... Or should I say at last. I see that one wholesaler shows that Browning is going to offer LH A-Bolt MICRO Medallians in 22-250, 243, 7MM-08, 308, and 270WSM. All three short mags will also be available in there regular sized LH A-Bolts. Savage is also showing LH short mags. Add these to the new LH M70 short mag offerings. What are we going to do with all these choices? TTS

It will be nice to have some more options.For me it seems i can never get the rifle and caliber i want without having to go custom.I quess i've shot right hand bolts all my life so i might not know what to do if i get a factory lefty.I personly email or write companies to ask if they plan on making a model gun i want in left i figure if enough people do this they might start giving a few more options.safe shooting

I wouldn't buy another A-Bolt on a bet, but I will look at the Winchester LH short-actions in the WSM chamberings. All five of my LH M-70s shoot very well.

Is Savage going to produce the WSMs or the SAUMs?

George

George,

I only saw Savage offering Winchester Shorts at this time. TTS

My wife is a lefty, and her opinion of the A-Bolt is the same as GeorgeS's. She put together her .30-'06 bolt action hunting rifle on a Winchester LH action, but she waited for it to arrive rather than settling for one she did not like.

She was shooting a M88 Win lever gun in .308 Win.

jim dodd

Savage has one Short-coming in there version of WSM's their magazine only holds two rounds!

TTS,
What wholesaler shows the Micro Medalian in left-hand calibers ? I want to put my name on the list for one . I love my L/H A-Bolt Stainless Stalker.

Goat,
I saw them listed at www.gzanders.com. You can also go to www.gunnersden.com. They are at the very end of the listing under bolt action centerfire. TTS

I'm real curious about the opinions on A-Bolts. What problems have you had? Another poster with much Africa experience wrote recently that he'd seen more Brownings fail than any others. What breaks?

I've been very happy with my stainless LH stalker in 300 Win "Long" and the only MickeyMouse part I can see is that tiny little wheel atop the bolt handle.

Just curious.

Redial

I would love to get a LH 270 Short Mag Browning Micro Medallian! My buddy has a RH version in 308. It is a joy to shoot AND carry. I own a LH 375 HH mag Stainless Stalker that I have shot hundreds of rounds through with out any problems what so ever. It is extremely accurate (3/4" 3 shot groups at 100 yards) using 300 grain Hornady bullets.

I have owned several of the new LH calssic action Winchester model 70's. I finally got a good one in 30-06 that is accurate so I will keep it. The other 2 had horrible accuracy (3" groups!) so I got rid of them. It seems to me that the Winchesters need more fine tuning than the Brownings do to get them to shoot well. But if they made the short mag in the featherweight I would buy it in a second and do whatever it took to get it to shoot well! I love the looks and feel of the M70 FW.

George must not have fallen into the 99% of people that get outstanding accuracy from their A-Bolts. There's always somebody.

The triggers can be replaced if necessary.

Potmetal screws? That's a new one. Pretty soon we'll be hearing about those potmetal barrels and recievers. Are you sure the stocks aren't made from "potmetal" as well?

Iron Buck,
According to www.gzanders.com, Winchester is going to be offering LH M70 FWs in the short mags. TTS

Thanks George

I'd concur about the triggers. They suck out loud, but regrettably nearly every American rifle is blessed with such a trigger anymore.

I don't believe JonA was being sarcastic, since I've heard each of those points made about A-Bolts at one time or another. They are legitimate matters, to my thinking.

I have owned only one and only for a year or so, so mine certainly isn't a definitive example. I've never (ever!) had a group exceed MOA, even when working up loads. Mine also has the plastic, compressed garbage bags stock, so the sealing problems don't apply. Don't have to worry about scratching it, either

I won't buy a Ruger either based on experience, but I'm sure some folks love 'em. I love my Browning, sorry yours haven't worked out. I wish I'd had the $$ to buy your .375 !

