.416 Rigby - Will this stock hold up?

[BeeMaa]

So what you guys are saying is I should have made this into a survey?

A). Prepay your thumb surgery
B). Order a box of 20 rounds and the spare stock because you’ll need the latter before the first is gone
C). Have the camera ready to take a picture of it when the top part breaks and you have a cooler “custom” stock
D). Should not have a problem

You forgot to have your buddy film you shooting the TH stock for future YouTube fame.
Super Slo-Motion on a GoPro Hero 8 should do the trick.

 

[sierraone]

I would not buy this rifle at any price. Unless it has had serious gunsmith conversion work, it appears to be a .416 Weatherby. And that's in addition to the thumb hole stock.

P.S. Have any of you ever seen a push feed .416 Rigby? I have not.

 

[Major Khan]

I would not buy this rifle at any price. Unless it has had serious gunsmith conversion work, it appears to be a .416 Weatherby. And that's in addition to the thumb hole stock.

P.S. Have any of you ever seen a push feed .416 Rigby? I have not.

You raise extremely agreeable points , Sierraone . But to answer your question in a literal sense :
I have seen a few .416 Rigby calibre bolt rifles , which were built on Sako Model 85 actions , on the internet .

 

[sierraone]

You raise extremely agreeable points , Sierraone . But to answer your question in a literal sense :
I have seen a few .416 Rigby calibre bolt rifles , which were built on Sako Model 85 actions , on the internet .

I guess since I have never owned a Sako, don't know a lot about them. I did read that the Sako Brown Bear and Sako Safari rifles which both come in .416 Rigby and have CRF actions at least in that caliber.

 

[WisconsinKen]

Look for a nice correct 416 ie a Rigby.....you couldn't give me that rifle..seriously fugly...

Couldn’t give you that rifle? I have owned some seriously FUGLY guns in my lifetime and free is free. Even if it would go in the back of the gun safe to be that “Loaner” gun for that annoying guy who pushes himself into your White tail hunting group....hmmmmmmmm.....I think we have stumbled upon a use for this in it’s current configuration.....

 

[WisconsinKen]

You forgot to have your buddy film you shooting the TH stock for future YouTube fame.
Super Slo-Motion on a GoPro Hero 8 should do the trick.

Or better yet, film your brother-in-law (the annoying ex-jock) shooting it in slow motion.....better his fame than mine....

 

[bruce moulds]

Or better yet, film your brother-in-law (the annoying ex-jock) shooting it in slow motion.....better his fame than mine....

or your mother in law.
bruce.

 

[Code4]

Definitely you will need to re-stock it. A replacement Weatherby stock and a bedding job would be the easiest way to go. If the price was right it would make a good Big Game rifle capable of handling the hottest loads. I wouldn't fuss too much about it being or not being CRF. Most CRF rifles made these days have such close tolerances a decent amount of dirt on a hard hunt will jam them.

 

[BeeMaa]

Or better yet, film your brother-in-law (the annoying ex-jock) shooting it in slow motion.....better his fame than mine....

It would be worth it just for Thanksgiving day dinner fodder.

 

[bruce moulds]

time to ask, what is the advantage of the thumbhole stock.
it tends to have a more verticle grip, and puts the hand lower in relation to the trigger.
this of course is an advantage for shooting prone at targets and varmints.
it encourages the trigger arm elbow to go low against the body.
it takes longer to release the hand and grasp the bolt.
now ask, how do you expect to do most shooting with a 416.
I would suggest offhand shooting where the trigger arm elbow is beat held high for best gun management.
it might also be in a situation where a follow up shot might be required.
here a long open pistol grip is the best on both cases.
one thing that amazes me is the European straight pull rifles which are touted for fast follow up shots.
then they put a thumbhole stock on them, negating the very feature they promote.
and the stocks, as well as being slower to reload are second rate at best for offhand shooting.
but then marketing tends to prevail over experience and common sense.
in fact many scope and rifle manufacturers seem to have little knowledge of best practice in the use of the products they sell.
bruce.

 

[Cleveland48]

I agree with the posts above. I recently purchased a John Rigby Big Game and the stock is more of a classic shape that is based on the original design from 100 years ago. Pic below. The stock at the pistol grip is pretty stout.

View attachment 344830

Beautiful rifle!

 

[bruce moulds]

you might find the old rigbys etc might have had more open pistol grips - a good thing.
and more drop at heel - a bad thing.
bruce.

 

[Will 416]

A.) Prepay for thumb surgery.

My cz in 416 Rigby is not overwhelming, but pretty stout. I had a stroke 8 years ago, leaving my right hand pretty weak. If I’m not really focusing on holding the pistol grip very tightly, the trigger guard tends to slam into my middle finger with enough force to badly bruise it. This thumb hole stock just looks like bad business to me. My advice is to find a nice controlled round feed rifle in the Rigby. It is more classic and easier to resell if need be. I’m not downing push feed rifles, but a large number of people prefer the crf rifles in the dangerous game calibers. Just my .02.

 

[Tally-Ho HUNTING SAFARIS]

Hello Everyone.

I am looking at picking up a .416, preferably a Rigby. I found this one for sale, but it has a thumb hole stock.

I know everyone always talks about the recoil on the .416. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of “meat” in that thumb hole area. For those of you that shoot the .416, do you think this stock will hold up? Last thing I want to do is buy it, fly it somewhere exotic and then snap/crack the stock on the 2nd day. Keep in mind I like thumb hole stocks for my 30-06 and light and do not have experience shooting this configuration of a stock on something as powerful as a .416.

Thank you for your guidance.

Ken

View attachment 344826 View attachment 344827

i agree with most of the posts
a 416 rigby has a lot of recoil to start withthis stock drops a lot (monte carlo type stock) plus it has thumbhole
that barrel is going to lift a lot when u shoot off hand and off rest at range
i would not buy that gun
big calibres should have as straight a stock as possible

 

[Cam Moon]

If the price was right, I'd totally buy that rifle!
I just may not ever hate myself enough to shoot it.

 

[Shootist43]

WisconsinKen, IMHO there is more than one reason why classic is classic. One of them being that it has worked for a long time and will continue to do so. This stock falls outside of that category. Is there any way you can get touch with the original owner and or contact Weatherby to see what they have to say about it?

 

[Panther Shooter]

Let us see . The .416 Rigby is a historical cartridge which is 109 years old . Africa is a historical place with at least 400 years worth of hunting history to it’s name .
Now, why would anyone ever want to disrespect a classic cartridge with a history like that and a place with a history like that , by getting a rifle with a stock like that ?

Straight stocks or Classic stocks , all the way .

 

[bruce moulds]

the stock on that springfield looks like a rem 700 clone.
bruce.

 

[CBH Australia]

My first thought was ask the Blaser nuts, they have some thumbhole stocks for R8.
@Opposite Pole has answered with a “No” Hey he is half Aussie he is probably right.
There are many Blaser users here some with Thumbholes and different configurations of barrels and steel or alloy actions I Think,
Any way I would be one more “No” nice rifles need nice timber, I would go with a general consensus in a DG rifle or big bore toy.

 

[Panther Shooter]

the stock on that springfield looks like a rem 700 clone.
bruce.

Bruce Moulds
Yes . My 7 millimeter Remington Magnum was custom built for me in 1976 by American custom rifle maker , Mr. Jim Zahm of Oregon, USA on a Springfield Model 1903 receiver , with a classic stock of Turkish walnut and a Douglas barrel .