What do you think of the new Rigby Shikari?

[KJE81]

That is true, but neither is the Shikari London Best. The Rigby workshop is tiny, I am sure that these doubles will be built in a factory somewhere else, I think I read that they said as much. And if the order numbers they talk about are to be fulfilled in the anticipated time I am certain that CNC will be heavily employed. Which is pretty much what Heym do.

Maybe they will do it like their bolt action rifles, IE buy barreled systems from someone else and do stocking and finishing in England then?

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

Maybe they will do it like their bolt action rifles, IE buy barreled systems from someone else and do stocking and finishing in England then?

Jerome told me when I spoke to him in Pretoria that it will all be made in the UK. The UK has many engineering shops that could make the actions for Rigby if that is their plan. But whether it will be a out-house job or Rigby will own the manufacturing facility itself I don’t know. Does anyone have this information?

 

[PCC600]

Jerome told me when I spoke to him in Pretoria that it will all be made in the UK. The UK has many engineering shops that could make the actions for Rigby if that is their plan. But whether it will be an out-house job or Rigby will own the manufacturing facility itself I don’t know. Does anyone have this information?

I have no idea who they will use for component supply - but it sounds exactly like the business model used by all the English gunmakers for the last 2 hundred years . They all used and still use skilled out workers . Very few ever made the lock, stick and barrel .

 

[WAB]

I have no idea who they will use for component supply - but it sounds exactly like the business model used by all the English gunmakers for the last 2 hundred years . They all used and still use skilled out workers . Very few ever made the lock, stick and barrel .

The actioners are the problem. I don’t think that they could source this work in London. I’d look to a few obvious suspects in the midlands as the most likely source.

 

[Rare Breed]

Try this one

The return of a legend: Rigby unveils the new Shikari rifle - John Rigby & Co.

London gunmaker John Rigby & Co. is thrilled to announce the latest, long-awaited addition to its renownedLearn more

www.johnrigbyandco.com

Wow!!! Beautiful gun!!!

 

[Jim Golden]

That's one pretty rifle!

 

[PCC600]

The actioners are the problem. I don’t think that they could source this work in London. I’d look to a few obvious suspects in the midlands as the most likely source.

Yes they are few and far between .

 

[SWS1]

Yes they are few and far between .

I was under the impression that there was only one or two people in the UK who could regulate a double above .500.

 

[PCC600]

I was under the impression that there was only one or two people in the UK who could regulate a double above .500.

Yes the only guy who comes to my mind is Keith Thomas . I had major dramas with a 500 of mine which I had made in the UK. Once I had it here in OZ I realised there was a problem . Graeme Wright made a gig and did a brilliant job regulating it for me . I wish Keith Thomas had been available originally.

 

[SWS1]

Yes the only guy who comes to my mind is Keith Thomas . I had major dramas with a 500 of mine which I had made in the UK. Once I had it here in OZ I realised there was a problem . Graeme Wright made a gig and did a brilliant job regulating it for me . I wish Keith Thomas had been available originally.

Yes that’s who I was thinking of too.
He has a stellar reputation

 

[VertigoBE]

I find the shikari very good looking, even favourable to their side lock.

I’m no fan of the forearm lever they used however. A button or a flush latch I would have preferred.

 

[Major Bonkers]

The scuttlebutt has been that Rigby's (non-Mauser) actions are fabricated by Mayfair Engineering, a specialist English gun trade CAD-CAM fabricator. They used to have a website - http://www.mayfairengineering.com/ - but it has mysteriously gone off-line.

The forend latch on the Shikari rifle is technically referred to as a Hervey lever, and is a bit of a Rigby design feature. I actually prefer it, as I think that it secures the forend tighter to the barrels than the alternatives - the Deeley and Edge (catch type) or Anson (push button) type. (Although I dare say that after you put enough rounds down the tube, anything will work its way loose.) You can read about the Deeley and Anson types on the Explora blog here.

In answer to Hunter-Habib, William Evans were hawking around a .470 action in the white a couple of years ago: they were most upset when I did not buy it!

 

[VertigoBE]

The scuttlebutt has been that Rigby's (non-Mauser) actions are fabricated by Mayfair Engineering, a specialist English gun trade CAD-CAM fabricator. They used to have a website - http://www.mayfairengineering.com/ - but it has mysteriously gone off-line.

The forend latch on the Shikari rifle is technically referred to as a Hervey lever, and is a bit of a Rigby design feature. I actually prefer it, as I think that it secures the forend tighter to the barrels than the alternatives - the Deeley and Edge (catch type) or Anson (push button) type. (Although I dare say that after you put enough rounds down the tube, anything will work its way loose.) You can read about the Deeley and Anson types on the Explora blog here.

Thanks @Major Bonkers for the explanation. To be honest I’ve never seen a strong correlation either way between the different fore end latches/buttons/etc types and the looseness/tightness to the barrels.

 

[Houston Bill]

I have had the pleasure of shooting the Shikari prototype in 500NE. It is a very, very nice double, very well balanced and the kick was very manageable for a 500NE, probably due to the weight of the rifle (about 11 lbs) and the stock design. I think it is a great move by Rigby and they have already sold a lot of the rifles. And now that they are marketing them they will sell many more. For those that have always wanted a brand new and fitted to them British double rifle the Shikari is at a price point that will have many taking the plunge

 

[lockingblock]

Overpriced for what you are getting.....

I hate to say it, but this is correct. The British guns are just overpriced for this day and age. It’s not 1910…they are building rifles on CNC actions, CNC barrels, assembled with CNC made sights and parts…into a stock inletted with a CNC mill…while charging huge money and pretending that a master craftsman mined the iron ore to forge the bolt himself.

It’s not a bad thing, to machine make a rifle…to the contrary, it’s great…but it should be priced as such.

 

[WAB]

I hate to say it, but this is correct. The British guns are just overpriced for this day and age. It’s not 1910…they are building rifles on CNC actions, CNC barrels, assembled with CNC made sights and parts…into a stock inletted with a CNC mill…while charging huge money and pretending that a master craftsman mined the iron ore to forge the bolt himself.

It’s not a bad thing, to machine make a rifle…to the contrary, it’s great…but it should be priced as such.

The price is too high only if the product doesn’t sell. The market seems to be telling Rigby they nailed it.

 

[Red Leg]

I hate to say it, but this is correct. The British guns are just overpriced for this day and age. It’s not 1910…they are building rifles on CNC actions, CNC barrels, assembled with CNC made sights and parts…into a stock inletted with a CNC mill…while charging huge money and pretending that a master craftsman mined the iron ore to forge the bolt himself.

It’s not a bad thing, to machine make a rifle…to the contrary, it’s great…but it should be priced as such.

Simple. Then do not buy it. However, they have a ready market at their price. Amazingly, it is among a lot of people who know a lot about firearms. My .275 was "worth" every penny.

 

[Aussie_Hunter]

Simple. Then do not buy it. However, they have a ready market at their price. Amazingly, it is among a lot of people who know a lot about firearms. My .275 was "worth" every penny.

Love my Rigby's, worth every penny to me as well!

 

[Tokoloshe Safaris]

A simple question is the Shikari a better, stronger & more reliable than the 89b Heym or are you paying the extra money for a name?

 

[WAB]

A simple question is the Shikari a better, stronger & more reliable than the 89b Heym or are you paying the extra money for a name?

That’s the engineers question. The artists question may be, is there more handwork vs machine work, is the form more pleasing or true to the original, etc.. Both are valid and, along with the provenance, contribute to an individual’s perceived value. Funny thing about free markets, they’re free.