I'm turning 21 pretty soon and i'm trying to get the ball rolling with regards to my first rifle. Is the big difference in availability and price of left handed rifles compared to right handed ones? I am looking for a bolt action .308 or 7x57. So far I have only been able to find them in right handed models. I can shoot both ways but for quick reloading and comfort i'd prefer a lefty. Should i keep looking or should I settle with a lever action (also hard to find) or righty.. oh and by the way I live in South Africa.
Any comments would be appreciated.
Thanks.

Left handed rifles are not hard to find, but they are quite a bit more scarce than the right handed models. I can't speak for South Africa but in the US a 308 would be much easier to locate than a 7x57. 30-06 length actions are by far the most common here. Savage and Ruger seem to be the most readily available lefties here. All that being said my favorite hunting rifle is a Browning BLR in 308.

A lefty in 7x57 is rare, I had been looking for one myself, but settled on a 7mm-08 which is a ballistic twin.
Remington makes this in a lefty as well as Savage.
http://www.remington.com/produ...ct-synthetic-lh.aspx

I have a Savage 11FL.

Ruger also offers the 708 now. In lieu of a 7x57...

Tikka has the 308 and 7mm-08 in the T3. Awesome trigger and guaranteed to shoot good right out of the box

If I lived in South Africa and had a 21 year old son, I'd buy him a left hand Ruger Model 77 in 30/06. Then if he later wanted a larger bore rifle, I'd suggest the same rifle in .375 Ruger. If I had known when I was 21 what I know now, I'd have stuck with the .30/06 and saved a lot of money and time fooling around with other calibers. You can load bullets from 110 grains to probably 250 grains with the .30/06. You can load the .375 Ruger from 235 grains through 300 grains and more and fill the large game end of the hunting spectrum. Add a .22 centerfire just for fun and you have a world-class hunting battery.

what he said 30-06 plus a 375 and a 22RF for fun

thanks for the advice. Gonna head on over to the gun shop and poke around a bit..