I'm going to need to shoot a bunch of deer...

[Elkins45]

...if I'm going to use all the rifles I'm thinking of hunting with this season.

I really want to take one with cast loads with my new Ruger in 358 Win, but I also want to hunt with my Pre-64 style LH Winchester 70 that I fitted with a laminated stock. And I would like to give my new LH 98 Mauser in 25-06 a try.

The Ruger is the only one that isn't a lefty, but I'm trying not to hold that against it. :)

Here are a couple of pix of my lefty Model 70 wearing its new stock:

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm35/elkins_pix/DSC_0536.jpg

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm35/elkins_pix/DSC_0540.jpg

[PS Paul]

She's beautiful! I've always liked the white spacer on the grip caps and forend. A neat marriage of old and new styling, I think.

[Duckiller]

Why did you put a right handed stock on a left handed gun? Just curious.

[runfiverun]

???????.......^^^

i do like that stock.
how's about some more info.
like weight, l.o.p.,who makes it?
does it come with the recoil pad etc..

[Elkins45]

Why did you put a right handed stock on a left handed gun? Just curious.

I'm confused by this question. It's a left-handed stock...the cheek piece is on the right side of the stock. Look at a conventional right handed stock and you will see that it's the opposite.


???????.......^^^

i do like that stock.
how's about some more info.
like weight, l.o.p.,who makes it?
does it come with the recoil pad etc..

I don't know the weight other than to say that it's a "little" heavier than the factory walnut stock that came with the gun and I hate to take it off to weigh it for fear of disturbing something. I'll weigh it after deer season. I'll measure LOP sometime and post it later, since the rifle is in the trunk of my car at the moment (went shooting yesterday).

It was made by Richards Microfit in California and it was in the clearance section of their website where they sell overstocks, returns, unpaid orders, etc. It has a 2.5" wide flat forearm like a benchrest gun, which I might thin down one day but am gradually starting to appreciate. The recoil pad is a Decelerator and it was fitted to the stock when I ordered it.

Because this was such an odd duck (how many people want a stock for their pre-64 LH M70?) it was on clearance sale and I got it for $64 shipped! They advertise their stocks as being 99% press fit, and I suppose you could say that is technically true if you consider a tree to be 0%, but it only took 3-4 hours of fitting to get the action to fit the stock. Laminate doesn't carve or sand nearly as easily as plain wood, so everything takes longer when working with plywood. The action is glass bedded and the barrel is free floated.

The gun itself is one of the last guns that came out of New Haven. It's the 'pre-64' pattern with the Mauser claw extractor but in left hand. It's a 270 with a 24" barrel. I believe the model is called a "Classic Sporter". I wasn't looking for it when I stumbled across it on a gun show table, but something told me to dig deep in my wallet and grab it while I could. It turns out that USRAC ceased production just a few months after I bought it.

I put three Sierra 130 grain BT Game Kings into one ragged hole with it yesterday at 100 yards. I think it's safe to say I love this rifle. I also tried Win 748 powder behind the RCBS 200 grain boolit in my Ruger .358 yesterday....not quite the same results! I'm not sure all 10 rounds even landed on the the same 8.5" X 11" target sheet.

[RED333]

Nice correct handed shooter there, from one "South paw to another".
Richards Microfit is where I picked up my stock, great people, and fast shipping.

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

It's a beautiful rifle and I'd love to have the exact same thing in right hand caliber .270 or .243. Good luck with your hunting.

[Idaho Mule]

THAT is one pretty rifle!! and I am a right-hander. Good luck on your hunt, that Sierra GK will do the job quite nicely. In your 25 try the Sierra 117 GK and Hornady 117 BTSP, I get good results with both bullets and IMR 4831 in MY guns.

[Buckeye509]

As a lefty I've always seemed drawn to single shots and lever actions, as the selection for bolt guns has been rather limited. I'm glad that is changing somewhat now. That is a really fine Model 70, love that stock and the way you have it set up with the Leupold.

[Four Fingers of Death]

I'm right handed, but my friend let his license lapse and I got to mind his left handed Savage while he got things organised. He was sitting on his hands and procrastinating, so I told him I was going to use the rifle if he didn't hurry up. I tookit out spotlighting and our driver's seat is on the right hand side of th evehicle and the lefty rifle was perfect for me shootin out of the window of the 4wd, lol. It made him hurry and get organised,lol. I had to concentrate or else I started climbing up the stock trying to get my right eye into the equation. I put a small piece of electrician's tape in front of my right eye on a pair of safety glasses and had no problems. When I sat up straight to drive, it didn't bother me.

Nowwwwwwwwwwwwwwww, if I see a cheap LH 222 or 223, I will jump on it for a spotlighting rifle.

[TCLouis]

Why would one buy a gun with the bolt on the wrong side??

This just plain strange I am here to tell ya.

[RED333]

Why would one buy a gun with the bolt on the wrong side??

This just plain strange I am here to tell ya.

Well I have been shooting a wrong sided rifle all my life, having the bolt on the correct side is like night and day.

[Four Fingers of Death]

Why would one buy a gun with the bolt on the wrong side??

This just plain strange I am here to tell ya.

When you are driving around a paddock with the steering wheel on the right hand side of the 4wd, a left handed gun is a lot easier to wield. Our cars are set up for southpaws to shoot out of th edriver's seat. You guys are one the correct side for a righthander.

[o6Patient]

Nice rifle, but I'd hit myself in the nose operating the bolt..an the cheek piece seems to be
on the wrong side..other than that she's a beaut.