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Rigby
Rising
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By Alex Brant
S p o r t s A f i e l d . c o m
epending on who you believe, Rigby is either the second or third oldest
gunmaker in continuous operation in history. Beretta, without doubt, is
the oldest, and Rigby is certainly the oldest firm in the English-speaking world. But the date (1735) often attributed to the origin of Rigby actually
predates the birth of the first John Rigby (there were three John Rigbys in a row
owning/running the company), which does not make much sense. It is possible
that the first John Rigby bought an established firm in Dublin and the date actually represents the founding of that firm; it’s also possible the date is apocryphal,
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The Rigby company has
had its ups and downs,
but it’s now on solid
footing with new
ownership and new
direction.
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Kings, maharajahs, and famous professional hunters
from “Karamojo” Bell to Jim Corbett to Frederick Selous
to “Pondoro” Taylor were clients and fans of Rigby. Taylor
once wrote: “Rigby designed the perfect weapons on which
his reputation has been built, and the perfect bullets for
use in them.”
Rigby helped revolutionize dangerous-game hunting
with the development of the .450 Nitro Express in 1898.
“Rigby is perhaps most famous for its association with biggame hunting in the British colonies of East Africa and India,” says Newton. “Prior to the .450 NE, hunters of dangerous game used calibers such as the 8-bore double rifle
with blackpowder propellant. The much lighter and higher
velocity .450 NE quickly became the staple for big-game
hunters moving forward.”
Developed by John Rigby III, the .450 Nitro Express
helped to spell the end of blackpowder express rifles. (The
term “express” originated with a rifle built by James Purdey in 1856 and referred to it as hitting “with the power of
an express train,” a marketing slogan that stuck. The term
“nitro” refers to nitrocellulose, the propellant that replaced
blackpowder.)
The .450 NE 3¼-inch was infinitely more efficient than
the old blackpowder rounds, and could be shot in much less
unwieldy rifles. As developed by Rigby, it was based on the
blackpowder .500/.450 express case. The .450 Nitro Express
was designed for use in single-shot and double rifles and was
especially well-suited for hunting in hot climates, as pressure
was more moderate than similar external ballistics produced
by today’s modern sharply necked down belted magnums. It
was a favorite of Frederick Courteney Selous, who used it in
a Farquharson rifle.
The .450 NE was hardly the only famous Rigby cartridge. “Another well-known cartridge chambered by Rigby
was the .275, both in its original 175-grain loading and the
high velocity 140-grain,” says Newton. “‘Karamojo’ Bell
amassed a huge fortune in ivory with his .275 rifle and others, and Jim Corbett regularly trusted his life to this little
cartridge when in pursuit of man-eaters in the jungles of
India.” In 1911, Rigby shook up the hunting world once again
when it released the .416. The first rifles were finished and
delivered in 1912. Rigby had revolutionized dangerous-game
hunting a second time with this new cartridge for a bolt-action rifle capable of dropping an elephant in its tracks.
“Without question Rigby is most famous for its .416 cartridge,” says Newton.
The .416 Rigby predates the more famous .375 H&H,
and everything the .375 H&H can do, the .416 does
better. The .416, with its 400-grain bullet and the stated velocity of 2,371 fps (from the old Rigby catalogs), came with
three bullet types: a solid steel-covered bullet, a softnose bul-
let, and a hollow point. Old Rigby catalogs from the 1920s
pointed out with great pride that the action of this rifle was
especially designed and manufactured with the sportsman in
mind. The .416 Rigby was a particularly useful cartridge in
that it could be used in bolt-action rifles, which were much
less expensive than double rifles. It was highly popular with
the less affluent (for example, army officers, rather than
dukes and earls for whom double rifles were de rigueur) who
went to India or Africa.
Another cartridge closely identified with Rigby is the
.470 NE, undoubtedly the most important and most used—
indeed the paradigm—of all the double rifle calibers. While
basically the proprietary cartridge for Rigby’s doubles, most
credit Joseph Lang with its development in 1907, although
Paul Roberts and Marc Newton postulate that it was actually
a Webley development with Eley.
When the British banned the .450s in India and the Sudan
for political/military reasons, the .470 proved very popular and
was by far the most common of all the .465 to .476 variations.
It should have been standardized, but the British preferred proprietary cartridges from each rifle manufacturer.
Then there were the .350s. The .400/.350 Nitro Express
was a rimmed cartridge offered by Rigby in 1899. Based on a
.400 NE case necked down to .350 caliber, it was one of the
most popular medium calibers for use in Africa in its day,
though it is now obsolete.
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perhaps even a typographical error from an early catalog. The
official founding date of the company is 1775.
Physically, Rigby has been all over the place, not unlike
the Irish diaspora itself. Originating in Dublin, where it was
most noted for dueling pistols, fowling pieces, and target rifles, it established operations in London during the 1800s. At
the cusp of the twentieth century the company ceased trading in Ireland, focusing entirely on British clients.
All three John Rigbys were born in Dublin. The first
John Rigby was a soldier, which probably had much to do
with his interest in dueling pistols and in target rifles. John
Rigby II was a well-known target shooter. Target rifles were
also used successfully by John Rigby III, who was the one
who moved the operation to Britain. He was also the one
responsible for developing the modern features of Rigby rifles
and cartridges.
