476

Curious about your .470 Rigby with 28" bbls?

A lot of .450's (usually 28's) were re-bored to .470 after the .450 ban came into force, . Some were even re-bored before they left the factory - obviously "work in progress" and as such, the factory records would not neccessarily reveal that they were re-bores.

Rigby wasn't the only maker guilty of doing this, but one has to wonder about the residual strength left in the chamber/barrel walls, since steel technology pre-WW1 was a bit "iffY"?

Do you have a Serial Number range??? Also, What type of top-bolting?? If a sidelock, did it have a the Rigby & Bissell "rising bite"??? Webley Screw Grip or PHV1 if a boxlock? Was there much "taper" in the barrel profile near the breech?? This might shed some light on it's origins.

Could it be that the buyer resistance was more related to the possibility that it might have been a re-bore??