Well, I finally took my new Ruger African 275 Rigby to the hunting field yesterday. No big trophy, just a doe Antelope.

I had three does over a small hill that I sneaked up to. I was waiting for a clear shot as they were all clumped up together, heads down, grazing, when a buck showed up to take them back to his herd. Didn’t have a buck tag this year. They all took off quartering away from me. I was elevated on the hill shooting down. I sat down and got into a tight sling. I had taken a friend along with me who has never hunted big game but was keen to learn. He ranged the doe for me when she was still standing at 188 yards. My rifle is sighted at 3-0-9, 3” high at 100, dead on at 200, and 9” low at 300. When the lead doe took off running with the buck, she hadn’t gone 30 yards when I pulled the trigger, which meant she was no more than 220 yards away. No need for elevation considerations.

I was using Hornady 275 Rigby factory ammo with the 140 gr. Interlock. I then had an opportunity to show my friend field dressing. When we opened her up, the bullet had entered the back left side rib cage, took the top of the heart off, and exited the opposite right side rib cage. I have never used either the 275 Rigby or the Hornady Interlock bullet on game before. I normally use Winchester Ballistic Silvertips in 25-06 or 280 Rem. on Antelope. The Interlock worked perfectly on this small animal.

We have a new enthusiastic hunter for the country. My friend had applied for Antelope this year but did not draw. He is very excited for next year’s draw results. He now knows how to hunt Antelope and can clean his own game. I let him clean half of my doe to get some hands on experience. Just didn’t let him close to the lower GI track. He used the knife to zip her open from the sternum to brisket, and on to under the chin. I used the bone saw on the pelvis bone, and he used it on the brisket, and cut/pulled out the windpipe. No problems! Talk about seeing a hunter born before your own eyes. He’ll be like a kid waiting for Christmas, only it will come sooner, around Sept.

I took another friend to Africa this year (Zambia) who had never hunted big game before. He took a Blue Wildebeest and was thrilled. If I died tomorrow, at least I would have the comfort of knowing that I have ‘created’ two new hunters, and two new gun enthusiasts, who vote.

I have no children to teach guns/hunting, but these two ‘young’ men (ages 42 & 48) are young enough to be such. I’ve had a great time this year so far.

Good hunting this fall to you all!

the Hornady 140gr interlock has worked for me on everything from rabbits to smaller [2-3 y.o.]Moose.
it's perfect for antelope, Mule Deer, and cow Elk sized critters when pushed to 27-2800 fps., and shots are within 275 yds or so.

no torn up meat, two holes, dead animals within 25 yards, pretty hard to argue with that type of performance.

Your description of the performance of the .275 Rigby sounds much more impressive than that of the 7x57 Mauser. Similarly, I've been impressed by the extraordinary performance of the 7mm Express Remington compared to the stodgy .280 Remington. Among the four cartridges, all using .284" diameter bullets, the 7mm Express Remington and the .275 Rigby are definitely the stand-outs. I'd hunt with either, but you couldn't give me a 7x57 or a .280.

Hilarious!

quote:

Originally posted by Stonecreek:
Your description of the performance of the .275 Rigby sounds much more impressive than that of the 7x57 Mauser. Similarly, I've been impressed by the extraordinary performance of the 7mm Express Remington compared to the stodgy .280 Remington. Among the four cartridges, all using .284" diameter bullets, the 7mm Express Remington and the .275 Rigby are definitely the stand-outs. I'd hunt with either, but you couldn't give me a 7x57 or a .280.

I sell six 275 Rigby barrels for every one 7x57; obviously there is a big difference and the customers both know that and demand it.
One even had me engrave 275 on one side and 7mm on the other; now, he was the most astute, not risking getting the ammo mixed up.
Not sure what the question is about it.

Now, there is actually a difference and here it is; the 275 Rigby High Velocity is made for 140 grain bullets only and engraved as such. Of course the 7x57 is throated long for the 175s. I have both reamers and so, yes, there is a difference in them as I make them. No joke here.

Is there a clear measurable difference in the performance of 275 and 7x57 barrels with 140 grain bullets?

If I understand this confusion correctly the lowly ancient 7x57 and the "peppy" yet vintage .275 are identical in every measurement but throating...…..?

