Reccomendations for left handed folk

[Coughlin2695]

I am a left handed person in a right handed world when it comes to bolt action rifles it seems. But i am looking for any recommendations on good parts or good actions to buy. In my perspective, i want something i can shoot a lot of. I have a leupold mark 8 h59 for said rifle as well. Im wondering what companies sell good left handed actions, a good barrel to buy, and a good trigger to use.

 

[Kevins750]

Surgeon and defiance have left handed options...

As for barrel and trigger do a search on the site.

 

[dinnerbucket]

I went with a LH bighorn TL3 with a trigger tech in an AI chassis

 

[Coughlin2695]

I have heard a lot of good things about the left handed defiance action. I do believe stiller makes some too. Id like to look and see how that contends with the rest of them

 

[JMGlasgow]

Can't go wrong with Defiance. I also like Criterion barrels and Tubb 2 stage triggers.

I've never owned a Defiance, but I have friends with them and they just work very well. There is nothing I don't like about them. If I go custom, it'll be a Defiance.

 

[Mike4837]

I am a left handed person in a right handed world when it comes to bolt action rifles it seems. But i am looking for any recommendations on good parts or good actions to buy. In my perspective, i want something i can shoot a lot of. I have a leupold mark 8 h59 for said rifle as well. Im wondering what companies sell good left handed actions, a good barrel to buy, and a good trigger to use.

What are you willing to spend? There are actually quite a few good options for us lefties now.

 

[Codiekfx400]

Bighorn Origin or Bighorn TL3 would work well. As far as barrels the Bighorn will take a Savage prefit which can be bought anywhere for cheap. Trigger is personal preference but I like the Timney Calvin Elite a lot of people like the Triggertech Diamond.

 

[missed]

I have Lefty ARC Mausingfield, and planning to order a long action later this year.

 

[BravoSector1]

Are you left or right eye dominant? I'm a righty with a good left eye so I've stuck with right hand actions over the years. Actually quite easy to run the action and maintain eye contact while also maintaining your grip/trigger index in place.

 

[Coughlin2695]

What are you willing to spend? There are actually quite a few good options for us lefties now.

I anticipate paying for quality so im not too concerned with price

 

[kthomas]

Lots of great actions listed here, so I won't repeat what's already been stated.

BnA Tacsport 2 stage trigger is the best I've used. Went from a single stage TT trigger to a BnA 2 stage Tacsport and couldn't be happier.

For barrels, stick with the top tier brands: Bartlein, Krieger, Benchmark, Hawkhill, Rock Creek, Brux.

 

[b6graham]

I anticipate paying for quality so im not too concerned with price

defiance ARC, or my favorite Bighorn, either Origin or TL3

keystone prefit shouldered barrel

i like the Calvin Elite 2 stage. would like to try TT Diamond 2 stage whenever it finally comes out. wasnt a fan of the BnA, maybe just how it felt on that gun

or call mile high or altus and see what they have in stock, it's likely a lot of these options. i bet they can ship you something within a week or two. if you dont wanna piece action barrel and trigger separately

 

[lte82]

I've tried just about everything at this point, and my favorite combo is Impact / Foundation. You can use off the shelf pre-fit barrels, the actions function flawlessly regardless of how much pressure you put on the magazine and in pretty much any condition you can throw at it, and I've found very little zero shift day in and day out even without bedding. If you prefer a chassis, I would straight to the MDT ACC.

I love Schmidts, but you have to remove the illumination knob to clear the bolt handle. If you need/want illumination I'd go for the ATACR 5-25 or 7-35, which are very lefty friendly. The Spuhr mounts are nice, but the bubble level is pretty much useless for us lefties. I bought a picatinny rail for the Spuhr and mounted a small bubble level on that. (bottom rifle)

I would recommend on staying away from raw / non-DLC'd Defiance actions. They tend to get bindy and slow in dusty conditions. I used one all of 2018 and beginning of 2019, and that was my only complaint. The DLC'd actions are pretty solid though. The downside is no pre-fit barrels, but if you are good with sending your action out for 2 weeks to 4 months, then that's not an issue.

Unless you have a great local gunsmith, I would recommend Gradous (lighting fast turnaround and lots of top shooters using him), Altus, GAP, just to name a few. I don't think there are many bad barrel manufacturers these days, but Bartlein and Krieger are hard to not use. I would stick with a 26-28" MTU or heavier. The weight is key to a steady hold and reducing recoil.

Caliber wise, I would stick with 6mm. I love the 47, but Dasher, BRA, or XC is tough to beat. I don't know that I would ever shoot a 6 creedmoor, when you give up consistency and barrel life for an almost insignificant increase in raw performance.

Pretty much everything else is going to be personal preference. Hope that helps!

 

[Coughlin2695]

I've tried just about everything at this point, and my favorite combo is Impact / Foundation. You can use off the shelf pre-fit barrels, the actions function flawlessly regardless of how much pressure you put on the magazine and in pretty much any condition you can throw at it, and I've found very little zero shift day in and day out even without bedding. If you prefer a chassis, I would straight to the MDT ACC.

