Anyone have an opinion on these as a DGR?

TIA.

Just a suggestion: Do a search ("Find") on the phrase "ruger rsm". Lots of threads come up.

-Bob F.

OK - didn't realize that all old posts from the old site had been archived...

It does not get much better than a Ruger 77RSM - 416 Rigby when it comes to a working DG rifle.

They are solid, reliable and mine was very accurate with just about every 400 grain bullet I tried. Mine wore a Leupold 1.5-5x in Warne QD rings. When you took off the scope, the express sights were dialed in perfectly for a 400 grain bullet at +/- 2,400 fps.

I carried this rifle on my last safari in Zim. It accounted for a cape buffalo, eland and impala (shot the rest of the stuff with a 300 H&H and 220 grain Noslers). We hunted buffalo at close range and in the thick stuff. We bumped into elephant every day. Came across some VERY fresh lion tracks. I felt confident at all times when holding that rifle in my hands.

Notwithstanding the above, I would suggest the following work be done before heading into the field:

Adjust trigger
Change out front sight bead to a NECG bead
Replace recoil pad with a Decelerator pad

Also, some people say they are a bit heavy, but I had no problem carrying it for miles. It also feels solid in your hands when you shoot it.

Tim

Tim,
I'm glad I know you so well....
So I can tease you in 20 years about SELLING the only one-hole-shooting DGR you ever had.

Kyler

Hmmm, that sounds familiar. I also sold a 416 Ruger. I still have the target. My son shot a one ragged hole three shot group with 350gr Barnes handloads. It would regularly shoot under one inch with Federal factory Trophy bonded bearclaws and solids. I ended up selling but wish I still had that rifle.

I took mine to Tanzania and took a buffalo with it. I have a friend who loads his Ruger 416 to Weatherby ballistics with 350gr Barnes X and has used it plenty on buffalo etc. and swears by it.

Mine had an OK trigger on it so I basically used it right out of the box.

A great rifle for the money.

Terry

I know, I know. Yes I sold a really great rifle. However, I know you rifle nuts out there understand the agony I go through when planning a hunting trip. I open up the safe and can't decide which rifle to take.

I used the Ruger 416 successfully (buffalo, eland & impala) on my last safari. Given that I have a Pre-64 M70 Supergrade "African" in 458 Win Mag and I am having a 404 Jeffery built on a 1909 Argentine M98 action, I did not think it would be fair to these rifles if I took the Ruger 416 back to Africa before I take the 458 and 404.

So now I know I have a heavy DG rifle for my next two safaris. By the time I plan a safari after the next two, I'm sure I will have decided I can't live without some other DG rifle (double rifle, 500 Jeffery, etc.)

So many rifles, so little time (and money) for African DG safaris!

Tim

Sorry, but Rugers are plebeian arms fit only for the hoi polloi.

Nothing to recommend them but investment cast cheapness--albeit a certain solid sort of cheapness--and a kind of pathetic, Connecticutic homage to British styling that falls far, too far, short of the real thing.

And yes, quite right, when it rains, it rains right square down my nose.

But forged steel makes it easy for me to blow it. I'm not a traditionalist, since I love my Blasers, but if you're going to do the British thing, don't do it by way of Ruger. JMNSHO.

Don't shoot me, I'm only the clavicle player.

Edited to add gremlins as visual indicators of my non-malicious intent.

Hmmmmmmmmmmm. Have shot many creatures over the past 50 years in a variety of situations. Don't seem to recall any complaining afterward about the weapon that caused their demise.

Must remember to listen more closely after the next shot.

I conseder the 9.3x62 an nice minimum but acceptable DG rifle..I have shot a number of Buffalo with it and have seen a couple of elephant taken with it...

I use mine as a back up rifle when I am not hunting but just tagging along..It seems to be the equal of the 375 H&H or at least close enough for gov. work.

Oh brother, now I've heard everything. I can understand someone eschewing the Ruger as being plebean, but by a Blaser owner??? talk about an over-engineered, ugly Smoke pole! Seriously, for the money, yu just can't beat them. Mine also shoots one holers with just about anything I feed it.