Yes, but only in the 275 High Velocity version; if they are both throated for 175s, then, it is the designation only.
If you shoot a 140 in a 175 throat, you have more free bore, like a Weatherby, and are losing velocity.
Remember, Rigby was the exclusive UK importer for Mauser products, until (I forget, like 1908 or so) and most everything they got were Mauser inventions. They just put the Rigby name on them.

So given that I should turn a thread off my 6.5 Swede, change/shorten the throat for 130 grain bullets instead of the historical and absurdly long throat it has for 160's and be running the .264 Swedemoore superfast high velocity.....

(actually I wouldn't do that cuz it shoots 120's and 140's into .6" 5 shot groups so I ain't messin with it).

I have a Rigby made rifle, but engraved as 7x57. It shoots Remington, Hornady, Federal 139/140 grain Interlock / soft Point bullets all into the same hole, and if I change to RWS 173gn bullets - ID Classic's or H Mantles - they also go into the same hole.

And mine has shot Roe deer, Foxes, big red stags and wild boar - they all just fall over dead with little fuss.

Surefire,

Congrats on getting an antelope with your 275 Rigby! They are fine eating!

I hate to say this but, I have yet to shoot mine.

Hi cj,

Thanks!

It sure felt good to take something with that 275 Rigby, having never used the cartridge, or the rifle before.

I think it’s now time to use that new Ruger African in 6.5x55 for the second doe...

Sorry to hear you haven’t shot your 275 Rigby yet. How about your Ruger African 6.5x55?

My 6.5x55 has shot both brand's of ammo I've tried, Lapua and Norma, just under an inch at 100 yards. Very pleased with it. I'm looking forward to the next caliber to be available.

quote:

Originally posted by cjfoster:
My 6.5x55 has shot both brand's of ammo I've tried, Lapua and Norma, just under an inch at 100 yards. Very pleased with it. I'm looking forward to the next caliber to be available.

Sounds like you got a good one!

I can’t wait for the next caliber either...

Well,glad you got your doe. And that the cartridge performed as it has for so many years.

But Wow, let's celebrate you've introduced two new hunters to our passion. Congratulations!!!
So much more important than ballistic minutia.
You should be very proud.
Larry

Thanks Larry!

It’s been a good fall for a lot of reasons. And I am proud indeed. And happy!

AND, my wife got her Colorado buck Antelope yesterday with her Ruger Express rifle in 25.06.

It just keeps coming...

Talk about ballistic masturbation!!

I just finished my custom rifle since Ive sold everyone of them I built for myself and I intend to keep this one. I suppose I will call it 7x57, but my tests show it shoots 175, 140 150 and 160s so far, all to the same zero and with the same 1/2 to 1 inch..Im so confused now cause I don't know what to name it!! maybe a 275 RIGBY x 7x57 HI POWER GERMAN G33/40

That’s a dilemma Ray.

I bought a Ruger No. 1 in 7x57, and this Ruger African in 275 Rigby.

Problem solved!

You could make one of each, and sell the one you like the least. Or, in your case, both...

Whatever you call it, its a 7x57 and its one of the great calibers of all time..It is the least caliber I would shoot an elephant with since I observed a elephant shot by a pH in the heart and it ran 100 yards and died, about what I have come to accept with any big bore shot in the heart area including the 45s and 500s..but I only intend to hunt deer antelope and perhaps elk with mine, since its not a .275 Rigby.

Surefire, but hey man stamps are cheaper than two rifles! stick with me and you'll be wearing diamonds the size of horse terds!

Well, the search is on for a Ruger African and as of today its looking better..and yest I sold my custom rifle as usual, guess its just not in the cards for me to ever keep one for myelf..

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
Well, the search is on for a Ruger African and as of today its looking better..and yest I sold my custom rifle as usual, guess its just not in the cards for me to ever keep one for myelf..

Good luck on your quest Ray. Hope you find that Ruger African 275 Rigby.

Just promise me this: when you sell it, call me first!

I just can't understand some of the hoo-haw that comes outta the fingers of all the highly skilled, very intelligent and very experienced 'smiths/gunners on AR. To all intents and purposes their isn't a gnats hairs difference in the 7-08, 7x57, 275 HV Rigby and 7x54 Finnish as far as hunting use is concerned..WHEN COMPARED HEAD TO HEAD, WITH THE SAME BULLET, THROATING, BARREL LENGTH, RECEIVER, YADA-YADA-YADA...THEY all FALL INTO THE 54-59 GR H2O CASE CAPACITY...as far as the 7mm Rem/280 bullsh** goes they are the exact same cartridge dressed up with a different name to hopefully sell rifles. Anyone that has been around for a while knows the story and it's just CYA from the manufacturers.

