I have a RSM 458 Lott that has a tendency to jam. My PH (Buzz)on my last hunt says the Rugers have a tendency to do that (he carries a RSM 416 Rigby)and that if I get a stronger after market mag spring it should be fine. Does anyone out there know where to get such a part?

Thanks

my smith just ordered one for my 458 lott. think he said it is coming from wolff. good luck.

Hello,
Might want to give Ruger a call, they made the rifle and usually find them very helpful. I own three of the RSM's and use them a lot and not had one hitch with them yet. Would like to hear if the replacement spring solves your problem.

A few months ago I picked up a Ruger RSM in 416 Rigby at an auction. It was in immaculate condition and obviously hadn't been shot much. Everything seemed to work fine at the first range session, but later when I tried working the bolt very fast to check feeding it would jam when feeding rounds from the right side of the magazine. This occured with two types of factory (solids and softs) ammo. I called Ruger and they sent me a new follower and spring, which didn't help.

The rifle is now on it's way back to Ruger. I'll let you guys know what they say. The funny thing is it never jams if you work the bolt slowly, but jams almost every time on the last round from the mag when the bolt is worked very fast. Any ideas? If a stronger mag spring will solve the problem, I'll get one from Wolff, but will wait to hear from Ruger first.

390ish - I just went to the Wolff website and they didn't list a mag spring for the RSM. Any ideas how your smith obtained one? Does anyone know of another source. Thanks.

Thanks for the feedback. I have ordered a Wolff spring for the Ruger 77 long and will let everyone know how it works. I might be able to get to the range Labor Day. My problem has been the same as described by Labman. I was in Makuti in late April/May with Buzz Charlton hunting a tuskless cow. I ended up taking a side brain shot at a moving cow which knocked her down, but didn't kill her instantly. I did a very fast bolt movement which worked and gave her a heart lung, but upon working the bolt after it jammed badly. The cow was permanently down with that second shot and the other 6-7 elephants were all out of there, but it could have been a disaster. It was the first time I shot anything with the Lott and it was very impressive. My side brain shot was too far forward quartering away, but it smacked her down hard. I wrote a story about it called "Death in the Makuti" and it will be in the next African Hunter issue. I do mention the Ruger jamming in the article and Buzz's comment about putting in a stronger spring.

It's an easy grind job to modify the follower to feed the last round with no problem. I have modified all my Model 70's this way and there is no reason the Rugers could not be changed as long as the follower is solid. About half way down the follower grind the ridge so that it allows the last round to pop under the extractor and taper it to the front. Ten minute job with a flex grinder and the last round feeds better than any round in the magazine. Saw it on a David Miller rifle and asked him why he did it and that was the reason. I think some of the later Winchesters were done this way. Have also modified my CZ550 in 416Rigby and my Brno ZKK602 in 375 H&H in the same manner. Have absolutely NO feed problems with them AT ALL. Simple fix for last round.

quote:

Originally posted by zimbabwe:
It's an easy grind job to modify the follower to feed the last round with no problem. I have modified all my Model 70's this way and there is no reason the Rugers could not be changed as long as the follower is solid. About half way down the follower grind the ridge so that it allows the last round to pop under the extractor and taper it to the front. Ten minute job with a flex grinder and the last round feeds better than any round in the magazine. Saw it on a David Miller rifle and asked him why he did it and that was the reason. I think some of the later Winchesters were done this way. Have also modified my CZ550 in 416Rigby and my Brno ZKK602 in 375 H&H in the same manner. Have absolutely NO feed problems with them AT ALL. Simple fix for last round.

A couple pics would be nice.

Here are a couple of not very good pics of the follower modification on my 416 Rigby. If you look closely you can see that the relief ground into the follower starts just prior to the widening of the rails as done by factory. This allows the round to roll under the bolt and hop up into the extractor as soon as it passes the openings in the rails. I don't know how to put the neat arrows on the pics. Please excuse the jeweling it was done freehand just to hide the grind marks.

Thanks much.