The Winchester web site shows the Model 70 Custom African Express in 416 Rigby. How long has this existed? Anyone own one?

I would also like to know why it costs $665 less than the same rifle in 375 H&H.

I talked to the Winchester Custom Shop folks at the SHOT Show about chambering for the Rigby and they said they are not chambering the Rigby it is an error on the website. I assume they know what they are talking about.

At the SCI Convention in Reno three years ago, the Custom shop had a prototype in 416 Rigby. According to the gent who was manning the booth at the time, Winchester had not made their mind up yet whether to offer the chambering. jorge

And remember that the winchester Custom shop announced for 2004 their rifle in .404 Jeffery? They scratched that idea too, apparently.

I thought I heard that the Winchester Custom Shop had offered .416 Rigby in the past, but had problems pulling it off so discontinued it, several years ago.

Strange goings on here. Imagineering?

Does it weaken the M70 too much to under cut it to lengthen by the exra ~0.2"?

I wouldn't make any bets that any will ever be produced!!!

BTW I saw a M-70 in .300 RUM yesterday......a perfect start for a .404 Jeffery.....and I didn't know thay actually existed either.....

Just add the right barrel and presto.....a .404 or if you wish a .375 UM.....

quote:

Originally posted by vapodog:
I wouldn't make any bets that any will ever be produced!!!

BTW I saw a M-70 in .300 RUM yesterday......a perfect start for a .404 Jeffery.....and I didn't know thay actually existed either.....

Just add the right barrel and presto.....a .404 or if you wish a .375 UM.....

Geeze, man, you ain't been paying attention to lessons in school here!

fredj338, RIP, Gringo Cazador, lawndart, and others have been talking AND walking that idea for a good while here.

The 300 RUM Winchester M70 does indeed make a good .404 Jeffery.

I have one turned into .404 Jeffery with a McGowen 10" twist, AND one turned into a .416 Dakota with a Douglas 12" twist.

WHERE YA BEEN!!!

I called Winchester yesterday about this as I too noticed the website. And as reported, shop foreman said it was an error. Said the action isn't big enough. Jim Brockman also said about the same thing when i e-mailed him earlier this week. Was hoping it could be done... _Baxter

Baxter,
Holland and Holland and Rigby both made 416 Rigbys on the model 98 std. length action..I can build a 416 Rigby on a pre 64 action..albiet perhaps its not ideal but it can be done..my man in Zimbabwe has a Rigby 416 on a std. action and its a dandy.Guess it depends on who the smith is....

RIP,

The 375 was done on the Pre 64 and the current M70 is close to .3" longer than a Pre 64.

With the one piece floor plate and the middle screw area gone length would be no problem.

In fact recent 375s (well at least a couple of years ago) have the bolt stop short enough that the bolt uncovers the middle screw and there is like a little ramp between the bolt and start of the mmagazine box. Also the 7mm Mags have (or had)the old 375 bolt stop where the bolt stops right at the rear of the box and the spacer tapers up at the top to back wall of the magazine.

An Australian posted on NitroX' site that he contacted Winchester Australia and they quoted a 2 year wait and for him to place his order for a 416 Rigby through one of the gunshops.

You would think if they look at these forums and see all the 416 CZs being bought they would think about bringing one out in their standard blued/walnut rifle.

But then again, Remington Senderos were aplenty on this forum and lots and lots of them on 24HourCampfire and Remington has discontunued the Senderos. So perhaps these forums have almost zero relationship to the general gun buying public.

Mike

I personally think think in the real world the 416 market is very small. Just look at Hornady, Speer, Sierra and Nosler and the lack of bullets.

Although probably a bit of a catch 22 situation there, no bullets so little gun buying.

The fellow that runs the custom shop in Wby was telling me that as far as they can tell the 416 Wby is almost exclusively bought by people who are going big game hunting and the 416 sells far more factory ammo in relation to the number of rifles sold as compared to the 378 and 460. But in terms if rifles sales it is all 378 and 460.

