Ruger RSM Thoughts

[400Jeff]

After reading the poll on limited issue runs of Ruger rifles, I got to thinking about the discontinued RSM. I remember reading a magazine article many years ago, when they hit the market, that they lost money on every one that they made because of the wood, integral quarter rib and sights. The only reason they got made was because building a quality large bore Safari rifle had always been one of Bill Rugers dreams and he did not care about the expense!
I am sure that the tooling still exists and I have to wonder, What if they reissued the RSM sans the rib, circassion walnut and all of the expensive extras that added up and just made a bare bones gun that people could buy and let them add all the extras as they choose, through a custom smith? As I recall, back in the seventies and eighties, Ruger sold barrelled actions through Brownells and others, for folks that wanted to build a semi-custom gun, if they reintroduced the RSM as an action, or barrelled action, it seems to me that would make a bit of profit and put a fairly affordable large magnum action on the market for considerably less than the majority of custom actions out there today especially the ones for 416 Rigby and up. I realize that this is unlikely to occur, but since CZ and Sako? got out of the large magnum game that there could be an opportunity for Ruger to fill a void. Just a random thought!

 

[cajunchefray]

After reading the poll on limited issue runs of Ruger rifles, I got to thinking about the discontinued RSM. I remember reading a magazine article many years ago, when they hit the market, that they lost money on every one that they made because of the wood, integral quarter rib and sights. The only reason they got made was because building a quality large bore Safari rifle had always been one of Bill Rugers dreams and he did not care about the expense!
I am sure that the tooling still exists and I have to wonder, What if they reissued the RSM sans the rib, circassion walnut and all of the expensive extras that added up and just made a bare bones gun that people could buy and let them add all the extras as they choose, through a custom smith? As I recall, back in the seventies and eighties, Ruger sold barrelled actions through Brownells and others, for folks that wanted to build a semi-custom gun, if they reintroduced the RSM as an action, or barrelled action, it seems to me that would make a bit of profit and put a fairly affordable large magnum action on the market for considerably less than the majority of custom actions out there today especially the ones for 416 Rigby and up. I realize that this is unlikely to occur, but since CZ and Sako? got out of the large magnum game that there could be an opportunity for Ruger to fill a void. Just a random thought!

Interesting thought.
Owned all 3 calibers, the .458 Lott was the best in weight, balance and shoot ability.

In the book Ruger and His Guns, by R.L. Wilson, he stated that it took 7 hours of skilled CNC and hand machine work just to make the quarter rib. $$$.

Your idea of just getting the Magnum sized barreled action without all the fancy extras (quarter rib, integra; 2nd recoil lug, etc.) is a good one. Their action casting company (Pine Tree Castings) would have to find their old tooling as well as Ruger tooling (good luck with that) to finish out.

But still, a damn good idea we can hope for.

 

[Doug3006]

I think Ruger could reissue the RSM and charge whatever they want! It would never be a big seller. No safari rifle is. At one time, they had a custom shop. So the concept isn’t completely new to them.

 

[hoytcanon]

They already did that... it is called the African. A dumbed down RSM at a lower price point for the average Western shooter.

 

[318AE]

Those RSMs languished in the secondary market for over a decade at about $1,500. Only recently are they trading for a value closer to their worth. It’s a really small market compared to most things they could produce.

 

[318AE]

They already did that... it is called the African. A dumbed down RSM at a lower price point for the average Western shooter.

True - I think he is talking about the magnum length action essentially.

 

[deewayne2003]

I would just like for Ruger to sell the magnum actions in the white like CZ did with the 550.

I gave up looking for a beat up or damaged M77MKII stainless long action to rebarrel to .458win with B&C stock.

 

[400Jeff]

The RSM action is a true magnum length action capable of handling all of the big cartridges like the 416/450 Rigby, 458 lott and even bigger, not even remotely close to the action used on the African.

 

[dhughes66]

I so wish they made or had made the RSM in 404 Jeffery. Making one in 350 Rigby would be really cool as well!

 

[BFaucett]

I so wish they made or had made the RSM in 404 Jeffery. Making one in 350 Rigby would be really cool as well!

You might find the attached article to be of interest. It was a web page that I "printed" to a pdf file.

Cheers! Bob F.


Ruger's Best: The Magnum
by Mark A. Keefe, IV, Editor-In-Chief
American Rifleman Magazine (2003)

"When introduced in 1989, the suggested retail price was about $1,550, and, today, it is $1,695, which represents an excellent value for the money. The initial calibers were .375 H&H Mag. and .416 Rigby. Although the .404 Jeffrey was announced in 1994 and appeared in Dealer Price Sheet as late as 1995, none were offered for commercial sale."

 

[dhughes66]

You might find the attached article to be of interest. It was a web page that I "printed" to a pdf file.

Cheers! Bob F.


Ruger's Best: The Magnum
by Mark A. Keefe, IV, Editor-In-Chief
American Rifleman Magazine (2003)

"When introduced in 1989, the suggested retail price was about $1,550, and, today, it is $1,695, which represents an excellent value for the money. The initial calibers were .375 H&H Mag. and .416 Rigby. Although the .404 Jeffrey was announced in 1994 and appeared in Dealer Price Sheet as late as 1995, none were offered for commercial sale."

Very interesting. I wish they had decided to make them in 404 Jeffery as well. Then I would need to buy one more of them. I have one in 375 H&H, 416 Rigby, and 458 Lott.

 

[deewayne2003]

Very interesting. I wish they had decided to make them in 404 Jeffery as well. Then I would need to buy one more of them. I have one in 375 H&H, 416 Rigby, and 458 Lott.

I believe they actually started to.... Problem was they used an out of date cartridge diagram for the camber specs and modern ammo wouldn't fit so they decided to scrap the caliber from the RSM lineup.

 

[dhughes66]

I believe they actually started to.... Problem was they used an out of date cartridge diagram for the camber specs and modern ammo wouldn't fit so they decided to scrap the caliber from the RSM lineup.

That is a shame. I think it would sell very well (for big bore rifles anyway) if it was available today.

 

[odonata]

I gave up looking for a beat up or damaged M77MKII stainless long action to rebarrel to .458win with B&C stock.

As a left-handed shooter, I was having trouble finding a larger bore rifle to shoot so I upsized a Ruger MkII from 7mm Rem Mag to a 458 Win Mag. It worked out great. I had fun & learned a lot rebarelling that rifle. I installed pillars, cross bolts & bedded it for extra strength using basic hand tools. There's a currently affordable stainless Ruger MkII selling on GB tomorrow if you're still interested in attempting something like this.

Before & After (with a Leupold Big Bore scope from their Custom Shop)

 

[deewayne2003]

As a left-handed shooter, I was having trouble finding a larger bore rifle to shoot so I upsized a Ruger MkII from 7mm Rem Mag to a 458 Win Mag. It worked out great. I had fun & learned a lot rebarelling that rifle. I installed pillars, cross bolts & bedded it for extra strength using basic hand tools. There's a currently affordable stainless Ruger MkII selling on GB tomorrow if you're still interested in attempting something like this.

View attachment 722232
Before & After (with a Leupold Big Bore scope from their Custom Shop)

Thank you, I’m on it