While Lora and I were at the DSC show on Saturday, I finally got the chance to have Lora handle a Left Hand bolt action rifle.

This has been an ongoing sore spot with us since she started hunting der/elk and javelina with me.

She is right handed thru parental preference, but attempts or does many things left handed.

One of the first major hurdles e facd when she wanted to start hunting, was figuring out why she was having so much trouble see thru the scope on one of my rifles.

We discovered that while she does some things right handed, she is left eye dominant.

We got that worked around, and in firing a right handed rifle, she just keeps her left hand around the pistol grip and takes her right hand off the forearm and cycles the bolt.

She has gotten quite adept at the technique.

I had been talking about getting her a left handed rifle for a couple of years, and so Sat. at the DSC show, I checked around the various gun displays and found a couple of left hand rifles for her to shoulder and see how they felt to her.

Well, the first rifle I had her try was a Mark V Weatherby in 300 Weatherby Mag.. I forget what type scope it had on it, but needless to say it was a good bit heavier than the model 77 Ruger Ultra-Lite in 257 Roberts that she is used to handling.

So we went by another display, and they had a left hand something or other in 270 without a scope, but with an $8000.00 price tag.

She was plenty apprehensive, but the guy in the booth told her to go ahead and try it.

She shoulders the thing, a lot easier and better than the Mark V, and I then told her to act like she had shot the gun and to cycle the bolt.

Well, she did her standard, pull the thing tighter to her shoulder with her left hand and take her right hand off the forearm and start reaching for the bolt.

At that point, I reached out and put my hand on her right hand and said, leave your right hand on the forearm and reach up with your left hand from the pistol grip to the bolt handle.

It was so neat, because she tried it, and the light came on.

She finally realized what I had been talikng about when I said that we needed to get her a Left Hand rifle.

Now the fun part. I have settled on the caliber I want to get her, a 7mm-08.

The problem is going to be finding one at the right price.

I would prefer to get her a Ruger, but I do not think they make a Model 77 Ultra-Lite or compact in 7mm-08.

Savage offers it in a couple of their guns, and i know savage has one of the better triggers on the market, but have never been real impressed with the looks of their rifles, although I have not paid any real attention to some of the newer models.

I found the perfect gun in the 2009 Rem. catalog I picked up. LH 7-08 sps compact.
Its plastic I bet you want wood?

The Savage Classic model isn't a bad looking rifle. I agree that many of the other models have a face that only a mother could love.

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=120512061

LOL! Write a check.

i thot u were gona say you paid 8k for a rifle! lol

CH...how can you put a price tag on Lora's happiness?





I wouldn't pay 8K for a gun either.

A few years ago I switched to a left hand bolt action after shooting right handed rifles for my entire life. I believe she will love it once she gets used to it, I know I do!! Mine is a Ruger 77 in 270. Hope you are able to find her one she likes!! Tikka makes a lot of left hand guns and they are fine rifles as well. I'm about to buy a Browning BLR, they come in 7mm-08 and would work fine for a lefty too!!

Im right handed with left eye dominate, she will love left handed rifle. Over the years I have taught myself to shoot both right & left handed, now it dosen't matter what side of the vehicle I set......

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Its plastic I bet you want wood?

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If it was for me, yes I would, but since it is her gun, I hope I will be able to find a couple of left hand rifles that she can handle, both wood and synthetic.

She is not into the nostalgia that I am. She is much more utilitarian about things.

I really wished I could find her a rifle in 7x57, but from all I have seen about the 7mm-08, it is just as good or better ballistically and a heck of a lot easier to find ammo for.

The biggest thing she will ever hunt is a cow elk, so the 7mm-08 will handle that quite easily.

One of the Savages I looked at last night on their website was a fairly good looking gun with a Walnut stock, but one of the All Weather models with the synthetic stock did not look bad.

i am left handed naturally, and i have a left handed ruger, choosing it over a lefty remmington 700 when i got to buy the rifle. its quite nice and i believe they made a mark II in 7mm-08, but not in a compact gun or even a lefty for that matter.

i own and shoot both right and left handed bolt rifles, and to be quite honest, my follow up shots arn't that much slower with a righty than with a lefty. i cycle the bolt with my left hand, using the right to snug the rifle against my shoulder, rolling the gun slightly to clear the bolt a bit easier.

i got tired of the limited caliber selections in left handed rifles, although i would prefer my hunting rifles to be lefthanded if possible

CH, I bought a Ruger model 77 stainless, synthetic 7-08 for my wife a little over a year ago and she loves it. Shoots good and for a MK II it has an excellent trigger.

i would consider the savage left hand youth or browning used to offer a micro-hunter a-bolt in 7mm-08. a 7mm-08 in a light package will thump more than the 257 roberts. also i believe the ruger hawkeye is available in your configuration.

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the new weather warriors have the new accu stock with the aluminum bedding block and 3 action screws to go along with the accu trigger.

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That was something I was really looking at when I was on the Savage website.

I appreciate everyone's input.

Recoil is not going to be that big problem, as I do all the sighting in work, and Lora has shot an elk with my 35 Whelen.

Lora does not really hunt that much, but she does hit what ever she draws down on.

I would just like her to have her own special gun to use when she does go hunting with me.

Thanks Again for all the input.

I do just fine with the .257 Roberts!

Just humor her folks, the Doc is still trying to get the medication worked out.

how do you spell "big, fat, raspberry?"

PTHTHTHTHTHTH!