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“This company is nothing without its people. The gunmakers in our London workshop, the engravers, the craftsmen – every single one of them has a hand in creating something truly special. And beyond them, there is the extended Rigby family around the world. Rigby’s history is not just about the guns; it is about the great global Rigby family: our customers, enthusiasts, gunmakers, PHs, the people who carry and love Rigby rifles.” – Marc Newton, Managing Director
This is the first installment in a new series we hope to publish monthly, showcasing hunters on adventures with their Rigby firearms. We have named this series Rigby Community in the Field and to honour the talent and personality of each individual Rigby ambassador, each story will be presented in the hunter’s own words wherever possible.
We’re getting started with our very own @Rare Breed and his elephant hunt, which was part of his quest to take the iconic African ‘Big Five’.
Craig Hodnett’s Zimbabwe Elephant Pursuit
Rigby…the very name reminds me of exactly what I love about Africa. Classic, quality, nostalgic, hunters of old and now hunters that are new. I remember when I read Robert Ruark’s “Horn of the Hunter” about Harry Selby and his Rigby .416, I was captivated and just had to have a Rigby one day and hunt Africa.
My vision is the Big Five. I have been blessed to take four of them with only my leopard remaining, which I will try again for in September 2027. How appropriate my rifle of choice for “Chui” is my Rigby Highland Stalker in the classic .275 caliber.
As with Robert Ruark, the hunting bug bit me early in life given I come from a family of hunters. I started bird hunting at eight years of age and progressed to deer for most of my early life. Family is so important to me and over a decade ago, I had a family tragedy where I lost my lovely wife of 30 years.
I needed a change, and Africa and Rigby came into my life. One of the most exciting hunts of my life came just last year as I pursued the Big Five with my elephant hunt in Zimbabwe hunting with Tokoloshe Safaris. I was hunting with one of the greatest leopard PHs of all time, Lou Hallamore, for my elephant. Given I am such a nostalgic classical Africa hunter, this hunt fit exactly what I wanted, with my first stop consisting of a lodge off Lake Kariba with a custom bar that had me imagining Robert Ruark and Ernest Hemingway sitting with me for a sundowner after a long hunting day. We then moved to the “camp” that consisted of comfortable tents with a common eating area that screamed to me “old Africa.”
On this hunt I had a beautiful .470 NE Rigby that was incredibly accurate and fit perfectly between my hands. I had to pinch myself knowing that my life’s dream was upon me…hunting one of my Big Five, an elephant, with a Rigby double rifle.
To understand what it means to own a Rigby, this rifle shot within one inch at fifty yards each time with reliability and confidence that few rifle makers can assure in their guns. You take an elephant with your feet, and such was the case with our hunting for seven days covering 10 to 20 miles each day as we tracked the elephant. In seven days, we walked 107 miles.
Hunting elephants is so incredibly exciting! Each day we would spot fresh tracks, unload from our land cruiser and start our stalk. Trackers have the most amazing skill with mine having started as children herding cattle. When my eyes could see nothing, they could still follow the elephant.
On day five, we had tracked elephants for about 18 miles when suddenly we came upon them feeding beneath a tree! The elephant in this area’s average ivory was between 15 and 25 pounds. We could see a mature bull with ivory in the 30 to 35 range and talk about getting excited! If you have hunted Africa, you know that when winds begin to swirl animals begin to scent you and then run like the wind. I suddenly felt the wind touch the back of my neck and before I could put my .470 on the sticks, they were gone.
As I read the Rigby story in the “Rigby Resurrection” book it reminds me that I did not give up just as Rigby did not give up. I was going to get my elephant and was going to hunt for the last day and last hour to make it happen. Little did I know this was exactly what would happen.
We had hunted hard and on the last day before I was to leave, it was three in the afternoon, and we were ready to pack up and leave within the hour for our long trip back to camp. Lou and I were resting when our trackers suddenly came back and told us there were two good bulls feeding not 200 yards away from us!
Suddenly feeling renewed, we went after them. It is hard to convey the absolute awe of seeing an elephant that will stand higher at the shoulder than a basketball hoop just 50 yards away! There were dark shadows, and it was difficult to see the elephant as the sun dropped further in the sky. I got on the sticks and could suddenly see the elephant facing me in shadow given I could see his huge ears moving back and forth as he fed. Lou was right on my shoulder telling me to wait, wait, wait…when suddenly the elephant turned and all my months of practice with my Rigby paid off. At 50 yards, I fired my Rigby .470 behind the shoulder…Lou said fire again…my second shot it turned out was within one inch of exactly where I had aimed behind the shoulder.
