It really sucks being left handed!

[Sheprador1973]

Hi all. Thought I’d resurrect this briefly for some additional advice if you don’t mind. Seen a left handed Tikka M590 in .308 for £400. Haven’t asked about bore/throat condition yet but what are your thoughts? Are they worth considering? And is the price as to be expected? Like the look especially the lack of plastic!

Any thoughts much appreciated

 

[sundog]

The m590 is a cracking rifle and I had one myself in 308 but the bottom metal and the three shot mags are plastic. £400 is a fair price, Sheprador,for a rifle in good condition.

I forgot that the bolt shroud is plastic as well

 

[Sheprador1973]

The m590 is a cracking rifle and I had one myself in 308 but the bottom metal and the three shot mags are plastic. £400 is a fair price, Sheprador,for a rifle in good condition.

Thank you mate. Presumably there’s after market bottom metal & mags in steel if I look around? I’ll make enquirers

 

[Sheprador1973]

Also, thought I’d ask...

if if you go for a rifle (new) that is ‘special order’ and might take 9 months to arrive...are you expected to put down a deposit or pay in full up front? Ask as I’m considering going for the tikka t3x as well but will need time to raise the full £. Many thanks, Shep

 

[Malxwal]

A very occasional forum member ( not enough posts to advertise) will very shortly/ now'ish be selling a very clean and well looked after leftie M595 .243....

 

[Sinistral]

Also, thought I’d ask...

if if you go for a rifle (new) that is ‘special order’ and might take 9 months to arrive...are you expected to put down a deposit or pay in full up front? Ask as I’m considering going for the tikka t3x as well but will need time to raise the full £. Many thanks, Shep

I honestly don't know about the ££ side on a new order. This isn't something the retailer can readily shift if you back out, so expect to pay a non-refundable deposit. I’d just see what your RFD says.

£400 is RRP for a new M590 LH about 1995. The M590 is basically the same as the M595 with a 3-shot stack removable magazine. It has different chequering, and a lozenge-shaped side loading port just like the T3 & T3X. That makes it harder to single load a round by dropping it onto the magazine follower of an empty magazine. It's rather like posting something through a letter box.

I've got an impaired grip (between my thumb & forefinger due to nerve damage from a smashed wrist) so find the M590 difficult to side-load. The M595 has the top rail milled out to open up access to the loading port so for me that makes all the difference.
ATB

 

[Chasey]

On the up side the old Tikas are well respected rifles, on the down side it could be 18 years old but on the upside again a 308 should cope with 1000s of rounds before being shot out

My 2p would be purchase subject to an inspection by a firearms expert.

ATB

 

[The Singing Stalker]

I'm a leftie.
all my rifles and shotties are left handed. Even the semi auto hatsan.
i will never buy a right handed rifle. Ever again, amen.
Any right handed person who asks you if you can learn to shoot right handed is an idiot.
Any left handed person who tells you to shoot right handed is a transhander. (See what I did there) and should never be trusted.
i bought a blaser, err actually I bought two. Yes it is marvellous and yes the safety is very safe (one of the reasons I bought it) and yes the safety is harder to use than almost any other rifle and slower too. But I am unlikely to ever change. Well, never say never.
the bolthead on one of the Blasers is right handed, I really need to buy a lefthand bolt head.
For a left-handed air rifle try a Phoenix. I have the fast fire 10. Cracking job. They have unfortunately just ceased production so get one whilst you can. Google it for info.
Tikka T3 in left hand are good and accurate, I had 2. And reasonable price secondhand.
What is the fascination with fast second shots? I don't get it. For rats and rabbits, OK, I can see the point, Dangerous game too. But not for deer or foxes. 1 shot, 1deer. If it starts running then Im knackered. Or are we talking European hunting? Running boar sort of thing? Be happy to hear peoples thoughts on it.
I too am frustrated by the lack of choice for left handers. And going to air arms asking for a left handed air rifle to be shown an ambi stock with a right handed bolt. Wtf?
Most of my rifles have been bought secondhand with no issues. it may help if they are close enough to let you shoot.
talk to Mike at Carlton moor, he tends to stock plenty of left handed rifles for lefties.

right now, off to write a letter of complaint about the lack of scantily clad females on the BBC.....

 

[LeftHandGuy]

The guts of the rifle will be a good quality investment. The barrel may be fine - or screwed up. The fit may or may not work for you.

For free, you can measure your length of pull, call the seller and check what the LoP of the rifle has. That will at least tell you if it's likely to fit you - of if you'll be having to modify or replace the stock.

400 quid seems a very attractive price for a very well respected make and model of rifle. I'd be very tempted if in your shoes.

