Youth rifle for a lefty

G

Gemmer

New member
My grandson is ready to move up to a center fire rifle. He is small framed and left handed. Trying to decide on a lefty bolt action or lever action. Also looking for recommendations on caliber. Would like a mild recoil. I'll teach him to reload so cost of ammo is not a large factor. My budget is $700 or less.Thoughts? Suggestions?
 
might I suggest a ruger american lefty model? if your state does not ban 22 caliber I would suggest the 22-250 as a good light recoiling, but still good for deer sized animal cartridge. $700 would buy the rifle and a nice piece of glass like a vortex viper or a Nikon Monarch.
 
The honorary nephew has the Savage in .243 Win., shoots well with it. The Axis is now available in a south paw youth option. All three of kiddo's left handed Savages have proven solid performers.
 
Have you considered a single shot? I really like H&R and NEF guns. For a kid, avoid the thick barreled ones because they get heavy. I had a .223 NEF when I was 11 and I hated that gun because of the bull barrel. After hours of walking it got heavy. They make them with regular barrels though. Left or right hand shooters can shoot one. When my kids are old enough I hope they like the simpler guns.
 
Small stature lefty? NEF single shot as a starter. I put considerable effort into setting up a rifle for my 12 year old lefty Daughter (Savage .223) and she couldn't lift, carry, or shoot it w/o assitance.
 
It would be the Ruger American in either 243 or 223 for me. The 22-250 shoots faster, but 223's generally shoot heavier bullets suited for deer hunting better. The Ruger 223 is one of the few bolt rifles with a barrel twist designed for the heavy bullets. Most 223 and 22-250 bolt guns are designed for the lighter bullets. The Ruger and most AR's are set up for heavier bullets.
 
As a lefty shooter I don't see the reason for a left hand boltaction. In fact I prefer right handed bolt guns. The options are much easier to find especially in youth sized models.
 
I used a lefty 25-06 from savage when I was younger and it never really bothered me. I think I paid 350 when they did a package deal for rifle and scope. Long story on why I dont shoot lefty anymore and debating on getting rid of it. I was thin, 6' 140-160. I don't know how small he is but I liked that gun. Hope this helped.
 
May I please discourage you from buying a lefty bolt? Leverguns are SO much easier to use, and if he outgrows it you're not stuck with a gun nobody else in the family can use.
 
show him a remington pump,comes in many calibures and the safety is easy to change. being left hand i have tried them all and now have several pumps and seven left hand bolt rifles along with many levers. for the close hunting i use the pumps and for the longer ranges use the bolt actions and for more fun i use the lever actions. eastbank.
 
RodTheWrench said:
...not stuck with a gun nobody else...
Click to expand...

Our shopping experience was that left handed bolt actions sell very quickly on the used market. We were often just in time to be too late to evaluate finds reported by friends.

And, with the exception of falling blocks, who makes a left handed lever action?:D
 
LH Savage Axis Youth in .223, .243, or 7-08, all around $280 from Buds. Throw in a transfer fee and you're still under $300, leaving plenty for a decent scope.

Much as I'm not a fan of the current trend of ultra cheap rifles, they do serve a purpose. This way, if the kid decides he doesn't like hunting, or shooting, or if he just outgrows it, you can send it on down the road. Even at a 30% loss you're still out less than the cost of a tank of gas.

As for those who recommend shooting a RH gun wrong handed, it's not just ergonomics but safety as well. First off, I challenge any lefty to shoot a quality LH rifle while exhibiting proper bolt manipulation and still honestly state that they prefer a RH gun. Won't happen. From the bench is one thing, but in the field, from field positions is a whole other ball game.

Also, as a LH shooter, I won't shoot a RH gun anymore because I value my eyesight too much. A ruptured case, or even just a pierced primer vents gas out of the action on the bolt side. In a properly fitted rifle, this should be away from your face. A lefty shooter with a RH gun will get a snoot full in the event of a catastrophic case failure.
 
So I'm unsafe by shooting a RH bolt gun Lefty? Please explain why. I understand the deal with the gas venting through the bolt but aren't their vent holes on both sides of the receiver??? Also in the event of a really bad failure IMO wouldn't matter which side of the rifle you were on.

The saftey on most bolt guns is either on the right side of the bolt or just behind it both locations can easily be reached with the left thumb on a left hand.

I honestly prefer a RH bolt gun there I said it.
 
I'd suggest you let him decide how much recoil is too much. I'm also a lefty and I'd never fired a LH gun until I bought my current shotgun. It took a little getting used to but I can work a RH bolt quickly and efficiently enough to kill animals. Because I have to break sight picture to cycle the bolt, I'm more more accurate than a lot of my RH buddies and it's definitely made me quicker at lining up a target. I tried a LH bolt the other day and it wasn't comfortable at all, so whatever he learns on, he's probably going to stick with until he dies
 
CarJunkie,

Yes, in my opinion, you are risking your eyesight. Modern rifles are designed to vent gasses away from the shooter in the event of a case failure or pierced primer, assuming that the shooter is on the correct side of the rifle. No design that I'm aware of vents anything to the shooter's side. (Though I've been wrong before)

The position of the safety is a non issue.

Prefer whichever you want, is not a big deal, nor is it a huge risk. Modern rifles and modern factory ammo exhibit catastrophic failures at vanishingly small rates. Pierced primers from hot reloads are another story, though.

I work around pressure for a living. Having seen mechanical failures at 4-5000 psi I want every advantage I can get when setting off a 50,000 psi explosion in front of my face. Call me a fraidey cat, I guess.
 
"Our shopping experience was that left handed bolt actions sell very quickly on the used market. We were often just in time to be too late to evaluate finds reported by friends."

My point was toward having a gun in the family that only one person can safely operate, but let's talk about this for a sec.

I speak from experience when I discourage buying a left-handed bolt gun. I'm a complete and total lefty, not one that just happens to write using my left hand. I'm also an avid gun buyer/seller/trader as a hobby(never make any money at it) and know the used market. When you buy a lefty bolt-action, you automatically remove 90% of the rest of the population as potential users, borrowers or buyers of the gun. If you keep it and it meets your needs for the rest of your life, then great. But that's not usually the case, and I could see it playing out that way in the near future, especially with the scenario presented by the OP.

The one and only lefty bolt gun I've ever owned took over a year to sell. It was a Like New Remmy 700 BDL in 7mm Mag. We love our Mags here in the West, so why do you think I had trouble selling it? Because I was only talking to 10 PERCENT of the gun population. Add to it that of that 10% I had to find someone that liked Remington, 700BDLs, AND 7 mm Mag. AND willing to pay the price I was asking. Not worth doing again, that's for sure.
 
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