Anyone taken a Ruger 375 or 416 had it re-barreled to 458 win mag?

If so,

1. Did the throat (actually feed ramp) need some work for feeding the 45 cal bullet?
2. With the case of the 375 being larger diameter towards the case neck were the rails OK (not opened up too much) able to feed the 458 case reliably?

Thanks

quote:

Originally posted by dirklawyer:
Anyone taken a Ruger 375 or 416 had it re-barreled to 458 win mag?

If so,

1. Did the throat need some work for feeding the 45 cal bullet?
2. With the case of the 375 being larger diameter towards the case neck were the rails OK (not opened up too much) able to feed the 458 case reliably?

Thanks

dirklawyer,
No, I have not had it done, yet, but I did sleep at the St. Louis Hyatt recently, even went to the top of The Arch next morning.

You "misspoke."
1. You mean "feed ramp," not "throat."
I have tried .458WinMag ammo dummies in both the .375 Ruger and .416 Ruger Hawkeye Alaskan Stainless rifles.
Actually, the .375 Ruger worked fine as frog hair. Slick feeder, good fit of 3 cartridges in the box, with room to spare.
The .416 Ruger was fine from the right side of the box, but had some hesitation on the left side:
I noted a bit of sharp edge/roughness on the left side of the feed ramp at top edge on the .416 Ruger.
I could slick that up myself with a Dremel Tool and a polishing spud.
It needs to be done in any case,
as well as polishing smooth the entire feed ramp.
That would help just about any mass-produced factory bolt action.

2. The rails seemed to be perfectly, nicely shaped for the .458 WinMag. same on both the .375 Ruger and .416 Ruger.

If you want a .458 WinMag, and have a spare .375 Ruger or .416 Ruger Hawkeye,
that is about as easy and slick a conversion as it gets.

Thanks RIP yea I know better, feed ramp is what I was wanting to write Appreciate the info!

Well, in the 375 Ruger you have almost an ideally balanced cartridge. It has a 50 fps potential velocity advantage over the 375H&H (for many the standard cartridge for all-around comparison) AND in a standard-length case/magazine. Make sure that your rifle doesn't have the accuracy that you want before dismantling it.

So now, assuming that the rifle is a worthy 'donor', that it isn't already a tack-driver and could use a new barrel, you want something bigger. 416 Ruger isn't enough. Fine.

Since you are rebarreling, I would consider the 458 Accurate Reloading. It has slightly more capacity than the 458 Lott, and still fits in your Ruger action and Ruger boltface. See Ammoguide.com:

"Invented by Jeff 'jeffeosso' Smith and Paul Hail of http://accuratereloading.com/ - the .458 Accurate Reloading will fit in a standard length action (with minimal alterations). Rugers, Winchesters, Mausers, and Enfields have been successfully converted to the 'AR' series of cartridges.

Standard magnum rifles chambered in, for example, 7mm Remingtom Magnum or .300 Winchester Magnum chamberings, may be simply rebarreled to the AR series - rounds feed very well.

The parent case is the readily available and inexpensive .375 RUM, fireformed then trimmed. Properly headstamped brass will be available late 2007/early 2008.

Jeff designed the series to fit into a standard action and use available brass, thereby avoiding the additional cost and /weight incurred with a long action, not to mention reducing gunsmithing expenses.

One can take a Ruger M77 MKII, rebarrel, and have a fully functional DGR (dangerous game rifle), at major power levels, for less than the cost of a .470 Capstick or .458 Lott that is CRF (controlled-round fed). This case easily cleans up a .458 Winchester Magnum chamber, creating a "458 Lott" in it's place.
"

I believe I saw a .458 win mag on Gunbroker yesterday for $695.oo The older tang safety model like I have. The rifle appeared to be pretty doggone clean and it would probably cost less than a rebarreling job.

quote:

Originally posted by pagosawingnut:
I believe I saw a .458 win mag on Gunbroker yesterday for $695.oo The older tang safety model like I have. The rifle appeared to be pretty doggone clean and it would probably cost less than a rebarreling job.

That it would but I'm left-handed so no go.