When you see a shipment of Hornadys arrive in Australia to the company that imports them, then if only 1% of those bullets were destined for big game then all buffalo in Australia and Africa would have become extinct.

My guess would be that with the bigger calibres the 338 Winchester is the one that has by far the highest percentage of buyers that will and do use it for bigger game.

I reckon 99% of from 375 to 585 Nytati are for talking pieces, rock shooting, kangaroo and pig shooting, woodchuck and deer shooting.

Mike

To Vapodog: If you are not going to buy the model 70 300 Rum, I am very interested in trying to buy it. Would you be willing to pass the info on to me if you aren't buying it. Thanks , Longshots 907- 7460601 Alaska time,that's 2 hours earlier than mountain time.

someday I will get mine finished, bld action is ready and feeds. Just got to get the stock finished.

It's hard for me to imagine that a riflemaker like Winchester would make this "mistake" on their web site. Maybe the marketing boys are testing the waters to see how many nibbles they get. They certainly didn't check with the gentlement in the Custom Shop about feasibility if what some of you are saying is true.

Wink,

One would think there would be enough saless just from Winchester collectors.

I have quite a bit contact with Wby and their Custom Shop and when they bring out calibres like 338/06, 375 H&H and 458 Lott, in other words calibres that highly unlikely to be much of a seller for Wby, they cover themselves with collectors.

I did read sometime ago that they had made 5 of them. Collectors aside the market would be small becaause of the cheap CZ and Ruger bolt action and Ruger Number 1 and I imagine the blokes who would be spending money would be heading in the direction of the Magnum Mausers or perhaps customised up CZ/BRNO as they have the general Magnum Mauser thing about them.

Winchesters custom shop seems very different to what it was many years ago and the same goes for Remington (I think). I think it is only Weatherby these days of the bigger gun makers.

Mike

Mike

Al Biesen made one for me. Works and looks great.

There is a very reputable rifle maker that has been making and selling 416 Rigby's on Classic Winchester actions for many years and has had zero problems. He buys Blackburn Bottom metal and goes to town. Feeds like butter and extracts and ejects like a catapult. Nothing could be finer.

RIP,
I recall that the 416 Rigby was listed in the custom shop catalogue in 1998 or 1999. I will check my back issues and see if I can find the stock number. I have never seen a 70 so chambered from the factory.

quote:

Originally posted by buckeyeshooter:
RIP,
I recall that the 416 Rigby was listed in the custom shop catalogue in 1998 or 1999. I will check my back issues and see if I can find the stock number. I have never seen a 70 so chambered from the factory.

Buckeyeshooter,
Thanks for that specific. Sounds right. Let us know if you pin it down.

And to everybody else, buy a donkey to you too, as Elvis would say when in RSA.

I never measured it all out on the action, nor have I seen a .416 Rigby M70 in the flesh.

Harry Selby's famous .416 Rigby was indeed on the Standard length M98 Mauser, not a Magnum Mauser.

But geeze, nobody ever said it was a GREAT idea! So things hang together O.K. for the 40,000 psi cartridge, I reckon.

quote:

There is a very reputable rifle maker that has been making and selling 416 Rigby's on Classic Winchester actions for many years and has had zero problems. He buys Blackburn Bottom metal and goes to town. Feeds like butter and extracts and ejects like a catapult. Nothing could be finer.

Who is it? I would love to look at some of his work. Thanks,
lawndart

Here is a thread from HuntAmerica with an Austalian who has ordered the 416 Rigby from inchester and apparently spoken to the custom shop

http://www.huntamerica.com/wwwthreads/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=634016&an=0&page=0&gonew=1#UNREAD

quote:

Originally posted by lawndart:

quote:

There is a very reputable rifle maker that has been making and selling 416 Rigby's on Classic Winchester actions for many years and has had zero problems. He buys Blackburn Bottom metal and goes to town. Feeds like butter and extracts and ejects like a catapult. Nothing could be finer.

Who is it? I would love to look at some of his work. Thanks,
lawndart

Please send me a PM on this.