I started a thread on my left handed wife. One suggestion was that she use a Browning BLR in .308 or thereabouts.

Do any of you have experience with a lever gun in Africa and especially a Browning BLR?

Ross,

BLR triggers are awful. Not the way to start outa newshooter in my opinion.

Mark

Buy her a nice new Ruger No1 in what ever chambering she can handle, and shoot accurately.

I have a son that shoots left handed, and when he was growing up, The No1 was the only rifle for a left hand shooter that could be had in any serious chamberings. He started with a littl No1 .243 Win, later at age nine, he got one chambered for 30-06, and at age 13 he got one chambered for 7mm mag, at 18 he bought himself one chambered for 375 H&H.

Today he is 45 yrs old and shoots like an olympic shooter, because he learned at an early age to make the first shot count!

The good thing about the No1 is it can be had in just about any chambering you can think of, and a lefty can shoot it well, but if you are a right hander, you can shoot it too!

quote:

Posted 23 February 2009 21:16 Hide Post
Buy her a nice new Ruger No1 in what ever chambering she can handle, and shoot accurately.

good advice

I worked for a guy in Zululand that had a Miroku (same rifle, without the browning name on it) lever in .308. It was the truck gun on the ranch. It had a 1-4.5 bushnell on it and it was abused daily and cleaned once year!

It shot all kinds of loads and probably shot an impala or warthog every week. I really enjoyed using it, very handy and nice to shoot. I never benched it so can't comment on accuracy although we did brain-shoot some animals and it had been used successfuly to take springbuck on the plains.

I dont like leverguns in general but do like the BLR design.

Mark is right though, the trigger is not great due to its two-part disconnecting feature which makes some creep and a 'first-stage' inevitable.

Marks right BLR triggers are usually suboptimal. I must have gotten lucky with my BLR in 358 win. I shoot off my left shoulder due to left eye dominance and its a handy gun. The 358 would be a good bushveld caliber but I have not taken the rifle to Africa.

dogcat

I have used my Savage 99 in 300 Savage on my last 3 safaris to Zim. It's a great caliber and a very accurate rifle.

My wife took my Browning BLR in 7/08 to Namibia in 2000 and whacked her Gemsbok! Works for us at the ranch too. Lots of deer have gone to ground due to it.