Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing RH to LH Mauser conversion- any gunsmiths still do

I know this was a relatively common occurrence during the first half of the 20th century since there were very few/no LH bolt actions out there (I don't believe left hand bolt guns were readily available until the Savage 110 in the mid 60s). Model 70s, 1903s, Mausers, Remington 720/721, ect were all converted. In fact, I almost bid on one of Craig Boddingtons converted 03s a month or two ago but it sold on a buy-it-now before I could bid and before I received his response that it was in fact his and genuine (seller had no provenance but craig was kind enough to reply to my email).

Do any gunsmiths do this type of work now a days?

The conversions have always sort of caught my eye, and I would consider having a Mauser done this way with a commercial receiver, probably in 6.5x55 or 7x57.

The left bolt/right port setup is actually a bit of a plus for me anyways, I'm left eye dominant, so I shoot off my left shoulder, but am naturally right handed (right hand dominant), so it is most natural from a non-bench position to work the bolt w/ my left hand, but to load the mag with my right (probably sounds awkward, but it wouldn't be for me, it would be much more awkward for me to load the mag w/ my left hand)).

I like the idea but would be expensive, lots of machine work.

The way to go, in my opinion, is to use the LH Ruger M77 mk2.

I just made one for a gent in Green River on that action and re-barreled it to 9.3X62 I re-worked the stock and it looks very much like a classic British Mauser from the teens or 20s.
I would prefer a safety on the bolt shroud instead of the one Ruger uses on the receiver, but I can't actually say anything bad about it, and the action is a true controlled feed action, so it's reliability is first rate.

Wells use to make a actual copy of various Mausers in left hand, but the last time I heard of him doing it the cost of the bare action was over $9,000.

CZ also makes a LH in their 550, but the only size you can get is magnum, and the only barrel they install on it (for some stupid reason) is the 375H&H
If I were wanting to sell guns I would sure rather have the LH 30-06 market then the LH 375H&H market.

Not that there is anything wrong with having both, but the idea of ONLY selling 375s in LH and nothing else just seems stupid to me. I am quite a fan of the 375, but from the standpoint of business, selling a standard length and standard bolt face is a far better way to sell guns and action.


But back from that rabbit trail...

Think about the Ruger. It's a good way to have a very good LH Custom rifle made.

If I were you, I'd be looking for a left-hand Zastava M70.

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^ That's also a good idea

I am also right handed with left eye dominance. I do everything right handed except shooting long guns, It is all left handed and have adapted very well. I understand about the dexterity in manipulating everything issue.

The easiest way to see if the concept works for you before you expend a lot of money. Is to buy a push feed Remington 788 LH on the used market. It is a .308 Win. size action.
It has a left bolt and right load and eject. Some benchrest actions were also made that way. Example: Kelbly's out of Ohio. Look up the Stolle Panda action. They are all push feed.

When LH CRF actions were not available and you had deep pockets and wanted one. The only way was to find an excellent gunsmith willing to take it on. Occasionally on the net you'll find used ones for sale but don't hold your breath. They don't sell for high prices because full LH rifles are available. You are more likely to find a right handed barreled action fitted to a LH stock, than the conversion.

The late Fred Wells out of Prescott AZ. and the late David Gentry out of MT. built full LH actions from scratch but not a hybrid that I am aware of.
Currently if you want a full custom LH and expensive, you get Granite Mt. Arms out of Phoenix AZ. or FZH from Europe and have some one put it together for you.
Dakota Arms made some nice ones and can be had on the used market. Also Winchester Classic Model 70 made in NH. They are a hit and miss, unless you get lucky with a Win. Custom Shop production rifle. It is similar to the Dakota.
Montana Rifle Co. makes full LH rifles. Mcmillan years ago used to make a Win M70 clone, I believe Harris Gunworks. There's also a gentleman in the North East that makes LH m70 clones custom, I can't think of the name, possibly Pederson He posts on AR as MNR.

I have a couple of LH Zastava m70's in .30-06. When acquired, I spent a lot of money trying to get them the I way I wanted. I probably have over $3,000 in each. They are nice now, but I would never do that again.

szihn always imparts wisdom and experience. If you wanted to get one built, I would get a Ruger LH and have it tricked out to your likings. You will be miles ahead in time, money and frustration.

I stand corrected, I do remember seeing one FN Mauser action that was converted to LH by F. Wells. The owner in AZ wanted $1,400 just for the action and he wanted to do the build.

I met another LH shooter last month at a gun show and he told me, he has a gunsmith in MT. That converts rifles to LH and still does. He would not give me his name for fear he would get too busy and have no time for him. Maybe some fellow members in MT. might know of him.

