African Outfitter is an independent international bimonthly publication promoting
fair hunting and ethical business practices within the hunting industry.
From a hunting perspective, the preservation of biodiversity on the
African continent is the first and foremost priority. The emphasis
is however also on the sustainable utilisation of wildlife.
The magnificent .416 Rigby - Tony Sánchez-Ariño
Very shortly after this experience I got my first .416 Rigby rifle, a gun that, as time went by, became like an extension of my right arm, at all times giving me the highest degree of satisfaction. Proof of this lies in the fact that, in spite of having shot with my .416 Rigby 483 elephants, 854 buffalo, 193 lions and 77 black rhinos, I never experienced a problem and never got a single scratch when facing dangerous game, which speaks for itself about the excellent ballistics of this superb African calibre.
What I'll try to explain in this article about the .416 Rigby is based on 98% personal, practical experience and maybe 2% theory, as opposed to many writings that I have read by ‘arm-chair ballistic experts' pretending in a dogmatic way to present facts that are backed by very little field experience.
A curious thing that nobody mentions is the fact that the .416 Rigby was inspired by the .425 Westley Richards, introduced in 1909 to the African gun market as the second big game magazine rifle developed for use against dangerous animals. The first was the .404 Jeffery in 1906. All of them had the very reliable M98 Mauser action. Up till then nearly all the big-bore rifles had been based on the traditional double-barrel system.
Realising the excellent potential of the new .425 Westley Richards, and also with a view to future big game hunting in Africa, Rigby designed a new cartridge, a copy of the .425 but using a bigger case and smaller bore – the .416 Rigby. All the ballistic details were exactly the same: bullet of 410 grains, muzzle velocity of 2 350 feet per second and energy of 5 010 ft/lb but with a larger case, providing an important chamber pressure reduction, which is so important when hunting in tropical and hot countries. As soon as the .425 Westley Richards had come out in 1909, John Rigby started to work on his new cartridge. Performing all the necessary field tests during 1911, he could finally announce it to the world in 1912.
In 1912, the very first two rifles manufactured in the new .416 Rigby, both fitted with the long action Mauser Magnum Obendorf, were sent to South Africa, one for Colonel R W Schumaker and the other for Colonel Sir A Woods Simpson. As a matter of interest, between 1912 and 1940 only 189 .416 Rigby rifles were produced, all of them equipped with the Mauser Magnum action. Any of these rifles, which have somehow remained in a good condition to the present day, are worth a lot of money due to their scarcity and also because they are very much sought after by the collectors. After so many years, with two world wars, hunters who were careless with their guns, African countries attaining independence in a traumatic ways, etc, most of these rifles have been damaged or destroyed.
The magnificent Mauser M98 action was introduced...
(This article has been abbreviated. Read the full article in African Outfitter, Vol 3/2, February / March 2008)
