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Shooting & Reloading - Mausers, Big Bores and others >> Mauser Forum Photos & Archive
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mehulkamdar
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Don S's beautiful Rigby Mauser 303
      #86411 - 01/10/07 08:31 AM

Don S has offered to send us pictures of his personal Mauser collection. This is the first set of pictures, a Rigby Mauser in 303.





--------------------
The Ark was made by amateurs. Experts built the Titanic.

Mehul Kamdar

Edited by CptCurl (17/01/10 10:13 AM)

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mehulkamdar
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Re: Don S's beautiful Rigby Mauser 303 [Re: mehulkamdar]
      #86412 - 01/10/07 08:37 AM





--------------------
The Ark was made by amateurs. Experts built the Titanic.

Mehul Kamdar

Edited by CptCurl (17/01/10 10:14 AM)

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mehulkamdar
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Re: Don S's beautiful Rigby Mauser 303 [Re: mehulkamdar]
      #86413 - 01/10/07 08:39 AM








--------------------
The Ark was made by amateurs. Experts built the Titanic.

Mehul Kamdar

Edited by CptCurl (17/01/10 10:15 AM)

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mehulkamdar
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Re: Don S's beautiful Rigby Mauser 303 [Re: mehulkamdar]
      #86414 - 01/10/07 08:41 AM




Now, let's wait for Don to give us more details.

Good hunting, everyone!

--------------------
The Ark was made by amateurs. Experts built the Titanic.

Mehul Kamdar

Edited by CptCurl (17/01/10 10:16 AM)

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NitroXAdministrator
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Re: Don S's beautiful Rigby Mauser 303 [Re: mehulkamdar]
      #86424 - 01/10/07 01:44 PM

Lovely sporting .303. Looking forward to hearing more about it.

--------------------
John aka NitroX

...
Govt get out of our lives NOW!
"I love the smell of cordite in the morning."
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dons
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Re: Don S's beautiful Rigby Mauser 303 [Re: mehulkamdar]
      #86431 - 01/10/07 09:41 PM

First of all, I would like to thank Mehul for posting these photos on my behalf. I am a new NE member and have been collecting vintage Mauser Oberndorf Sporters for many years. This rifle is a Rigby built in 1904 using a 1902 Mauser slanted magazine action designed special for Rigby to handle the .303 British flanged military round. It is all original with matching numbers including the stock. Acording to Jon Speed, only 100 of these rifles were ever produced. Looking forward to posting more examples in the future.

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rigbymauser
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Re: Don S's beautiful Rigby Mauser 303 [Re: mehulkamdar]
      #86432 - 01/10/07 11:11 PM

Thanks Don!!!.

Outstanding piece of British gunmakeing history...A real fine sportingrifle.

Please give it a good home....hahaha

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CptCurlAdministrator
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Re: Don S's beautiful Rigby Mauser 303 [Re: rigbymauser]
      #86453 - 02/10/07 10:42 AM

Congratulations on a very fine bolt gun. Thanks for sharing.

Curl

--------------------
RoscoeStephenson.com

YOUR DOUBLE RIFLE IS YOUR BEST FRIEND.



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dale
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Re: Don S's beautiful Rigby Mauser 303 [Re: CptCurl]
      #86463 - 02/10/07 01:18 PM

Thanks for sharing your photos. It's such a pleasure to see guns like this. Really look forward to viewing more.

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mehulkamdar
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Re: Don S's beautiful Rigby Mauser 303 [Re: dons]
      #86467 - 02/10/07 01:30 PM

Don S,

It is a pleasure to post these pictures and if anyone must be thanked, it is you for sharing them with us! A thing of beauty is, indeed, a joy forever, and thanks for sharing these pictures with our group.

I would also request you to tell us about your hunting experiences with your rifles and about the game that you have bagged with them. It would be a rare previlege to bag game with such a beautiful rifle and we would all love to hear about it.

Thank you very much, again, for the pictures and we shall all look forward to hearing from you regularly.

Good hunting!

--------------------
The Ark was made by amateurs. Experts built the Titanic.

Mehul Kamdar

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pjaln
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Re: Don S's beautiful Rigby Mauser 303 [Re: mehulkamdar]
      #86517 - 03/10/07 02:08 PM

hi everyone , i also like rigbys ,i have 3 all are in original condition a 7x57 built in 1906 and cased ,a 303 built around the same time as the one pictured here ,and what i consider just as rare as the 303.an unmolested 400/350 with the step ring magnum mauser action this gun was built in 1908 looks like the one in olsens book. mehul,or anyone else here, if you need to see rigbys in action buy or rent king solomons mines with stewart granger there were 2 400/350 s used in that movie ,i know were one is

BTW none of my rigbys have cocking peep sights ,oh well anyway if i could figure out posting pics i would ...paul

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400NitroExpress
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Re: Don S's beautiful Rigby Mauser 303 [Re: pjaln]
      #86520 - 03/10/07 02:36 PM

Lovely rifle.

