Take for instance the rifle rifle shown here. This is not your usual run of the mill .577 nitro rifle. The client came to us with the request for a 'lightweight' .577 droplock double rifle that he could carry all day sensibly buffalo hunting, but would not have the fierce recoil of a full blown .577 3" 750 grain magnum load rifle. Such rifles used to be built under the guise of 'Tiger' rifles and they were aimed primarily at the Indian market. They were built 1 to 1 1/2 lbs lighter than the magnum version rifles and fired a 650 grain bullet. As far as we could tell no such rifle had been built by us since before the second world war and so this was certainly going to be an interesting project.
The rifle we knew from years of experience we could lighten whilst still retaining the correct proportions and balance, the hard part was developing the ammunition for the rifle. Various versions of the .577 lightweight load were known to have been loaded. All used the 650 grain bullet, but the case length varied from 2 3/4" to 3" to 3 1/4". We decided on the 3" case as the rifle would be proofed for the full magnum load and so in a pinch 750 grain loaded ammunition could be used in the field. Working closely with the Birmingham Proof House we were able to develop here at our factory a load developing 1,950 feet per second which is perfect for this bullet and weight of rifle.
The rifle itself is in our opinion finished off very nicely in 'Gold Name' format which was a classic Westley Richards brand with vivid case colour hardening and lovely dark walnut woodwork. The 25" barrels give the rifle a nice profile and hark back to the days when such rifles were common place in the jungles of India. The rifle comes complete in one of our traditional lightweight leather cases and is supplied with 200 rounds of ammunition. This is a real hunters package and one of those great rifles that we know will get used as much as admired.
The Rifle shown along with the 650 grain bullets.
Trigger on December 13, 2016 at 6:16 pm
Dear Ned
This beauty weighs 12lb 11 1/2ozs. We did not want to go too much lighter as we wanted to work up a punchy load that would work well on buffalo. The bullet diameter would certainly give some advantage on wound channel and internal damage. I used a conventional .577 last year on buffalo and the mushroomed bullet made devastating work. It is really intended for sub 50 yard hunting and should be great for that. The traditional .500 has great penetration and is a fantastic round, but to bring back such an old classic as the ‘light’ .577 was always about more than just ballistics.
Very best regards
Trigger
Yukon577 on December 13, 2016 at 9:57 pm
Hi,
I want to compliment you on bringing back this amazing caliber in a .577 double at a little more manageble weight and ballistics for use other than regular elephant and cape buffalo hunting.
I have a turn of the century Jeffery BLNE double in the .577 3 1/4" cartridge regulated for 650 grain bullets at 1950 fps. It has 25" barrels and is the same weight as yours.
I have owned this rifle for about ten years now and use it regularly. It’s been an amazing rifle for me and I expect your customer will have similar results.
This rifle has proven incredible for grizzly bear, bison and other big game in northern Canada.
There is not much would seperate me from my Jeffery, but I think your lovely droplock could do it!
All the best,
Mims C Reed on December 11, 2016 at 6:50 pm
Beautiful rifle. Thanks for the photos. What does it weigh? Merry Christmas to all.
Vance Daigle on December 13, 2016 at 1:44 pm
What a beautiful gun Sir, is this gun a droplock? It’s hard to tell from the pictures. I am a real fan of the Westley Richards top lever, I think I could live with a fixed lock with no Problem. But would like to know if the fixed lever can be done with the famous top lever.Good Day Trigger,
Thanks for the time.
In Christ
Vance,
Ned Cowell on December 14, 2016 at 10:56 am
Dear Trigger
Thank you very much for taking the time to reply. A marvelous thing!
Regards
Ned