This group is accented by "purple" because it was done with a "plum-colored" Ruger RSM of about 1997-1998 vintage: The rifle called

"Ol'Purple"

Ol'Purple has zero freebore, just a leade. The old Swifts I tried had to be seated deeper than the cannelure to be able to chamber a round.

TWIST!!!
George Hoffman said he had come to the conclusion that 12" twist would be best, for his .416 Hoffman which inspired the .416 Remington.

I would agree, especially if you want to use 450-grainers in a .416 of whatever persuasion.

14" should be O.K. for the lead-cored 450-grainers, my SWAG, as I have never used them.

The 380-grain GSC FN is said to be good for either 14" or 16.5" twist.

400-grain TSX? Better use 14" or 12" ... and expect greater than .140 MOA for 3-shots.

Ol'Purple shoots every soft and solid 400 grainer (that I have tried) to well under 1-MOA for 3 shots, and near enough to same POI: Swift, Hornady, Speer, Woodleigh, Barnes.

The most accurate of all was (Surprise!) the GS Custom .416/380-grain FN.

I do believe that both the rifle and the ammunition in combination, have a major influence on accuracy, assuuming the human errors with trigger work are well compensating.

So, I wonder if Saeed can come up with a smaller 3-shot 100-yard group with anything bigger than a .375?

Rip,

Is Ol'Purple a Ruger Custom Shop gun?

G,

How do you determine the .416 Rigby "Standard" twist is 1:16.5?

Factory specs are 1:14 for .416 Rigby. Custom barrel, Krieger at least, are 1:14 and 1:12.

Thanks.

quote:

Originally posted by Buliwyf:
Rip,

Is Ol'Purple a Ruger Custom Shop gun?

I think the Ruger Custom Shop is a recent development, did not exist in 1998.

Ol'Purple is so ugly that she languished on the rack at Great Northern Guns in Anchorage, Alaska for over a year before I finally liberated her in June of 1998.

She was unaltered factory configuration when the .140 MOA group was shot, except for seasoning for 3 years in a gun safe.

GSC bullets do have something to do with it.

I can't beat it, but I can come close.

SBT,
Finally a challenger! And more than 3 shots? Cheeky!
That is very pretty! Please elaborate.

Now where was that .416 Rigby twist rate reference?

Sumbuddy who know?

Ol'Purple in Botswana 2001, one-shot kill:

Beautiful groups! Surely can't match those. Thank Heavens that's not an absolute requirement for hunting. A lot of us would be stayin' home.

Best I ever got was 0.28" with a .375 H&H ... believe it or not was shot with a Japanese Weatherby Weathermark Alaskan. Hello, I was tickled with that.

great groups!

RIP,

It was with a Ruger RSM I bought used from Shumba. 4 shots at 100 yards off the bench. I was using handloads with100 grains of H4831 and 400 grain Barnes TSX bullets.

quote:

Originally posted by SBT:
RIP,

It was with a Ruger RSM I bought used from Shumba. 4 shots at 100 yards off the bench. I was using handloads with100 grains of H4831 and 400 grain Barnes TSX bullets.

Ah so! Ruger barrels are tight in .416 Rigby, can even handle a TSX of 400 grains with 14" twist. You have proven that.

Me an' Ol'Purple are inseparable. She accompanied me on a sheep viewing and blueberry eating expedition:

Fireweed complements her:


Crow Pass:


Where's Ol'Purple?

You will turn PURPLE when you see my 458WM CZ groups at 200yds.STAY TUNED!

quote:

Originally posted by shootaway:
You will turn PURPLE when you see my 458WM CZ groups at 200yds.STAY TUNED!

Are you going to wear that snowmobile helmet when you shoot the rifle, or did you mean that you are going to use the helmet as the target at 200 yards?

Great groups from both of you. Now I have something to shoot for (pun intended).
[Hmm, why do all the people I associate with have white beards...and I can't grow one at all in any color.]

i can't afford one of world famous and very rare purple rugers. i had to settle for one of those rifles from the wrong side of the tracks...the lowly CZ. but DAMN!!!...i hope it shoots groups like the ones here!

i think the nut on the trigger deserves the most credit. very nice shooting!

I'll play!

You have set the bar too high for me RIP, but here is my paltry contribution...

470 Mbogo 'plunking' loads from my "purple" Ruger Magnum, at a meager 50 yards....



...I never tried to measure the group to extrapolate into MOA.

Cheers,
Canuck

This little group from my 416 Taylor is servicable, although also from only 50 yards (and kind of hard to see!)...



Cheers,
Canuck

50 yards ???? We don't need no stinking 50 yards. Is it Purple????

What is it about all these Purple rifles and the riflemen who own them???? Purple Sakos, Purple Rugers....Purple Rain

How do I get a Purple rifle? Purple laminate? Hope not.

Purple Doctors? Purple Canadians? Wow Man

The Big Lebowski? Was he Purple too?

I assume that this qualifies as one of Idaho Sharpshooter's "purple" Ruger Magnums...



