Home Forums Hunting & Shooting The Lefty Forum 6.5 CM LH From Barrett

Oooh...lot of good stuff there.

-LH offered for each configuration and chambering listed.
-6.5CM & 6.5x55 on the list
-Twists look good too! 8" for the 6.5's but the eye opener is the 7" twist for the .22-250 and .243!

Not tickled about the 24" barrels on the LA rifles but if the balance is good I could live with it...or have it chopped back 2" easily enough. Like seeing 21" on the SA rifles.

MSRP of $1800...I want to see what the street price will be. If they do it right, and market it right, this could fill the void that everyone expected the Forbes rifle to take care of.

Wonder what actual price will be and if they are ready for ordering.

So am I correct that they bought the Forbes tooling/rights/design and that this will be about the third go at a low cost ULA knockoff?

I am going to have to try one if they make it to market in a LH LW 6.5 CM.

We are driving over to Murfreesboro tomorrow but its a little to late to plan a trip to Barrett for a lookie lou.
Next trip over will try to swing by and take a look and pass along my findings.

Send me a PM if they are available and your thoughts please.
-18 F this morning in Eagle River, like our old winters of the past.

And the one they have pictured is stamped 260, so maybe more chamberings in the future?

-sadly it has been in the 60's here in southern Indiana!

Just saw on another site, short actions have a 3 inch magazine!

Gotta have a Creed!

I would be lying to say I don't miss living in Alaska after spending 35 years there. Very thankful for all my hunting and fishing experiences. It was a fantastic place to raise our son. However I don't miss it enough to move back:)
-18 is cold!! I almost feel guilty that I exercised in a tee shirt and shorts today.

Well went out and fired up the wood fired sauna tough to get started! But temps up to 87F so it will be ready soon.





From -18 F to 165 F for 20 minutes I feel warm again!

These look pretty exciting. If street price will be ~$1500 or less, these'll fill a void for us lefties.

I handled the LH Barrett rifle in 6.5 Creedmoor today at the SHOT show. It's light, lively and well balanced. I'm very impressed with it. I told the guy in the booth that they were going to be highly satisfied with their decision to manufacture LH rifles. He smiled and said thanks. I also told him I was going to post this on the fire and he was very happy.

I was really pleased that the 22-250 and 243 models have a 1-7" twist barrel for handling the long pills.

The guns are available now.

Stainless huh?

Great.....I thought I was all done with rifle buying.

OSU who carries the Barrett Fieldcraft or buy direct? Street Price? Thanks KK

OSU,
Do the Barrett rifles seem like a modified/improved/updated version of the Forbes or are they a completely new design. I'm hoping these will be what we (especially us lefties) had hoped the Forbes was going to be.
Enjoy the show and thanks for the first hand reports.
Steve

KK,
I'll go back tomorrow morning and see how the rifles are being distributed.

Steve,
I don't know the answer to your question but will try to take some close up photos tomorrow which will hopefully provide some answers.

I'm very impressed with the rifles and plan on having one (or more) as soon as I can.

Looking on their website, there is a dealer at Fort Wainwright and another in Fairbanks. I believe all Barrett dealers will be stocking these rifles.

2017 Shot show video Barrett Fieldcraft



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrjBrQ_2bRU

Steve, on the website are some photos which can be clicked and expanded, showing close up views of the action and other parts of the rifle. They may be the best option for evaluation.

Wow! I think that they may have hit a home run.

The video also states they will be offering a rimfire action, 223 length action and a magnum action

Good grief I'm going to have to buy one some day, we will have to see what other rounds they chamber it in. They got all the twist rates right except the 270 Win that one should have been a 1 in 8 or 9 twist. Maybe someone can put the bug in their ear while at the SHOT show about that.

Sounds like you guys got the information you needed. Saves me a trip:)

Nice...... that LH .308 in all stainless looks very tempting.

The problem is the Forbes I've got now is too damn accurate to replace. I suppose it's a great problem to have.

It's about damn time, good on Barrett.

Any thoughts on a LH group buy here? I'd be in....

Are you meaning something Un catalogued? What would the specs be on this group buy?

I would love a 6.5x284 or just a 284 on a short action with a 24 inch barrel. Let's call it the ovis special!

