My Ruger .275 Rigby M77

Well, its marked this, but .275 Rigby sounds much more exotic:



I had no intention of buying such a thing. I was in one of my usual haunts when that tang safety caught my eye.



The dealer said it had been there for quite a while. I laid it away on an impulse. I've learned through long and bitter experience not to ignore such things. I had 80 bucks in my pocket and that was enough to hold it.



I love Model 77 Rugers. I know they are sometimes the red-headed stepkids of the bolt actions, but not to me. My main meat-getter is an old .300 Win Mag M77. My wife's only big game gun is an M77 .260 Compact. My wrong-handed son has a lefty M77 in .270 Winchester.

They have a classic look and feel to me, and every one I've had has been more than accurate enough for any need. I made my longest game shot with my .300 at a range that would get me called a liar or an idiot.



I'm a sucker for oddball and semi-oddball calibers. 16 gauge shotguns, .41 mag revolvers, 10mm pistols have all found a home with me. I know the 7x57 has a long and distinguished history and may not be an actual oddball, but its also not something for which ammo is always found at Wally World.

These are 175s - I've read the long-throated Ruger favors these. I like long-for-caliber bullets anyway. Probably Freudian.



This gun came with a giant low-end Tasco 4-16 stuck on it, and two boxes of 140 grain ammo. I shot those up to make sure it worked, and set about replacing the scope. I had a Redfield 2x7 Revenge, made by our friends in the Phillipines. It is crystal-clear and has worked well on other guns.

The Tasco was in Ruger rings with screws so buggered up I couldn't remove them. I took the whole deal off, and wound up getting some Leupold rings at Sportsman's. All they had were the high ones, but they actually work well with my slightly chubby cheeks.

The stock is nice dark walnut, not the reddish tint I'm used to on many M77s. Good thing recoil is very light - I like the look of the Ruger factory pad, but it doesn't have much give.



The guns dates to 1980. I think Ruger wasn't outsourcing barrels at that point. This one seems to shoot well - all I have done is break rocks in the BLM with the Tasco on board. I'll have a better idea of accuracy when I sight in the Redfield with the 175s. If they group well I'll probably stick with those. The barrel is nicely crowned.



I'd love to hear from other fans of the great M77, and particularly those with experience with the .275 Rigby (even if you call it the 7x57 or 7mm Mauser).

I intended to get one of those for years.

Ended up with a Ruger lightweight in .250-3000 (.250 Savage) instead.
It's become my favorite deer rifle. Light, handy with the tang safety like my 20 gauge OU grouse gun, and very accurate for three shots.
Then the light barrel heats up and the group opens up a bit and shifts.

I usually don't need more than one shot per deer anyway. The .250
often leaves them on the ground where they stood when I fired.

I am a big fan of the M77.

My son shoots a tang safety M77 in 7 Remington Mag. I stole the rifle: it was at a gun show and the man who had the rifle had put the scope on backwards and the bolt wouldn't open. I swapped a rather well-used 629 for it, brought it home, and handloads developed for it clover-leafed at 100 yards.

A few years later, my son was eyeballing my 700LH LSS in 7 Mag and told me "Dad, I sure wish my rifle looked like yours. I really like that stock." So... a call to Boyd's and some work from my riflesmith and his M77 now looks like Dad's rifle. Still clover-leafs at 100, too!

Gotta love that Ruger tang safety... just a really classy design, in my estimation.

Big M77 fan here, 22-250, 6mm Rem., 270 Win. and of course 30-06.
Now I only have .275 Rigby (7mm Mauser), a great all purpose caliber for any thin skinned game. Keep in mind that old time African ivory hunter Karamojo Bell killed over 1100 elephants with a "real".275 Rigby, all one shot kills., with military 175 grain ball ammo.

My first center fire was a M77 in 30-06 with a 2-7 Redfield on it. Reloaded 125 gr. HP and 180 cast bullets for rabbits and coyotes.
For deer, used 165 grainers and the 180gr. cast bullets. Never an accuracy problem.

That controlled feed action with that big claw extractor can't be beat.