Question is - can you afford a 400 pound rifle if the stock needs work to fit you without hurting you or your accuracy. And/Or if the barrel needs replacing?

If you can - then I'd just go for it - doubly so if it seems like the stock would be a good fit.

IF a rebarrel is needed, that of course opens up a wide world of calibre choices, including that 6.5 mm family you wanted in the first place - so might be a side-bar benefit. Of course, the only way you actually find out is by getting the rifle and shooting it. The barrel may look shagged and shoot well - or may look fine but have been trashed.

If really put on the spot, I would say go for it. It's a gamble, but if you lose, you will at least have the guts of great rifle, and I would guess it's more likely than not that you'll end up with a high quality rifle for a keen price.

 

[Alantoo]

snip...
Any right handed person who asks you if you can learn to shoot right handed is an idiot.
Any left handed person who tells you to shoot right handed is a transhander. (See what I did there) and should never be trusted.
snip....

As one of your “untrustworthy” left handed persons who shoots off his right shoulder I take exception to your gauche comments and find them distinctly sinister.

You are probably the sort who cannot drive a left hand drive car because the gear lever needs moving with your right hand, or is always going round in circles when you try to use a wheelbarrow. I am surprised you manage the keys on the RHS of the keyboard, unless of course you are a true single finger typist.

In Germany there is a web seite for people just like you but I can’t be bothered to find the links for it because I am feeling pretty recht at the moment.

Alan

 

[The Singing Stalker]

As one of your “untrustworthy” left handed persons who shoots off his right shoulder I take exception to your gauche comments and find them distinctly sinister.

You are probably the sort who cannot drive a left hand drive car because the gear lever needs moving with your right hand, or is always going round in circles when you try to use a wheelbarrow. I am surprised you manage the keys on the RHS of the keyboard, unless of course you are a true single finger typist.

In Germany there is a web seite for people just like you but I can’t be bothered to find the links for it because I am feeling pretty recht at the moment.

Alan

I would come back with a Witty retort however I find myself at a disadvantage.
1. I had to go collect some wood so I'm fieced.
2. By the time I got home I needed a cider and of course one wasn't enough.
3. I don't drink a lot these days so 2 ciders and I'm admiring the flowers. Yeah man, cheap date for the women, but the missus won't let me off the lead.
4. I have no idea what 4 is but the important thing is I am right and you are wrong, so therefore, to quote Billy Bunter, you chaps can go eat coke. I will hazard a guess he didn't mean the modern definition of it.
5. I once saw a brilliant t-shirt. Born in a barn, raised in a cave, err, tum ti tum. Name the character and magazine.
6. I need a wee, the cider is flushing right through me.
7 sinister, I prefer dark and mysterious.
8. Simple, overcome by buying an automatic.
9. Don't even try to talk about wheelbarrows, people of my origin have great knowledge and understanding of wheelbarrows and shovels. Just can't understand why they are all right handed.
10, I have to stop there because I never learnt that 11 came after 10 and I need a wee because of the speed the cider is flowing throught me...... You cad, you....... You bounder, you.

 

[Sheprador1973]

The guts of the rifle will be a good quality investment. The barrel may be fine - or screwed up. The fit may or may not work for you.

For free, you can measure your length of pull, call the seller and check what the LoP of the rifle has. That will at least tell you if it's likely to fit you - of if you'll be having to modify or replace the stock.

400 quid seems a very attractive price for a very well respected make and model of rifle. I'd be very tempted if in your shoes.

Question is - can you afford a 400 pound rifle if the stock needs work to fit you without hurting you or your accuracy. And/Or if the barrel needs replacing?

If you can - then I'd just go for it - doubly so if it seems like the stock would be a good fit.

IF a rebarrel is needed, that of course opens up a wide world of calibre choices, including that 6.5 mm family you wanted in the first place - so might be a side-bar benefit. Of course, the only way you actually find out is by getting the rifle and shooting it. The barrel may look shagged and shoot well - or may look fine but have been trashed.

If really put on the spot, I would say go for it. It's a gamble, but if you lose, you will at least have the guts of great rifle, and I would guess it's more likely than not that you'll end up with a high quality rifle for a keen price.

Thanks for the advice LHG. All makes sense and got me thinking more (like I need to do that!). Would a rebarrel in 6.5x55 not be out of the question though because the existing .308 action is short and the Swede requires long? Point taken on the barrel condition of course. Might give em a ring and see how they describe its condition and LOP etc....Thanks.

 

[LeftHandGuy]

I *think* you are correct that it would not be long enough to accommodate a 6.5x55, and the bolt face may or may not need modification (the case heads are different I believe, but being at work I don't have numbers in front of me to know if it would matter). But if you re-barrel - you could use the Creedmoor and duplicate 6.5x55 loading/ballistics. Same bullets, primers, powder - only brass and dies would be different, and with the tsunami of interest in that chambering you're not likely to struggle getting the brass and dies.

