Re: left or right hand
Go with your eye dominance. If you are left hand, left eye, do the lefty rifle no questions. If you shoot left hand because you are left eye dominant, but actually right handed, go with a right-handed bolt action. Yes, running a bolt while shooting off-hand or sitting is a PITA, but unless you are a weany and shooting a 25lb rifle, its very doable. Its practice, practice, that helps you re-acquire site picture. You may lose some points standing (or not), but you will gain points on movers or rapid fire drills if you are concerned about match scores. For hunting - I can acquire a site picture pretty quick from a muzzle down stance through practice.