Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Good News for Southpaws...

I know my friend Mopar will approve of this news! I got an e-mail from Robert at K-Var earlier this week with news that our sinister friends will like:
For the 11% of the US population that is left-handed, adapting to different firearms can be a tricky thing to juggle. For that 11%, K-Var is excited to introduce our limited line of Left Handed Zastava firearms.

Just like the original right handed variation, these left handed rifles come directly from the Zastava Arms factory in Serbia. Their world renowned reputation for quality has made them one of the premier firearms manufacturers for over 150 years. Each firearm features superior craftsmanship from barrel to buttstock. These left-handed, bolt-action rifles will be built so that the bolt is on the left side making it easy to use for any lefty gun enthusiast.
It's a sharp-looking rifle:

Lefty!

It's all about choices in the gun community - and now the left-handers have another choice.

That is all.

13 comments:

Mopar said...

WHOOP! I do have a question and a suggestion for K-Var:
Suggestion first - The K-Var website allows you to sort the rifles by model # or price. The model number seems to have no relation to the caliber, so the only way to find if the make a certain caliber rifle is to search through pages and pages (70 plus rifles just under bolt action) to find what you want. A search by caliber option would be VERY helpful.

Now, the question. The description on the left-handed rifle(ZM70-232LH) I looked at says This is a SPECIAL ORDER ITEM. In order to import these in a timely manner, we ask that you call, e-mail, or place your online order not later than 3:00 PST on February 9th and make your $100 deposit.

Please allow up to 90 days for delivery of these unique firearms."


Now, I don't have a problem waiting for something like this, but the way I read the website this looks like a 1 time run and you have only 2 days to make a decision to pull the trigger, so to speak.

Anonymous said...

I always thought that there were more of us around. Only 11%?

Some of the sources I just found in a 3 minute internet search said as little as 7% of the population is left handed.

No wonder we get ignored. Just not enough market share to make it worthwhile to court us.

That's discouraging.

Jay G said...

Mopar,

I think - and this is simply my guess - that the rush is to get the order in for the importation request.

Sailorcurt,

All the more reason to reward the companies that make the effort, no?

:)

Mopar said...

Curt, it's possible there are more of "us" when it comes to gunowners. I've noticed it seemed a lot higher then the 10% or so I've seen floated as well, so last year I took a poll on my local gun forum. 27% of the people responding identified as left handed. A side discussion evolved between several instructors and we've noticed 10-20% of our right handed students are cross eye dominant, so they should probably be shooting a rifle left-handed as well. Still, I think most of us are so used to dealing with a right hand world we dont give much consideration to left handed firearms. They are generally special order, and hard to resell. Also while we are usually adept at dealing with right hand oriented items because we've had to do it out entire life; righties usually can't use left handed items at all, so you are limited to who you can loan/share that firearm with.

.45ACP+P said...

Nice looking rifle. Where is the front sight? I can understand a rifle being made for a scope but I have not seen one with only a rear sight. Odd.....

Wally said...

You know what else came from Zastava?

Yeah that's right. The Yugo.

Stretch said...

Holster placement makes it easy to tell if uniform officers are left-handed or normal.;-) I figured out over 20% of my zone (precinct) was left-handed. Continued observation over the years leads me to believe police officers have a higher percentage of lefties than the general population.
Can anyone else confirm/refute my theory?

Mikael said...

I'm a lefty, but I shoot rifles righthanded, and I'm pretty much ambidextrous when it comes to pistols(either hand is fine, the left points better, the right has better trigger control)...

I use my computer mouse righthanded too.

Mikael said...

PS: I do however write with my left, and favor the left for melee weaponry.

Jim said...

Just to make it clear, these are superb renditions of the classic Mauser '98 action, in modern, commercial trim.

Think of a Mark-X Mauser, in a mirror-image rendition.

I'm ordering one in .308 for Iris' son, forthwith.


Jim
Sunk New Dawn
Galveston, TX

Skip said...

Left handed/ right bolt handle works very well for me.
Grip stays on, sights are on, and your off hand works the bolt...what, have I been doing it wrong for forty years?

Mopar said...

Skip, that works fine for shooting off bags/bipod. The problem with shooting a right handed bolt action left handed is when you are shooting in any other position. You need to use your supporting hand to work the bolt, so I don't see how you can keep a 45" long 8lb rifle on target just holding the buttstock. Shooting a lefty gun left handed you use your right hand to keep the rifle pulled in tight (where it should be anyway) and work the bolt with your left hand. Sights never leave the target.


BTW, I've often said that aside from the mag release, I think ergonomically the AR15 fits lefty better then a rightie.

Mopar said...

BTW, another thing I cant find on K-Var's website is any meaningful specs. Barrel length? Overall length? twist? LOP? Capacity? Really the only thing K-Var is telling us is these rifles have a Mauser style action, the caliber and that they think they are really really good. That's a start, but before people plunk down money on a rifle they wont even see for 3 months they need more to go on then that.