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Winchester XPR 350 Legend
Weatherby Mark V Backcountry 2.0 TI Carbon 6.5 Wby RPM
Ruger 10/22 Competition Rifle
There’s not a critical left-handed shooter who can’t work a righty bolt gun successfully, if not notably gracefully. Similar might be mentioned of off-handed safeties on semi-auto shotguns, or bolt- and magazine-release controls on ARs.
Southpaws have found out how one can make do within the right-handed world of firearms design. However it’s a reduction — and a welcome reminder that we’re not all thumbs — after we get the prospect to function left-handed actions. A number of producers acknowledged years in the past that whereas lefties is likely to be solely 10 % of the inhabitants, the proportion of southpaw shooters is considerably greater, and these manufacturers devoted a few of their manufacturing to us off-handed freaks. Ruger, Savage, Tikka, and Weatherby all produce their hottest bolt-action rifles in left-handed actions.
Corporations that can go to nice lengths to increase product traces to hyper area of interest audiences of right-handed rifle shooters — I’m you, Mossberg, Kimber, and Nosler — apparently assume left-handers beneath their funding.
Fortunately, just a few manufacturers which have traditionally ignored lefties have launched fashions over the previous 12 months that not solely verify the participation field however convey noteworthy efficiency to the southpaw market. I hunted this fall with three of those fashions — Winchester’s new lefty XPR, Weatherby’s outstanding Mark V Backcountry 2.0 TI Carbon, and a brand new left-handed 10/22 from Ruger’s Customized Store — and make sure that they provide nice efficiency for lefties searching for causes to desert their wrong-handed weapons.
And extra excellent news for lefties is on the horizon. At the least two different corporations, Christensen Arms and Bergara, are popping out with both new lefty fashions this month or are increasing their left-hand fashions into new configurations.
New for 2024 Left-Handed Rifles
Winchester XPR Left-Hand 350 Legend
Specs
- Calibers: 350 Legend (examined), .308 Win., .30/06 Springfield, .300 Win Magazine, 6.5 Creedmoor
- Motion: Left-handed bolt motion, 60-degree bolt throw, 3-lug bolt
- Inventory: Black polymer with Inflex Expertise recoil pad
- Barrel: 22-inch (350 Legend) metal button-rifled with Perma-Cote end and recessed goal crown
- Twist Charge: 1:16 for .350 Legend
- Set off: M.O.A. adjustable set off (adjustment vary: 3-5 kilos)
- Security: Two-position with bolt-unlock button
- Journal: 3-round removable
- Size of Pull: 13-3/4 inches
- General Size: 42 inches
- Weight: 6 kilos, 12 ounces
- Value: $699
Options
- Reasonably priced and versatile
- Brief barrel and compact construct excellent for starting hunters and shooters
- Glorious set off
- Strong choice of calibers
Professionals
- Snappy dealing with
- Sturdy development
- Glorious elements
Cons
- Barrel not threaded for suppressors
- Distended journal makes one-hand carry troublesome
- Straight-wall cartridges not optimized for bolt actions
The spotlight of my whitetail season was slinging this new and nimble Winchester throughout the river bottoms of northeast Montana and later within the hardwoods of Kentucky. My check rifle was chambered in 350 Legend, and I got here away impressed with this quick, enjoyable, lethal rifle-and-caliber mixture.
The XPR is really easy to deal with for small-framed shooters, so gentle mannered by way of recoil and report, and so lethal in mid-range conditions, out to about 250 yards, it’s change into my new apprentice rifle, provided to starting hunters in my tribe, no matter whether or not they’re righties or lefties.
The Winchester’s 22-inch barrel and 13-3/4 size of pull is ideal for the form of floor searching I desire for whitetails. It factors like a quail gun for snap photographs at transferring deer and, at 6 kilos, 12 ounces, has sufficient weight-forward heft to make killing photographs off capturing sticks and bipods out to 200 yards. Topped with Leupold’s 1-6×24 Patrol 6HD, its close-quarters skills make it an superior truck gun. In a 22-inch barrel, the southpaw XPR is chambered in 350 Legend, .308 Win., and 6.5 Creedmoor. The 24-inch model is chambered in 6.8 Western and .30/06 Springfield, and you may get a lefty .300 Win Magazine with a 26-inch barrel.
