Confession: How a Gang of Old Scribes Got Me a .416 Rigby

I attend about twenty regional gun shows a year, and in agreement with most of the show threads posted here I find there is way too much jerky and jewelry for my taste, mixed in with the crazy-price dreamtags on all the guns.

No matter, though, I’m looking for books.

Since 1992, when I was a sophomore in college, I have been slowly and steadily building a formidable library of arms, hunting, gunsmithing and reloading books. From O’Connor to Keith, Whelen to Skelton, Sharpe to Ackley and everything in between – even a complete set of Gun Digest – my guncrank biblioholic obsessions have been as single-mindedly robust as my shooting, reloading and gun collecting tendencies. One hobby feeds the next in this realm, eh?

During the course of this most engrossing run I have gotten into a serious Africana run of late. It started as an extension of my immersion into Craig Boddington’s books, through which I have found myself seeking out all the classic titles on African hunting.

What a trove! Taylor and Selous and Bell and Hemingway and Ruark and Capstick –these guys lived remarkable lives and we are so fortunate they had the prescience to record their experiences. The world in which they lived and hunted has long followed the sunset, yet living vicariously through their exploits and tales hastens the heartbeat of any red-blooded man of the gun and the hunt.

So I’m wandering the floor at the local show a few weeks back and happen upon a new dealer’s table filled with interesting old stuff. Many guys my age seek only black plastic, Teflon, hi-cap and tacticool, but I’m a geek for walnut, bluing and color-case, old paper, ammo boxes, ephemera and interesting things from an era too quickly fading. Guy had some neat books and good old revolvers, even an old nickeled Quackenbush bicycle gun for driving off marauding hounds while on a Sunday velocipede excursion.

Perusing his rifle rack, I spy what is clearly a new production piece on a giant Mauser action, odd girl in the rack of old wood and worn steel, way too new. Express leaf sights and a fat barrel. I check the tag and the price seems far too low. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?!

“Sir, is there a 1 missing here on this price tag, or maybe even a 2?”

“No, got it in a trade awhile back and just need to move it out. Got a bunch of ammo, too.”

Long story short, the cash quickly came out and I am now enjoying a CZ Safari Rifle with the American style stock in that grand old English chambering from 1911 – the .416 Rigby. I even traded a couple uncirculated certified common-date Morgan dollars for several boxes of Hornady DGS ammo. SMOKING good deal, the kind of serendipitous event that makes guns shows still worth attending.

All the books I’ve read have extolled the virtues of this cartridge on dangerous game, and it was particularly satisfying to read that it was rescued from near obsolescence by Bill Ruger in the late 1980s. Heck, it’s enjoying a renaissance of wildly successful proportions today, as evidenced by all the top-shelf hunting ammo being made for it by the major manufacturers.

While I likely won’t be visiting Africa for a Big Five Safari anytime soon, the rifle is great fun to have in the rack while I’m taking recoil therapy on Sunday mornings at my club. The big 400-gr. solids at 2,400 fps wreak havoc on those big #10 cans of tomato sauce! The sound and the fury draws guys from neighboring benches eager to have a whack with an old African classic.

Thanks to all the great hunting men of letters who had the gumption to go into the Dark Continent and take the time to record their adventures and the details of their guns. It inspired me to this rifle, and I’m having no end of fun.

Aloha,

Nice, don't see guns like that any more.

When visiting my BIL in Virginia, we went to his club's small gun show.

I found a mint Remington Special in 375 H & H for $500 with 2 boxes

of ammo, one box was partly fired. That's all the rounds it shot.

I wanted to buy it but was unsure of the laws about a non resident buying

a firearm in another state. I later found out that at that time I cuold.

The owner, like me never made it to Africa. But, I did get a 375 H & H.

Mr Dash and Mr Yogi,

I congratulate you on having more money than sense. I cannot imagine firing either of your rifles with factory ammo. Beautiful firearms, but very expensive wall ornaments for me.

My Taylor Arms Sharps replica at 11.5 # with a 1,300 FPS bullet is all the gun I'd ever attempt to shoot. It takes old meat a long time to heal bruises. One purple shoulder, one time was enough.

I'm with you guys. I own three "modern" centerfire rifles: .280, .375 and .458 ...and a very similar library.

Ed

5-Shot said:

I'm with you guys. I own three "modern" centerfire rifles: .280, .375 and .458 ...and a very similar library.

Ed

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I am in that club too. Half of my books are about hunting in Africa. I have been fortunate in that I have been to Africa twice. It takes awhile for me to save up to go. The last time was for buffalo. I had traded up a Remington 700 Classic in .375 H&H. A very light weight gun. They only featured one caliber a year. I took it to the range to sight in. When I touched her off paint chips started falling from the ceiling of the range shelter's roof. I didn't notice but the wife said everyone else stopped what they were doing and had the "what the heck is he shooting" look on their faces. I haven't shot it since taking a buffalo and an eland in '08. I need to get it out for the Christmas family shoot. You can keep that .416. From what I hear it kills on one end and cripples on the other.

