My local dealer has a Gibbs Jungle Carbine. The Survival model with nickel finish and matches and a cable saw. I have wanted one of these for a while now. It seems to be the cheapest way to get a cool .308 rifle. The problem is that it is a bolt action rifle and I shoot left handed. So I put it to you,shouldI go ahead and buy this bitchin' gun. I should mention  the dealer wants $20 more than MSRP and the other choices would be to get a Remmington 710 in .30-06 or try and save the money for a FAL. So lets hear it. Jungle carbine now, 710 a little later, or FAL way in the future.

I have a MK II No.4 in .303 and I am left handed.  The Enfield's short bolt action, IMO, is the easiest out there for a lefty to use. But not as easy as getting the Remington or Savage with a left hand bolt or a semi-auto.  

If you want to get in cheap go for the Enfield in .303 for less than $150.  I got mine for $89.99 a couple of years ago or get an Ishapore Enfield in .308 for similar $'s.  That way you don't dent the wallet so much and you can quickly save up for that FAL.

FWIW, I have heard the Jungle Carbine has a kick similar to a 3 inch 12 gauge.    

Ill second what Miles said.The Enfield action is easy to shoot left handed.I think the saftey was made for a lefty.Id get a 2A there 89.00 dealer.Imade mine into a scout rifle for under 10.00.After cutting the barrel down to 18" I made an extension for the stock bolt.open up the stock latch and you could take it down in 15 seconds.Id stick with the 308,lots cheaper to shoot.You also might look at a Romaian 44 carbine.7.62x54 is cheap and the rifle is 35.00 dealer.It may be even eaiser to shoot left handed.The saftey stinks for either hand.I just leave the bolt up and push it down before shooting.stenmk1 were abouts do you live in Ill.
Might be able to let you try it out before you by if your close enough.Also know a good FFL.

Big 5 sells Turk Mausers for $50. You can't beat a Mauser. I'm not too enthusiastic about the Jungle Carb. It's nice looking, but not the best shooter in the world.

The Romanian SKS is excellent. Ammo is cheap. Ammo is cheap for the 8mm Turk Mauser too. And the 8mm Turk is a butt kicker -- heavy bullet, lots of powder behind it.

Regular Enfield is a good option. The FR8 Mauser that AimSurplus.com is selling right now is a neat rifle. .308 cal. Spanish Mauser. Has a rear sight that is convertable notch/peep and a hood on the front sight. It's a mid size carbine. They're running $170 or so.

The Mosin M-44 is OK, but they're meant to shoot with the bayo extended. There's a 38-91 -- something like that -- which is the same gun without the bayo. They're accurate, but ammo can be hard to find.

Lots of FAL "clones" out there. I'm not up to speed on these, but they seem OK.

Too many choices . . . I'd save and get what you really want instead of buying short. Cause you're just gonna get the more expensive one sooner or later.

[img]http://www.rguns.net/rifles/3.8.new1.lg1.jpg[/img]

Do NOT get an Ishapore .308- they are NOT made to fire .308, they are only re-chambered for it! I made the mistake of getting one of these pieces of garbage, and it would NEVER eject because the receiver and the ejector are sized to fit the .303, which has a much larger case head. Once the .308 round is extracted, it just falls out of the ejector claw, and into the magazine, so you end up having to remove it by grabbing it with your fingers.

[b]ABSOLUTELY AN FN-FAL![/b]

Built like a Mack truck.  $5 20 rd. mags.  7.62 NATO is as cheap as 5.56mm or cheaper.  The FAL is reliable as the sunrise.  Easy to maintain.  You can get into one from about $500(Century POS) to over $1200.  However, the best deal going right now is the DS Arms Authentic STG 58 rifle for $795 dealer cost built on DSArms excellent receiver, with an excellent STG58 kit, and DSA US parts.  Another $100 gets you [b]20[/b] 20 rd. mags for it!  And another $150 gets you 1000 rds. of NATO spec ammo.
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Thanks for the help everyone. I have a feeling that the answer if to buy more than one gun. I think I'll pick up the Jungle carbine this week and then start a FAL Fund. The real problem is convincing the wife that you can never have to many guns.

Ain't it ALWAYS!??!?!??!!!!!!!!

That, and a hammer can fix MOST of lifes problems. For the rest of lifes problems, get a BIGGER hammer.

[:D]

Actually the Century FALs can be OK if you replace the gas piston and HTS.Then you are in for $600 with an Imbel receiver FAL.And $5 a mag is hard to beat