I want a LH Bolt gun in a military caliber...

[Dees]

My favorite kind of rifle are bolt guns, I love shooting them. Only problem is that pretty much all of the left handed variants that I know of shoot commercial ammo, which can get exspensive if you shoot a lot. Are there any LH bolt gun that fire a military caliber so I can buy cheap surplus to shoot through them? I'd love to get something in 7.62x51 or even 7.62x39. Could I maybe get a rifle chambered in 308 and rebarrel it in of the previously mentioned calibers? Thanks,

Dylan

 

[Jim K]

There are not many. The Remington 700 BDL is made in a left hand version, but the only military caliber it is made in is .30-'06. The Savage 11FL and 11 GL are made in .308 Winchester and their Model 12FLVSS is made in that caliber and also in .223. (Of course, rebarrelling is always an option for any action that can handle the desired cartridge.)

There may be others, but I know of no left hand bolt action military rifles. The usual rule in all armies was that the soldier conformed to the army, the army did not conform to the soldier. There have been conversions made, and I have examined a Model 1903 converted to left hand by Sedgely. The conversion is not easy and was, of course, very expensive. I know of no one who is doing it today.

Jim

 

[rbernie]

Could I maybe get a rifle chambered in 308 and rebarrel it in of the previously mentioned calibers?

Uh, 308 Win *is* 7.62x51. Well, it's actually a slightly higher-pressure version, but you get the point. If you have a 308 Win chambered boltie, you have the ability to shoot 7.62x51 NATO surplus....

 

[Dees]

Ok, I realized that they were pretty much the same with minor differences in the case, I just wasn't sure that you could use them interchangibly. Well, that solves my problem then, thanks.

Dylan

 

[Phantom Warrior]

Uh, 308 Win *is* 7.62x51. Well, it's actually a slightly higher-pressure version, but you get the point. If you have a 308 Win chambered boltie, you have the ability to shoot 7.62x51 NATO surplus....

I know they are essentially the same specs, but I thought it wasn't recommended to shoot 7.62 NATO in a commercial .308 Winchester chamber. Something about a .308 chamber being tighter and unable to handle military ammo, which may be sloppier and loaded to a higher pressure. But that you could shoot commercial ammo in a MILITARY chamber because the military chambers were looser to handle hotter ammo w/o trouble. Can anyone back me up on this?

 

[rbernie]

That's SAAMI's recommendation for 5.56NATO and 223 Rem but not for 7.62x51 vice 308. By the way, if you ever have any questions about what's safe or not, just check with SAAMI - they publish this sort of stuff for a living.

 

[Dees]

Now that is a useful link, thanks again.

 

[Phantom Warrior]

From the SAAMI page...



In Rifle Chambered For

Do Not Use These Cartridges


223 Remington

5.56mm Military
222 Remington
30 Carbine

308 Winchester
7.62x39
300 Savage




Well, what do you know. 7.62 NATO isn't on the Do Not Use list. You learn something new every day...

 

[homeka45]

Thanks for the great link to SAAMI, sounds like a finnish snipers name.

 

[MrMurphy]

Savage 110 lefty.

Get it in .308. You're fine.