There’s a spiffy TrueTimber camo model of the lefty XPR in each 350 Legend and 6.8 Western, however the fundamental gun is, nicely, fairly fundamental. It has a black polymer inventory, Perma-Cote end on the barrel and receiver, a three-round removable field journal, and an adjustable M.O.A. set off that’s factory-set at 3.5 kilos. It carries an MSRP of $700, which is about proper for the reliability, sturdiness, and accuracy it delivers.
My 350 Legend shot every of three masses I fed it pretty nicely. Winchester’s 180-grain Power Point, a conventional cup-and-core comfortable level, might be the thumper bullet I’d go for at nearer ranges, however I struggled to get it to group tighter than 1.5 inches at 100 yards. Winchester’s 150-grain Copper Impact was essentially the most correct of my check masses, printing 1.1-inch five-shot teams at 100 yards. I killed a Montana whitetail doe with this bullet, making a double-lung hit at about 175 yards. Surprisingly, the deer went about 200 yards earlier than tipping over lifeless.
Within the Discipline
Based mostly on that disappointing terminal efficiency, I opted for the perfect mixture of accuracy and delivered power for a vacation spot whitetail hunt in western Kentucky. That load: Winchester’s 160-grain Power Max bonded bullet. It shot simply over MOA each off the bench and off capturing sticks, and on a tune-up doe hunt in Montana a whitetail I shot at about 130 yards went solely 30 yards earlier than piling up.
In Kentucky, I hauled the XPR as much as a platform stand in a mature oak the place its brief barrel and Leupold’s LPVO scope proved a succesful treestand gun. However in the end, I climbed out of the heavens and rattled in a advantageous hardwoods buck from the bottom, making a 45-yard snap shot on the buck cruising by way of the timber.
Sure, the Winchester XPR is simply one other plastic-stocked bolt gun, however just a few particulars elevate it above the scrum. The M.O.A. set off is crisp and tight. The 60-degree bolt is quick, its velocity enabled by the outsized bolt deal with, and the three-lug motion locks up fast and powerful. I haven’t labored the long-action XPR, however the brief motion is clean, with no bolt binding.
Whereas the XPR doesn’t have a real three-position security, the two-position operation has a tab in entrance of the security that, when depressed, permits shooters to open the bolt whereas the security is engaged. I’d observe that the left-side security is definitely reachable for right-handed shooters.
In my ultimate evaluation, the XPR is a gun that’s greater than the sum of its components. It’s a vigorous, enjoyable, lethal rifle that shall be a welcome addition to the brief roster of succesful left-handed bolt-action rifles.
Ultimate Ideas on the Left-Handed Winchester XPR
There aren’t any bitter notes with this gun. The XPR platform is confirmed, and the lefty model is tight, responsive, and enjoyable. Is the 350 Legend the proper chambering for a bolt gun? No, nevertheless it makes the Winchester a spectacular whitetail rifle for stand hunters, and it’s a beautiful first rifle for starting hunters. Whether or not they’re lefties or not.
