Thinking of going into the darkside - Left Handed Bolt Action

[AHMSA]

Hi Eveyone,

I'm thinking of getting into the darkside.  I'm looking for a good quality non-expensive .22 or .25 cal PCP that is left-handed.  I'm mostly interested in something that will allow me to shoot the same way a bolt action firearm is fired where I don't have to move the gun off-target as I'm cycling the action to take a follow-up shot.

This gun will be for small game hunting, plinking, and target shooting.  Medium game would be nice but not necessary (I have many firearms for that job).  I'm looking for something that will be hand-pump friendly.  I would like it to be under $400 for the gun and a pump.

The Diana Stormrider which can by switched to left handed by Pyramyd Air for an additional $45 (parts and labor) seems to be a good option and fits well into all my requirements.  However, I heard that the action doesn't cycle well in this gun when using the magazine.  I'm also afraid that the magazine would fall down when I'm hunting because it's held in place by a magnet.  Another concern that I have is the barrel bending because it looks from pictures that the barrel is too far from the air cylinder/reservoir.  For those who own this gun, what is your opinion on it? How well does it shoot?

Also, what are my other options that fit into my criteria?

[Antwuan Maxx]

Sounds like a Gamo Urban would be a good fit for you.   I have one and love it.  It's extremely accurate, lightweight, and very hand pump friendly.   The bolt is also ambidextrous.   Walmart has them now for $259.

[bear air]

I have a gen 1 storm rider. I actually had to chamfer the breech end of my barrel to get the pellets to load correctly. Up until then I had just used the single shot tray and still had a hard time. Now that I did that it shoots with the mags and cycles perfectly with redesigned monsters 25.39 gr JSB's. I get 20 good shots coming in at 30 to 35 fpe and accuracy is pretty good too. If your worried about the barrel flexing they do sell barrel bands at PA for ten bucks. This gun is very pump friendly. I don't own one but the benjamin discovery may be an option to keep in mind too, it's only a single shot but I do believe there are some manufacturers that make multi-shot breeches for it. The gamo urban would probably be a good choice too however I do not own one. There are some refurbished options out there as well just have to keep looking until you find what your looking for. I just got a marauder from field supply back in December for $325 which is an awesome deal. If your budget will allow for just a little more you will get a better gun, at least that's what I have found out so far. Oh yeah another option is that crosman is going to relaunch the fortitude this spring. That would be a little more than 400 for the pump and gun but it may be worth it in the long run. There is a lot of choices out there that's for sure. Have a good time shopping around and keep in mind that once you get the rifle I almost guarantee you'll want to modify it lol.

[AHMSA]

Sounds like a Gamo Urban would be a good fit for you.   I have one and love it.  It's extremely accurate, lightweight, and very hand pump friendly.   The bolt is also ambidextrous.   Walmart has them now for $259.

Thank you very much for the suggestion.  The Urban seems like a very good option as well.  The only thing I don't like is the fact that you have to move the bolt downwards instead of upwards when it's switched to the left hand.  This seems somewhat awkward.

I'm not sure if the Stormrider is the same way when it's switched to be left-handed.

[AHMSA]

I have a gen 1 storm rider. I actually had to chamfer the breech end of my barrel to get the pellets to load correctly. Up until then I had just used the single shot tray and still had a hard time. Now that I did that it shoots with the mags and cycles perfectly with redesigned monsters 25.39 gr JSB's. I get 20 good shots coming in at 30 to 35 fpe and accuracy is pretty good too. If your worried about the barrel flexing they do sell barrel bands at PA for ten bucks. This gun is very pump friendly. I don't own one but the benjamin discovery may be an option to keep in mind too, it's only a single shot but I do believe there are some manufacturers that make multi-shot breeches for it. The gamo urban would probably be a good choice too however I do not own one. There are some refurbished options out there as well just have to keep looking until you find what your looking for. I just got a marauder from field supply back in December for $325 which is an awesome deal. If your budget will allow for just a little more you will get a better gun, at least that's what I have found out so far. Oh yeah another option is that crosman is going to relaunch the fortitude this spring. That would be a little more than 400 for the pump and gun but it may be worth it in the long run. There is a lot of choices out there that's for sure. Have a good time shopping around and keep in mind that once you get the rifle I almost guarantee you'll want to modify it lol.

Thank you for the suggestions, Chris.  They all seem like good options but I don't think all of the guns you mentioned can be switched to be a lefty without too much work.  I'm very interested in the Fortitude and I really wish the bolt can be moved to the left side.

Was the Stormrider too much work to get it to shoot with the magazine being used?  Also does the magazine tend to fall down because it's held in place by a magnet?

[Hoosier Daddy]

A Crosman Discovery / Maximus is a 2000psi charge and very hand pump friendly.
There are several aftermarket breeches to make it left handed, some are ambidextrous and can be oriented ether way. Check AlchemyAirwerks, Magnum airpower, and Alliancehobby... they all have a version for "southpaws" even if you aren't.

It is an easy swap at home and there are tons of other tid-bits available for future mods.

