Ruger Safari Magnum

Begger

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There’s been a great deal of discussion as of late regarding CZ 550, Model 70 Winchester, and a few actions. I brought this up on another thread, but felt like it deserved it‘s own discussion.

What’s the general consensus regarding Ruger’s Safari Magnum series. Certainly in the later models you get a true CRF, factory chambering in 458 Lott among others. Stocks can be a bit 2x4-ish, but that can be rectified either by a good wood smith or a new stock.

What say the experts?
 
I currently own three .375, .404, .416 and have owned five. I also own one Ruger Express in .300 Win Mag. The Express is a RSM in the smaller calibers. They were made 92 - to around 2000 in 25-06 - .338 Win Mag.
 
Ruger nomenclature can be confusing...to me at least......You are referring to the Ruger Model 77 Mk II Magnum Express Rifle most often called Ruger Safari Magnum no doubt. I handled a proto-type in 1988, but saw them on the shelves for the first time in 1989. Most recently, I bought one in 416 Rigby at an auction in 2016. Still unfired and in the box, I paid about the same as a new CZ. These rifles were not an exact copy of the famous British Mauser conversions, but it is still an excellent rifle, and I think one of the highest quality Rugers ever built. It would be my choice over any other rifle in the same price range................fit and finish is better than any CZ I have owned; cycling and feeding is flawless. ...and now that so many big game hunts have been cancelled or postponed, you may find a bargain on the net............good luck with whatever rifle you choose........FWB
 
I would not use one rather a ZKK602....
 
An easy way to determine a RSM or Express from the other Ruger rifles, if they haven't been altered or customized is they all have integral quarter ribs meaning the rib is part of the barrel, not a part attached to the barrel. The RSM has one standing and 2 folding sights, the Express has one standing and 1 folding sight. They also all have circassian wood stocks.
 
I would not use one rather a ZKK602....

Can you give more explanation as to why. I have the RSM'S. IT WILL BE GOOD TO KNOW FROM EXPERIENCED PEOPLE LIKE YOU.
 
Seeing your reply going from normal typing to bold means you are not happy, that is normal only because you own these rifles and do not want to hear they are not the best. Much the same as a Land Rover vs Land Cruiser comparison....if you own the Land Rover no matter how many times it lets you down, you will still believe it is the better than a Land Cruiser....

Many feeding issues, especially in 416 Rigby caliber. Ruger have modified the claw. However main issue is extraction....operate the bolt at high speed such as under back up situations or follow up on DG with a scope fitted the empty case will hit the scope and drop back into the mag causing a jam......

Many of these issues arise again and again in proficiency tests.

Use Google and see how many issues you find regarding the Ruger feeding issues then do the same for the Brno ZKK 602 and compare....only issues with the ZKK 602 will be on custom barreled rifles that was not done properly by smith and not on factory rifles..

I mentioned these issues before and although many tested their rifles before the time when they got into the field under proper DG hunting scenario got a rude awakening when the rifle malfunctioned....

A clear example can be found from @TOBY458 you can read about it here...


Personally I prefer 100% reliability and for me the Ruger does not provide that.
 
I have no experience with a ZKK602 so can't comment on that rifle. My RSM 404 has taken buffalo and some more minor plains game, each with one shot. So far it has never failed to feed, fire and eject. My other RSMs have only been used on the range but have never failed. So my RSMs may not be the best, but they are all gorgeous and so far more than worth their costs/investment.
 
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Seeing your reply going from normal typing to bold means you are not happy, that is normal only because you own these rifles and do not want to hear they are not the best. Much the same as a Land Rover vs Land Cruiser comparison....if you own the Land Rover no matter how many times it lets you down, you will still believe it is the better than a Land Cruiser....

Conversely, if you don’t own a given item, and have no experience with that given item, it’s very easy make disparaging comments about the quality of said item. That knife cuts both ways.

I’ve seen EXACTLY the same comoments regarding the roughness of the actions and failure to feed meplated bullets aimed squarely at ZKK602 and CZ550 actions. Wayne at AHR makes a good living correcting these shortfalls. And no, it’s not just with “custom barreled rifles that was not done properly by smith and not on factory rifles..”

As the OP of this thread, I truly appreciate your input regarding these rifles, and look forward to more of it. But when you start psychoanalyzing as to why folks post what they post, my suspicion is you’re out of your realm of expertise.

Now, how about we get back to the rifles...
 
Conversely, if you don’t own a given item, and have no experience with that given item, it’s very easy make disparaging comments about the quality of said item. That knife cuts both ways.