My trigger was fine, but I did hae to have the action stoned and polished by Marc Penrod. It mihgt not be a true Rigby (but then again neither are the new ones at ten times the cost of an RSM), but investment casting has yet to develop the same reputation as Blasers for blowing up in your face. jeez. jorge

The Ruger RSM's are a lot of gun for the money. I've had 2 of them one in 416 and the other a 458 Lott. The comments that would apply to both of them is that the triggers pretty much suck, the "recoil pad" is way to hard and should be replaced, the stock could be a little more gracefull - I find them a bit blocky, and some of them need a little feeding work - my Rigby wouldn't feed factory federals out of the box.
I wouldn't hesitate buying one if you don't mind spending a little time and money sorting it out. All the criticisms aside even after sending the rifle to a good smith like Penrod, you'll have a good rifle for a lot less money than you can have a custom with the same features made for........DJ

To paraphrase TR, the choice of a rifle is as idiosycratic as the choice of a friend.

The Ruger, notwithstanding its investment cast construction, could have been much better designed. It's too clubby--it needs a much more slender, and shorter fore-ended, classic British stock (with perhaps a bit higher and straighter comb than the true British style for scope use).

As to functioning, I defer to others. Those with experience have said that with some after market tinkering, the Ruger can be made to work reliably. But it just doesn't do it for me, not like others do. To each his own.

As for Blasers, they don't just blow up. But they can be made to blow up, just as any rifle can, by their negligent owners, through the use of horribly overpressure handloaded ammunition.

But enough. I have pledged not to do this anymore so as to allow these rumors to drive down prices so that I can buy more R93s cheap!

I really like the Ruger RSMs, especially in 416 Rigby and 458 Lott offerings.

My RSM Rigby is totally bone stock and I have maybe 300 rounds through it now. I want to put a different pad on it, get the trigger dialed, and it will need a little work to feed North Fork softs through it due to the noses get a little beat from recoil. IMHO no more work than any other factory rifle to be 100%. The wood on most RSMs is very good and the integral rib is great. The rifles are usually very accurate. A classy rifle and a steal for under $1200!

A friend has a Lott RSM that I have shot a bit and I like it very much. Good recoil handling qualities and again the wood is really quite good. I am expecting my own RSM in 458 Lott any day now. I like them that much.

I also own CZs in 375 and 416 as well as a couple of Win 70s in 375. They are all fine rifles, each with their own strengths and faults. Definitely handle the different rifles available and choose the one that suits you best. All will need some tweaking of some sort. Pick the one you like and shoot the hell out of it!

John

You can't go wrong with the RSM in any caliber available. I've been lucky in that all mine were early productions of the newer rifle and all have beautiful wood and triggers @ 3-3 1/2# pulls. It seems that the latest production models don't seem to be put together as well. Other than that, you can shoot any of them out of the box. As with any production rifle, there are bound to have a few lemons every now and then. Good luck on your 416.

As an addendum, Ray likes them so much that he stated that he would own one if the price was right.

The Ruger trigger is easy to fix, about a ten-minute job, I put a Limbsaver pad on mine in .416. It feeds perfectly, even with the North Fork flat nose solids. For the $1110 that I hav invested in mine, I don't think you'll find a better factory built DG rifle. I plan on using mine on a cape buffalo within the coming year. It's certainly no Rigby or Holland and Holland, but a good solid rifle. I hunted in Namibia last year with my son using a Ruger 7x57, my PH couldn't believe we can buy a rifle like that for $450 in the USA, wanted to figure out a way to get him some. He thought they were a hell of a buy for a solid hunting rifle, and so do I.

The pre-war British magazine rifles were pretty good. The current ones are pretty bad, and an absolute waste of money. They're not even close to the quality of top American-built custom rifles -- not by any stretch of the imagination. Quite honestly, the British gunmakers should quit pretending, stick with shotguns and double rifles, and leave magazine rifles to the Yanks and Germans.......

On the other hand, the Ruger RSM, for a production rifle, is one of the world's best buys, and functionally, it's a better rifle than some cosmetically British, functionally deficient "custom" rifles I've been around that cost a whole lot more.........

AD

M 77 RSM

One of the great things about the ruger is the fact that you dont have to cringe when you turn it over to the baggage monkeys at the airport.