That's the rifle...

This is a most interesting thread. Thanks to Kent Porter for posting pictures of these rifles.

I first read "Man Eaters of Kumaon" in school more than fifty years ago. I acquired a copy of my own somewhat later. My sister gave me copies of two other Corbett books, "Jungle Lore" and "The Man Eating Leopard of Rudraprayag".

Corbett had the .275 with him while hunting the Rudraprayag leopard, as well as a shotgun and another rifle. It isn't clear from the book which rifle he used to kill the leopard, so if anyone knows another reference source I'd be interested.

Again, thanks to AR and to Kent Porter for a fascinating thread.

Now you're making me want to build a Corbett rifle for myself!

Paul's 275 is a fine conditioned 100% original and definitely marked with a "1" (in some sort of silver finish) on the floor plate. (not paint)

thanks for the input dons,,,,kent i spoke with paul roberts today he affirms what youve said ,but did say that some guns have been marked if it was one or more sold to the same person or if requested ,anyway it just so happens that my guns leaf sights are set for the number 1 175 grain bullet 100,200,300.........it just made sense to me thats why i thought so ....paul

Yep, as we suspected. Easy to determine in the rack if you have more than one variation. The only notation I found in the ledgers was for a 303 HV, numbered...no notations for any .275s, but they typically wouldn't have put that in the ledgers...

wait,let me check my 303 ,,hahah

This thread is a real find. I love those older sporting rifles. Mr. Porter, the rifle your company is building is a beautiful piece. I do hope you will post photos when it is finished.

It's being engraved now. It will be completed and photographed before Christmas. Stay tuned.

,

Lovely.

The engraving is hot off the press, so to speak.

Next custom I commission, I'm going to ask to have it engraved like a Rigby.

thank you kent for bringing us back in time ,,step by step ,,....paul

I thought you might like to see a photo of the original ledger entry where H.M King George VI ordered the rifle for Princess Elizabeth.

Rigby seems to have done a fair amount of business during the war.

I was under the impression that if it didn't help the war effort, it didn't happen at the time.

Although I suppose Lend-Lease was in force at the time, so it wasn't as critical as things were in 1940 and 1941.

Rigby sold roughly 90 sporting rifles made on Mauser actions from 1939 to 1945. I don't know what you mean by "a fair amount of business during the war."

I imagine that most if not all of the 90 guns would have been from existing stock. On the other hand, if the King orders a rifle, you make it.

quote:

Originally posted by John Rigby & Co.:
On the other hand, if the King orders a rifle, you make it.

I loved the "To be ready in about two months." How many custom rifles these days would be ready that fast!

quote:

Originally posted by John Rigby & Co.:
Rigby sold roughly 90 sporting rifles made on Mauser actions from 1939 to 1945. I don't know what you mean by "a fair amount of business during the war."

I imagine that most if not all of the 90 guns would have been from existing stock. On the other hand, if the King orders a rifle, you make it.

What I meant was - taking orders for sporting weapons, instead of being tooled up to produce screws for No 4s or something equally mundane. Lord Beaverbrook might even have had the staff sent off as unit gunsmiths or something.

I suppose we tend to think that everyone spent every moment of the 6 years of WW II thinking of ways to defeat the Axis, but for many, life went on, not the same obviously, but it still went on. People took holidays. I suppose the Glorious 12th still rolled around.

Here are some photos that we took over the weekend at the Dallas Safari Club Convention. I hope you like it.

Beautiful Rifle, Indeed!

Some posts up this thread I asked what kind of trigger is used in this rifle. Is it a re-worked military one or an adjustable commercial one?

Thank you very much!

PH

Very nice.

That is a gorgeous rifle!

First I have to state that I can only judge by the pictures to be seen here.

What I see is not just very nice, beautiful or even gorgeous.

Following the historic Rigby lines is not that bad.
The engraving is well executed and a perfect copy.
But I see a considerable gap between the left sidewall of the action and the stock.
The action looks to me as prefinished with a carding wheel.(Rounded corners , no clean lines).
Have seen much better craftsmenship.

Just my 2 ct´s

heavenknows

I agree with you 100%.
Metal work and engraving are very good. Finishing may be a photography problem.
What really turned me off is the stock, especially the rear tang groove for the cocking piece.
Just my 2 ct's from what I can see in pictures.

James

I am staying out of this.

I have to agree with some of the above. The cocking piece clearance at the back of the action doesn't look like it was ever sanded and the inletting does look loose. Hopefully it's all just something to do with the photography.

I`d lie if I say I wasnt a bit disappointed with how that turned out...

quote:

Originally posted by John Rigby & Co.:

Is the front sling boss handmade in your shop, or do you get them from an outside source?

It's all done in-house.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by J Bennett:
heavenknows

I agree with you 100%.
Metal work and engraving are very good. Finishing may be a photography problem.
What really turned me off is the stock, especially the rear tang groove for the cocking piece.

That groove is there for a very sound reason. While it's popular to grind down the tang to get rid of the groove, you now have the real potential of the cocking piece riding up the R. hand side of the tang and getting a real righteous jam. Cam be mitigated somewhat by creating a "fan shape" for the cocking piece to try snd find it's way into the groove and/ or creating a notch in the rear of the bolt body for the cocking piece to engage... but for 100% relilabilty, the timing of the rotation really demands the groove be there as Paul designed it.

Duane

Again, I also agree with you 100%. In fact I think the fan design is very tastefully done. My complaint was the grooving and unfinished bottom of the fan area.
Again, it may be the photography, but I don't think so.

James

one thing is for sure ,,this gun went together pretty fast and what has been pointed out can be remedied without a big todo and i will say that even some photos that ive put up,of my guns dont look as good as the gun in person ,,,for 25k the gun is going to get picked apart here,,but i still like it better than what rigby put out for the last 40 years ....paul

I agree...a bit rough, but I really meant a "fan" area on the metal part, then blended into the wood....did I read right...$25000.00??? Maybe I can read reading but can't read writing??

Nice rifle and it is a Rigby.....too much money in the world

The photos of the ledger were as interesting as the rifle to me. Some questions popped into my head looking at these again on a slow Friday afternoon at work. I assume the stock on the original rifle was made to fit the princess. Was someone sent to take the measurements or were they already on file? What was the fate of the Colonel in the entry at the top of the page? Most importantly, how can we get someone to publish annotated extracts from the ledgers? I would pay a lot of money to read some the stories about the people and firearms recorded in them.

Glad to see Rigby back playing in the big leagues again.

Dean

I find it interesting that the Rigby company made 50 rifles during the war using Mauser actions, developed and made in Germany, which was at war with Great Britain.

they most likely had them in england already ...paul

quote:

Originally posted by silvertip1:
I find it interesting that the Rigby company made 50 rifles during the war using Mauser actions, developed and made in Germany, which was at war with Great Britain.

As I understand it, Rigby was the agent for Mauser in Britain.