[AHMSA]

A Crosman Discovery / Maximus is a 2000psi charge and very hand pump friendly.
There are several aftermarket breeches to make it left handed, some are ambidextrous and can be oriented ether way. Check AlchemyAirwerks, Magnum airpower, and Alliancehobby... they all have a version for "southpaws" even if you aren't.

It is an easy swap at home and there are tons of other tid-bits available for future mods.

Thank you for the recommendations, Scott.  I will take a look at those.  There aren't many left-handed bolt action PCP guns right out of the box, are there?  I kind of prefer the work to be done by a professional for a couple of reasons: 1. I'm not very handy and tend to break things .  2. I don't want to void the warranty for doing something like this.

[mobilemail]

This is one place where a Benjamin Marauder still runs up front. If you watch for deals you can buy one new nowadays for $350 or less. The bolt is user switchable to a true left hand in just a few minutes time.  They are quiet and have good triggers out of the box.  They don't have the best shot count when new, but it is servicable, and $60 and a little work (requiring a chrony) will fix that issue too.

As for the Urban, I have a BSA Scorpion SE which has a nearly identical action.  I switched the bolt to the left side for "quasi-left" action.  The bolt has a very short throw and holds in place quite well, and I have found that i rather like it. 

Yeah, I'm all lefty. 

[AHMSA]

This is one place where a Benjamin Marauder still runs up front. If you watch for deals you can buy one new nowadays for $350 or less. The bolt is user switchable to a true left hand in just a few minutes time.  They are quiet and have good triggers out of the box.  They don't have the best shot count when new, but it is servicable, and $60 and a little work (requiring a chrony) will fix that issue too.

As for the Urban, I have a BSA Scorpion SE which has a nearly identical action.  I switched the bolt to the left side for "quasi-left" action.  The bolt has a very short throw and holds in place quite well, and I have found that i rather like it. 

Yeah, I'm all lefty. 

Thank you very much Mark.  So far those two seem to be the best options for me.  I'm a quasi-lefty (right-handed but left-eye-dominant) so I guess I deserve a quasi-left action I guess

[Back_Roads]

 And there is the Pump action AT-44

https://www.pyramydair.com/product/hatsan-at44-qes-pcp-air-rifle-open-sights?m=2779

 May find a refurb cheaper at Hatsan USA or the like.

[AHMSA]

And there is the Pump action AT-44

https://www.pyramydair.com/product/hatsan-at44-qes-pcp-air-rifle-open-sights?m=2779

 May find a refurb cheaper at Hatsan USA or the like.

Wow... This is beautiful.  Thank you very much James.  Does anyone here own this rifles? How good is it?

[accu fan]

+1 marauder 

[SwampHunter]

Just my opinion, but I would go with the .25 marauder. Yes it's a little over your budget but you can find deals on them or even a good used one. Mine will shoot cans at 100yrd all day. I have a disco that I started the pcp journey with, lots of mods and money later I grab the marauder more. The marauder is completely stock.

[bear air]

It didn't take a lot to get the barrel to load the pellets correctly. I remembered watching a you tube video of a guy taking a little Dremel stone to a break barrel air gun barrel and very gently reaming the leade so the pellets would set properly. I just used my fingers for the first part and slowly worked the barrel stopping every so often and tried to push a pellet into it. I did end up putting the bit in my Dremel and on the lowest setting just hit it for a couple seconds. The magazines on the diana do have a little movement when you cycle another pellet in but it seems to be working good now. I would have to agree with some of the other posts about the marauder. Its a great platform and there is a ton of aftermarket mods that can be done to them. I thought about getting an urban but I didn't care for the price of the magazines ,they are rather spendy compared to the marauder. I just purchased a marauder over the holidays in 22 caliber and that's what I've been shooting for the last two months. I'm really impressed with how it shoots being a stock rifle. Of course I have a whole list of upgrades for it! There are a lot of good choices out there. Good luck and happy shootin!

[Ribbonstone]

   You mentioned a lefty bolt action...likely you had reasons for that choice.

The levers and pumps are pretty much ambi, and I've no problems with them as hunting rifles.  HAve some plus features and some minus, but so far as out in the woods they work as well as any other action.

Aren't very many PCP bolt rifles that are pure lefty ....are some that can be converted easily (like the Marauder), some that  can be made lefty with new parts...and some that just can't be reasonably converted.


The cheapest way: The $25 Pyramid Air charges to convert a StormRider is quite reasonable.  SPA (Diana) makes the same receiver as a lefty for use in some of thier pistols, so basically they're using an already in production lefty  receiver on the righty rifle.

Stock is well shaped for ambi-use, light weight, and I'm pretty happy with mine.

The plus for the Maruauder is that you can convert it to lefty in just a few minutes, no extra money, can often find them at a decent price,and end up with a bit of a chunky rifle that might be better suited for "sit-n'shoot" type playing.


SIDE BAR:

In a perfect world, would have lefty rifles for lefty shootersand righty rifles for tight handed shooters.  Ambi-type bolt actions are a compromise (And usually have other features that are not so ambi as the bolt/stock).