I presume that it has British proof marks in addition to the original German? It's amazing how many rifles Rigby retailed were built by others.

--------------------
"Serious rifles have two barrels, everything else just burns gunpowder."

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Anonymous
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Re: Don S's beautiful Rigby Mauser 303 [Re: 400NitroExpress]
      #86561 - 04/10/07 03:35 AM

True, and so many pieces were available in odd European calibres after he aquirred Mauser. He really understood cartridges, perhaps better than anyone of the age.

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mehulkamdar
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Re: Don S's beautiful Rigby Mauser 303 [Re: pjaln]
      #86562 - 04/10/07 03:36 AM

Paul,

I must have watched the original King Solomon's Mines a few dozen times by now. Thanks for reminding me to watch it again!

BTW if you ever need to post pictures of any of your guns, just e-mail them to me. It would be a pleasure to post them here. We have a group of fine people here who would be as happy to view them as I would be.

Do show them off here! Going back to King Solomon's Mines, you would show Deborah Kerr off if she was with you, wouldn't you?

Thanks in advance and good hunting!

--------------------
The Ark was made by amateurs. Experts built the Titanic.

Mehul Kamdar

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empirevr
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Re: Don S's beautiful Rigby Mauser 303 [Re: 400NitroExpress]
      #86576 - 04/10/07 06:11 AM

Quote:

Lovely rifle.

I presume that it has British proof marks in addition to the original German? It's amazing how many rifles Rigby retailed were built by others.



You mean bolt guns?

Dont recall this being the case with doubles....

Ben

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400NitroExpress
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Re: Don S's beautiful Rigby Mauser 303 [Re: empirevr]
      #86581 - 04/10/07 07:17 AM

Quote:



You mean bolt guns?

Dont recall this being the case with doubles....

Ben



Falling block single shots, bolts, doubles...

--------------------
"Serious rifles have two barrels, everything else just burns gunpowder."

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empirevr
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Re: Don S's beautiful Rigby Mauser 303 [Re: 400NitroExpress]
      #86588 - 04/10/07 08:02 AM

-But in that case who made their own guns? none of the makers???

The only two with large factories like that must have been Greener and Scott then...?

How do you tell a real Rigby and one made by another company?

Oh,and does this include best guns though?

Thanks

Ben

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400NitroExpress
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Re: Don S's beautiful Rigby Mauser 303 [Re: empirevr]
      #86591 - 04/10/07 09:57 AM

Quote:

-But in that case who made their own guns? none of the makers???



One more time, Ben. Virtually all of the London makers, as well as many Birmingham and provincial, "bought in" guns from the trade to one degree or another. Some did so only little, some a lot, and some did so exclusively.

Quote:

The only two with large factories like that must have been Greener and Scott then...?



There were a lot of gunmaking factories in Birmingham.

Quote:

How do you tell a real Rigby and one made by another company?



A REAL Rigby? That's absurd. A real one has Rigby's name, address, and serial number on it, and is entered in Rigby's records, just like the one above (which is also real).

REAL? So I suppose that Holland & Holland didn't exist before 1893, when they started building some of their own guns? Did W. J. Jeffery (Jeffery never had a factory) and William Evans never exist (both retailers)?

They all did it, and the guns don't lie. Serial numbers that clearly don't belong to the retailer. Proof marks from places they never would have been had they been built in London. Trade marks that don't belong to the retailer. They're not hard to identify. The suggestion that they're fake is simply ignorant. When a maker bought in a gun from the trade and retailed it under his own name, he was stating that the quality was up to his standards, period. That was all that mattered and still is.

Rigby retailed a lot of guns. Pre-WWII, the falling block single shots, boxlocks, and Mausers were the work of others. Sometimes Rigby stocked and finished them, but many were bought in complete.

Quote:

Oh,and does this include best guns though?



Depends on the maker. Generally speaking though, yes.

--------------------
"Serious rifles have two barrels, everything else just burns gunpowder."

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empirevr
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Re: Don S's beautiful Rigby Mauser 303 [Re: 400NitroExpress]
      #86592 - 04/10/07 10:10 AM

Hmmm, thankyou.

By 'real' i intended whether or not made by the actual maker, though it doesnt really matter a great deal no.