I've had two rifles over the years that had been converted to LH and tried to buy a few more. I've researched a lot of gunsmiths in the last 30 years and even the ones who had done them in the past would not take on the job. It's a time intensive job from what I'm told. I still have one, a model 70 done by Bob West and the other was one of Charles Askins rifles, a model 70 done by Kerr Sport Shop of Beverly Hills. The Askins rifle I sold recently and it was exceptionally well done. The West conversion is well done but not as nicely finished as the Kerr conversion.

Sedgely converted quite a few Springfields to LH and I've tried unsuccessfully to buy a couple of them. I've seen a couple of Remington 721s converted and several Mausers and even a couple of Winchester 52s. Some are quite ingenious using a gear system to rotate the bolt. Askins had a lot of converted rifles, even a Remington 600. Occasionally you'll find converted rifles for sale on GB but I'll give you fair warning, you're likely to be bidding against me.

Today you'd be farther ahead, like Steve said, to buy a used, left handed rifle and have it barreled to whatever chambering you desire. I've ended up doing that for several rifles. My left handed rifles are in 17 Rem, 6mmx222, 300 H&H, 35 Whelen (converted) and 400 Whelen. I've had others in 7x57, 375 H&H and 308 Norma Mag (converted) and I have a 581 Remington LH 22 LR. I still have one more Charles Daly LH mini Mauser action in the white and a .224 barrel. They need to be married up and chambered in 221 Fireball.

My second bump of an old thread today.
My search for "Mauser left conversion" turned up this thread.

This rifle showed up today.
1950 commercial FN action.
I know how long the odds are, but wondering if there is any chance of identifying the 'smith who did the conversion.

Only markings above the wood line is: ".257" on the barrel.
Below the wood line are the normal FN markings. "1950 in a circle", proofs, "Made in Belgium", etc.

I have disassembled the rifle(including removing the pad and grip cap) and the only thing I found is a stamp in the barrel channel.
The first character is so heavily stamped that it could be any of the following: W, N, M, A or X
Followed by 117

Ex: X117



Another clue, if stock was done by the same 'smith is this detail on the comb.



Any help or guesses appreciated.

That's a nice looking conversion job. The really weird ones have the bolt still turning in a right-handed manner, operated with gearing from a left sided handle.

Apart from converting it to cock-on-closing and left bolt handle, what else did he do to complete the conversion?

J,

Rifle is still cock on opening.

I haven't done a detail strip yet, but a lot went into this conversion.

Front Ring:
New ramps machined into locking surface to allow bolt to rotate into battery properly while turning the opposite direction.

Rear Ring:
Ring extended significantly to fill bolt handle location and provide a surface for bolt lock on shroud to engage.

Bolt Shroud:
Bolt lock moved to right side of shroud.(Left side location still present.)
"Shoulder" that sits against bolt handle root removed.
Portion that threads into bolt lengthened. (See below.)

Bolt:
Lengthened (Needed due to longer rear ring.)
Cocking ramp relocated
Bolt lock relocated
Handle moved to left side.

Firing Pin:
Lengthened(Presumably. I haven't pulled it apart yet.)

Rear Tang:
Trigger slot lengthened rearward so trigger can engage cocking piece in its new location.

Trigger:
Modified to engage cocking piece in its new location.

Cocking Piece:
Cocking lug on bottom greatly modified.
Likely due to prevent interference issues with trigger. (More investigation later.)


Bottom Metal:
Unaltered.

Having never attempted(nor will I) this kind of radical rework of a Mauser action, I think it MAY have been "easier" to move the bolt stop to the right side of the action versus the lengthening the bolt and then having to lengthen the firing pin and shroud which then requires altering the the tang, cocking piece and trigger.

Or maybe not! This might be the "easy" way to do this conversion.

I have many normal, right hand Mauser actions, a Zastava left hand, and this one.
Will be interesting to compare them. But that will have to wait for slow day.

When I first looked at the picture, it looked to me like he had made a new bolt entirely; and a nice job of it too. Another requirement would be to alter the locking recess for the safety lug. GD

I believe it is an altered original bolt, but when I look at it again, I will be open to this thought and re-examine the bolt.

In the current environment, to duplicate this rifle, probably easier to purchase a true left hand Mauser action. Zastava Left Hand M70 action on the low end. Granite Mountain Arms LH M98 actions on the upper end of price...

I have to say that that is interesting enough to make me want to own it, and I am right handed.

And when its all done not a safe gun for a Leftie, RH side of the face potential exposed in a gas leak. Cringe when I see a Leftie shooting a RH gun.

Been doing it for nearly 50 years, since I had to switch over. It's OK. GD

The late Roy Gradle was an artist at LH conversions. He used a gear mechanism but his rifles looked very good.