I'll give partial credit to the makers that at least allow easy conversion.

[fivestar45]

The P'rod with the shoulder stock can be switched to left side bolt, and the short tube should make it easy to pump. As already mentioned the M'rod, and also the 9.7lb AT 44 pump action are pretty chunky rifles.

[AHMSA]

Thanks everyone for the recommendations.  I'm mostly leaning towards the Stormrider for several reasons:

This is my first PCP and I don't want to spend a lot of money in case I didn't love having to hand-pump or buy a compressor... etc.
It's lightweight so it will be easy to carry around in the woods when hunting.
It seems like an overall accurate rifle based on reviews.
PA will charge me $45 and move the bolt to the left for me.  This way I don't have to void the warranty.
The gun is powerful enough for hunting, accurate enough for plinking or target shooting, and quite enough for indoor shooting.

The drawbacks:

Sometimes it doesn't cycle well.  Hopefully with the 10-for-10 service any issues will be discovered.  If not, I can always send it pack to PA if there is an issue with the gun.
The barrel might not be strong enough to be free-floated.  A $10 barrel band will take care of this problem.  I heard it's just three screws to install barrel band so no big deal.

[Ribbonstone]

Thinking about left handedness in a righthanded airgun world.

Wife (a lefty) does sometimes share a shooting session with me.   She'sadapted quite well to many "righty" airguns,but does prefer one actually "lefty" frindly.
  I've also loaded (loder term) airguns to other lefty shooters and goeetn their feed back.

As a whole, think lefties have been so use to adapting to a right hqand world they don't really mean woman about the right handedness of airguns...until they try one that if lefty friendly.


These are the ones I have that get the least complaints from the lefty shooters AND the least work from me.

The truely ambi repeater PCP guns...both in stocking  and in atucal operation. Very much "universal" type rifles, doesn't really matter if you are a lefty or a righty.

But both are non-bolt actions.

DSCN1755 by Robert Dean, on Flickr

 Could make either of these a lefty for someone's long term use.  Would have to take one (the P-Rod) 1/4 apart top swap the bolt,or the other 1/3 apart to sweap the breech).
DSCN1753 by Robert Dean, on Flickr
(IF I had one, the Maurader would be right with them...I've just avoided that rifle from the get-go for other reasons.)



IF you are NOT into power, more into target-type velocity .177's, these two straight-pull "T" handle rifles seem to make lefties happy. Low power, different power sources (but both "Dark Side" power sources). Can ramp-up the PCP version on top...it's better served not to).

DSCN1757 by Robert Dean, on Flickr


This last two are half-arsed.  Get a lot of complaintsw from lefty folks about the stocking issues (not ambi-style stocking).  The odd looking "tab" that serves as a biolt opeing device on these two BAM's (and the old-old Huntsaman they were based on) isn't too left hand unfrriendly, but the righty-stocking (cheek piece) is.

Dosn't seem to bother lefties that the rotation of that bolt end tab is "odd"...seems like they accept that rather than a bolt sitcking  "up" when locked a lot better (iof it werenot for the stocking).
DSCN1759 by Robert Dean, on Flickr


As a "righty", the last 40 years of shooting with a "lefty" wife is ALMSOT all about all I know about shooting with a "lefty" wife.

"S
Left-handed-she-who-must-be-obayed" did take over one single shot at first shoot.first look.  Am thinking for single shot use, it really didn't matter what the rate of fire was. 



 Calined this one has "HERS" and I won't  shoot it without her premission (or at least her safely out of the house and not likely to find out)...also think it has a look that women like (a very sexist attitude...but it is kind of "Italian Sportcar" cute.  May be that loading the chamber and cocking the riflke are two seperate effots (and cocking in ambi as is the stock) and that there are no time limits...but am thinking it's more about the  look than the action.



SIDE BAR:


LESS excuse for airguns not to be; unlike firearms, there is no hot  ejected case to smack a lefty in the face.

Following has been posted many times...and I didn't get him this rifle until the very end (was over 90 at the time), so his favorite shooting was a version of mini-sniping out to about 40 yards.

Found and old shooting buddy a RWS75 lefty...  EVERTYING was lefty, it was like a mirror image in all respects inside and out (and they had to have lost $$ making these rifles that way).

OF course, I had to get a "righty" for myself.

By swapping between the two, found out just how bad a lefty in a righty-world feelks.




His immediate comment was , "S**t...I darn near waited too long."

[AHMSA]

This is a beautiful collection you have there.  I have many right-handed firearms and I have learned to adapt well.  However, I enjoy the my left-handed bolt action firearm a whole lot because it allows me to cycle the action while the gun is still shouldered and without loosing the site picture.  I would like to be able to do the same thing with an airgun.

So the next question is:  If I do get the Stormrider, what else do I need to buy?  I'm thinking of getting this pump:



Will this fit and work on the Stormrider out of the box? Or do I need anything else to start shooting?

[Back_Roads]

  one more question, are you right or left eye dominant ?
 

This can be the final determination of the perfect shooting platform.