Westley · Rifle
Westley Richards .700/.577 Droplock
Break action · .700/.577 Nitro Express · introduced 2005
Also known as .700/.577 Hand Detachable Lock Double Rifle, Westley Richards .700/.577
About the Westley Richards .700/.577 Droplock
The Westley Richards .700/.577 Droplock is a best-quality British side-by-side double rifle built on Leslie B. Taylor's hand-detachable-lock (droplock) action, chambered for the proprietary .700/.577 Nitro Express cartridge formed by necking the .700 Nitro Express case down to .577 calibre and driving a 950-grain bullet. Billed by the maker as its largest droplock double rifle to date, it was conceived purely as a dangerous-game elephant rifle and produced only as a tiny handful of bespoke, lavishly engraved and cased examples.
Created as Westley Richards' answer to the giant Holland & Holland .600 and .700 Nitro Express rifles, the .700/.577 was designed strictly for elephant; the firm has remarked that with a rifle of this power there is little else on earth worth hunting with it.
Westley Richards .700/.577 Droplock specifications
General
- Type
- Rifle
- Action
- Break action
- Firing mechanism
- Hammer-fired
- Trigger
- Double action
- Calibres
- .700/.577 Nitro Express
- Magazine capacity
- 2 rounds
Dimensions
- Barrel length
- 635 mm (25.0 in)
- Overall length
- 1054 mm (41.5 in)
- Weight (empty)
- 7.96 kg (17.56 lb)
Barrel
- Rifling
- Right hand
Materials
- Barrel
- Steel
- Receiver / frame
- Steel
- Stock
- Turkish walnut
- Finish
- colour case hardened action with hand-rust blued barrels
Performance
- Muzzle velocity (typical)
- 670 m/s (2198 fps)
- Muzzle energy (typical)
- 13817 J (10191 ft·lb)
- Effective range
- 90 m
History
- Introduced
- 2005
- Production status
- In production
- Country of origin
- GB
- Designer
- Westley Richards & Co. (droplock action by Leslie B. Taylor)
Features
- Hand detachable droplocks
- Side by side barrels
- Double trigger
- Ejectors
- Express sights
- Hand engraved
Safety
- Top lever safety
- Hand detachable locks
The .700/.577 is a proprietary Westley Richards wildcat; only a few complete rifles are known to have been built, each an individually commissioned and heavily engraved best gun. Weight of a known example is about 17 lb 9 oz.
Similar models
Air Arms FTP900
Single action · .177 Air (4.5mm)
Anschutz 1907
Bolt action · .22 Long Rifle
Anschütz 2013
Bolt action · .22 Long Rifle
Anschutz 8002
Bolt action · .177 Air (4.5mm)
Anschutz 9003
Bolt action · .177 Air (4.5mm)
Anschutz 9015
Break action · .177 Air (4.5mm)
Baikal IZh-18MN
Break action · .308 Winchester
Baikal MP-18
Break action · .22 Long Rifle