to answer your question it is not the rimmed version. at one time i owned two, one the model 77 with the tang safety, the other the mark II. i don't own either now. i now own a cz 550 american in 7x57mm. the rugers are fine rifles and finding one in 7x57mm is quite a find these days. if you can walk out the door with it for $400, you have a bargain. the rugers have a barrel twist of 1x9. i handload exclusively using 160 grain class bullets, primarily the 162 grain hornady sst and the other the 160 grain nosler partition. with my handloads using h414 powder i developed a load that would shoot half inch groups at 100 yards. i have used the 7x57mm to take elk, mule deer, whitetail deer, antelope, wild hogs, bear, coyotes and wild turkey. with the exception of one hog, all were one-shot kills. one of the elk was taken at an honest to goodness 325 yards, a broadside shot on a 5x5 bull. he had a wide rack and thick beams, leading me to believe he was a tad older than i at first suspected. at the shot he backed up a step or two, sat back on his butt and fell over deader than aunt maude's dog. i lasered a cedar tree near him as it was easy to laser. what makes the 7x57mm such a effective game cartridge is it kicks so mild that shooters tend to shoot it a lot. shooters learn the rifle's capabilities and in the process learn their own capabilities. that makes for an affective combination. the best of luck to you and i really do hope you can buy this rifle. tom purdom
