The rifles I will take to Africa, Ruger RSM in 375H&H and 416 Rigby UPDATE Post 145
- Thread starter Jay
- Start date
Just a tad high, but that may also be the way I aim it... Sinking the bead a bit more into the rear shallow notch would see it hit point of aim.
There were a couple of different "generations" of the RSM Magnum rifles. I don't remember which was which, which came first, etc. but I recall that one generation was somewhat lighter than the other (different barrel profile, I believe?) and one had the barrel-mounted swivel while the other was mounted through the stock.
I had one of them in .416 and fully planned on taking it to Africa on my single trip there. It unfortunately split its stock at the tang just before my trip, forcing my to fall back on my .375. I guess it could have been worse; it might have failed during the hunt rather than before it!
That rifle was heavy, although it seemed acceptable to me for the .416; I remember thinking that one of them in .375 would be far too heavy for my tastes. Again, going from memory, both chamberings had the same exterior barrel profile? I ended up doing the entire hunt, plains game and buff, with the .375 (R93 Blaser) which was great on buff at 20 yards and impala at 200+...and is still great on whitetail at 30 or 300.
Edited to add: I type too slow; hoyt beat me to it.
I had one of them in .416 and fully planned on taking it to Africa on my single trip there. It unfortunately split its stock at the tang just before my trip, forcing my to fall back on my .375. I guess it could have been worse; it might have failed during the hunt rather than before it!
That rifle was heavy, although it seemed acceptable to me for the .416; I remember thinking that one of them in .375 would be far too heavy for my tastes. Again, going from memory, both chamberings had the same exterior barrel profile? I ended up doing the entire hunt, plains game and buff, with the .375 (R93 Blaser) which was great on buff at 20 yards and impala at 200+...and is still great on whitetail at 30 or 300.
Edited to add: I type too slow; hoyt beat me to it.
My RSM in 416 Rigby was made in 1993 and the 375 H&H was made in 2001...
I prefer the barrel mounted sling stud vs it being mounted through the stock...
Whilst beggars can't be choosers, it's the one feature I'd swap between the two...
I prefer the barrel mounted sling stud vs it being mounted through the stock...
Whilst beggars can't be choosers, it's the one feature I'd swap between the two...
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Not a fan of that at all... I have seen guys with forend swivels, take them down flush and add an aftermarket barrel band swivel. There are several kinds available, some are split and either screw together or solder together at the barrel location of choice... others are solid one-piece and require removal of the factory barrel band sight ramp. I think if I was going to that length, I would lop off the barrel behind the front sight, do the one piece barrel band swivel stud and a new barrel band front ramp sight... to my way of thinking, the big bore RSM's really don't need 23" barrels and their nose-heavy orientation and handiness would be greatly improved at 20-21". Even my .458 Lott is nose heavy, the .375 H&H is ridiculous... Ruger really should have slimmed the barrel profile for the smaller bores. The barrel chop would not be expensive, but you would have to be OK with a 40% drop in the molested value... I think it is worth it. Hmmmm....
My M77 Mark II Stainless Carbine .458 Win Mag wears a 20 inch #4 Bob Jury barrel. It is a nice handy, beefy little sucker... feels terrific in hand, at shoulder and when burning powder. It weighs 9 1/2 lbs with four 450 grain TSX in the mag and one in the pipe. Bottom rifle;
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I just had that done on my Withworth express 458 win mag, barrel chopped down from 23 5/8”( I think it was) to 21” front sight reinstalled using a barrel band to make sure it stays on hahaha and rear sight properly mounted, trigger tuned to a crisp 3lbs the barrel ceracoated. It should be in the mail back to me today or tomorrow. The rifle already had a barrel band sling swivel from factory.
So I got that rifle for a descent price cause the sights were off, the stock was cracked so I fixed it all up and glass bedded it and it shot great. But then the sights fell off again after my attempt to reinstall them so I thought I will get it done professionally and get the barrel cut down and the trigger fine tuned!
I have a bunch a loads that shoot great, 350gn tsx, 350 hotcor and 480gn gaschecked cast bullets. All of them near the same point of impact. The 350 tsx are going 2590fps out of the 23 5/8 barrel. So should still get above 2500 with the 21” barrel.
Oh and that rifle before cutting the barrel was at 9lbs scoped and sling.