I see you excluded double rifles here; Rigby retailed a lot of guns. Pre-WWII, the falling block single shots, boxlocks, and Mausers were the work of others. Sometimes Rigby stocked and finished them, but many were bought in complete.

-Can the present Rigby company help with identification then?

-if the gun has address on rib, sidelocks, etc etc, is this their own in all probability or another makers?

Thankyou again

Ben

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500Nitro
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Re: Don S's beautiful Rigby Mauser 303 [Re: empirevr]
      #86593 - 04/10/07 10:31 AM

Quote:

Hmmm, thankyou.

-Can the present Rigby company help with identification then?

-if the gun has address on rib, sidelocks, etc etc, is this their own in all probability or another makers?

Thankyou again

Ben




Paul Roberts would be a better source of info than
California Merkel - ooops, sorry, Rigby.


2nd question
Either - I have a Rising Third Bite Rigby (Sidelock)
and a Boxlock Rigby that was made by Webley - as alot of them were.


400
IN YOUR OPINION, did Rigby actually make the Rigby Bissell Rising Third Bite Sidelocks ?
I have forgotten and can't access my books at them moment
but would be iterested in your views anyway.

NTW, I have yet to see a Rigby DR with English proof makrs over the top of say German proof marks. Bound to be out there.

Good comment re Holland and Jeffrey BTW !!!

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pjaln
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Re: Don S's beautiful Rigby Mauser 303 [Re: 500Nitro]
      #86596 - 04/10/07 11:53 AM

some have suggested that rigby may have had the barreled actions completed at oberndorf and sent to england for stocking ,i do believe westley richards built most of there guns in house but woodward ,evans , joe manton ,lancaster purdey put there names on others work ,lets not forget bolt rifles were never considered priority to most of these companies except rigby ...paul

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400NitroExpress
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Re: Don S's beautiful Rigby Mauser 303 [Re: empirevr]
      #86598 - 04/10/07 12:22 PM

Quote:

I see you excluded double rifles here; Rigby retailed a lot of guns. Pre-WWII, the falling block single shots, boxlocks, and Mausers were the work of others. Sometimes Rigby stocked and finished them, but many were bought in complete.



No, I didn't exclude double rifles at all.

Quote:

-Can the present Rigby company help with identification then?



They don't appear to be able or willing to help with historical data. Nor is that particular data likely to be found in surviving records. It wasn't information that the gunmakers wanted the public to have, so most didn't put it in their "day" books - which is what most commonly survives.

Quote:

-if the gun has address on rib, sidelocks, etc etc, is this their own in all probability or another makers?



No, that means nothing with respect to whether they made it themselves, or retailed it. I told you how to tell most of the time in my previous post. You have to learn to READ what's on the gun. Also, if you haven't learned British proof marks yet, you're wasting your time.

--------------------
"Serious rifles have two barrels, everything else just burns gunpowder."

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400NitroExpress
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Re: Don S's beautiful Rigby Mauser 303 [Re: 500Nitro]
      #86599 - 04/10/07 12:33 PM

Nigel:

With regard to the rising bites, I don't have an opinion. After the Bissell was abandoned though, the later sidelock rifles were clearly Webley & Brain fasteners. I haven't taken any notes on their marks yet though.

Virtually all of their boxlock rifles were bought in. Most were Webleys, but other trade makers were used. I see one from Osborne on the market now, and saw one from Wilkes a while back. A friend and I are looking over a Rigby boxlock .303 right now. I'm stumped. Looks a lot like Wilkes, but isn't.

No, I've never seen a Rigby double with German proof marks. Lots of bolt rifles though. I've seen a few Manton DRs with German marks. There's one at Cabela's right now.

--------------------
"Serious rifles have two barrels, everything else just burns gunpowder."

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empirevr
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Re: Don S's beautiful Rigby Mauser 303 [Re: 400NitroExpress]
      #86615 - 04/10/07 10:11 PM

Guys, thanks-Nigel i hear you there, I did wonder about the US Rigby.....

Double im talking of is an early one, 1870's early on, hammer gun. John Rigby Dublin and London on rib, and John Rigby n co sidelocks.Best gun with endless engraving etc etc.

-OK well.......this gun is mine. Wanted to make a special announcement, but might as well break the news now.

'finally' i hear them cry.

Ben

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Classic416
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Re: Don S's beautiful Rigby Mauser 303 [Re: 400NitroExpress]
      #86658 - 05/10/07 10:46 PM

What a beautiful, classic rifle. I understand that the knowledge you all have on the Rigbys takes a long time to aquire and it isn't gotten from just one source; but can anyone recommend any books on Rigby (post 1890's) I have searched everywhere on the internet and can't find anything. Have any been written? Thanks, Ted

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