The only difference is the bullsh** that is constantly said about the throating of the 7x57...WHICH...Mr Roy W exploited to get his higher velo's and which I do as a matter of course to get that extra 75-125 fs more in some of my hairier wildcats.

I've built 5 rifles in 7mmRem/280 for different family members...Rugers, Savage 110 and take off barrels...all because they were CHEAP due to the garbage being printed by SFB rag writers, and throated for 160 gr Speer Magtips so the 139 grs got an additional small jump and added velo.

I reloaded to 60-62 KPSI because the receivers were rated for the higher pressures and could be safely loaded to that PSI and as long as the barrels were the same length the velo's were identical within Statistical limits...MIXED CASES DIDN'T MATTER...with the caveats added the most which most you know already.

I will say that 275 H.V. Rigby sounds a WHOLE LOT MORE sexier that 7-08, 7x57 OR 7x54 Fin...I would want that also if available in whatever "thingy" I happened to be wild about.

And...my long necked, long throated, long cased, 28" long barreled, long gone, 139 gr Hornady SP, 7x57 Mowzermaggy slightly surpassed the 7mmRem/280 and nipped at the heels of the standard, Factory 7RM.

Of course I could fondle and stroke the same way to ANY other cartridge without much effort and pretty much add the embellishments when building a new "standard" rifle.

Sounds like your new toy will work out fine, Surefire!!!

Good Hunting

Thanks Nonagonagin!

A long throated 7x57 or 275 Rigby is an Ackley Imp. that's about it..you get about 5 to 8% more velocity depending on the barrel, chamber etc..All else is BS, the 7x57 and the 275 Rigby are the same gun anyway you cut it, Always has been, always will be, its common knowledge in most hangouts....We stamp them 275 Rigby out of nostalgia and that's the rest of the story..

Some many years ago, when all or most all of 7x57 was milsurp or slow loaded factory 175 gr. bullets at 2100 or so FPS, Rigby turned out a load of 140 gr.s at decently fast velocity and it caught on in all those 7x57 and its no trick today to duplicate that load in any good 98 Mauser, Mod 70 Win, Rem 700 or Ruger Afican, which I just won of GunBroker...Ive been shooting the 7x57 and 275 Rigby, depending on how I marked the barrel since the late 1940s or early 1950s..both are as good as a 270 or 280, maybe better to some extent..

For the BS artists, read a good reloading book and don't quote me figures from the books that are afraid of law suits over the many mod, 95 and 93 Mauser out there are the early falling blocks, that created the problem, some of those guns reached our shores and they have been blowing up from time to time..

this is the least informative thread I have evrer read on AR or perhaps just the most confusing misinformed...

Alf,
I suggest that you do a chamber cast on a Brno mod. 21 or 22, both are long throated from the factory in order to match the G33-40s, Brno 21 and 22 magazine that is 30-06 length..thats long throated,

I can seat a 160 gr. Barnes X .284 deep in a Brno and it will feed and function in a Brno 21 or 22 and even a milsurp G33-40 I would bet.. I can get 6 to 8 grs. of H414 over book max, and about the same with RL-19 However Im loading at 55 to 60,000 PSI in a strong modern action..Many Mauser and SS out there are to be loaded at 40,000 PSI, example the 95, and 93s thus the confusion.

To further elucidate the 7x64 is like the long throated 7x57 in that the extra powder space is taken up in the shoulder being moved forward from 57 to 64 as opposed from a 57 giving the chamber and case more powder space by not having to seat the bullet down into the powder space, In all these cases the idea is to make doable for more powder, how you do it is up to you..The one main advantage in some versions is you can shoot factory ammo in some improved versions such as the Ackely versions and that is a big plus gentlemen, to a hunter in a foreign country..Example the 35 Whelen std. and IMP, the 338-06 std. and IMP, the 257 Robts and 250-3000, and a few others. the calibers I mention will give you as much as 300 FPS done properly, sometime with the Imp shoulder and a long throat for the ultimate in velocity, the comination for both really works great and is often overlooked and never mentioned in these threads...I had an 8mm/06 Imp. and it was a true magnum in a small 57 case.

