From one lefty to another...
Savage has the most variety I found in LH, Browning and Remington next. I had not seen the Marlin in LH. Don't think it is made, but not sure. Marlin uses many of the same ideas as the Savage and I will say my out of the box Savage is very nearly a one hole gun...Accutrigger is very good. You never will find a 798 in LH if I got my Remington info right...they don't and won't have them made. So they say. Too bad, mauser feed bolt design...
A .270 or an '06 would work for all of those with premium bullets...in most places. But what fun is there in that... But if you want a magnum...lots of bang and smoke and recoil... :-)
It's not for everyone, but if you search Gunbroker.com for "LH" you will find a fair number of new and used. Looking for a .300 WSM LH, I found a Rem 700 BDL, new in box, but old stock, Left Hand in 3 different calibers (300RUM,338RUM and 375RUM) for about $520+ shipping. From one vendor. Take your choice. Like I said, not for everyone but I bought some dies and I reload for the 300RUM I picked up. I am happy with it, and from what I've read it will fit the bill for the game list you mention quite well. With "power level" ammo it's a 30-06, 300WM and 300RUM to match up with what you need it to do. Good luck, what ever your friend selects - I had also looked at a Tikka LH in 300WM but for a few dollars more, also on GunBroker.
Looking at this one right now..but I haven't figured out why I "need it" yet... M77Hawkeye 300WM LH:
http://gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=147839255 less than $600...
Bargain Glass is another story, you can go crazy trying to evaluate scopes. "The one that I own now" is generally the best one in everyone's opinion. Who the heck knows? I haven't owned them all so I can't say. BUT I can say I've owned VX-I and VX-III from Leupold, and they are all good, but the 3's are better than the 1's, as price might suggest. I'd shoot either without qualms. But, I'm taking the 3's to Africa! I tried a Nikon Buckmaster and Monarch and didn't appreciate it as much as the Leupy VX-I and VX-III, but my buddy was thinking the other way. I say we're both right. Price probably makes the decision more often than we admit. Some new companies out there may have good glass coming out, CAD/CAM making scopes a whole lot better!
Anyway, good luck!
