450 Rigby and whether to scope or not?

[Bowhunter806]

Sorry if this has been discussed, but I am not finding any threads discussing this. I am looking for some insights for those who have a 450 Rigby and running an LPO on it. It the recoil enough that you will have to worry about scope eye or worse, or is it manageable enough that this is not as bad a the 460 Weatherby, so you can run a scope, and not have to worry. I have a 450 getting built, and needing to make a decision on what optic, red dot to run, or stay with iron sights. Recoil is not something I get to worked up over generally once I take time with the rifle. Any insights would be greatly appreciated.

 

[375Fox]

I put a trijicon RMR on mine. I wouldn’t put a scope on mine. The recoil is too severe and I think it would be a matter of time before getting scoped. What will the weight of your rifle be?

 

[PCC600]

My 450 Rigby is not scoped . A single square bridge magnum . Shoots like a dream . I do not notice recoil . The one thing I did was to put a 3 point diamond on front sight . It cost me $90 for the diamond plus some glue . Now have a bright front sight even in poor light conditions . It stands out really well against dark hides . A fantastic cartridge .

 

[baxterb]

I’ve seen a really lovely Echols 450 on an FZH with a peep. Others with RMRs. Either seem like the right way to go.

 

[baxterb]

I put a trijicon RMR on mine. I wouldn’t put a scope on mine. The recoil is too severe and I think it would be a matter of time before getting scoped. What will the weight of your rifle be?

Can I ask which base you are using? Weaver?

 

[375Fox]

Can I ask which base you are using? Weaver?

It came with a base from trijicon

 

[skydiver386]

I had the same decision to make for my 450 Rigby build. Mine should feel like an Olympic barbell in its final configuration, so recoil won't be as big of a factor as it would be with a light rifle. Anything with a large field of view and 4 inches of eye relief should work.

My two choices were the Leupold VX5HD 1-5x24, or the Swarovski z8I+ .75-6x20. I haven't shot the rifle yet, as it's still under construction.

Phillip Glass twisted my arm so hard I cried Uncle, and went with the Swarovski.

 

[matt85]

I put a trijicon RMR on mine.

This.

 

[cperso]

I run a Leica Amplus 6 1-6 x24i on mine

 

[Bowandarrowman]

Lovely rifles.
As others have said, I'd be inclined to leave them as they are.
But use them! Definitely use them!

 

[rookhawk]

Sorry if this has been discussed, but I am not finding any threads discussing this. I am looking for some insights for those who have a 450 Rigby and running an LPO on it. It the recoil enough that you will have to worry about scope eye or worse, or is it manageable enough that this is not as bad a the 460 Weatherby, so you can run a scope, and not have to worry. I have a 450 getting built, and needing to make a decision on what optic, red dot to run, or stay with iron sights. Recoil is not something I get to worked up over generally once I take time with the rifle. Any insights would be greatly appreciated.

I would use an RMR if you want to manage costs and tolerate it as a dangerous game rifle only. If you want to go with an optic, you're going to need a holy grail find: A swarovski z6i 1-6x24mm EE. The EE is no longer made, but has nearly 5" of eye relief and eliminates all risk of a "weatherby kiss" from the optic.

 

[Piet-Vis]

I prefer a red dot, I dont see the need to put a scope on a rifle that is designed to shoot at distances less than 50 meters. With my Aimpoint I can shoot accurately up to 100m.

 

[rookhawk]

I prefer a red dot, I dont see the need to put a scope on a rifle that is designed to shoot at distances less than 50 meters. With my Aimpoint I can shoot accurately up to 100m.

Its true, but these modern large bores are astoundingly accurate. With an optic, taking a 225 yard shot on Eland or Kudu is completely feasible if that is desired.

 

[Piet-Vis]

Its true, but these modern large bores are astoundingly accurate. With an optic, taking a 225 yard shot on Eland or Kudu is completely feasible if that is desired.

That's true, but what about the pleasures of building another rifle just for that purpose?
When I take my big stick out for a walk I do it with the express purpose of hunting something large and dangerous to be shot at short range. When I'm out hunting for a Kudu I carry something appropriate for the job.
Scopes are in my opinion not for DG hunting. I shot my first ele with a scope (a nice little leupold), but removed it immediately afterwards and chose the irons for the next day's hunting. I want something really uncomplicated in my hands when the adrenaline takes hold.

 

[grand veneur]

Sorry if this has been discussed, but I am not finding any threads discussing this. I am looking for some insights for those who have a 450 Rigby and running an LPO on it. It the recoil enough that you will have to worry about scope eye or worse, or is it manageable enough that this is not as bad a the 460 Weatherby, so you can run a scope, and not have to worry. I have a 450 getting built, and needing to make a decision on what optic, red dot to run, or stay with iron sights. Recoil is not something I get to worked up over generally once I take time with the rifle. Any insights would be greatly appreciated.

I never shot with a rifle caliber 450 Rigby, but I hunt in Africa for 30 years with a rifle caliber 460 Weatherby Magnum. This rifle has a scope mounted and this helped me often to shoot big game under not always optimal conditions. The cartridge 450 Rigby can also be counted among the high-performance cartridges caliber .458, so I would mount a scope on the rifle in all cases. One can also use the scope to shoot other game species at longer range.

Which scope is up to everyone, but rifles of this caliber are more intended for big game hunting so that scopes with low minimum magnification are recommended. Imho, scopes with magnifications 1-4x seem to be the most optimal. Moreover, not all bigger and heavier scopes can tolerate in long term the stronger recoil of such rifles.

By the way, I also have a scope mounted on my rifle caliber 500 Schüler and shot elephants with it, which does not caused any particular problems.

 

[cperso]

I find a scope on 1X with illuminated dot for close DG is good for me, especially with ageing eyes, open sights were great when I was younger.

 

[hoytcanon]

My aging eyesight requires a scope... there are many options for long eye relief LPVO's that can very much extend the usability and accuracy of your big bore rifles. I prefer those with an illuminated reticle of some sort, just not too cluttered. Set the scope forward and take FULL advantage of the extended eye relief... if you still scope yourself, you have essentially completely lost control of the rifle... that's unnecessary and entirely on you, not on the rifles recoil... practice with your chosen rifle and load, you will be fine. As a previous poster mentioned, 200+ yard shots are not out of the question when properly set up AND practiced.

 

[TTundra]

My 460 Wby. has a Leupold 2x in the forward position. While I like the benefits of the 2X and the forward mounting, I found that a red dot would be more optimal for me with this DG rifle most of the time.
I'm having a machine shop mill and install a rail section to mount a SRO on it now between the scope bases. This will allow me to run either my scope or a SRO in QD base at the same reticle height. I simply wanted with options to remain, either magnified optic or red dot.

 

[grand veneur]

The scope 1,5-4,5x18 from Zeiss is one of the rare older classic European scopes with a long eye relief. It is perfect for rifles with strong recoil. I never had a problem with it.

 

[Luederitz]

Swarovski 1,25-4x24 on my Mauser 66 in 450 Rigby.
Good combination…