Well, this one is late. As some may know, Gerry Cox made me an old English sporter out of an SMLE, the kind most fine English makers offered in the early 20th century. He did this out of kindness, friendship, and the challenge, in return for a minor favor. I am not only touched– it …
Tag: Rifles
Rigby Returns
The real thing, made in London on the old patents, the old ways. I have owned one once, a “.275”. So did Walter Dalrymple Maitland Bell, who shot many elephants with that “tiny”, actually moderate, caliber. And Jim Corbett (man -eating tigers), and Eleanor O’Connor (mostly edible horned things). They have a stock of older …
Silk Purse?
Unfair– of all the 20th century military bolt action rifles I like the SMLE best, and there is nothing wrong with the .303 British round either– like the 7 mm Mauser and the 6.5 Mannlicher Schoenauer, it punches above its weight, and has taken virtually every big game animal on the planet. But nobody ever …
Bonus Photo
… from John Brandt’s Horned Giants: Father Anderson Bakewell, S.J., my Explorers Club mentor, with .416 Rigby “Rifle for Heavy Game” and bison from Alaska’s Delta River herd, the northernmost “plains”herd today, though not in the Pleistocene…
Mannlicher Schoenauer 1903 6.5 X 54
Thanks to readers, especially Malcolm in Montana, I have just gotten one- a unique one at that, and at a good price. Tools and loads are coming in from him and Steve in Washington, and another rifle was offered by the Atomic Nerds. Sometimes I love the Internet… For non- rifle nerds (or as John …
Second Quote of the Day
I doubt I will ever buy a Purdey but I have always shot beautiful guns, as good as I could wrangle. I have never hesitated to buy fine guns, good books or for that matter art or even good custom shirts. This thoughtful unsigned post from the excellent Mannlicher Schoenauer rifle site gets to the …
NSFW Rifle?
…so first, MaryAnn sends me this pic from her recent safari, of amorous lions…I am of course reminded of this Rigby double rifle with the same “theme” on the plates (click to enlarge; plain vanilla version, slightly used, on sale for a not-ridiculous- these- days $59,500, below it). Jonathan Hanson sent the last words on …
Working Rifles
A .30- 06 on an 03 A3 Springfield action (lower) and a modern Euro- style Czech Mauser .223. Any of you scholars know why the Springfield has a military trigger guard but a blind magazine?
Rigby
The .275 Rigby takes a second elk for Jonathan. No seller’s remorse here. Well, maybe a TINY bit… but if they make us elk shanks a la Chinoise, more or less after Fuchsia Dunlap, I will forget it….
The Elegant “.275”
Locavore Hunter, in a post on teaching new hunters to build their own rifles, has a nice quote on my favorite cartridge, perhaps more commonly called the 7 X 57: “The 7mm Mauser has a fascinating history that I won’t get into just now, but suffice to say that the sort of person who favors …