Home Forums Hunting & Shooting The Lefty Forum Who makes these decisions?

As per the 2023 lefty guns thread, what does it take to get a run of "lefties"?

ie. Lypsey's does runs of Ruger No 1s.

Cabela's has "exclusive" Tikka variations.

So why not some "exclusive" lefty runs?

In some cases, the mechanism is already there. An example of which is that Tikka makes a left hand 6.5PRC but only in a "target" configuration. Presumably they could make a run of stainless T3X lights in 6.5PRC.

In other cases, it would be more difficult. Would love to see a left-hand Howa Alpine but doubt I ever will because they haven't ever made their action left-handed.

I know that whatever the run is, it must be economically solvent, but a limited run here and there would be great.

Who do we petition?

Whittacker guns are the only ones I know of that might. Shortactionsmoker on here runs the place for the most part so you might ask him. I would definitely be in for a left hand tikka t3 stainless light in 6.5 prc

Good lead!

Now, for those interested, what would you like to see?

This could actually bear fruit......

We could subdivide this into easily doable and not likely as per my 2 examples above.

I stand corrected, Shortactionsmoker actually owns Whittackers so he is definitely the guy to talk too🤣

If Shortactionsmoker isn't a lefty then he is probably not tuned into this thread.

Let's coalesce with some legitimately doable ideas and get this ball rolling.

I let him know about the thread

In my opinion, the most important thing you need is consensus: You have to have a significant number of people to agree they want the same gun. If this is true, then you can quickly see some of the obstacles you might run into. Some people want a classic wooden stock while others want synthetic. Stainless vs blued? Common readily available ammo or something unique & special? If you read enough posts on these forums, then getting a bunch of firearm enthusiasts to all agree on a common "best choice" can be a bit of a challenge.

One example that pops into my mind is a while back the Dallas Arms Collectors Association got Lipsey's to make a run of (I believe 100) Ruger #1 RSI rifles chambered in .275 Rigby. In this instance, they opted for a classic uncommon caliber with a Mannlicher stock. This might not have wide appeal but go out and try to find one of these rifles for sale. They're hard to find.

You mentioned Lipsey & Ruger #1's as a possibility. For me, this would have limited appeal not because it isn't a great idea and a viable option but because I have all the Ruger #1's & Winchester 1885's I really want. A left-handed Ruger 77 African would have more appeal to me in a nice plains game caliber. Other people who think this is a good idea might insist on a dangerous game caliber. Let the arguing begin...

What would be nice is if companies like Lipsey's would let you put down a deposit on a particular unique gun & if enough people would join you, then they would do a run. There needs to be a mechanism where serious purchasers could push the production of a desired firearm through the manufacturing process by guaranteeing the sale of the series and not make it speculation on the manufacturer's part.

I mentioned the Lipsey no 1 as an example of exclusive runs, not necessarily as a lefty option. Should have been more specific.

Not long ago in the Ruger 77 African cartridge thread I mentioned a lefty in something readily available that kills deer.

I'm pretty much that easy.

You are 100% correct that getting everyone to agree on one combo is a pipe dream.

The question remains. What would my fellow lefties like to see?

Whitakker,s has done LH rifles orders in the past LH Tikkas, 6.5 Creedmoor, 22-250 1-8 twist numbers have to be right to make it work.

This begs another question.

How do I get a timely heads-up when things like this happen?

A run of 100 is sure to go quick!

I would go for a LH Tikka T3X Lite Stainless, black synthetic stock(no muzzle brake)in 6.5 PRC….24.3” barrel.

Better yet, I’d go for the same gun in 264 Win Mag.

But, either one would get my money.


Leftybolt

I'd be in on the 6.5PRC.

While we're at it, make it a roughtech. Kinda like that dandied up version.

Personally I would favor an older classic caliber if I could somehow get a company to make a custom run of left hand rifles. With a new modern caliber (e.g 6.5CM) I'd probably just buy a current Ruger, Tikka, Sako, etc. that's already available.

So the choices that would grab my attention would be:

257 Roberts
25-06 Remington
6.5x55 SE
7x57mm / 275 Rigby
300 H&H Magnum
35 Whelen
358 Winchester
9.3x62

Make one of those available in a left-handed Model 70 or Ruger African and I think I would be able to find room in both my budget & my safe to accommodate it.

A left hand Tikka CTR in 223 would get my wallet out in a big hurry….

A lot of us lefty’s are hard to please. We’re kind of perfectionists because we know how rare and difficult it is to get a rifle in left hand that we think it’s going to be better than anything else. Someone mentioned how we would have a hard time agreeing on a run of rifles and I think that’s true. I disagree with a lot of people that think 20" is plenty for a barrel’s length.

