I found a real SLEEPER - unidentified 416 Rigby - real cheap

Hello All,

As you have seen, lately my interests have shifted to Big Bore rifles. I found this one on an on-line auction while I was searching. Its really neat when you discover one where the seller has no clue what he has.

Here is how it was described in the original auction listing.

The description also included a lot of the other usual info about: good bore, good wood, etc., etc.

Well, I never heard of a "Full" Magnum Length Interarms, and when I searched the Net trying to find examples of one, I was stumped. Here are the pictures that were listed in the auction.

After much searching and comparing the shape of this action, to pictures of various Interarms Actions that I located on line, I was sure this was NOT an Interarms Action. The only thing I could see that remotely resembled Interarms, was the sliding safety.

Well, I had a 'hunch' what this was. Could it be? I watched this rifle for the full 14 days of the Auction. That was a very, very long 2 weeks. And, in the last minutes of the Auction, I placed my bids. After a couple of back-and-forth bids, I was the winner! - $720 - My total cost ... $755 delivered to Wisconsin. It was 2 days before Christmas, so this was a Christmas present from myself - to myself. Perhaps the close-Christmas timing kept the other would-be-bidders too busy to find this treasure.

Here is what I found when it arrived home ...

A very nice Magnum Length BREVEX Mauser action - you can barely see the "M400" model marking and the "/92" serial number stamp. It looks like these were partially removed during the final "squaring of the action bottom and the finishing process during the rifle's build.

and .... with a SAKO trigger..... This explains the sliding side safety that looks similar to the Interarms safety.

and ..... a LES BAUSKA barrel..... This was also a surprise. Les Bauska was a famed barrel maker and worked with Buhmiller during the 50's and 60's ... likely when this rifle was built. He was known for his superb Octagon Barrels.

I topped the rifle with a compact 2x-7x Burris Scope, which brought the shooting weight to just a tad over 11 pounds. The perfect weight for a 416 Rigby.

Lots of people ask me how I find so many rare collectibles. And some people call me Lucky - they are wrong. I credit my findings to a bladder problem. As I age, I find myself getting up several times a night - to pee. Before I go back to bed, I do a little WEB Surfing. The search engines run pretty fast at 2 o'clock in the morning. All the reading makes me sleepy, and I go back to bed until the next urge wakes me. And that's how I found this one.

Thank Goodness for a small bladder.