275 Rigby

[1894]

It suffers from being an intermediate action length. As it won't fit a short action and literally no one makes an intermediate then by the time you go long action there are other choices.

Its also not helped by not being offered by sako or tikka.

The relative popularity of 7-08 amongst us SD nerds shows proof of concept. With the popularity of suppressors an inch extra barrel for same overall length is worth having.

 

[Blobby159]

For UK woodland stalking I really do feel the 257 Roberts is a better choice:
Google Image Result for https://gunsmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/winchesterbig.jpg
K

AMEN 'K', loaded sensibly in modern chambered rifles it is a dandy and I have ALWAYS wanted one, but don't get sufficient days out 'putting the sneak' on deer to warrant giving my savings a shock. My latest buy, a heavy barrelled Tikka in 6.5x55 SE some four years back now, was a very carefully considered expenditure, that has since given me some really great and surprising days at the longer ranges on Bisley with just an occasional "Grassing" sojourn to keep me smiling.

I fell in love with one (a 257Roberts that is) owned by an unmarried Uncle of mine when I was just turning into a spotty teen and he was out hunting deer on a regular basis in Southern England and up in the wilds of N.E. Scotland. He had the rep' of being a little 'odd' and being a loner, but he and I had a common love of accurate shooting and I bonded with him pretty much straight away when he first came to visit his brother (my Dad) one Christmas time when I was 10. I was already an avid and productive shooter of vermin with my 2nd hand .22 BSA Sporter so shooting was common ground with Uncle Reg' and I. He invited me to accompany him out on some of his allowed ground around the New Forest and Dorset/Hampshire borders and Mum reluctantly allowed me to go. Uncle allowed me a few rounds plinking at his checking target before we set off on the first day and I really impressed him with my grouping... and I WAS HOOKED!
I seem to remember he too loaded his own cartridges for that Winchester Model 70, but did so with more simplistic tools than I use these days for my firearms. They were never the less really accurate and, again from memories, "quite pokey" - his words - for which he had a passion and pride.

So 'K'..... I have promised myself that my NEXT rifle -should I manage the required funds - will be in this fine old and inherently accurate .257 Roberts round!!

Best Regards...

 

[bambi308]

For the life of me, I don't understand why either. Everything a gentleman of taste could require.

303 British sporterised by Parker Hale

 

[John Duxbury]

Rigby had nothing to do with the .275 / 7x57 cartridge name. Just an American gunwriter's mistake. The cartridge was never called the ".275 Rigby" until recently on the internet.

The 7mm Mauser or .275 was a very popular sportsman's cartridge for deer stalking between the wars, but by far the most popular for hunting deer up until the '50's was the 6.5x54 in the old Mannlicher Schoenauer carbine or rifle.

 

[Ratel]

I got my first 7x57 from my grandfather who after being shot at by the Boers was convinced that it was a far better rifle than the.303 and so bought one on his return to England. I now use a Mannlicher stutzen.in that calibre a very good tool out to 250 yds. I must admit the recoil is a little heavy using 165gr Geco and with no mod is a tad noisy. It's almost heresy not to have one.

 

[SpikeD]

The .275" Rigby is not an American gun writers mistake as such, I think that's Wikipedia speaking, as we all know Rigby took the 7x57 case and loaded it with a high velocity 140 grain bullet. He wasn't the only one, see the screenshot from Hoyem. In Fenby's laboratory notes he describes a high velocity loading for Kings Norton with 37 grains of MDT with a 140 grain "steeple" bullet at 2600 fps that was back in 1904.

Rigby boxes are marked .275" Bore special but this seems to have became known as the .275" Rigby at some point,, here's a screenshot of Kynoch's listing from a 1935 catalog where its listed as the .275" Rimless Rigby" in the ballistics section but not referenced in the main body of the text, this helps to distinguish it from the .275" Rigby Magnum Flanged.

 

[JMH123]

.275 is an anglicised 7x57 descriptor. The barrel stamp on Rigby rifles usually reads '.275 Rigby' i.e. combines the calibre and the manufacturer- I suspect '.275 Rigby' originates from that.

 

[cjm1066]

BSA in 7x57 dating from early 1950's, a proper gently tapering cartridge for a long action CRF action.

 

[tim@tcs]

Having owned a 1911 built Rigby I still have three 7x57 Mauser rifles in my gun room!
Easier being an RFD and I always have factory ammunition and dies but may folk would rather have a .243 or a .308 in my experience
No accounting for taste I suppose!

 

[SpikeD]

Strictly speaking the .275" Rigby refers to their 140 grain high velocity loading only, the Rigby ammunition boxes are marked "For use only in Rigby rifles" even though it's inter-changeable with the 7x57 so it's more of a marketing ploy as Kynoch loaded the 140 grain bullet to a higher velocity than the Rigby. There's a certain prestige associated by having your own rifles and cartridges especially when competing with other gun makers, the .256" Gibbs magnum (6,5x55) .256 Fraser Match (6.5x54 MS) & 6.5 High velocity flanged (6.5x53R) by Kings Norton come to mind.

 

[tim@tcs]

A side mount? If it’s a MSch .. don’t do it .. have proper bases & rings fitted.
Sooo much nicer and great if you get the claw mount QD bases/rings.
Costs more though, but IMO, well worth it.

Mine had been fitted with a side mount and later replaced with a top mount!

 

[tim@tcs]

Rigby had nothing to do with the .275 / 7x57 cartridge name. Just an American gunwriter's mistake. The cartridge was never called the ".275 Rigby" until recently on the internet.

The 7mm Mauser or .275 was a very popular sportsman's cartridge for deer stalking between the wars, but by far the most popular for hunting deer up until the '50's was the 6.5x54 in the old Mannlicher Schoenauer carbine or rifle.

I happen to have an old box marked .275 Rigby made long before the internet although the cases were headstamped 7x57!
Edited to add a pictures that clearly predate the internet

 

[enfieldspares]

I don't understand why the 275rigby/7x57 is not used by the vast majority of you Brits.

Lord! This is a six year old thread brought back from the dead! And the OP not been seen on SD since 2020!

 

[tim@tcs]

If anyone is interested in some thread revival this thread is very interesting

.275 Rigby?

I just finished an article where I learned that the .275 Rigby is nothing more, or less, than the 7X57. I find it rather interesting that a major gun maker would mark their weapons in such a confuseing way, since I don’t recall anyone labeling ammo as .275 Rigby. Was this done for other...

forum.cartridgecollectors.org

 

[tim@tcs]

Lord! This is a six year old thread brought back from the dead! And the OP not been seen on SD since 2020!

Some of us take a bit of time to read

 

[suburban bushwacker]

Some of us take a bit of time to read

chronic shortage of people who have read Bell's books on that thread. Bell used the 275 because he couldn't get reliable ammunition for his 6.5.

 

[tim@tcs]

chronic shortage of people who have read Bell's books on that thread. Bell used the 275 because he couldn't get reliable ammunition for his 6.5.

The glory days

 

[webley701]

The real deal - from when Rigby was Rigby