Inheriting 2 rifles - tell me about them

pthurman · February 5, 2011, 03:53 PM

My Second Great Uncle recently passed away and I am now inheriting one or 2 of his rifles. I received an email from his wife say that this is what she has.

"I have either a Cal. 270 Custom Rifle Douglas Bsl, F.N. acton S.N. M69, with a Redfield 3-9 Ver. Scope, Lee Dot 5.N.F. or a Ruger M-77 R 7MM Mag rifle witih a Redfield."

I don't know a ton about rifles so I am looking for some guidance here. From what I gather the .270 will be an excellent deer rifle and the M-77 will be the elk rifle. As far as all the abbreviations I am somewhat lost, especially on the Ruger. Please educate me on the specs of the rifles and help me understand 7mm Mag vs. cal.

Thanks fellas.

Jim Watson · February 5, 2011, 04:24 PM

A Ruger M(odel) 77 R is a bolt action repeater with tapered barrel and no iron sights, just the scope. Weight is 8.25 lbs plus the weight of the scope, not too heavy for a 7mm Magnum.
Caliber is 7mm Remington Magnum, a specific cartridge to be bought by name, not the same as a 7mm Mauser, 7mm Weatherby, 7mm RUM, 7mm WSM etc. etc., even though they all shoot 7mm (.284") diameter bullets.
Redfield is the brand of scope sight, the power (magnification) not given.

The other custom build is described but not illustrated.
It has an FN (Fabrique Nationale of Belgium) Mauser type action of very high quality and a Douglas barrel (made in USA.) Caliber is almost certainly .270 Winchester firing a .277" diameter bullet. SN (serial number?) M69 sounds strange but who knows?
A Redfield 3-9 Variable with magnification from 3 to 9 power is very versatile. A Lee Dot is an aftermarket reticle (aiming point) in the scope comprising a small black dot instead of the usual crosshairs. I don't know what the 5.N.F. might stand for. Maybe it was a code by the late Mr Lee that the present owner does not use.
The rifle could have about any style of stock that suited G. Uncle. It might be plain or fancy, conventional or eccentric. Get a look, a feel, pictures.

ripnbst · February 5, 2011, 04:45 PM

Sounds like you will be getting two good guns. The .270 is very capable of taking Elk also, and I dont mean that in the sense of "You can kill anything with a .22", I mean a .270 is a solid caliber for elk.

jackpine · February 5, 2011, 07:05 PM

Thant 270 sounds like a fine rifle. Probably a 1960 custom build. 270 can take anything you'll shoot in the lower 48.

February 5, 2011, 03:53 PM	#1
pthurman Junior Member Join Date: February 5, 2011 Posts: 1	Inheriting 2 rifles - tell me about them My Second Great Uncle recently passed away and I am now inheriting one or 2 of his rifles. I received an email from his wife say that this is what she has. "I have either a Cal. 270 Custom Rifle Douglas Bsl, F.N. acton S.N. M69, with a Redfield 3-9 Ver. Scope, Lee Dot 5.N.F. or a Ruger M-77 R 7MM Mag rifle witih a Redfield." I don't know a ton about rifles so I am looking for some guidance here. From what I gather the .270 will be an excellent deer rifle and the M-77 will be the elk rifle. As far as all the abbreviations I am somewhat lost, especially on the Ruger. Please educate me on the specs of the rifles and help me understand 7mm Mag vs. cal. Thanks fellas.

February 5, 2011, 04:24 PM	#2
Jim Watson Senior Member Join Date: October 25, 2001 Location: Alabama Posts: 18,539	A Ruger M(odel) 77 R is a bolt action repeater with tapered barrel and no iron sights, just the scope. Weight is 8.25 lbs plus the weight of the scope, not too heavy for a 7mm Magnum. Caliber is 7mm Remington Magnum, a specific cartridge to be bought by name, not the same as a 7mm Mauser, 7mm Weatherby, 7mm RUM, 7mm WSM etc. etc., even though they all shoot 7mm (.284") diameter bullets. Redfield is the brand of scope sight, the power (magnification) not given. The other custom build is described but not illustrated. It has an FN (Fabrique Nationale of Belgium) Mauser type action of very high quality and a Douglas barrel (made in USA.) Caliber is almost certainly .270 Winchester firing a .277" diameter bullet. SN (serial number?) M69 sounds strange but who knows? A Redfield 3-9 Variable with magnification from 3 to 9 power is very versatile. A Lee Dot is an aftermarket reticle (aiming point) in the scope comprising a small black dot instead of the usual crosshairs. I don't know what the 5.N.F. might stand for. Maybe it was a code by the late Mr Lee that the present owner does not use. The rifle could have about any style of stock that suited G. Uncle. It might be plain or fancy, conventional or eccentric. Get a look, a feel, pictures.

February 5, 2011, 04:45 PM	#3
ripnbst Senior Member Join Date: November 24, 2010 Location: Spring, TX Posts: 1,552	Sounds like you will be getting two good guns. The .270 is very capable of taking Elk also, and I dont mean that in the sense of "You can kill anything with a .22", I mean a .270 is a solid caliber for elk.

February 5, 2011, 07:05 PM	#4
jackpine Senior Member Join Date: November 24, 2010 Posts: 351	Thant 270 sounds like a fine rifle. Probably a 1960 custom build. 270 can take anything you'll shoot in the lower 48.