Never thought I'd ever own one of these!

Being enamoured with Jeffery sporters, I had begun taking out my frustration at the lack of opportunity to acquire a good .275 stalker by building a faithful copy.
A close friend has a couple of lovely examples of Jeffery's Mauser sporters, so I had acquired a correctly-profiled 7mm barrel, and a VZ24 action to kick the project off.

That all went out the window when another friend decided to move his Rigby along, to free up funds (...and space in the gunsafe!) for further acquisitions.

So in due course the little Rigby headed north.

Here's a few pics to add to the archive.
Hope you like the rifle, I know I do!

It has the flattened bolt-handle option, similar to that of the famous Bell/Ruark/Selby rifle.
The stock-wood is pretty nice for a Rigby .275: many I have seen have less figure than the average chair-leg.
Also the pistol-grip stock is a bonus as my personal preference excludes the oft-encountered bag-grip.

This particular rifle was built on a 1908 Oberndorf action, and probably left the Sackville Street premises in 1911.
I have yet to research the original owner.

Apologies for the rubbish pics of the barrel engraving, hard to photograph well.
It was sighted for the High Velocity load, 140gr pointed bullet.

Rigby's patent detachable scope mounts were present, however only the front one remains.
Unfortunately the action has been drilled and tapped for American-style scope bases, and the rear bridge has a few other holes as well (!).
My intention is to make and permanently attach a faithfully-profiled rear square-bridge to completely cover the damage.
The attachment will have the correct square hole for 'proper' detachable scope mounting at some future date.

This little stalking rifle has obviously led a busy life, and it will get little respite in my employ.
Luckily the previous owners have looked after the metal and bore condition is far better than I had a right to expect.
Bright and shiny with sharp rifling and very little wear so no issues expected in the hunting field.
A block of cartridges for load development with 140gr flat-base Sierras is ready and waiting for the next fine afternoon.
I'm sure she won't disappoint!