Others here can comment as they may have real tech data in front of them (better than my pre-lunch 'reckons). But that is where my head would be going.

Even then, only if a rebarrel was necessary. If it shots straight, leave it alone and feed it 308!

 

[WildBoarHunter]

Left handed bolt action rifles:

Heym SR 21
Steyr Mannlicher Luxus, CL 2, SM 12
Sauer 202, 404
Mauser M03
Blaser R8
Tikka T3
Browning X-bolt
Savage various models
Remington 700
Ruger American & 77
Titan 6
Unlimited custom options

About half of these can be obtained in 6,5×55. I think left handed shooters are more than well supplied nowdays.

 

[bullet chucker]

You forgot Sako!

BC.

 

[LeftHandGuy]

About half of these can be obtained in 6,5×55. I think left handed shooters are more than well supplied nowdays.

There are also:

Browning A bolt
Zastava M70
Some CZ (although not most useful deer calibres)
Some SAKO

Plus a whole bunch of OOP models. The issue is not so much the (in some cases seemingly theoretical) existence of these models in LHB, but the availability including severely restricted choice, lead-times and price premium.

It is true that things are much better than they may have been in the past - but I still think the industry could do a lot better for us....

 

[WildBoarHunter]

Yes I forgot about Sako, CZ... I also forgot Antonio Zoli, Zastava M70... And there are probably more, so, every left hander should be able to find a rifle that suits his needs - Where I come from, dealers usually don't stock left handed rifles, except some cheaper stuff like Rugers, Savage Axis, Browning X-bolt... Things are getting better by the day though, just saw a whole bunch of left handed SR 21 & SR 30 on stock. And besides, every dealer can order whatever european made rifle you desire. Waiting times are about 3 months. Long wait, but if you really want that rifle it's not that bad to wait a couple of months. This is continental Europe - Austria & Germany are pretty close. If the factory or distributor stocks the rifle you desire, the waiting time might be just a few days. Things may be different on your island though... I've waited for my R8 for 3 months and for my SR 21 4 months. But the rifles arrived in configuration I ordered. I'm now about to order Steyr Mannlicher CL 2. One of the "hotter" left hand offerings nowdays... Got a 3 months wait in front of me, but it's not so bad if you allready have a bunch of other left hand rifles...
If I think about a decade or two before - all you could get were custom made rifles. So I'd say we're doing pretty good right now...

So if we update the list:

Heym SR 21 & SR 30
Steyr Mannlicher Luxus, CL 2, SM 12
Sauer 202, 404
Mauser M03
Blaser R8
Tikka T3 & T3X
Sako
Browning X-bolt & A bolt
Savage various models
Remington 700
Ruger American & 77
Titan 6
Antonio Zoli
CZ
Zastava

 

[bullet chucker]

Well done that man! I must say I would like to handle some of them just to see how they feel when mounted,just because they are dedicated left hand does not follow that they would suite all of us do you not agree?

BC.

 

[Chasey]

Left handed bolt action rifles:

Heym SR 21
Steyr Mannlicher Luxus, CL 2, SM 12
Sauer 202, 404
Mauser M03
Blaser R8
Tikka T3
Browning X-bolt
Savage various models
Remington 700
Ruger American & 77
Titan 6
Unlimited custom options

About half of these can be obtained in 6,5×55. I think left handed shooters are more than well supplied nowdays.

Rubbish we are very much second class citizens. Theres 100 rifles on offer to every LH option

Most of the time we have to put up with what ever they deem to offer in LH

I wanted a Sako but didn't want blue and wood so had to go RH with a custom LH stock

But I believe the min issue here is the limited availability of LE SH rifles

On gun trader now in ANY calibre theres 118 LH rifles against 4335 RH rifles

To give a clue theres a grand total of 2 LH 308s on sale on Gun Trader today and no 6.5 / 55s

 

[Highlandsjohn]

Rubbish we are very much second class citizens. Theres 100 rifles on offer to every LH option

Most of the time we have to put up with what ever they deem to offer in LH

I wanted a Sako but didn't want blue and wood so had to go RH with a custom LH stock

But I believe the min issue here is the limited availability of LE SH rifles

On gun trader now in ANY calibre theres 118 LH rifles against 4335 RH rifles

To give a clue theres a grand total of 2 LH 308s on sale on Gun Trader today and no 6.5 / 55s

RFD; 'john,These LH rifles take a time to sell,Ill have to take a percent Off my price and take a chance on selling it'

or
RFD; 'john,These LH rifles are hard to source,Ill have to Add a percentage'