http://www.africanhuntinggazette.com 107Rifles in Africa
Rigby Rising Bite Shotgun.Rigby Rising Bite Shotgun.Pitt,andthefirst
model Holland
& Holland ‘Royal’.
The dipped-edge plates
oftheRigbyservenoparticular
purpose,buttheyarea recognisablehouse
stylewhichRigbydecidedto resurrectfor
thenewgun.
Available in early2019, the newRigby
RisingBiteshotgunis pricedfrom£79,000
(excl.VAT)andisbuiltinLondon atthe
Pensbury Place factory, where Rigby’s
craftsmen and management operate side-
by-side.
With dipped-edge lock plates, Rigby
scroll engraving and the vertical-bolt
action, itis immediately identifiable as a
Rigby.The newRigbyoffers a distinctive
alternativeto thediscerning game shot at
a price significantly lower than its main
competition.
The confidence the Rigby team has
in itself anditsproduct isevident in the
decisionnotto builda copyofa Holland
& Holland ‘Royal’, which has become
the generic style for most British makers
overthelast 50 years,butto makea very
distinctive,verydifferentshotgun.
Thereasoninggoesrighttotheheartof
Rigby’s21stcenturysuccess.MarcNewton
toldmethathisexperiencewiththebuyers
ofRigbyrifleswasthattheywantedclassic
designs,asclosetotheoriginalsaspossible
infeel,lookandstyle.Moderninnovations
were not seen as desirable, unless
incorporated almost invisibly into the
design.If youwanta high-techmodernrifle
ina cardboardbox,youcanbuyone;but
not from Rigby. Rigby provide tradition,
qualityandclassicrifle-building.Fortheir
shotguns, the same strategy is evident. If
you buy Rigby, you want different, you
wantdistinctive.
Ofcourse,thestylisticquirksonlysucceed
if the product is flawless. Hand-built
in London to the finest traditions
of the London gun trade, with
chopper-lump steel barrels,
the best Turkish walnut
stocks and engraved
withthehousestyle
ofRigbyscrolls,
thestandardgunis a bespokeproduct,with
everythingmadeexpresslyforthecustomer.
Modern production methods have
been employed to produce the machined
components. This is the way all shotgun
productionis going.SparkerosionandCNC
machineryimproveseveryyear,andwehave
nowreacheda levelof sophisticationthat
means, for practical purposes, a working
guncanbemadeentirelybymachine.
Thebestgunsaremadetofine tolerances
and then hand-finished at the final stage
of fitting to achieve the traditional levels
of perfection in every moving part and
chainofmechanicalinteraction.Engraving,
stockingandbarrel-makingareunchanged,
beingcarriedoutentirely at thebenchin
thetraditionalmanner.Finishingistothe
bestLondonstandards.
Evenwiththeuseofmodernmachinery,
thecreationofa best-qualityshotgunisa
time-consuming process and, therefore,
expensive.Rigby’snewgunis notcheap,
but it is competitive and sits at a
price point significantly lower
than its London rivals. Rigby
has proved already that it
is a reliable producer
of quality rifles,
and many who
doubtedthe
ability
ofayoung
team to
take on the trade’s
top names and compete
successfully in a small and difficult
market, are now ‘eating crow’, as my
Americanfriendsliketosay.
It istypicallybrave andimpressivethat
thefirstshotguntoemergefromPensbury
Placeis sucha classicformandsoclearlya
Rigby.Rigby’smanagementbroketherules
beforewiththeirrifle-buildingstrategy,and
succeeded.Theyhavedoneit again,andI
wouldn’tbetagainst thembeinga winner
thistimeeither.FormoreinformationonRigby’s
newRisingBiteshotgun,visit:
http://www.johnrigbyandco.com.