I’ve just about given up on any factory rifles anymore. Not entirely, I would still be interested in rimfires and shotguns, but left hand center fire rifles are not what I think they should be. Cooper was great and I special ordered two in the past and would like another one but since they changed hands, I will have to read up more before dropping 4k + on a rifle. I now use a gunsmith to build if I’m going to spend good money on a rifle that I will shoot more than just the hunting season.

One thing Ruger could do that would be a good money maker for them is to have their Custom Shop actually build custom rifles and not assemble pistols and rifles and label them as custom. Remington did that and I got a 40x lefty custom built from them. CZ had sort of the same thing. Savage could do it too. I don’t know why that’s not possible. I would be ok with a lengthy wait from time of order to delivery. I’m patient when I need to be and I think a lot of us would be too.

I believe tikka already catalogued the Veil and Roughtech in left hand in 6.5 PRC for this year

I would also be down for just about any left hand Ruger African model ( would prefer 275 rigby or 6.5x55 though!)

7PRC Tikka for me.

Have a 6.5 PRC LH Tikka at the gunsmith right now.

I think a grand solution would for Beretta/Tikka and Ruger to do a direct pre-order type of program. They could offer specific runs for lefties and this way there's no overruns in a pre-order=pre-sale program.

The beauty of that model is they'd know exactly how many they need ahead of time and they wouldn't sit around.

Hey beretta, hey ruger are you paying attention? They probably don't care.

I remember seeing limited runs of Ruger M77s a few years back. I think it was 308 and 270s that started popping up as new in box but they weren’t on the website. I don’t think it will happen any time soon considering you can’t find new made M77s that are listed as current production rifles.

[quote=Starbuck]7PRC Tikka for me.
Same here in the fluted LW model

But first we have to agree on 1 gun 1 caliber that is how we did it before on the LH 1-8 twist 22-250 Tikka and Tikka 6.5 Creedmoor

I would be thrilled if manufacturers offered left-handed guns with only a receiver & stock but no barrel attached. Then let us a la carte the barrel of our choice and have our favorite gunsmith assemble it for us. Or offer us a semi-finished factory barrel that hasn't been completely bored & chambered yet. It seems more cost effective than buying a complete rifle you don't need, disassembling it and replacing or reboring the barrel to get what you actually want. I'm sure a lot of shooters would love this idea and that a corporate lawyer would hate it just as much for some liability reason.

So, the top contenders, if I'm reading the room right, Are Tikka and Ruger.

I'd put in on a Tikka roughtech in 6.5PRC. If it is already cataloged, then there isn't much point unless this is the way we get them actually imported.

Also be in on a Ruger African in, as stated before, something available that kills deer. I'm pretty easy here as long as I can feed it.

As an aside, I know that both Winchester and Kimber have produced LH actions in the past but don't think they have any plans to do that again.

I know an lot of folks wish for newly released cartridges or the newest thing like the rage of PRC'S. I'm more inclined to be in for already well established things like 6.5creed, 270win, 308win and would be happy with such.

If this industry wanted to be innovative they'd simply offer 270win with a choice of twist rates but hey what do I know?

Tikka has plenty of LH models that never see the USA. They go to Canada, but not here. That's all the fault of the importing, or lack thereof. A few years back there was this magical site announced where you could order any variation of Tikka rifle, and it would come in. Guess that fell through.

Davidson's did the LH stainless run of the Ruger American rifles. Many of the Ruger customer service people at the time didn't even know they existed.

All it takes is a distributor or major market dealer to put an order in, and they will make it. There is a shop in Michigan that started Ruger on the 450 Bushmaster guns. He ordered several versions in left hand, including M77 versions. He orders direct, but has a big enough order, that Ruger listens.

I'd love to see some of the Tikka cataloged models actually available here. LH varmint, LH CTR, etc.

This would be my #1 pick!!

Euro Optic lists several models of the LH CTR in 223. Various barrel lengths, twist rates, and SS or blued. Who knows if they are expecting to ever get any or not.

I've done a limited run with Lipseys and Ruger. At its most simple level, someone has to commit to buying the entire run. I said I'd buy 350 10mm 1911 pistols from the Custom Shop. Then, it took a LONG time to put it into the works. Covid screwed it up for two years.

I'd love a custom M77 left handed version, but that would be hard to get through the process, unless someone commits the $ for the whole run.

But, you never know.

I don't have the "scratch" to commit to a whole run but Lypsey's does.

Perhaps we need to convince them that A. We would purchase a certain percentage and B. The rest would sell if lefties knew about them.

