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If Sinner or anyone else wants to invest in the Rigby name, bless them, but let's focus on the real world prospects of making a 'go' of this.

There is more to running a succesful company than investment. Even starting with an encyclopedic knowledge of double rifles, a factor which can safely be assumed from the folks at this forum who would gladly enlist in the cause and, in combined fashion, may really know all that there is to know about quality double rifles, and add to that the ability to judge quality, what then?

Appreciating and understanding fine doubles, and having the money to finance the operation, does not make the operation work. The number of craftsman who can build a double to the true "Rigby" standards is limited. Paul Roberts and his associates? Of course, but he sold the name once, and would he be willing to become involved when he has the Jeffery name 'in house' and can presumably make and sell as many of those as warranted by public demand? If he had excess production capacity his wait time would be quite short. If the demand is not what we Rigby or DR fans here believe it to be, then why would he want to add Rigby and dilute the appeal and cut his own sales?

Hire someone else? Okay, who? There are several craftsmen who would qualify, having apprenticed at Purdey, H&H, etc or working on their own. Why, as they now have a backlog of orders, would they leave their own business?

Okay, hire someone away from an existing British DR builder? Fine, but if they are willing to do so, are they then also going to run the company? Order stock blanks, line up stockers/barrel makers/fitters etc? So, you need to hire a group of specialists and then get someone who understands the manufacturing end to run the business.

But wait, that's not enough. You need someone to get the sales going. Just having this group behind you will not be enough. Sinner will buy his own product. I will no doubt pony up for a new Rigby if it is the the proper standards, and let's say 10 or so others. Then what.

While I don't agree with Sinner in all ascpects of his posting, he correctly observed when he thought I was simply posting stock photos rather than guns that I actually own that there are a lot of 'posers' and 'wanna a bes' who people the Net. For every real DR owner who posts here, there are at least the same number who simply live, shall we say, a rich fantasy life? They may wanna be a Rigby owner, but could not afford the price of entry.

So that leaves you competing for sales in what is a very, very small market. Read DBJ. Besides the 'big' houses (H&H and WR) there are five to ten existing 'names' currently producing or willing to produce DRs. Watson Bros. is back in business in London. Paul Roberts builds under the Jeffery name. C&H, McNaughton, McKay Brown, and so on and so forth, incluing I believe E.J. Churchill build DRs to order. To compete with them is stepping into a relatively crowded market.

And, given the disaster that Miller made of Rigby (despite the efforts of his friend Craig to tout their non-existent virtures) and given the fact that Searcy is already out there as another American DR maker (and let's not get into that debate as to good, bad, indifferent at this point) a new "Rigby" will have an uphill fight.

Then there is the price issue. A true "Rigby" will be priced at or perhaps just below the British DR makers (and if you can figure out a way to do it for less, I'll invest heavily, but I want to see it on paper first) then it is still an up hill slog. If you build down to a price, you run into the established Continental builders such as Thys, Dumolin (sorry, can't spell), and at a lower price, Chapuis, Merkel, Heym, Krieghoff, etc.

I am sorry, I did not mean this to be a downer, but I was involved as counsel in several messes in the firearms industry over the last decade in various iterations, and passed on buying into at least one 'rescue' effort. However, while this is a great dream, and Rigby is a wonderful name, I respectfully submit that we salute Sinner for a great thought and a good heart, and let this great name rest in peace for a bit and honor its memory.

Dave

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Time Wounds All Heels

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