Redial

Redial,

I can understand a heavy pull on a factory trigger, but not rough contact surfaces. That's just poor quality. I never thought I'd see Japan (where almost all of Browning rifles are made) make such a bad gun.

It sounds like Browning has addressed many of the problems I encountered, but they've lost a rifle customer for ever. I do like their shotguns, though.

George
P.S. The Sako is sold, so you don't have to worry about it.

George,

Sorry you didn't like the sarcasm (yes it was intended). Do you know what "Pot Metal" really is? Have you verified the composition of said screws?

I can tell you they aren't Grade 12.9 but they certainly aren't "Pot Metal" either. If you broke the trigger adjusting screw, there was either something seriously wrong with the rifle or you continued to increase torque on it after it had "bottomed out." One of the biggest problems with old A-Bolt triggers is the adjustment screw will bottom out before you get the weight of pull much below 4-5 lbs. Cranking on the screw after you've reached the end of the adjustment just breaks stuff.

Anyway, I have two A-Bolts, my brother and my Dad each have one (both lefties). They are all the old style (10+ years old), none have Bosses and all consistently shoot under 1 MOA.

JonA,

Congratulations on having good-shooting A-Bolts.
Fortunately for you and your kin, you did not own the one I got.

Mine (bought new in 1987 or 1988) was not a good shooter; everything I said about it was true, and I did not over-torque the screw (it had not even bottomed out). The screw was a white metal with a gold-colored covering that flaked off when the ear broke; is that pot metal, or not?

Out of over 30 left-hand bolt-action rifles I have owned, the A-Bolt was absolutely the least accurate, and the most inconsistent.

You're a wise-ass, and your comments are based on a lack of appreciation for the experiences of others, which believe it or not, may NOT parallel yours.

George

Browning and Winchester have both updated their websites. Lots of new LH choices this year. TTS

Actually, TTS, the new Winchester online catalog doesn't show new lefty models, and also doesn't even list the Safari available in left hand .375 anymore.

Did you find them somewhere else that I missed??

JonA,

You're right, I didn't perform a spectrochromatograph test on the screw to determine it exact composition, so it may not have been zinc-based.

The screw was headless, with a slot in the top; it was plated with a gold-colored finish. While turning the screw as per instructions, first the finish cracked and peeled off, the ears bent and one tore off. The metal underneath was white.
Whether it was pot metal or not makes little difference; it was a poor choice of material for a screw they could reasonably expect someone would turn.

If the screw on your rifles was steel, then they definitely changed it (possibly due to complaints by gunowners?).

I was stating the reasons why I would not buy another A-Bolt. Barring the insignificant difference between whether the screw was pot metal or some other low-grade composite, my experience with the A-Bolt was enough to foreclose the likelihood of ever owning another.

BTW, you're a wise-ass because of your tone, and the use of in your comments. What you say is less important than HOW you say it.

George

PostDriver, Click on catalog, then M70, on the bottom are FF buttons that will take you to them. There are some under custom shop also. TTS

JonA,

I just found out that Browning is going to offer a LH rifle in .22 Hornet, so I just may end up eating my words.

I've wanted a .17 Ackley Hornet for a while, and didn't think anyone would offer the correct action for it in left-hand.

George

I bought a Left Handed short action Browning Stainless Stalker in 7-08 w/ BOSS the only year they offered them.
The trigger pull out of the box was 3#'s and broke crisp and clean. This gun shooting 140gr. Nosler Ballistic Tips is a sub MOA rifle day in and day out.
I can't find anything wrong with it and have used it to take Caribou, and whitetail all over the US and Canada.
It's the only Browning I own out of the 10 centerfire rifles I hunt with, but I do own a few of there wonderful shotguns also.
I think a lot of the Browning bashing has to do with hearsay vs. real experience. I can't say anything bad about them. Can't say anything bad about Ruger either.

