I have a very nice Ruger M77 MKII RSM in .375 H&H with a beautiful stock that has just one thing wrong with it... the barrel needs a bigger hole in it.

The rifle is fairly barrel-heavy for a .375 H&H with a lot of extra metal because the same barrel profile is used for the .416 Rigby and .458 Win. I talked to Wayne at AHR about converting it to a .470 Capstick, and although he doesn't specialize in Rugers, he said it sounded interesting, but that's as far as we ever got.

It's still sitting unused, because I have another .375 H&H and a .378 Weatherby. Basically, I don't need another .375. What I don't have is a .404 Jeffery, which would probably be perfect for the overall weight of the rifle, and would remove a reasonable amount of barrel in the process. The .470 Capstick is another option, and I don't have anything in the range between .458 and .500.

My main problem is finding a gunsmith who can do the reboring and rechambering work. We don't have many gunsmiths in my area that I'm aware of, and I don't live in big bore heaven like Arizona. Most gun shops around here top out at .300 Win Mag.

Can anyone recommend a gunsmith on the forum for a rebore/rechamber job? Thanks!

Should this be posted in the big bore forum?

Worth a try. This seems like the place, though.

Reboring services mentioned here over the years are:
JES Reboring,
Delta Gunshop/Clearwater Reboring,
Classic Barrel and Gunworks (Cutrifle)

I have not used any of these, but they are the ones that generally are mentioned with good reviews.

Do a search on them in the forum to see what work they have done for members.

Jeremy

Several years ago I had a rifle built buy Gary Roman at Firearms Service Center near Louisville. Phone # 502-491-5335. I remember him showing me Ruger RSM rifles he was converting to 505 Gibbs. Might be worth a call. He seemed to like the big guns!

Thanks for the responses. It looks like Jim Dubell at Clearwater Reboring is the one to talk to, and they're just on the other side of the state.

Now... .404 Jeffery or .470 Capstick? LOL

I have heavy barreled varmint rifles that weigh less than a RSM in 375. I'd do a 470 over the 404. Im guessing the gun would still be too heavy as a 404...

+1 on Jim dubell

I've not used Jim, but have talked with him several times and would use him in a heartbeat if I could ever make a decision! ;-)

I had the same problem with a RSM .458 Lott, the hole was to small.
Check this or the big bore forum for a lively discussion of my plans 6 months ago.
Jim Dubell has my RSM and a .495 A-Square chamber reamer. The .495 is best described as a .458 Lott in 50 cal based the 460 Weathery case. We had lots of discussion of belts vs shoulders, but i loved the lott and love the feel of the big a-square round even more. It will be easy to duplicate the 500 NE with 570 grains at 2,150 feet or push it to 2,300 feet. At 11 lbs, or even 10.5, the 500 is very comfortable to shoot.
The RSM served well in Moz for buffalo, but scoped was 11.5 lbs. Jim's had my rifle for about 4 months so expecting to hear from him soon.
Happy converting.

470 Capstick would be very simple. Just bore the barrel and rechamber. They offer the advantage of shooting 480 Ruger pistol bullets (400+gr) for practice and non-dangerous game.

That, and the fact that you could blow all of your Lott brass out pretty easy.

The 470 mbogo is the "right" case for this rifle.

http://www.470mbogo.com/

I have shot the original rebore to 470 .. really nice work.

the capstick has the advantage of easy to find cases and bullets.