RIP, let me know if you think it is purple enough.

A few more gratuitous shots of her....









Cheers,
Canuck

Purple? I don't see no stinking Purple, just one stinking scope cover! Idaho Sharpshooter said Purple man. Thare ain't no Purple. Where's the Purple???? Where's the eye piece scope cover man????

quote:

Originally posted by Canuck

470 Mbogo 'plunking' loads from my "purple" Ruger Magnum, at a meager 50 yards....


Canuck

If that was a 100 yard target you might have beat Ol'Purple. That is excellent. Settles the question of whether rebores can be accurate. Or maybe it is the touch of purple hue in the action that makes it so accurate.

Your stock wood is much nicer than Ol'Purple wears. Ol'Purple is the homeliest RSM I have ever seen.

RIP,

Heavy barrel. Small groups. Eureka!

Please do not respond to this as you have too many hollow posts already.

Good shootin' Canuck & love that photo with the RSM, buffalo, books and ammo.

quote:

Originally posted by Will:
RIP,

Heavy barrel. Small groups. Eureka!

Please do not respond to this as you have too many hollow posts already.

I cannot let this stand unchallenged!
I may be a bit shallow, self-serving, and silly, but the shear fullness of BS in my posts precludes the adjective "hollow!"

And this coming from Will, who shoots hat-sized groups at 25 yards with pencil-thin barrels and iron sights! Will could take shooting lessons from shootaway.

I feel slighted that I only got one reply out of you. Or are you working on more?

quote:

Originally posted by SBT:
I can't beat it, but I can come close.

I was waiting for SBT to join the party. Did he mention that he shot this group with iron sights at 100 yards! You should see what this rifle will do with a scope.

Tim

Thanks G.

Factory CZ's are 1:14.

CZ specs said the .416 Rigby was 1:16.5" last time I checked.

When I checked my CZ .416 Rigby with a ball bearing handled rod and a brass jag patched tight (best I could do), it came out right at 16.5" for one revolution, repeatedly and consistently +/- .25".

Who says CZ's .416 Rigby rifles are 1:14" besides Buliwyf?

Hope nobody else does or they will be wrong too CZ is 1:16.5". Ruger RSM is 1:14".

The CZ .458 is 1:14.

BTW, handled a pair of brand new CZ 550's today. I busted out laughing when I was handed them. They were Purple!

"Plum" funny alright!

My scanner is F-up, so no pic, but I have shot several .5 in. groups the best one is .253 for three shots with the .416 Ruger RSM at 100 yards. Miine was with the .416 370 NF and 105 grains of H4831SC. Can't beat .140

Dang! Must be something to this Ruger RSM thing, and something to the Jack O'Connor load with 105 grains of H4831, old surplus, or new Extreme line, Long Cut or Short Cut. Thank you, jstevens.

The only honorable mentions here are coming from RSM shooters.

The integral quarter rib must be good for something afterall, as a barrel stiffener.

RSM's all 14" twist:
Gen1&Gen2: 0.810" muzzle diameter, 24" length
Gen3: 0.750" muzzle, 23" length

CZ 550 Mag, 16.5" twist:
0.670" muzzle diameter and 25" length
(some are 0.666", The Mark of The Beast)

quote:

Originally posted by Buliwyf:
....just one stinking scope cover! ..... Where's the eye piece scope cover man????

I only ever use the objective lense cover. It pops up with a flick of my left thumb as I shoulder the rifle. I don't find that an ocular cover is particularly useful. The rifle is mostly carried with a sling, muzzle up, so the objective lense catches the debris or rain. And ocular covers are a pain to remove when a quick shot is necessary.

Cheers,
Canuck

quote:

Originally posted by SBT:
Good shootin' Canuck & love that photo with the RSM, buffalo, books and ammo.

Thanks SBT. The picture you are referring to was actually taken by Dave Estergaard, shortly before he sold me the rifle. I can only take credit for the eliptical window effect (and for being smart enough to buy the rifle!).

Cheers,
Canuck

quote:

Originally posted by RIP:
If that was a 100 yard target you might have beat Ol'Purple. That is excellent. Settles the question of whether rebores can be accurate. Or maybe it is the touch of purple hue in the action that makes it so accurate.

Your stock wood is much nicer than Ol'Purple wears. Ol'Purple is the homeliest RSM I have ever seen.

Even if I or the rifle could, I doubt you'll ever see me post a 100 yard group from my 470 Mbogo that matches or even nears yours! I have only bothered to fire it a few times from the bench at 100 yards. With the fixed 3x scope and the kind of recoil that sucker generates (no break), all my load development or scope sighting is done at 50 yards. And after that, its pretty much all standing up to shoot!!!

When I get my 416 Taylor back from the 'smith, I might have to try it out for some small groups...it shows good potential.

The stock is not half bad on my RSM. The wood on my Hawkeye African isn't even close to as nice as the pics you posted of yours though!

Cheers,
Canuck