Is all this racket worth it, guess it depends on the individual, I, personally can take it or leave it, but I have gone to the trouble to build the guns and come up with the pros and cons of such transition...I have found they work and are a success to one degree or another, have good and bad points all..and I place little value on nay sayers who cannot support there remarks with anything of value other than he said she said apparently..

Nice thread …

But sorry for asking.. is'nt 275 Rigby the same as 7x57 Mauser ?

I have a 275 Rigby Stalker built for me on a original Rigby 275 case from 1935. I was planning to use the 7x57 Mauser ammo in this rifle !

Or have I been totally wrong ?

Morten

Norwegian; same thing, just a bunch of internet humor added.
Aaron

I have to go along with ALF on this. I can't imagine what a "long throated" 7x57 would look like? It's very long as is.

Any more and the bullet would have to sit ahead of the case before touching the lands!

Alf,
I thought that's what I said, the Brnos are all long throated by the factory, long throat that matches a 30-06 box. So is the G33/40 and a number of 98s...There are short throated 7x57 out there in custom rifle and some factory guns and 98 Mausers and there are short and long magazines to go with them..To do any gun justice magazine and throat have to match....Its very common these days to have a short magazine and a long throat, and all that is just a free bored rifle that gains not much accept a long jump to the riflings/

Anyone who proclaims the 275 is more powerful and a better caliber than a 7x57 is full of prunes, I mean what the hell, the same ammo. factory or handloads, can be shot in both and the same handload combinations within pressure boundries can be shot in either, I will shoot my 7x57 loads in my new 275 Rigby exclusively once I find the max in the Rigby and the accuracy I demand..I have about 500 loaded 7x57 rounds, why would I do otherwise.

quote:

Originally posted by surefire7:

I have no children to teach guns/hunting, but these two ‘young’ men (ages 42 & 48) are young enough to be such. I’ve had a great time this year so far.

You sound like just exactly what Colorado needs- I recommend that you contact the Fish & Game regarding what you need to do to become a hunter education instructor and possibly a mentor.

I've been in the Washington State program since the mid 80s and really enjoy working with the kids (and adults) getting them ready to go hunting.

Congratulations surefire7 on blooding your .275 It is a sweet cartridge. Plenty of power yet gentle on the shoulder. The wife finally blooded hers opening week of deer season in West Texas. She killed a 6 point that needed to go (injured) and a couple days later killed a classic big 10 pointer. Her rifle likes heavier bullets and seems to prefer the 175gr Nosler partition.


Safe shooting...…..LL

quote:

Originally posted by Ray B:

quote:

Originally posted by surefire7:

I have no children to teach guns/hunting, but these two ‘young’ men (ages 42 & 48) are young enough to be such. I’ve had a great time this year so far.

You sound like just exactly what Colorado needs- I recommend that you contact the Fish & Game regarding what you need to do to become a hunter education instructor and possibly a mentor.

I've been in the Washington State program since the mid 80s and really enjoy working with the kids (and adults) getting them ready to go hunting.

Ray B,

Thank you for the suggestion. I’ve never really thought about being a hunter education instructor before. I’ll definitely consider the idea.

Congratulations to you on your work in Washington State for so long. Since 1980.Wow!

quote:

Originally posted by SFRanger7GP:
Congratulations surefire7 on blooding your .275 It is a sweet cartridge. Plenty of power yet gentle on the shoulder. The wife finally blooded hers opening week of deer season in West Texas. She killed a 6 point that needed to go (injured) and a couple days later killed a classic big 10 pointer. Her rifle likes heavier bullets and seems to prefer the 175gr Nosler partition.


Safe shooting...…..LL

SFRanger7GP,

Thank you. I certainly had a lot of fun!

Congrats to your wife on her deer. She got a two-fer!

Now you’ve got me excited about the 175 gr. NP! Will definitely give that one a try.

Good hunting & shooting to you!

Oh Crap! I have a short throat with a fast twist. Now I have to re-stamp my barrel and throw away all of my wrong brass..

But does that mean my "High velocity 275 Rigby" will increase in value?

Alf,
Im not the one to address on this subject. All my 7x57s have Brno mod 21 and 22 spects..I can seat a 160g. Barnes X either HP or tipped .284 into a 7x57 or 275 Rigby case and it feeds and functions and I get some outstanding velocity due to more powder space..I believe that to be a long throated gun..in fact I know it is..I can quote you some loads but not on the internet if you like and you can test them in your brnos..