Well, Dash, you are a little stingy with your pictures, but we can overlook that for the time being.

That was a great post. Always a pleasure to run into an interest and enthusiasm like yours. No matter what we may say along the lines of, "I'm sure our grandfathers felt the same way about the next generation," there was indeed a "golden age" in African hunting, at least as far as I am concerned, and though it is long gone, it is still great fun to read about it. Unfortunately, I don't think even people with the connections and means of Gen. Boddington can really duplicate that experience - but I hope he enjoys what he does.

My best friend who is Sam McCord on here has a 416 in a #1 Ruger. He bought some cast bullets from Montana Bullet Works and loads Trailboss for plinking loads.
Myself personally I prefer 375 H&H.

Thanks for looking! If the weather cooperates I'll get some action shots this weekend.

The rifle weighs a shade over 10 pounds and is not uncomfortable to shoot. I've only shot it standing and kneeling, but it is far less punishing than expected.

I once owned a .460 Weatherby that weighed 9.5 pounds and it was murder to shoot without the brake. Owned it two years and it spent 18 months of that at Weatherby because it kept breaking stocks. Was glad to see it go when it sold!

This is what it looked like in full recoil:

you will like the rigby if you like larger rifles. i had two different ones. first a ruger rsm when they first came out. won't say it was junk,but ruger had it fixing it about as much as i had shooting it. finally gave up on it and got a dakota african in that caliber. nice shooting and not bad on the back end. wouldn't want to shoot it all day,but could shoot it enough to hunt with it and make the shot without flinching. the best idea is the lead bullets and trailboss to start with.

My favored target for my .460 Weatherby (L/H action with Lazermark stock) is one-gallon cans of hominy corn. At about $3.50 per can it's cheaper than the ammo, the kernels rain down nicely after a hit, and it's not wasting food that anyone would ever actually eat.

Dash-

I'm glad that you posted this. I handled a CZ .416 at a store here and was very impressed with the workmanship and balance, especially for the money, under $800, I believe.

I have a whole bookcase devoted just to African and Indian hunting books, and knew Peter Capstick slightly. Very funny man, if a trifle macabre.

Are you going to 'scope that rifle? You'll need a sturdy mount, and I guess a 2X-3X setting on the 'scope. A fixed 3X would be a good idea, if anyone still makes one.

I read a book by a fellow who studied lions in South Africa. He carried a CZ, but I can't recall if it was a .375 or a .416.

One reason why I liked the now-defunct TV show, "The Lost World" was Lord John Roxton's using a .416 Rigby. Not sure his rifle was a real Rigby, and he used several, I think.
One had a safety that suggested that it was made on a P-14 or US M-1917 action or a Remington 30S. I think he had a Sako Safari Grade in a few episodes, too. It pobably varied with what the prop house in Australia had on hand.

One was a plastic or resin replica used when they didn't need to have him shoot in an episode. He dropped it on the floor of a cave once and the sound it made was so plastic that I laughed. They tried to sell it when the show was cancelled, but wanted $600, I think, and I couldn't justify paying that for a plastic or resin prop. If I was richer, I'd have bought it. It did look a lot like a real Rigby. Don't know if the bolt cycled.

BTW, the TV show was much better on guns than the old book by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. He barely knew one end of a gun from the other, and that was evident not only in his Sherlock Holmes books but in, "The Lost World."

Let us know how you like the rifle with continued use. Is the CZ recoil pad a good one? I'm pleased to learn that recoil isn't too grim.

I love your new squirrel rifle Dash! That Rigby round is a fine one from all accounts. I can't say I've ever been near any critters that demanded such power, but I wouldn't mind some range time on something like that!

I do have a Marlin Guide Gun (one of the earlier ones) and some 540 grain solids that run about 1450 fps out of it (tyrannosaurus loads). With the scope it weighs 7 1/2 pounds. That little bugger bites on both ends! The corbon FPPEN loads (400 grain at 1600ish fps) are a pleasure though!

Who won't eat hominy corn? Come on down brother!

medxam

I love heavy rifles.
What? Don't like hominy. I have one word for you. Posole! Mexican pork and hominy stew, delicious.

Great buy, great gun, great cartridge.

Reading Jack O'Connor alone can get you into all sorts of "afflictions", like hunting Coues deer, shooting .270s, 7mm Mausers, .30-06s, and .375 H&Hsssss. And...416 Rigbys.

A few years back the .416 Taylor was the "darling" of the "African Set" if I remember correctly. And reading about its ballistics seemed to insure it to me.

I once bought a Interarms Mark X in .375 H&H. It was their "African Model" with the short forearm and sling swivel on the barrel. First off they used a standard length Mauser action. This caused the empty, or just fired cases to not fully clear the action "recess" and the cases upon ejection would not. They would just fall back into the action. Not a good thing when shooting charging, dangerous game. Or even paper targets. I went to the gunsmith and in spite of my suggestion of opening the ejection port he set up the ejector to spit out the cases sooner. It worked.