Weatherby Mark V Backcountry 2.0 TI Carbon 6.5 Wby RPM
Specs
- Weight: 5.4 kilos
- Motion: 6-lug Titanium Mark V full-length receiver, left-handed bolt, 54-degree bolt throw
- Inventory: Peak 44 Blacktooth carbon fiber with gray-and-white sponge camo sample
- Barrel: #4 profile carbon-fiber, 26 inches (plus 2 inches for muzzle brake), 1:8 twist fee, 5/8-24 muzzle thread, ships with Accubrake ST
- General Size: 46.5 inches
- Journal Capability: 4
- Size of Pull: 13.5 inches
- Calibers Obtainable: .240 Wby Magazine, .243 Win., .257 Wby Magazine, .300 Wby Magazine, .338 Wby RPM, 6.5 Creedmoor, 6.5 Wby RPM, 6.5-300 Wby Magazine
- Value: $3,949
Options
- At 5.43 kilos (measured) one of many lightest manufacturing bolt-action rifles available on the market
- Titanium Mark V receiver
- Carbon fiber tension-wrapped barrel from Wisconsin-based BSF Barrels
- Ships with 30-port Accubrake ST muzzle brake
- True carbon fiber inventory (from Peak 44)
- Threaded bolt deal with
Professionals
- Light-weight
- Wby RPM cartridge designed for Weatherby’s six-lug motion
- Left-handed motion chambered in eight calibers
- Glorious mountain rifle
- Efficient recoil-management elements
- Good-looking gray-and-white sponge-pattern accents
- Putting metallic work, from bolt deal with to backside metallic
Cons
- At almost $4,000 it’s a dear rifle
- Takes apply to shoot precisely
Within the hierarchy of premium manufacturing light-weight mountain rifles, Weatherby’s 5.4-pound Mark V Backcountry 2.0 Ti Carbon occupies a vaunted place on the confluence of efficiency, fashion, and dealing with. So it’s gratifying to see the corporate serve its left-handed clients with a southpaw model of its most feature-filled rifle, and it’s a testomony to Weatherby’s dedication to minorities that it chambers this left-hand rifle in its new 6.5 Weatherby RPM, (for Rebated Precision Magnum).
Retailing simply shy of $4,000, this can be a critical funding, however its elements assist justify the price. The guts of the Backcountry Ti Carbon is the confirmed Mark V motion, solely in light-weight titanium. The rifle is barreled with what Weatherby calls its “tensioned” carbon-fiber barrel from BSF Barrels, and it’s paired with a carbon-fiber inventory from Weatherby’s business companion, Peak 44.
My check model was chambered within the red-hot 6.5 Wby RPM, and I labored up each masses and an optic with Montana’s pronghorn antelope season in thoughts. I settled on the brand new 124-grain solid-copper Hammer Hunter, which shot almost in addition to the 127-grain Barnes LRX. As a result of I’ve by no means hunted with projectiles from Hammer, I selected that bullet for antelope.
Within the Discipline
I topped the Weatherby with Maven’s new RS3.2 and later with Leupold’s VX-5HD in 3-15×44 with a customized elevation dial. Previous to searching Montana pronghorns, I examined the brand new rifle and cargo on coyotes, recognizing {that a} 124-grain copper bullet zipping alongside at 3,230 ft per second — my recorded common velocity — is a bit a lot. However the train allowed me to get comfy capturing the light-weight rifle off each a bipod and a tripod topped with Spartan Precision Equipment’s Davros Head.
That have, and the profitable antelope hunt that quickly adopted, received’t shock anybody. The 5-pound, 4-ounce rifle is a pleasure to hold; with the scope, sling, a full four-round journal, and Harris bipod, the absolutely outfitted searching rig weighed just below 8 kilos.
That mild weight, nonetheless, makes the Backcountry Ti Carbon tough to shoot. The barrel heats shortly, particularly with the 81-grain case capability of the RPM. And the gun is so mild {that a} suppressor messes with the finely tuned steadiness of the rifle, to the diploma that on my antelope hunt I shunned my suppressor in favor of Weatherby’s efficient Accubrake ST muzzle brake. Nonetheless, even on the bench, I needed to actually focus to get both load to shoot sub-MOA. I ought to observe, although, that I didn’t ship sufficient rounds by way of it in varied grain weights and bullet varieties to make conclusions on greatest masses.
The inventory geometry, 3DHEX recoil pad, and muzzle brake mix to do a wonderful job of managing recoil. The recent 6.5 Wby RPM was a pleasure to shoot, with little or no felt recoil and, much more remarkably, little or no muzzle bounce even with out a suppressor.
I’m a stalker, not a long-range hunter, and whereas I might have air-struck my goal buck at 600 yards, I used terrain options and belly-crawling to get inside 180 yards and killed him with a single shot. In all, I hiked 14 miles that day in pursuit of prairie antelope, and the Weatherby proved its worth proposition as a light-weight companion. So, too, did the left-handed motion. As most lefty walk-about hunters can attest, carrying a right-handed bolt rifle on the left facet means you’re continuously digging the bolt out of your hip, or worrying that your strolling movement is working the bolt open. That wasn’t a fear with the left-facing bolt on the Mark V.
