I'm working with a major ammunition manufacturer who will be bringing out factory loaded 275 Rigby ammunition. We are discussing which bullet to load. Initially, there will be only one loading in the 275 Rigby headstamped brass. For the 140 grain option, the target velocity is 2,750 fps and for the 175 grain option, the target velocity is 2,300 fps.

Question:
Which bullet would you prefer that we load?

Choices:
140 grain lead tipped, bonded bullet
140 grain monometal expanding bullet
175 grain lead tipped round nose

 

Please for the love of Baby jesus bring thos out.

When I builg my 7x57 Improved I decided to have it marked 275 Rigby Improved.

Now I will be able to take it to Africa.

I voted for the 175 grain round nose. Although I also would like to see the 140's.

Please keep this great classic cartridge load with a CLASSIC bullet.

That 175 RN is the classic load! Wonderful stuff! (think I said that on FB...)
Love the site!

The 140 grainer is the classic .275 Rigby. You can cheat a bit by using a bonded bullet.

The 175 RN is is the classic 7x57 Mauser.

So if you're going to headstamp it ".275 Rigby"
it should really be 140 grainer. Having said that - I prefer the 170 - 175 grainers myself.

Kent, the 175 gr is a classic which has been used with great success everywhere. If you are going to add the right marketing stuff (Bell/elephants, outstanding trophies) you should not be wrong.

CZ

I had terrific success with 140 grain GS Custom bullets. I was shooting a custom made CZ Medium Lux 7x57 with an 8" twist (CZ Custom shop).

The above performed flawlessly on a 54" kudu at approximately 180 yards, pass through neck/spine shot.

If it was one load I'd like to see it using a 160gr or 162gr bullet. There are plenty of 7mm bullets to choose in that range. They do very well in the relatively fast twist barrels, 1:8.25 to 1:9, found on most 7x57mm rifles. They offer both higher velocity and a ballistic advantage over the 175gr round nose and still have plenty of sectional density.

If you go with a 175gr round nose it needs to be a good one, especially if loaded to a piddly, by today's standard, 2300fps. Federal offers their 175gr round nose, for example, at 2440fps. In fact, traditional or not, I think the slow speed will turn off most potential users.

Many people use a 300H&H, in part, because it is traditional. But nobody wants to stick to the original 300H&H load that was the ballistic equal of a 30-06. Even traditionalists with 300H&H rifles are shooting traditional weight bullets from modern ammunition that produces higher than traditional velocities.

A bit late to the party but, I thought the critical difference between the .275 Rigby and the 7x57 Mauser (beyond the headstamp) was that the former was loaded with a 140 gn and the latter a 175 gn. That being the case (case...funny), I'd recommend sticking with a high(as you can get) velocity 140 gn.

ps, the recent union of Mauser and Rigby within the same company makes me sleep easier at night...sigh.