I love Schmidts, but you have to remove the illumination knob to clear the bolt handle. If you need/want illumination I'd go for the ATACR 5-25 or 7-35, which are very lefty friendly. The Spuhr mounts are nice, but the bubble level is pretty much useless for us lefties. I bought a picatinny rail for the Spuhr and mounted a small bubble level on that. (bottom rifle)

I would recommend on staying away from raw / non-DLC'd Defiance actions. They tend to get bindy and slow in dusty conditions. I used one all of 2018 and beginning of 2019, and that was my only complaint. The DLC'd actions are pretty solid though. The downside is no pre-fit barrels, but if you are good with sending your action out for 2 weeks to 4 months, then that's not an issue.

Unless you have a great local gunsmith, I would recommend Gradous (lighting fast turnaround and lots of top shooters using him), Altus, GAP, just to name a few. I don't think there are many bad barrel manufacturers these days, but Bartlein and Krieger are hard to not use. I would stick with a 26-28" MTU or heavier. The weight is key to a steady hold and reducing recoil.

Caliber wise, I would stick with 6mm. I love the 47, but Dasher, BRA, or XC is tough to beat. I don't know that I would ever shoot a 6 creedmoor, when you give up consistency and barrel life for an almost insignificant increase in raw performance.

Pretty much everything else is going to be personal preference. Hope that helps!

View attachment 7102356

That was very helpful thank you! Im trying to sell my mark 8 and 338 norma for this project bc i won them, but sadly it was right handed. I am looking to ourchase a nightforce once this happens.

On a different note about dlc’d actions. Have you seen the stiller spectre? Apparently i can get that left handed. Just wondering if that also would be a good consideration

 

[b6graham]

That was very helpful thank you! Im trying to sell my mark 8 and 338 norma for this project bc i won them, but sadly it was right handed. I am looking to ourchase a nightforce once this happens.

On a different note about dlc’d actions. Have you seen the stiller spectre? Apparently i can get that left handed. Just wondering if that also would be a good consideration

you're not gonna see anyone recommend the specter, especially at the pricepoint it's at you could have anything

 

[kthomas]

Personally not a fan of Stiller. Every Stiller I've handled felt like someone through a handful of sand in the action - fairly gritty and grabby feeling.

 

[MDT_Josh]

I've been running my LH Defiance Deviant Elite, TT Diamond and MDT ACC for the past little while here and I can't say enough good things about that combo. If I hadn't done with the Deficance, my other choice would have probably been the Impact or Lone Peak, because they are essentially the same actions. Not saying that the Bighorn, Stiller, Surgeon, etc. actions aren't as good, it's just that I like what i like

Also, when you're ready to get setup with a chassis, let me know

 

[lte82]

That was very helpful thank you! Im trying to sell my mark 8 and 338 norma for this project bc i won them, but sadly it was right handed. I am looking to ourchase a nightforce once this happens.

On a different note about dlc’d actions. Have you seen the stiller spectre? Apparently i can get that left handed. Just wondering if that also would be a good consideration

My first custom action was a Stiller and I fought ejection issues and because it had the AW mag cut the bolt would bind on the magazine if I put any pressure on it. The extra money on an Impact is worth it!

 

[samb300]

Factory LH AI’s are available, either in AT or AX variants. Bomb proof factory option, available in a couple of days (not weeks or months like a custom) with just a phone call to Mile High or EuroOptic.

 

[One1Bravo]

I have a left hand Bighorn TL3 in an MDT ACC and a left hand Impact in an XLR Envy JV Heavy Fill. I would recommend either one. Both my barrels were spun up by Altus and both triggers are TT Diamonds.

 

[Defiance Machine]

 

[Tim_WNC]

If you don't really want to deal with custom, or are getting analysis paralysis like I did, the LH Tikka Tac A1 I picked up a couple months ago is a far better rifle than any production gun has a right to be.

It is consistently giving me 0.3-->0.4 MOA results with a moderate hand load. And occasionally far better than that.

 

[LongRangeLefty]

Are you left or right eye dominant? I'm a righty with a good left eye so I've stuck with right hand actions over the years. Actually quite easy to run the action and maintain eye contact while also maintaining your grip/trigger index in place.

I agree. I am left eye dominant ambidextrous. I too prefer a right hand action for these reasons

 

[Mk32784]

I just had a lefty built with a Curtis Custom Axiom and MPA chassis (all the new models are ambi) with a TT trigger, personally love the 60 degree bolt. Setup mostly for PRS. Manged to get the entire build even though it was "custom" done in less then a month.

 

[mkollman74]

Factory LH AI’s are available, either in AT or AX variants. Bomb proof factory option, available in a couple of days (not weeks or months like a custom) with just a phone call to Mile High or EuroOptic.

View attachment 7102685

For the win...