A good, reasonably priced cartridge for the 7mm is Sellier and Bellot in 173 grain or 139 gr.

http://www.jgsales.com/ammo-for-rifles-c-12_447.html?stID=233&sort=3a

My Ruger in 7x57/ 275 Rigby is a pre 76, No. 1. It responded well to 139/140 ammo by Hornady and Winchester. 275 Rigby ammo since WWII has been 154 grain semi-spitzer bullets and is a bit faster than US made ammo. Norma has a load that duplicates Rigby ammo, it shot about 3/4" offhand at 50 yds and 1/2" at a 100 yds of a rest both with a 2-7 Compact Leupold scope. With the Norma ammo the performance is very close to 280 Remington factory energy (from my 22" barrel). I had several boxes of Remington and DWM ammo made pre WWI, they were 175 grain round nose and shot very well at 100 yards with iron sights (about 2"), but ran out before I scope it. Last I checked, Hornady was the only bullet company making 175 RN bullets for reloading. Ivan

The first rifle I gave my wife was in 1972. It was a Ruger M77 in 7x57 caliber and factory fitted with iron sights as well as factory rings. It was her wedding anniversary present. Since then, she has become a HUGE fan of the 7x57/275 Rigby caliber. She also owns and shoots a 1950 model Mannlicher carbine in 7x57. I own and shoot a FN rifle in 7x57. Thanks for a fine thread.

Charlie

I guess that everyone here knows that Jack O'Connor liked the 7X57 but preferred the .270 for its flatter trajectory. But his wife killed a lot of game with her 7mm and a 160 grain bullet at some 2660 FPS in his handloads. I think he loaded either or both Speer and Nosler bullets.

Bell made the 7mm famous, but it was a staple of British and Euro hunters not only where they lived, but on much African and Indian game.

Jim Corbett used his 7mm's even on man-eating tigers, although he also used heavier double rifles. He had at least two 7x57's. One was a Rigby and the other was, I think , from Westley Richards. It was presented to him for killing a particularly nasty man-eater. I think he later bought the Rigby. He must have been satisfied with the performance, or he wouldn't have bought the newer rifle in that caliber.

In my zeal to show off my new toy, I neglected one of the main reasons I got it.

Even the most ardent fans of the M77 will admit the triggers are overly heavy. The one on my .300 must be 6 or 7 pounds at least. I live with it, but it could definitely be better.

This one has an aftermarket trigger of some variety that breaks clean at what I guess is about 2-3 pounds.



I didn't see a name on it. Any ideas?

Are the 7mm mauser and the 275 Rigby idencitcal in every way-ie interchangeable?

7x57 vs 275 Rigby have Identical chambers, brass, and maximum pressure, the loadings are different and the 275 Rigby is a propitiatory name. Ivan

I haven't been able to hunt for some years, but I always wanted (and never acquired) a 7X57. Always seemed like a wonderfully versatile caliber.

I don't know if it's still true, but originally, the .275 used John Rigby's patented bullets. They were better than most then.

Ammo marked as being proprietary .275 may be loaded beyond normal US pressure levels for the 7mm. But Norma, DWM, RWS, and some Plus P US ammo is also hotter than the rounds loaded here with safe pressures for old military rifles in mind. I suspect that this is true of most Euro ammunition in that caliber. Don't shoot it in M-93-95 Mausers or in Rolling Blocks.

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m1va73mgfu1r8zf24o1_1280.jpg

I hope this link works. It should show a pic of Grace Kelly with what I think is a genuine 1950's production .275 Rigby.
She was in a movie with Clark Gable called, "Mogambo", set in Africa. After filming wrapped, the two stars went on a real safari together.

Gable was a well known sportsman as well as a star and he and Grace apparently got along together off set very well, indeed. In the movie, he got Ava Gardner and Grace was the other girl. But I think Sinatra was after Gardner, so that wasn't a factor for Gable. I think he preferred Kelly, anyway.

The rifle looks for all the world like a .275 in a Rigby ad of the day, swept back bolt handle and all. Prior to then, the bolt handles weren't swept back. I think that was a new styling thing and the handles were also probably lower, to clear a telescopic sight.

