An Interesting 'Heavyweight' Classic .577 3"

The other .577 we have just finished weighed in at a handy 13lbs 8oz but this customer explicitly asked for a ’heavy for calibre’ version, weighing no less than 15lbs 8oz:  a full two pounds heavier.

With 25” barrels and a 15 ½” LOP, the extra weight is well distributed and the owner is clearly a powerful individual, well capable of carrying it in the field. The benefit, of course, of the increased poundage, is the greater ability to absorb recoil. Physics dictates that a bigger lump is harder to move, so recoil is tamed by mass.

In practice, that is true to a point but a badly fitting gun will still be uncomfortable and unforgiving, which is why we take great care to ensure every rifle we build is perfectly aligned for the customer’s particular shoulder width, neck length, eye spacing and factors in every nuance of fit. With that done the transfer of recoil is smooth and ergonomic and the felt recoil much reduced.

We actually tipped the scales with this rifle a little over the indicated minimum at 15lbs 8.9oz, once we had fitted a Silver’s anti-recoil pad. Specifically, the barrels weigh 8lbs 9oz, the forend is 12.4oz and the stock and action 6lbs 5.7oz.

Built on the 1897 Taylor patent with hand detachable locks, Westley Richards’ house model big game double offers the benefits of easily changeable parts in the event of failure or damage, or even submersion in a river or swamp, which does happen.

Any other double rifle would be very hard to clean, while with this ingenious design, the hunter can simply flick a catch and remove the entire lock mechanism, clean it, dry it, lubricate it and re-insert it into the dried action. In the rare case of a failure, like a broken spring, a second set of locks allows for the entire mechanism to be swapped out for a new one.

Little surprise then, that a second set of locks is a very popular option when these rifles are ordered, this order being no exception. It is worthy of note that the extra locks are regulated so that they fire with exactly the same trigger pressure as the original locks. In this case, 4lbs front and 5 1/2lbs rear.

Clearly designed for a big man to hunt dangerous game at close quarters, the Westley Richards quarter rib is sighted with a standing ramp for 50 yards and a folding leaf for 100 yards.

It is in such scenarios that the .577 comes into its own. The batch of ammunition for which this rifle was regulated, places the two 750 grain bullets ½” from one another at fifty yards. That will deliver energy in excess of 7,000 ft-lbs, which is nothing short of awesome! Any approaching quarry will quickly feel the impact of a well-placed shot or two and once that takes place, there is little prospect of a continuation of hostilities.

There are advocates for every big game cartridge and all have their advantages and qualities but the .577 NE offers reassurance like nothing else. At close range that is priceless.

Part of the beauty of this rifle is its timeless aesthetic. It closely resembles those we made before the Great War, with two triggers, a manual safety, scroll engraving with the Westley Richards name in a banner, and a fully colour case hardened finish.

Where it departs from the typical early 20^th century rifle is the super deluxe walnut stock. Customers today are far more inclined towards very beautiful wood than their forebears. In fact, what we might consider ordinary, they would have considered very good.

We know that many of our customers do hunt with very elaborately engraved and inlaid rifles and that what is ‘too nice to use’ is a judgment that differs from one man to the next. However, this rifle has clear purpose built into every pore. It looks like it belongs in the bush, bashing buffalo or elephant, grazing mopane brush, leaning against ironwood trunks and getting dusted with sand for years to come.

We are sure this classic iteration of a .577NE drop-lock will have tales to tell in the years to come. Tales in which it will, no doubt, be the hero.