Greenhorn,
I have seen several detonated rifles of these what side the port was on would not have saved the shooter from damage. I drill 2, 3/16" holes in the bottom of the bolt body when it is in the closed position to vent gases in the event of a pierced primer or ruptured case. This allows the small fragments and gases to escape downward instead of back through the bolt body and shroud into the shooters face. I feel like that is more of a concern that what side of the gun the ejection port / face is on. The newer Remington 700's are made of better slightly materials I understand, but the quality of machine work is not as it once was. Also the older versions lock the bolt into place with the safety on, the newer ones don't. The benefit of the newer ones is that you can unload the rifle with the safety still on. The down side is brush etc can catch and unlock the bolt and put you into a situation where your rifle won't fire unless you seat the bolt back down. Most of the AD's I have heard of were caused when the safety was flipped off and the gun fired due to improper trigger setup by the owner. So of course Remington felt like they needed that crappy full safety floating bolt setup they currently have. That being said I would still use any of the 700 actions for a custom project. Before you buy, sitdown and figure out what weight you are willing to accept for a hunting rifle. My rifles tend to run on the heavy side, because ultimately I want a shooter and am willing to hump the extra weight around for the performance. The big question is how much weight and how much performance.
I wouldn't want to hunt all day with my VS, it's too heavy and cumbersome for what I like. For stand hunting it would be OK. For hunting a LH BDL, LH LSS(If you like UltraMags), LH KS 700 in Blue or SS(if you've got the money) or a Savage rifle may be the answer. From what I've seen the BDLs shoot very well also. I had a LH 700 built a number of years ago by a local gunsmith, Ron King. It is a .280 Remington with a Shilen barrel, Brown Precision Kevlar stock, and a compact Leupold scope. It shoots well and tops the scale at about 7.5 # as eqipped above. It shoots well and is a joy to carry in the woods.
Greenhorn,
If you are interested in a used LH Remington try looking looking at a bigger store too. Today I went to Cabela's in Dundee and found two 700, bull barrels, wide fore end (sorry, I don't remember the models). One in 22-250 and one in 308. They were each $630. In my local gun shop they are as scarce as hen's teeth, but in a bigger store, closer to the metro area, I was pleasantly surprised to see two.
I have a Rem 700 VS LH in .223 that I don't need (I'm not left handed, long story). If anyone is interested in it at $500 plus shipping shoot me an email.
I went down to a gun shop today, I wanted to hold a Rem700VLH to see just how heavy it feels.
Well the guy behind the counter didn't have one, but he gave me another rifle of the same weight. He then gave me a REM700 CDL to hold for comparison. Boy, big difference. The more o looked over the CDL, the more I started to fall for that rifle in a .270
How much, and how long to get a left handed CDL in I asked. SORRY, SIR, THE CDL DOES NOT COME IN A LEFT HANDED MODLE. SOB!!!
Do many of you actually hunt a .308 varmit when the walk is a long one?
I'm comtemplating taking my Rem VSLH .308 w/ a USO SN-3 out to the woods next week. [img]images/icons/confused.gif[/img]
I'm wanting to use a bipod and set up in a ground blind. I know it sounds crazy!! LOL..sakofan.. [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]
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Don't know if you found a rifle yet. I'm also a lefty and have the Rem 700 VS in .308 lefty. It works well. I have a heavy scope and heavy mounts, bipod and heavy strap and I still hump it around deer hunting. Here in Nebraska we usually hike in somewhere and then I set up on the ground with some shooting sticks if the grass is high, or on the ground with my bipod if the grass is low. I prefer the bipod. I love that gun though. Mine's about .75 MOA out of the box, (with trigger job of course).
Getting back to the lefty thing. I also have a Sendero in 300WM. It's an RH gun. As a couple of guys stated earlier, the RH model would be my preference for shooting prone or from a bench. I'm fine with an RH or LH gun. We lefties are pretty adaptable. One way to "pimp your gun" is to have a Badger bolt knob installed. I love those things for working the action quickly.
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