I have very little experience with group buys, I just thought that if a fair amount of us lefties here wanted to order we could do so en-mass for some savings..

Naked weight on the rifles is under 6lbs. I believe these are winners. I went back by the Barrett booth today to talk about pricing. They were real careful about discussing any thoughts on street pricing but with the retail price of $1,700-1,800 one can assume some discounts at some point.

A contact from Barrett suggested there could be a delay in seeing them on dealer shelves as they are filling the pipeline but it should be full pretty soon.

Pretty much all the answers to your questions on this thread

http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/11757975/1

All references to "Left hand" gone from Barrett website. Am I missing something?

That doesn't seem like a good sign

Not sure what has happened but I don't like it that all references to LH models have been removed.

Cliff notes- we are fooked

Lol, pass the Rem ss lefties.

Figures

I'm going to get in touch with the guys at Barrett to see what's going on. To get a segment of the shooting public excited about products only to pull the rug from under them is not a good thing.

Not me. I am "rifled" out. Way to many as it is and need to start thinning the safes.

You know, I'm in the same boat, I've been listing some and that will continue.
But the thought of an all-stainless 5 pound rifle makes me giddy..

Just got a E Mail back from Vicki at Barrett she says in response to Left Hand Barrett Field Craft 6.5 CM that we should have them ready by mid Feb.

I bought a LH Forbes and dealt with Vicki, took several calls to get the right info. to see if they had the LH 7-08 Forbes in stock so I am hopefull they will come thru for us lefties.

kk, this is good news. Did she have an answer as to why any references to LH models have been removed from the Barrett website?

Just called Vicki at Barrett she said they are producing RH models first, have to get that going smoothly then the LH models will be available. R&D has to get any bugs out.

Probably not right away is my guess. But they are coming!

The reason given for why the LH models were taken out of the catalog was did not want customers with deposits on rifles with uncertainty when they could be delivered.

"I think they will it will probably just a little later in the year before we will see them."

That was the response I got from her from contacting through their site regarding the feasibility of ever seeing LH models.

I'm kinda reading between the lines, and guess it depends on how the RH versions sell, and also the demand for LH models.


That sucks that a company would do that in the first place. Announce a model availability in LH, then just pull it off the site, with no note of delay, or not even giving the customer service rep any clue what is going on.

Just leave it on the site, and note that LH models are currently in planning, but not yet in production, and there is no tentative availability date as of now.

Stock is very similar. The action is slightly beefed up to compensate for any less pressure handling of stainless steel. Some of the actions had flat facets or a dodecagon shape, I am not sure if these were only on the prototypes.

Barret has the right to the design but not the name. Melvin Forbes is not involved and wasn't even aware of the Barrett when I spoke to him briefly, it was obvious it was not his favorite topic.

If I hadn't just up graded a CLR and bought a Forbes I would be really interested. Too bad looks like a really nice rifle and the Barret quality is excellent.

Just read on another post that the stock is a Bergara composite so I guess the prototype had a Forbes stock which is different than the production rifles.

I met with the Barrett folks last week at the SCI Vegas show and they confirmed that a lefty will be produced. They are making the right handed 6.5 creed and 30-06 versions now, with the LH model to follow in the upcoming months. The rifle feels and looks very nice and is a big upgrade over the Forbes. I liked it enough to purchase a lefty and can't wait to get an update on timing.

They had a sweet deal on the rifle, a nightforce scope and an eight day plains game safari. I couldn't resist but unsure the nightforce is the correct scope for this trim rifle.

This is good information. I was at SCI but was working and didn't have a chance to get to see the Barrett booth. I'll be investing in 2-3 rifles when they are released. BTW, what Nightforce scope were they putting on the Fieldcraft rifle?

The package included a Nightforce SHV 3-10x42. If I knew you were at the show I would have stopped by to introduce myself.

I should have said something prior the show. I was busier than a cat covering up sheit until Saturday afternoon...

For the record, I like the SHV and I have that same power range in a Swaro on my CM now.

Got word from Barrett today that we are looking at next year for lefty's.

surprise surprise.

Till next year rolls around, and that plan gets shelved

NFW!

meh... business as usual in a Right Handed world. I'll keep rooting for a LH Kimber.

Funny how they flat out denied changing plans or production on LH guns after pulling all mention of them on their website. Said it was to avoid confusion.