Ultimate Ideas on the Weatherby Backcountry Mark V Ti Carbon – 6.5 Wby RPM
Lastly, left-handed mountain hunters have a manufacturing rifle they will carry with confidence and pleasure. This investment-grade Weatherby is worthy of once-in-a-lifetime trophy hunts.
Ruger 10/22 Competition Rifle Left-Handed Model
Specs
- Chambered in .22 LR
- Totally adjustable cheek relaxation
- Laminate inventory in speckled black/grey end
- Anodized black aluminum receiver
- 10-round left-hand rotary journal
- Outsized journal launch lever
- 16.12-inch metal barrel, 1:16 RH twist
- Ships with muzzle brake; barrel threaded to just accept suppressor
- Optics-ready 30 MOA Picatinny rail
- BX Set off with 2.5-3-pound pull weight
- Size of Pull: 13 ½ inches
- General Size: 36 inches
- Value: $959
Professionals
- Left-handed motion retains gasoline and brass away from left-handed shooters’ faces
- Comfy and accuracy-boosting inventory elements
- 30 MOA rail allows fast optics adjustments and long-range capturing
- Upgraded set off
- Threaded barrel
- Hyper-accurate
Cons
- Left-handed rotary journal isn’t appropriate with right-handed magazines
- Susceptible to stove-pipe jams
The most well-liked rimfire rifle in America is a literal ache within the face for left-handed shooters. I’m speaking about Ruger’s 10/22, and in case you’re a southpaw, the sensation of sizzling brass and gasoline spitting in your proper cheek as you dump {a magazine} at paper targets, rimfire silhouettes, or tin cans.
Fortunately, Ruger has fastened that drawback by providing its versatile 10/22 semi-auto in a lefty motion. It’s obtainable proper now solely by way of Ruger’s Custom Shop, as a tricked-out competitors rifle. However given the hyper accuracy and upgraded barrel, inventory, and set off of this model, I’m not complaining.
There’s not a lot that hasn’t been mentioned in regards to the 10/22. It’s correct, quick, dependable, enjoyable, infinitely customizable, and inexpensive. The competitors model of the gun is all these, plus correct, minus inexpensive. Retailing for near $1,000 it’s pretty expensive for a rimfire, however given its capacity to win NRL22 competitions and furnishings that matches nearly any shooter, it’s a very good funding. I’ll purchase my left-handed model as a slave rifle for optics testing, a activity that places a premium on accuracy, reliability, and straightforward compatibility with a variety of scopes. The Ruger’s 30 MOA Pic rail makes it a cinch to swap out scopes and allows long-range capturing. In testing a brand new riflescope from Athlon in addition to rabbit searching with Trijicon’s REAP-IR mini thermal scope, each CCI’s Green Tag and Federal’s 25-grain Small Game load shot lights-out (a time period that’s particularly acceptable for thermal searching).
Among the many noteworthy options of this southpaw competitors mannequin are the textured laminate inventory with splendidly grippy fore-end, adjustable cheek relaxation, and lightweight set off. Triggers in manufacturing 10/22s are really horrible, however this model is mild and constant, with solely slightly sponginess on the take-up. I had slightly drawback with stove-piping once I shot my lefty Ruger with the 40-grain CCI load. If the motion have been canted in both course, empties would are likely to get caught within the motion.
The opposite element to notice is that the 10-round rotary journal that ships with the lefty 10/22 is particularly designed for the left-handed motion. So you may’t swap out commonplace Ruger mags; as a substitute you may order extra left-handed magazines must you need backups. However that’s a really small value to pay for left-handed shooters who can lastly take pleasure in all the thrill of a ten/22 with not one of the gas-spitting insults.
Ultimate Ideas on Ruger 10/22 Competitors Rifle Left-Handed Mannequin
I’m torn between saying “about time,” and “value ready for.” So I’ll mix them to say this is a wonderful model of a flexible rifle whose time has come.