CZ no more left handed .22 Bolt Actions

As a LH, I never had much issues shooting a RH bolt gun...............is it really that much of a hindrance to you to the point you would not buy a brand/model you seem to want?

Browning still cataloging their T-Bolt in LH. MSRP is$800.

The Savage bolts are great little rifles.

I don't know about LH 455s but I do know CZ is cutting back on poor selling items. For this year they've also discontinued the 550 Magnum which was the only controlled-round feed magnum actioned rifle on the market before Heyms, Westley-Richards and such.

I wouldn't assume it to be permanent.

On the other hand (pun intended) I don't know the sales success. marketing validation of their port-side adventures in plinking either.

On the other, other hand (being right or otherwise known as correct) it's time southpaws got right with their proclivities and stopped elbowing the fellas next to them on the firing line as well as flinging their brass willie-nillie.

Todd.

well that sucks I'm left handed, and it is nice to use a left hand bolt even though I can work a right hand. Is this yet another gun I have to jump on to get while I can.

ApacheCoTodd said:

I wouldn't assume it to be permanent.

On the other hand (pun intended) I don't know the sales success. marketing validation of their port-side adventures in plinking either.

On the other, other hand (being right or otherwise known as correct) it's time southpaws got right with their proclivities and stopped elbowing the fellas next to them on the firing line as well as flinging their brass willie-nillie.

Todd.

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Todd if the right side of the brain controls the left hand and the left side of the brain controls the right hand that means that only left handed people are in their right of mind

Pretty sure CZ is no longer making the 452 (except the Grand Finale) or 455. They're now making the 457...alas, not in a lefty model.

Sad. I’ve got my 452 but I feel for others. The Mark IIs are not anywhere near the gun the CZ is.

Almost all my bolt guns are lefties now. We are only 15% of the market but whoever caters to us has almost a monopoly.

I love shooting next to left handed people when I'm on their right side. I never get hit with brass.
Always end up making conversation about it and jokingly thank them for being left handed and saving me from a brass shower.

WisBorn said:

Browning still cataloging their T-Bolt in LH. MSRP is$800.

The Savage bolts are great little rifles.

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Before you jump on the T-Bolt compare the CZ's to the T-Bolt. Most favor the CZ.

bamajoey said:

Before you jump on the T-Bolt compare the CZ's to the T-Bolt. Most favor the CZ.

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...which does not help the OP even a little bit. If CZ stopped making LH rimfires he cant buy one...assuming he wants to buy it new.

Carsten
Southpaw myself

berettaprofessor said:

Sad. I’ve got my 452 but I feel for others. The Mark IIs are not anywhere near the gun the CZ is.

Almost all my bolt guns are lefties now. We are only 15% of the market but whoever caters to us has almost a monopoly.

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Ah yes, but if all 15% actually purchased left hand rifles instead of right handed rifles we would see tons of them available.

tbs said:

Ah yes, but if all 15% actually purchased left hand rifles instead of right handed rifles we would see tons of them available.

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It´s obviously a Catch22 or hen-and-egg-problem.
MY bolt rifles are all true lefties, for that exact reason: I want to give gunmakers who think of us southpaws my money instead of crampin around with wrong-handed guns.

But I guess semi-autos are the choice of many lefties, many of them fully operable from both sides or just a question of using your thumb instead of your index finger.
Lever actions are another kind of mostly lefty-friendly rifles, they probably get their share of your sales, too.

Greetings
Carsten

carsten1911 said:

But I guess semi-autos are the choice of many lefties, many of them fully operable from both sides or just a question of using your thumb instead of your index finger.
Lever actions are another kind of mostly lefty-friendly rifles, they probably get their share of your sales, too.

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This, I would guess, is the reason there are not more left handed bolt action rifles. Being a lefty has taught me that what I really want is things that are ambidextrous, or at least ambi enough. They don't need to be fully ambi, but they need to be close enough that none of the operations are too awkward. Most semi-autos and lever actions work just fine for me, but a right handed bolt action is always awkward.

I have practiced with right handed bolt actions a fair bit, and I can use one pretty well, but it is not something I would choose, and I don't need to own one.

I suspect that the preference for ambidextrous guns is common among lefties, and this is probably why the actual market for left hand bolt actions is smaller than the left handed percentage of the population might indicate.

I'm always amazed that many think if you are left handed, then you should just use a right hand firearm and be happy with it. That doesn't make much sense to me!