Hate to hear this and I can't say I'm surprised

That is not good news. I will call them next week since I "purchased" a LH package deal at SCI. This could be the reason they still haven't processed my deposit. Might have to make alternative plans.

Too good to be true, once again. Lefties = low priority.

Glad I snagged my Forbes for $900 when I did....

Barrett confirmed with me today that they are indeed looking at early 2018 for LH production. I'm not going to hold my breath on this one.

did they give any idea when we could place an order?

A matter of weeks after they confirmed that the LH models were pulled from the site, but would be in production by the fall of this year.

Sounds like a case of "we got so many orders for RH guns that we don't have time to produce the LH versions...we'll get to those after the initial rush dies down..."

I have one on order now but they will not process a down payment or confirm what cartridges will be available. I'm thinking the probability of us seeing a rifle in 2018 is slim at best and will most likely pull my name off their list. CS has been slow and everyone is getting different answers. At SCI a few weeks ago, I was told lefties would be out in this spring/summer.

Hopefully they do produce a LH version eventually.

Who would want to order one based on a picture with no real reviews or testing of regular production rifles? Especially with a company that is playing these games and showing a lack of customer service. You would think they would be bending over backwards to get good word and image on their new model. God only knows what they would do if real customer service or warranty issues were needed. They might as well just act like Kimber and totally snub the LH market.

Um...methinks they just did.

As I've said before, be thankful if you snagged a LH Forbes, they are excellent rifles at what were bargain prices.

I snagged a Forbes when Barrett was doing the inventory clearance. Not bad. But, I still like the Kimber ergos better. Hence I have two RH Kimbers, and zero LH Forbes. If the Barrett Field Craft is a just a rebaked Forbes stock, I am not interested. I was sincere when I posted previously that I would continue to "hope for" a LH Kimber...

The whole Left Hand firearms marketing strategy reminds me of two high end software companies that I have dealt with over the past 15 years. The first one, like Kimber, says "This is what we offer. Take it or leave it." The other, like Barrett and some other companies, always wants to promise, and be flexible, and "Yes, we hear you"... string people along. But every time you think you are getting close, the goal line moves... Over a 10 to 15 year period, the companies that I know that originally chose Option number two for flexibility, have become frustrated with the broken promises, and are now moving to option number one.

I think Barrett would be better served and better respected long term to just lay out the truth and stop all of the mealy mouth double talk trying to please everyone. JMO...

Exactly!!! At least when Ruger announces something, it is usually at the distributors very soon, or even there unannounced

Well said, Warren. Great analogy.

I believe it's been established that the Barrett Field Crest rifles are not re-baked Forbes rifles.

I am waiting for one, do not want to discourage Barrett from making a LH model. Quite happy with my LH Forbes 7-08 and my dealings with Barret on it. I feel the Barrett Fieldcraft is the only game in town for a LH LW SS 6.5 CM, so I hold hope that I will own one someday.

Would rather Barrett tell us now that it cant make it this year, than like the early MRC LH actions that were promised with money down that showed up a long time later.

At least Barrett has not asked for a deposit.

My concern is with the stock. I much prefer the more open, thinner wrist on Kimber rifles. The Forbes rifle that I owned had a thin forearm. But the wrist was more closed and thicker than the Kimber. I made a couple unsuccessful attempts at purchasing a Kimber Ascent 84L stock to adapt to the Forbes rifle before I sold it.

At this point, I have not heard anyone say definitively how the Barrett stock compares to the former Forbes Rifle stock. If the Barrett stock turns out to have a thinner, more open wrist than the Forbes, I may give it a look. Until then, I'll hang on to the Kimbers.

I know a lot of people really like the Forbes ergos. So, I am the odd man out. However, that is my personal preference in stock ergos.

That question was asked by others here and someone who spent time with the rifle was able to confirm that it's not the Forbes, if I recall correctly.

The stock is a copy of the Forbes Rifle pattern which was a copy of the NULA stock. The rest of the Barrett is different and IMO a step up from the Forbes. The Barrett rep confirmed this was the case and it feels very similar to my Forbes and the NULAs that I use to own.

I will purchase a LH Barrett if they ever make one. The rifle was extremely well finished and screams quality.

Looks like I didn't recall correctly. Thanks for getting me straightened out.