First rifle: Advice needed

[Kyogle]

Hi all, the usual story for me. Long time reader first time poster.

I am after my first rifle. I have shot my brothers rifles for many years but want to get my own now.
I'm a lefty shooter so straight away choices are slim. Add to that I am after a do all rifle.
I have been wanting a .240 wby mag, 243wssm or .257 Roberts but all must be custom made in lefty form.
I have the opportunity to buy a brand new Weatherby MK5 Accumark for almost half price. The thing is it is in 270 wby mag. I feel that's a little too much gun for me and my hunting style.
Q: Can I rebarrel it to .257wby mag or even smaller?

Q: should I just keep looking for a suitable rifle.

I was thinking of having just 1 rifle but with the 270 wby mag being so big maybe I need a small game rifle as well. Perhaps a .17hmr or similar.

I look forward to everyone's input.

Thanks in advance.

Will

 

[WildRose]

Hi all, the usual story for me. Long time reader first time poster.

I am after my first rifle. I have shot my brothers rifles for many years but want to get my own now.
I'm a lefty shooter so straight away choices are slim. Add to that I am after a do all rifle.
I have been wanting a .240 wby mag, 243wssm or .257 Roberts but all must be custom made in lefty form.
I have the opportunity to buy a brand new Weatherby MK5 Accumark for almost half price. The thing is it is in 270 wby mag. I feel that's a little too much gun for me and my hunting style.
Q: Can I rebarrel it to .257wby mag or even smaller?

Q: should I just keep looking for a suitable rifle.

I was thinking of having just 1 rifle but with the 270 wby mag being so big maybe I need a small game rifle as well. Perhaps a .17hmr or similar.

I look forward to everyone's input.

Thanks in advance.

Will

If that rifle shoots well and fits you I'd jump all over it. It's not a caliber that I'd choose but with the newer high BC bullets available in .277 it can be a great long range rifle for just about everything short of Elk and with the right bullet and proper placement of same it could easily handle them as well.

If you decide to pick up a second rifle for varmint hunting look at the .204 Ruger in the CZ 527. Fantastically accurate and a lot of fun to shoot as well as inexpensive to shoot.

When the time comes, you could rebarrel the Accumark in just about any caliber of your choosing with a similar case rim easily and even in a different rim with a new bolt.

The Accumark is known to be a very accurate rifle right out of the box so it's a great place to start especially if you can pick one up for roughly half of the price of a new one.

 

[roninflag]

I can't tell what you are shooting at. the accumark has a good reputation. is it left handed??

 

[Kyogle]

I can't tell what you are shooting at. the accumark has a good reputation. is it left handed??

Sorry, I should have mentioned that.
It is left handed.

I mainly hunt red deer, wild pigs, wild dogs and smaller.

Cheers, W

 

[Dosh]

Kyogle, I purchased a .270 Wby. Mark V last summer. After working up a load for it (sub-MOA) I have found it suits all my needs. I have decided to use it as a primary rifle for deer and as a backup for my 30/378 Wby. for elk and backup for my .257 Wby. for javalena and coyotes. If you get a good price, jump on it!

 

[Kyogle]

Kyogle, I purchased a .270 Wby. Mark V last summer. After working up a load for it (sub-MOA) I have found it suits all my needs. I have decided to use it as a primary rifle for deer and as a backup for my 30/378 Wby. for elk and backup for my .257 Wby. for javalena and coyotes. If you get a good price, jump on it!

Thanks for the info.
It is actually a custom order rifle from the factory and about half the price of an off the shelf mk5 lefty.

Comes with full die set and 50 Norma brass as well.

 

[shortgrass]

A Weatherby MK V Accumark for about 1/2 price,,,,,,,, my first thought would be "what's wrong with it that I can't see?". I've never had to lower the price of a left handed rifle to move it, and as a general 'rule of thumb', a lefty will bring a higher price than a std. right hand model. Yes, there are some new high BC .277 bullets, but those bullets need more than a 1-10 twist (which the Wby has) to stabilize. You were thinking about having only one rifle? I'd recommend therapy.

 

[benchracer]

I am a left hand shooter myself. Because of childhood experience using right hand bolt actions, I refused to shoot or buy anything but a left hand bolt action for many years. During that time, I was often frustrated by the fact that the rifles I really wanted weren't available in a left handed configuration. I also found that I generally had to pay more for a left handed rifle and then usually ended up taking a bath if I sold the rifle because the market for left handed rifles is so small.

What really made me decide to swear left handed actions off for good was when I started to experiment with surplus mausers. The more I tinkered with them and shot them, the less satisfied I became with the limited choices available to me as a left handed shooter. I also started to become dissatisfied with the quality of a lot of the commercial bolt actions out there, which prompted me to develop a preference for the generally higher quality controlled feed rifles. That pushed me even more toward right hand actions because most left hand bolt actions are push feeds.

A few years ago, I bought my last left hand rifle (a beautiful little CZ 452 in 22LR), learned how to run a right hand action from the left side, and never looked back. By way of explanation, what I am trying to say is that I really don't think it is worthwhile to get hung up on left hand bolt actions. I have been a lot happier with my rifles since I stopped buying left hand actions. Ultimately, I believe you will find broader and more satisfying choices available to you in the world of right hand bolt actions.

Aside from that, my second piece of advice is to supplement your primary rifle with a .223 that has at least a 1/9 twist (1/8 is better, if you can find it). The .223 will allow cheap practice and conserve the barrel life of your primary rifle. For many years, I recommended a good quality .22LR for that purpose. However, recent rimfire ammo shortages have caused me to reconsider that. If one handloads, it is possible to load and shoot cast lead bullets from a .223 for about the same cost to shoot .22LR and sometimes for less than it costs to shoot rimfire ammo. One can load a .223 from rimfire level performance all the way to full power heavy bullet loads. That kind of versatility allows for quality, inexpensive practice of shooting fundamentals and more advanced skills like reading and compensating for wind and mirage.

In summary, my advice is this:

1. Don't allow yourself to get too hung up on LH rifles.
2. Buy a .223 for a practice rifle.
3. Plan to handload for your rifles.

 

[Kyogle]

Lol.
I should mention that I am in Australia and that a mk 5 is a low volume sales rifle. On top of that there are few left shooters and even fewer who want a 270 wby mag.

Also. Our guns laws are a pain so you pretty much have to buy a rifle from a local dealer unless you want all the hassle of dealing with multiple gun shops across the country.

A half price mk 5 is still twice the price of say a tikka t3 or browning x-bolt or savage and about on par with a top of the line Sako.

The rifle is at a dealer and with that comes all the consumer protection.

 

[Kyogle]

Benchracer: thanks for your advice. I too have only shot right hand rifle as to this point. I can cycle a round through fairly efficiently but requires dropping the rifle off my shoulder and then re aiming. I have been thinking a rh action may be the way to go.

 

[Creedmoor shooter]

a friend of mine has the same problem. He is left handed and uses right handed actions. He actually prefers a right handed action over a left handed because he is so used to shooting right handed actions. if you can already efficiently work a right handed action then id just stick to a right handed because then if you eventually want to sell it then you dont have to find a left handed person that happens to like the gun and caliber.

 

[Kennibear]

Go for the 270. I have two friends with numerous elk dropped with 270's. Go for it. The 270 WBY is not a shoulder buster. Benchracer is correct on the two guns. I think even an airgun in the back yard helps keep you sharp.

KB