I look at changing it from right to left as a safety issue. If another user was to use your rifle, say a relative the switch could create an “accident ready to happen” situation. I have been shooting a Model 760 off the left side for fifty years with the right hand safety and it has not been an issue. I reach under the stock and behind the trigger guard with the middle finger of the left hand and release the safety. I return the safety with the thumb of the left hand. Another method is to have the rifle in the present arms position turned slightly towards the shooter with the ejection port facing the shooter. With the left hand rolled slightly over the pistol grip the thumb can depress the safety to take it off. The safety can be returned to the safe position with the trigger finger of the left hand.
During my law enforcement career I did the same thing with the safety on a Model 870 shotgun. It would have been extremely dangerous to change a safety over in a law enforcement shotgun. Training the brain to release the safety from the left side is not a difficult task. I did not feel at a disadvantage when dealing with an armed subject.
I was required to qualify both right and left-handed with duty firearms. Thanks to the Model 760 I had the safety all figured out before I reached that critical step in life. When I started out with a Model 760 as a kid, I saw the advertisements about changing the safety over. I am glad that I did not. There will be a day when a grandchild or great-grandchild will inherit my rifle, and it is best the safety left as original.
