in 375 H&H or bigger to hunt Africa. I know about the Ruger #1H but I think I want a left handed bolt action. Thank you in advance for any and all info.

I'm in the same boat. There do not seem to be a great many choices for us unless we want to shell out a lot of money for a rifle. Frankly, if you're going to shell out a lot of money for a Blaser bolt, I'm of the opinion that "in for a penny, in for a pound" and if you can find a deal on a used Merkel in something like 470 NE, that would be a better choice.

For those of us who'd rather spend that kind of money on hunting rather than rifles, the only choice really is the Ruger in 375 Ruger or 416 Ruger. Ammo *could* be a problem if a bag gets lost, but you can solve that by splitting your ammo between bags. And honestly, if you're going to spend 15K on a hunt, then buying twice as much ammo as you are going to need is a trivial expense.

 

[Rob404]

Cabelas Gun Library had a Pre 64 lefty in 375 last time I looked

 

[sgt_zim]

Not a 375 H&H fan - not because I don't like the cartridge, but because all of the bolt rifles chambered in it are heavy, 24" barrel (or longer) affairs. My attraction to the Rugers is that I can get them with a 20" BBL. It really doesn't cost THAT much velocity, but they're a bit easier to swing in the tight cover that is often found in both Africa and Alaska. In the game of guns and hunting, inches count.

 

[colorado]

I bought my son a LH Win M70 Classic in 416 Remington. It wasn't easy to find. Also he wanted stainless/synthetic and didn't want a Ruger. It was his getting out of the service present so I spent the money.



Had the barrel shortened to 22", CeraKoted and it now wears a Leupold 1.5-5x scope on CeraKoted Talley QR rings. Shoots great, but not cheap.

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

A current listing on GB, $1895 for a CZ550 in 375 H&H. That makes the deal at https://www.cdnnsports.com/firearms.html
for either the Ruger Alaskan and African in left hand 375 Ruger for $599 look pretty tempting. The $1300 difference can cover the cost to scope the Ruger with some very nice glass and also buy a fair amount of ammo to feed it.

 

[Rob404]

Qui

A current listing on GB, $1895 for a CZ550 in 375 H&H. That makes the deal at https://www.cdnnsports.com/firearms.html
for either the Ruger Alaskan and African in left hand 375 Ruger for $599 look pretty tempting. The $1300 difference can cover the cost to scope the Ruger with some very nice glass and also buy a fair amount of ammo to feed it.

View attachment 177157

 

[Albert GRANT]

If you can find one the browning A-bolt is a good option for .375 H&H in LH. I even got mine with a 20" barrel. They aren't too bad on price when you can find them, and the weight and balance is good on them. That being said, if I hadn't come across the deal I got on mine and had seen the cdnn deal for the rugers I would have a .375 Ruger right now.

 

[colorado]

I think it sucks that CZ is charging $600 more for a LH version of the CZ 550 and that Winchester doesn't make LH M70. And I'm right handed!

 

[Ike85123]

It took me years to get together my collection of lefties ! Especially when i was younger,noone really made them. My first dg rifle was a ruger 470ne single shot. Works great on a noncharging hunt!
Remington model 700 in 375h&h is a nice rifle and can come as a lefty.

 

[sgt_zim]

i think if i ever go bigger than my 9.3, it may just be to a LH 416 Ruger. They used to come from the factory, but no more. Have to get a 375 Ruger and re-barrel.