That sounds like it would be a fun rifle, George. I know what you mean about the correct action length. Years ago I bought a Savage 110 223. The action was long enough for a 375 H&H. I still loved the rifle, cheap as it was it was the most accurate thing I've ever owned, but I always thought it was a bit rediculous when I would look down at that tiny little magazine box in that big action.

I am ordering a LH model 70 Featherweight in 270 WSM Monday. I hope that I get a good one!

Iron Buck,

Are you ordering your gun through Winchester directly? If so, you're getting shafted. Their prices are extremely high compared to how much I can buy them nearby I live. I've compared the prices from the last two Winchester's I bought (one early spring of last year and the other the same year but in the fall) but I saved $150 - $200 on each rifles.

I could be completely wrong here, and you might be ordering one somewhere else, and if I am, sorry for wasting your time! Just trying to help.

Bearstalker:
I am ordering through a small local gunshop where I buy the majority of my rifles. I always get a good deal from this guy. I have found that "getting" prices average about 20-25% less than what you see as suggested retail pricing from manufacturers.

I found out today that Winchester is not expected to be able to deliver LH Featherweights for 5 months! Looks like I am in for a wait.

[ 01-10-2003, 04:25: Message edited by: Iron Buck ]

Remington is now showing LH BDLs in .243 and .308 again. TTS

Unless Remington has addressed their abysmal quality control lately, those LH short actions are going to need some work to make them right.

Of course, anyone who buys a LH SA 700 is going to use it for the action, and will probably get it blueprinted anyway.

George

browning does not even plan on producing the lefthanded 270 wsm till late 2003 thats right producing that means that they probably wont be in the stores till early to mid 2004

I just wish somebody would offer a lefty on a .378" (223 Rem) boltface with at least a five round mag capacity, preferably Win. The only one I regularly see is the hideously priced 700 VS whose unfinished roughness I don't care much for.

Like George said, I'm really only after the action. When MRC satisfies their pending commitments, I hope they market such an action.

Redial

Redial,

I believe Tikka offers a LH .223 with five-round magazine.

George

Holy pissing match. I didn't know males could have catfights, but that's what I just witnessed in the posts above.

Anyway, my only experience with a centerfire is a LH Browning A-Bolt Stainless Stalker in 300WinMag. I took it out of the box, set the BOSS at 8.5 and have been shooting it that way about 1.5 years. It shoots most factory ammo about 1MOA and most of my handloads, ranging from 135 to 220 grains, under 1MOA.

Yesterday I switched to the non-brake BOSS and everything printed same as before. I then switched back and it's all still right on target. I've yet to put a scale on the trigger, but that doesn't seem to be a problem, based on my groups.

yea!, another chance to rip browning!
Every browning product i've ever owned has had to be fixed before it was usable. the list would read like this:
-side by side 20 ga- 5 shots then ejector broke
-compound bow-limbs delaminated after one month.
- A5 20 ga- jamed with any load even with bushing in light positon and tube major greased.
-gold stalker 10 ga- saftey wouldn't work- i spent all day in boat crossing dangerous water and slept in a tent in the mud to get up the next morning with ducks and geese every where and the gun wouldn't shoot.
-.338 stainless stalker LH most inaccurate pos i've ever seen.
-.375 H&H stainless stalker LH jammed while being charged by wounded bear. I think it may have had something to do with the flimsy piece of pot metal(here we go again) that holds the removable magazine in place breaking.
i still hunt with an really like the side by side and gold stalker but you shouldn't have to pay the kind of money you have to for a browning then have to send it back to get it fixed the way it should have been in the first place.

TIKKA is making left handed actions I hope they make a left hander in the short mags. I will tell you this, The TIKKAs are the best shooting gun out of the box yet. My friend has sold 42 rifles and they all shoot better than any factory rifle he has sold, he states even more accurate than the sako. Why I do not know, but my 223 is the most accurate factory gun I have and the only one right now. Being left handed I could never get what I wanted, so I had them built they way I want them. Even my 223 Tikka did not come the way I wanted but I had it bedded in a glass stock and I am Happy.