[Stoked_C]

Being left handed and always loooking at the various options we have I decided to put my two cents in.

First off, I'd say that it is good that you already have a good amount of shooting experience under your belt. I currently shoot a left handed Browning A-Bolt Stainless Stalker chambered for .270 Win. The rifle+scope+shells is slightly under 8lbs. I tote a 30mm tube scope with target turrets etc so that ups the weight a fair amount, because the rifle itself is listed as 6lbs 11 oz.

Anyway, the A-Bolt is nice because it offers a tang safety and the stock with palm swell is for a left handed shooter. Detachable magazine, low bolt rise, and great accuracy are great too.

With all that said a budget is a good starting place, and you're on the right track with the savages, plus they offer the most left handed options and are accurate to boot!

I think you'd be well off choosing one of the savage stainless models or if you prefer wood/blue go with that. As far as a good all round cartridge. It's going to be hard to beat 7mm-08 or the .270 especially for versatility. I'm going to say that the .270 trumps the 7mm-08 in versatility if we are looking at factory ammunition. You can get Remington 100 gr loads that are definitely easy on the shoulder, and now Remington offers a 115gr load that is "managed recoil" so it is downloaded, but would be plenty effective on deer. The 100 gr come out smoking. Then you have a plethora of 130, 140, and 150 grain offerings from all the varoius companies that will cover deer and up. The more you shoot your gun the more you will get comfortable with it's feel and working up to heavier loads.

I love my Browning, but there's no flies on the Savage and the money you save can go towards your scope. I'd recommend a Leupold VX-II 3 to 9 or a VX-III 3.5 to 10, either with 40 mm obj. lens. Don't skimp on optics. Leupold has a life time warranty and they will fix it no matter what and in quick fashion. Another good thing about buying Leupold is that you might find a good deal on a used one in good shape and with the warranty they carry you can always get it fixed up if need be.

So in conclusion, establish a budget. Decide on a rifle model: Savage and Browning are tend to be the lightest, but a Rem model 7 wouldn't be bad, not easy to find sometimes though. Then I'd say pick between a 7mm-08 and .270...I lean towards the .270 for the large range of ammunition available. Then if it's in your budget get a Leupold, or maybe a 3-9 Zeiss conquest.

Let us know what you decide, we all love shopping for each other!
Conrad