This would probably mean that it be made in a broadly liked rifle and a cartridge with broad interest.

We aren't going to revive the Sako Vixen in 222 but could potentially do a Tikka in 7PRC.

As a life-long lefty that has watched the rifle industry and its unimaginative offerings over a life-time, I finally got into the Blazer R93. An outstanding engineering feet — the modular concept, a straight-pull bolt action, both right and left hand action possible with the same rifle. It was light; very, very accurate — the best overall rifle I’ve ever had. Not to mention exchangeable bolt heads and barrels for different cartridges. Versatility! From Germany!

Quick to pick up on a good idea some thirty years later! Savage comes out with a straight-pull rifle, but right-handed only, and weighing 8.8 lbs. Jeepers Savage, over eight and a half pounds? Really? Before a scope and mounts? For a straight-pull deer or elk rifle. You couldn’t have gone a little further, really stepped out and made it modular, lighter, and ambidextrous for a few chamberings to start, and then spent the rest of your company life expanding the concept. Maybe a Home run for accounting? I mean, you didn’t have to even design it. It’s right there in front of you — the R93, now the R8.

Why does Germany, and the continent generally produce more brand-recognized, smooth operating, high quality rifles, while in America, one has to build their own or rely on smaller shops that are insolvent in a year or three, but which rarely build lefties anyway. And for which QA and CS are unknown concepts.

Hi everybody. My name is George and I’m left-handed. 😉. That’s all.

I'm with you on the Blaser. Out of my price range though. Then again, one rifle with a couple or three barrels could replace most of my inventory.......

Pretty sure Savage (and Remington) could F up a wet dream.

I think most European hunters own a rifle or two. So they buy high quality stuff that will last a lifetime. So there's a market for high quality stuff.

By the time you spend the money to work the trigger, bed the stock, true the bolt, add a custom barrel and whatever else you have to do, you've paid for a blaser. No additional work required. Add a barrel for $1K, bolt head (if needed) for $350 or so and you have a battery that you can go anywhere and take anything.

The Savage Impulse comes in four different models & the Mountain Hunter is the lightest at 7.34 lbs. Savage also has a YouTube video on how to switch the handle from the right to the left side so you can shoot it left handed. It isn't perfectly left-handed since the ejection is always to the right.

I saw my first Beretta BRX1 on GunBroker today at a hefty premium but it's nice to know that a less expensive alternative to a Blaser R8 / R93 is starting to finally show up over here. It's an interesting rifle but I won't consider it until more barrels start to appear. The three initial calibers aren't expansive enough to qualify as a "system" for my taste since they're all .30 caliber. But it has potential depending on how they grow the selection.

Thanks for the reply, and correction which I’m glad for if they actually considered lefties. However, your description of going lefty with it, begs the question of Savage — why the seemingly half-_ _ _ _ _ approach?

It’s not that I am planning on getting one, but will be interested enough to check it out.

ETA: checked it out more carefully and will give them credit for innovation, but still, $2400+ for lefty with the port in front of your face. One advantage I can see for a lefty wanting to sell it — it’s really a right hand action.

But, credit where it’s due for some real innovation.

The Beretta BRX1 looks pretty reminiscent of the Blaser R93, R8. Couldn’t find a price point.

It is short sighted in my opinion that they don’t emphasize the left-handed capabilities of that rifle more since the right-handed ejection doesn’t make that obvious. While I appreciate the accommodation, the overall design is lacking. The Blasers, Springfield Hellion, Beretta BRX1, etc. are much more to my liking with switchable ejection, charging handles & bolts.

Being a right-handed person who prefers to shoot left, the majority of my rifles are an 1885 or a Ruger #1. I like falling blocks & their simple ambidextrous design.

Reviews from last year projected something south of $2k. The one I saw earlier today was higher but I assumed that was based on rarity & not MSRP.

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/968425214

Found one for you.

https://rokslide.com/forums/threads/left-hand-tikka-ctr-223.296414/

Thanks! I guess the price does reflect the scarcity.

Euro optic has had a few on Gunbroker the past year.
All blued as I recall. Not sure what twist and length.

The seller is trying to get a new gun price out of a 700 round fired gun.

I’m all in.

Back to the OP's original title question, it is the major distributors that drive the factory production. THEY want what SELLS which would be 30-06 and whatever the current rage is IE: anything Creedmoor.
They don't give a damn whether a few want a 300 H&H magnum or a 250/3000 Savage.
With all that being said, I would like a Tikka T3 Lite in .223 with 1x8 twist for my son please! LOL!

Proof Research has LH in 3 models. Glacier, Tundra and Ascension. They're proud of them though.