I’ve seen EXACTLY the same comoments regarding the roughness of the actions and failure to feed meplated bullets aimed squarely at ZKK602 and CZ550 actions. Wayne at AHR makes a good living correcting these shortfalls. And no, it’s not just with “custom barreled rifles that was not done properly by smith and not on factory rifles..”

As the OP of this thread, I truly appreciate your input regarding these rifles, and look forward to more of it. But when you start psychoanalyzing as to why folks post what they post, my suspicion is you’re out of your realm of expertise.

Now, how about we get back to the rifles...

Is that true of the ZKK as well? I’ve seen lots of discussion on the CZ but had the impression that this was not the case with the ZKK? Merely curious as I am sticking with my M70’s.
 
Good day , @Begger
While I do have personal experience with the BRNO ZKK- 600 and BRNO ZKK - 602 , I am afraid that I have no personal experience with the Ruger Safari Magnum . You are correct about how the BRNO ZKK 602 rifles frequently needed to incur some degree of alterations , in order to function properly . I find that this article is an extremely accurate analysis of the BRNO ZKK 600 series .
1AFF3B8C-E146-4372-ABF0-CE43A44B60EE.png
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I have successfully taken Markhor with a BRNO ZKK x 600 in 9.3x62 mm Mauser ( employing 286 grain Nosler Partition soft nosed factory loads ) . I have also hunted American black bear , by using a BRNO ZKK - 602 in .375 H&H Magnum . Most of the early BRNO ZKK 600 series rifles ( featuring the folding diopter loacated in the back of the receiver ) are solid , robust things which are built like tanks . However for reasons outlined in the above article , the variants in .458 Winchester Magnum were always prone to all sorts of problems ( in short - the action is overtly spacious for the round ) and necessitated extensive aftermarket work ( such as fitting spacers ) . The variants in .375 H&H Magnum are unrivaled in reliability , however .

Perhaps this article ( which makes mention of the Ruger Safari Magnum ) might interest you . It was written by the late Don Heath “ Ganyana “ and he used to be an assessor in the professional hunter’ examinations in Zimbabwe .
3788B62C-526C-4D74-A3D0-1AC4B868FF85.png
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21C1F199-ABC9-4786-BEEE-58CDE32996FF.png
A332BB3F-E61C-43AC-A963-F1453275ADC3.png
5C59AB13-689C-439F-A451-30438099B7B9.png
 
I would not use one rather a ZKK602....

When it comes to hunting things that might have the intention of hurting you I prefer the more traditional actions like the magnum Mauser and BRNO and CZ actions.

My 2 cents
 
There are good and bad examples of every brand. Pick a rifle that appeals to you, fix anything that might need fixing, shoot it enough to become proficient and then go hunting. Bambi or Mbogo won't know or care what brand rifle you're using. I own CZ, Ruger, and Cooper rifles in calibers suitable for DG and I wouldn't hesitate to take any of them afield.

The biggest liability and most likely cause of something going wrong is the idiot on the trigger (me). Significantly more game animals have been lost because of lousy shooting and poor shot selection than due to malfunctioning rifles. I also suspect more hunters have been injured or killed because of either their own or other hunter's mistakes than by getting mauled because of malfunctioning rifles. Rifles occasionally fail and they have a nasty habit of failing at EXACTLY the wrong moment but in the big scheme of things human failure is a much bigger threat than malfunctioning rifles. YMMV.
 
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Seeing your reply going from normal typing to bold means you are not happy, that is normal only because you own these rifles and do not want to hear they are not the best. Much the same as a Land Rover vs Land Cruiser comparison....if you own the Land Rover no matter how many times it lets you down, you will still believe it is the better than a Land Cruiser....

Many feeding issues, especially in 416 Rigby caliber. Ruger have modified the claw. However main issue is extraction....operate the bolt at high speed such as under back up situations or follow up on DG with a scope fitted the empty case will hit the scope and drop back into the mag causing a jam......

Many of these issues arise again and again in proficiency tests.

Use Google and see how many issues you find regarding the Ruger feeding issues then do the same for the Brno ZKK 602 and compare....only issues with the ZKK 602 will be on custom barreled rifles that was not done properly by smith and not on factory rifles..

I mentioned these issues before and although many tested their rifles before the time when they got into the field under proper DG hunting scenario got a rude awakening when the rifle malfunctioned....

A clear example can be found from @TOBY458 you can read about it here...


Personally I prefer 100% reliability and for me the Ruger does not provide that.