I glass bedded it with (yes, I'm not kiddin) a cut off 16 penny nail inside the recoil boss of the stock. A cheap version of a stock through-bolt. Refinished the stock and added a classy, thin, red buttpad. It had the four leaf open sights and I installed a Redfield-Widefield 3X scope with duplex crosshairs.

It would shoot the Hornady 270 grain Spire-Point to within 2 inches for three shots at 100 yards. I was ready for Africa! And Kodiak Bear!

I could shoot 60 rounds off a bench with a sissy pad with no ill effects. Except on the drive home I felt a little "brain-addled".

I got married instead, got into Cowboy Action guns and sold it to an elk hunter.

I confess, I'm into old books but they get you in trouble. Back in the mid 70s I got in the ideal of moving to Africa (even had a job off from Rhodesia but wife put her foot down, Thank God)'

Any way, one of my books was The modern rifle by Jim Carmichel, in which he talked about the 416. He talked about his being made from a M1917 action. Somebody gave me one of them so off came the ears, and the 416 Rigby barrel added.

Back then Rigby was a prosperity round, meaning you could only get ammo from them and a very healthy cost. Not me, I had RCBS make up the dies, I bought my first lathe for the sole purpose of cutting the rim off 460 Wby brass, running it through the Rigby sizing die. Expensive Nosler bullets was all I could find. 100 grs of 4831 and I near dislocated my shoulder. I still have the rifle, don't shoot full loads much. At first I loaded .41 cal pistol bullets and Unique, but like others mentioned Cast bullet and Trailboss make a nice comfortable shooting round

I'm thinking of putting a muzzle brake on my 416, it would be great for these big mean prairie dogs we have around here.

In '74 I bought a new Model 70 in 375, its more reasonable to shoot. I use that one for elk hunting in the evening, figuring there is less chance having to follow blood trails in the dark. I also have a mold for that bullet using 3/8 OD coper tubing, that you put in the mold, pour in the lead and you have a cheap jacked 270 grn bullet. Fairly accurate and you can push it as fast as any other 375 bullet.

I like heavy guns, thank God for Trailboss.

Every see those matches where you carry a full powered African rifle and these plywood cut outs of dangerous game come at you from close range, seen it on TV, I've got to find one of those matches.

kraigwy said:

I confess, I'm into old books but they get you in trouble. Back in the mid 70s I got in the ideal of moving to Africa (even had a job off from Rhodesia but wife put her foot down, Thank God)'

Any way, one of my books was The modern rifle by Jim Carmichel, in which he talked about the 416. He talked about his being made from a M1917 action. Somebody gave me one of them so off came the ears, and the 416 Rigby barrel added.

Back then Rigby was a prosperity round, meaning you could only get ammo from them and a very healthy cost. Not me, I had RCBS make up the dies, I bought my first lathe for the sole purpose of cutting the rim off 460 Wby brass, running it through the Rigby sizing die. Expensive Nosler bullets was all I could find. 100 grs of 4831 and I near dislocated my shoulder. I still have the rifle, don't shoot full loads much. At first I loaded .41 cal pistol bullets and Unique, but like others mentioned Cast bullet and Trailboss make a nice comfortable shooting round

I'm thinking of putting a muzzle brake on my 416, it would be great for these big mean prairie dogs we have around here.

In '74 I bought a new Model 70 in 375, its more reasonable to shoot. I use that one for elk hunting in the evening, figuring there is less chance having to follow blood trails in the dark. I also have a mold for that bullet using 3/8 OD coper tubing, that you put in the mold, pour in the lead and you have a cheap jacked 270 grn bullet. Fairly accurate and you can push it as fast as any other 375 bullet.

I like heavy guns, thank God for Trailboss.

Every see those matches where you carry a full powered African rifle and these plywood cut outs of dangerous game come at you from close range, seen it on TV, I've got to find one of those matches.

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Kraig, you are trying to refer to a "propietary" round, in the British gun trade. But I feel sure that Rigby hoped it would be a "prosperity" one, too.

Jack O'Connor had two .416's built on M-1917 Enfield actions. I think Rigby used some, too, when long Mauser actions weren't available.

Harry Selby's famed .416 was actually made on an opened-up standard M-98 action. I think that practice largely died out after CZ began making suitable actions.

Aren't you concerned that your homemade bullets may come apart in an elk? If you can afford to hunt, you can probably afford a few boxes a year of factory-loaded .375 ammo with Nosler bullets. I think Federal may load those.

Aren't you concerned that your homemade bullets may come apart in an elk? If you can afford to hunt, you can probably afford a few boxes a year of factory-loaded .375 ammo with Nosler bullets. I think Federal may load those.

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Sorry to be misleading. I don't use my "homemade bullets" for hunting. I do handload but four elk hunting I use the 250 Gr Sierra 375 Bullet.

I shot one bullet to kill one elk this year, so hunting bullets are that expensive. But I've probably shot close to 1000 rounds last year out of my 375. I can do that because I have basicly no cost to my bullets. At dern near a dollar a bullet, I saved quite a bit of money, allowing me to shoot more.