Marc Newton, Managing Director of Rigby, explains the
history. “From 1775 to the mid-1800s, the Rigby company
specialized in fowling pieces, dueling pistols, and match rifles
(with which the Irish team won the Elcho shield at Wimbledon in 1873). The family firm quickly built a reputation for
fine guns. In the latter part of the nineteenth century, a London showroom was established, with the company eventually
moving from Ireland and closing its Dublin operation. It was
at this time that Rigby adopted the world-famous Rigby or
Bissel rising bite style of breechloading gun.”
Rigby regularly uses the company’s original record books for reference when building new rifles.
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S p o r t s A f i e l d . c o m
This .470 NE boxlock double rifle belongs to Rigby Managing Director Marc Newton.
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“Around the turn of the twentieth century, Rigby, who was Mauser’s
agent in London, commissioned a magnum-length version of the 98 Mauser
bolt action,” says Newton. “Fitted with
a special “sloping box” and modified
extractor, these early .350 rifles fired
the rimmed .400/.350 NE cartridge.” Then a “new model” cartridge was
developed that differed from the old
.350 Magnum in that it was rimless and
had greater powder capacity. A bullet of
225 grains traveling at 2,600 fps generated 3,400 foot-pounds of energy. The
.350 rimmed cartridge was best in fall-
ing-block or double rifles, whereas the
rimless Rigby Magnum was designed
for use in bolt-action rifles.
Rigby most famously used Magnum
Mauser actions for their 416s. “Surprisingly, Rigby only produced an estimated
189 of the ‘Holy Grail’ .416 on the Magnum Mauser action before 1940,” says
Newton. “After World War II, the source
of these actions dried up and Rigby went
on to experiment with opening up the
standard-length military 98, recycling
.350 rifles made on magnum actions,
Brevex actions and, in later years, the
BRNO magnum action.”
Strange things happened to Rigby
after World War II. As Newton explains: “Four consecutive generations
of the Rigby family owned the firm
until the 1950s. It was then taken on
by the company accountant, Vernon
Harris. In 1968, the company was
bought by David Marx, who ran Rigby until 1984 when he merged with
Paul Roberts of J. Roberts and Son.
Roberts bought the name and records
from Marx and traded as John Rigby
and Co. until he sold the rights to Neil
Gibson in the USA in 1997. Between
1997 and 2009, the company was
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S p o r t s A f i e l d . c o m
is to make The Big Game Model available for sale at under $12,000, a price
previously unheard of for a Magnum
Mauser actioned rifle with a London
name on the barrel. The company has
always been at the forefront of innovation, and these updated Rigbys are yet
another example of this.” The Big Game Model rifles are
going to be configured in two versions, the first with a classic Rigby single square bridge and heavier barrel for
use with iron sights. The second will
maintain the classic Mauser double
square bridge with a lightweight barrel to be used with a scope, which can
be removed for use with iron sights as
backup. Double rifles are also once
again in production, as are Rigby
shotguns. The company also has a new
workshop, museum, and showroom
in Vauxhall, London, one of the few
places in the city where guns are still
made in the back and sold out front.
The fact that Rigby is once again
linked to Mauser—a partnership that
led to one of the most successful rifle
designs in the history of fireams—
shows that the company has come full
circle and is once again synonymous
with innovation, tradition, and the finest safari rifles.
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Clockwise from top left: An example of a Rigby London Best gun with gold inlay on the front bridge; the Rigby manufacturing team at
work; working closely with a client to build the perfect rifle; a page from the Rigby book of records, which lists rifles built for some of the
most famous hunters in the world, including W.D.M. Bell in 1922.
based in California under the management of Geoff Miller.
“Following a series of different investors and some issues with the products produced, Rigby was bought out
by two Texan gentlemen who looked
to restore the name as a best London
gunmaker. All trademark issues around
the world were resolved and the production of guns was moved back to London with Paul Roberts at J. Roberts and
Son. In January of this year, Rigby was
bought out again, this time by the same
group that owns Blaser, Mauser, and
Sauer. The stars have aligned, and Rigby has come full circle with its renewed
working relationship with Mauser.”
The acquisition by Germany’s
L&O Group is a most appropriate affiliation as the original Rigby bolt-action rifles were based on Mauser actions—actually double square bridge
Mausers, the most desirable, with the
front square bridge rounded off for the
distinctive Rigby look, designed for
open sights.
The new owners are going full
bore, as it were, with some exciting
projects. “The team at Rigby in London
is working closely with our partners in
Germany in the development of a new
Magnum Mauser action for use on the
later Rigby dangerous game rifles,”
said Newton. “For 2014, there will be
two ranges of bolt-action rifles made
by Rigby. The first being the London
Best range—barreled actions produced
by Mauser to Rigby’s exact pattern,
just as they did 100 years ago, will be
equipped with iron sights, stocked, engraved, and finished in London. This
will continue to offer the client a complete custom experience when ordering
a Rigby rifle, including custom stock
fitting in the London workshop. “The second model, known as The
Big Game Model, will be designed by
Rigby and built by Mauser to the highest standards at their impressive factory
in Isny, with final finishing completed
in London. Based on two original prewar magnum-action Rigby rifles, of
which only 189 were made, this range of
rifles will incorporate many of the classic
Rigby features. In addition, a number of
features will be added to bring the rifle
into the twenty-first century. The target
The new Big Game Model rifles are configured in two versions: one with a single square
bridge and heavier barrel, the second with a double square bridge for use with a scope.
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