Thank you for the information. I do own several of them. The reson my typing went from normal to bold because I wanted to tye RSM in bold. And rest normal. But lazy me did not correct it. More over it is my phone I use mostly. Should have corrected it. I bought most of them for collection and have not fired any yet. I will pay attention to what you said.
 
I currently own one Ruger 77 MkII Magnum Express Rifle in 416 Rigby. It is scoped. It is not possible for me, or anyone else, to eject loaded or empty rounds and have them hit the scope. We have tried repeatedly. It can't be done on THIS rifle. Other Ruger models with push feeds, investment castings, etc may be different. Even other scopes or Express Magnums maybe, I don't know. It ejects hard right, and positive. And, of course, it is best to load a CRF via the magazine and not single load the chamber, but that is another issue. This rifle feeds perfectly. I own 2 CZ's currently. They were both in need of moderate gunsmith touch up. They are OK at present. Having said those good things about this relatively rare Ruger model, there a few issues here too. The recoil lugs (or lack of them) is my biggest issue. The chunky stock doesn't bother me in a 416 as it takes out some of the bite. Most of these had beautiful wood, as the flagship Ruger of the day. Have always hated American bolt handle shapes. No exception here. I think Toby's "Rodeo" referred to a Sako 375 Jam, but can't recall and am not gonna read that 8 pages or so again......(even though I loved the report. )But I have not ever heard of THIS model Ruger failing to feed or eject. Then again, I haven't seen or used dozens of them.......But LvW.....your post made me smile as I remember the 3 times I went on hunting trips in a Land Rover........and all three had breakdowns! So your opinion is definitely solid with me:)...........thanks for posting.........FWB
 
Seeing your reply going from normal typing to bold means you are not happy, that is normal only because you own these rifles and do not want to hear they are not the best. Much the same as a Land Rover vs Land Cruiser comparison....if you own the Land Rover no matter how many times it lets you down, you will still believe it is the better than a Land Cruiser....

Many feeding issues, especially in 416 Rigby caliber. Ruger have modified the claw. However main issue is extraction....operate the bolt at high speed such as under back up situations or follow up on DG with a scope fitted the empty case will hit the scope and drop back into the mag causing a jam......

Many of these issues arise again and again in proficiency tests.

Use Google and see how many issues you find regarding the Ruger feeding issues then do the same for the Brno ZKK 602 and compare....only issues with the ZKK 602 will be on custom barreled rifles that was not done properly by smith and not on factory rifles..

I mentioned these issues before and although many tested their rifles before the time when they got into the field under proper DG hunting scenario got a rude awakening when the rifle malfunctioned....

A clear example can be found from @TOBY458 you can read about it here...


Personally I prefer 100% reliability and for me the Ruger does not provide that.
I'm confused, the story from @TOBY458 was about a Sako 85 problem? Not a RSM problem?
 
Thank you Professor fo the articles, I found them very informative.

And come to think of it, it was a Toyota Hi Lux that came to our rescue when our Rover refused to crawl out of the mud in the Limpopo region a couple years ago. :unsure:
 
I currently own one Ruger 77 MkII Magnum Express Rifle in 416 Rigby. It is scoped. It is not possible for me, or anyone else, to eject loaded or empty rounds and have them hit the scope. We have tried repeatedly. It can't be done on THIS rifle. Other Ruger models with push feeds, investment castings, etc may be different. Even other scopes or Express Magnums maybe, I don't know. It ejects hard right, and positive. And, of course, it is best to load a CRF via the magazine and not single load the chamber, but that is another issue. This rifle feeds perfectly. I own 2 CZ's currently. They were both in need of moderate gunsmith touch up. They are OK at present. Having said those good things about this relatively rare Ruger model, there a few issues here too. The recoil lugs (or lack of them) is my biggest issue. The chunky stock doesn't bother me in a 416 as it takes out some of the bite. Most of these had beautiful wood, as the flagship Ruger of the day. Have always hated American bolt handle shapes. No exception here. I think Toby's "Rodeo" referred to a Sako 375 Jam, but can't recall and am not gonna read that 8 pages or so again......(even though I loved the report. )But I have not ever heard of THIS model Ruger failing to feed or eject. Then again, I haven't seen or used dozens of them.......But LvW.....your post made me smile as I remember the 3 times I went on hunting trips in a Land Rover........and all three had breakdowns! So your opinion is definitely solid with me:)...........thanks for posting.........FWB
You are correct. Mine was a Sako 85 problem. I think maybe he just meant some rifles in general can seem fine at the range, but when pressed into action under stress, the weaknesses show up.
 

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