You can buy a LH Anschutz for about 1K, and I personally like it better than the CZ.



As for the Browning T-bolt, it's only "half" left hand, and that's really too bad!! Those half LH rifles are a PITA to use, and I wouldn't buy one...

BTW, Browning's old LH T-bolt was ALL LH, so they had them right, the first time around!



Personally, I couldn't live with the assbackwards safety on the CZ, so I saved my money a little longer and bought the (above) Anschutz, and it's been a GREAT 22 to own and I'm glad I bought it over the CZ

DM.

Even Savage has limited what they offer now compared to what they use to offer in left hand rimfire rifles in 22lr. Go to the Savage Rascal single shot or the Model 93 (22WMR or 17HMR) and the choices go up.

As another poster noted above, CZ has also discontinued the 455, which wasn't made in left hand orientation anyway. They now offer the 457 which is a very different gun than the 452 or the old BRNOs, and they say that they have no plans to bring a left-hand version of that gun.

They only made two 452 versions in left hand orientation, the Lux and the American. I'm right-handed and don't enjoy shooting a left-hand gun off hand, but on the bench they work very well - actually even better than a right-hand gun. Shooting from a bench, I see no downside for a left-hand shooter using a right-hand bolt gun (or vice versa) because it lets you keep your trigger-hand grip and work the bolt with the support hand. One of my sons is left-handed, so we have these left hand guns for him.

Lux and American.


Lux after I refinished it.


It's not too much of a problem to find them on the used market and most of the ones I've seen sell were in great condition. They don't come along every day, but if you keep an eye out on GB or other sites, they show up. Below are links to some that sold within the past two or three weeks. Normally it's a lot easier to find an American than a Lux.

Lux
https://www.gunbroker.com/item/858336154
https://www.gunbroker.com/item/856550617

American
https://www.gunbroker.com/item/855071549 (an import)
https://www.gunbroker.com/item/853928807
https://www.gunbroker.com/item/856363911

Goosey said:

For this year they've also discontinued the 550 Magnum which was the only controlled-round feed magnum actioned rifle on the market before Heyms, Westley-Richards and such.

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Doesn’t Zastava still make the M70 in magnum actions? It’s a true 98 Mauser action so it’s controlled feed.

I buy LH rifles whenever the option is available. I know the resale is less, but I figure that’s my wife’s problem If you’ve ever had a case head failure in a centerfire rifle you learn to appreciate having the gas vented away from your face.

Elkins45 said:

If you’ve ever had a case head failure in a centerfire rifle you learn to appreciate having the gas vented away from your face.

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This is a very important point. Most people never think of this. But as a lefty who has been present during a couple of serious firearms failures, this issue is always in the back of my mind when shooting right handed long guns.

I am not trying to be "that guy," but the discontinuation of the 452 is relatively old news. CZ announced that the 452LH was gone in 2018. Buds sold out of their last remaining rifles about a year ago (February 2019). There is always a story of someone finding a new or good condition used one off GB or an out of the way gun store.

People love the 452 for good reason. It was a good quality mass produced sporting rifle. I don't buy into the tired argument of extremes some use that the 452 was the "last bastion of old world craftsmanship" while today's 22's are just plastic and nitrided metal. However, in a day and age when it's easy to have $800+ in a 10/22 to get a 5 shot, 50 yard group, under 1/2" consistently; the 452 can easily attain 3/4" (being conservative here, some are much better) with an approximately $400 gun. It was priced in between the LH Savage offerings and the Tbolt, with the Anschutz 1416L being top of the sporting line

So where do you go from here?
I would try to find a used 452. However, it will take time and searching... and it may be more expensive than you were expecting.

A second thought, if you don't want to drop Tbolt or Anschutz money, is to look at a CZ model 512 - semi auto. Now, I will head this one off at the pass for next year's thread fodder: CZ has discontinued 22LR models of the 512 between 2018 and 2019. But, most places are still selling these rifles as they are typically NOT a hot seller. So, if you like CZ quality and accuracy in at least a lefty friendly semi-auto, you better buy soon.

Isnt the Browning SA-22 lefty friendly?
(Semi I know but still)

Elkins45 said:

Doesn’t Zastava still make the M70 in magnum actions? It’s a true 98 Mauser action so it’s controlled feed.

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The Zastava comes in .375 and .458 but it's just a standard-length action opened up.

They will bring it back, but 30 bucks extra. They tend to bring back product once the stock is empty but raising the price a tad up.