I don't know if this rifle was Grace's or Clark Gable's or just a prop from the film. There wasn't any descriptive data with the photo. Someone knowledgeable really should write an article on Cark Gable's guns. One was a S&W .357 Magnum with Roper (?) stocks and some custom work. I don't think he ever used it in a movie, though.

Note that in this photo, which shows okay when I hit the link, the future Princess of Monaco has her hand covering the forward sling swivel, on the barrel ahead of the forearm. The British usually put the swivel on the barrel, and do not use the sling to steady the aim, as trained American marksmen do. And, yes, I know that she has her finger on the trigger and shouldn't have. Safety wasn't such a big deal then in publicity photos, I guess. I imagine that Gable soon taught Grace how to handle a rifle safely.

Since I'm a lefty the Ruger Model 77 has always been a good choice for me. I've hunted both deer and elk with one in 270 for many years.
I used to shoot the 7x57 alot when surplus military ammo in this caliber was both readily available and cheap.
It has to be just about the lightest kicker of any military cartridge I've ever shot except for the 223.
Jim

I'm not a Ruger 77 fan per se but much of what you said otherwise was certainly preaching to the choir.

I too have always wanted a 7x57 just to shoot as much as anything. I don't need another hunting rifle, but as my eyes get worse and my pistol shooting suffers accordingly, I find I still enjoy rifle shooting as much as ever. The small calibers like 7x57 are certainly pleasant to shoot.

One of the very well-known custom revolver builders told me some time ago he had acquired a Ruger 77 in 7.62x39. I didn't know they made such a thing! I presume they are scarce. Anyway, that motivated me to acquire a little CZ carbine in that caliber and I have been having a fun old time with it - now that quality bullets are available again. I'm still on the trail for some sort of 7x57 some day.

If that rifle shoots fairly well, I would say you have yourself a winner.

Gable also had a S&W K 22. There's at least one photo of him shooting it. Ron Peterson has it now.

BTW, Rigby is back in business in London, if anyone wants to order from them.

I'm pretty sure that they offer both .275 and .416 rifles. Their medium item, the .350 Rigby Magnum, is a dead duck. But the .35 Whelen is about the same.

SIG-Nice rifle.

I have one in the modern equivalent - The 7mm/08. It is a "compact" model with the slightly shorter stock and barrel (shown at bottom of pic.)

At first I wondered about the shorter stock pull, but when wearing heavy clothing as we do up here during hunting season, it works fine, plus there is not a lot of recoil to begin with. Mine will shoot just over 1 inch with 140 grain handloads, and about 1 1/2 inch with some 175 grain bullets I had laying around.

The 77 series rifles are really under rated by some. I used to own a 77 mannlicher / tang safety rifle in 7x57 years ago that was also a fine performer.

Larry

Fishinfool said:

SIG-Nice rifle.

I have one in the modern equivalent - The 7mm/08. It is a "compact" model with the slightly shorter stock and barrel (shown at bottom of pic.)

At first I wondered about the shorter stock pull, but when wearing heavy clothing as we do up here during hunting season, it works fine, plus there is not a lot of recoil to begin with. Mine will shoot just over 1 inch with 140 grain handloads, and about 1 1/2 inch with some 175 grain bullets I had laying around.

The 77 series rifles are really under rated by some. I used to own a 77 mannlicher / tang safety rifle in 7x57 years ago that was also a fine performer.

Larry

Click to expand...

Larry-

You have some nice rifles. I especially like that Weatherby MK XXII auto at top. I had one for a time, and wish that I still did. I wrote about it for, "Guns", and Weatherby liked the story so well that they gave me one of their Lucite cartridge blocks. I still display it on a book case.

Is the Kimber also a .22?

My DIL used a short (women's and youth model) Howa 1500 in 7mm-08 to deck a nice whitetail buck at some 80 yards. She had Remington's 140 grain Core-Lokt ammo, and it worked perfectly. The .275 Rigby would have done the same, but the 7mm-08 is easier to find in warmer loads in the USA

In my past there is a Ruger 7mm/08 mann. A real beauty, and a limited edition at the time. It was so pretty, I couldn't bring myself to hunt with it.

Prior to that, there was a Ruger 77 lightweight in 257 Roberts. I really like that one, but it too is gone long ago.

Charlie