Now the real excitement began. While mortally hit, the elephant did not go down but moved to our right. Lou said, “let’s go” and we ran parallel to catch up with the bull who, unknown to us, had hit a trail and was coming our way. Suddenly I stopped and could now see the bull at 30 yards away as I was standing on an elephant trail…I cannot begin to describe what it sounded and felt like to hear the bull see me and let out what can only be described as a mix between a growl and high-pitched scream as it came for me!
Lou, showing his incredible experience, very calmly said, “Craig, please shoot that bull.” At 20 yards I made a perfect frontal brain shot and my hunt with my incredible Rigby was over.
I will try again for my final Big Five animal, the leopard, with Tsala Safaris in Mozambique. Of course, I would take none other than my Rigby Highland Stalker in .275 Rigby to complete my magical vision of one day taking the Big Five in Africa!
www.johnrigbyandco.com
This is the first installment in a new series we hope to publish monthly, showcasing hunters on adventures with their Rigby firearms. We have named this series Rigby Community in the Field and to honour the talent and personality of each individual Rigby ambassador, each story will be presented in the hunter’s own words wherever possible.
We’re getting started with our very own @Rare Breed and his elephant hunt, which was part of his quest to take the iconic African ‘Big Five’.
Craig Hodnett’s Zimbabwe Elephant Pursuit
Rigby…the very name reminds me of exactly what I love about Africa. Classic, quality, nostalgic, hunters of old and now hunters that are new. I remember when I read Robert Ruark’s “Horn of the Hunter” about Harry Selby and his Rigby .416, I was captivated and just had to have a Rigby one day and hunt Africa.
My vision is the Big Five. I have been blessed to take four of them with only my leopard remaining, which I will try again for in September 2027. How appropriate my rifle of choice for “Chui” is my Rigby Highland Stalker in the classic .275 caliber.
As with Robert Ruark, the hunting bug bit me early in life given I come from a family of hunters. I started bird hunting at eight years of age and progressed to deer for most of my early life. Family is so important to me and over a decade ago, I had a family tragedy where I lost my lovely wife of 30 years.
I needed a change, and Africa and Rigby came into my life. One of the most exciting hunts of my life came just last year as I pursued the Big Five with my elephant hunt in Zimbabwe hunting with Tokoloshe Safaris. I was hunting with one of the greatest leopard PHs of all time, Lou Hallamore, for my elephant. Given I am such a nostalgic classical Africa hunter, this hunt fit exactly what I wanted, with my first stop consisting of a lodge off Lake Kariba with a custom bar that had me imagining Robert Ruark and Ernest Hemingway sitting with me for a sundowner after a long hunting day. We then moved to the “camp” that consisted of comfortable tents with a common eating area that screamed to me “old Africa.”
On this hunt I had a beautiful .470 NE Rigby that was incredibly accurate and fit perfectly between my hands. I had to pinch myself knowing that my life’s dream was upon me…hunting one of my Big Five, an elephant, with a Rigby double rifle.
To understand what it means to own a Rigby, this rifle shot within one inch at fifty yards each time with reliability and confidence that few rifle makers can assure in their guns. You take an elephant with your feet, and such was the case with our hunting for seven days covering 10 to 20 miles each day as we tracked the elephant. In seven days, we walked 107 miles.
Hunting elephants is so incredibly exciting! Each day we would spot fresh tracks, unload from our land cruiser and start our stalk. Trackers have the most amazing skill with mine having started as children herding cattle. When my eyes could see nothing, they could still follow the elephant.
On day five, we had tracked elephants for about 18 miles when suddenly we came upon them feeding beneath a tree! The elephant in this area’s average ivory was between 15 and 25 pounds. We could see a mature bull with ivory in the 30 to 35 range and talk about getting excited! If you have hunted Africa, you know that when winds begin to swirl animals begin to scent you and then run like the wind. I suddenly felt the wind touch the back of my neck and before I could put my .470 on the sticks, they were gone.
As I read the Rigby story in the “Rigby Resurrection” book it reminds me that I did not give up just as Rigby did not give up. I was going to get my elephant and was going to hunt for the last day and last hour to make it happen. Little did I know this was exactly what would happen.
We had hunted hard and on the last day before I was to leave, it was three in the afternoon, and we were ready to pack up and leave within the hour for our long trip back to camp. Lou and I were resting when our trackers suddenly came back and told us there were two good bulls feeding not 200 yards away from us!
Suddenly feeling renewed, we went after them. It is hard to convey the absolute awe of seeing an elephant that will stand higher at the shoulder than a basketball hoop just 50 yards away! There were dark shadows, and it was difficult to see the elephant as the sun dropped further in the sky. I got on the sticks and could suddenly see the elephant facing me in shadow given I could see his huge ears moving back and forth as he fed. Lou was right on my shoulder telling me to wait, wait, wait…when suddenly the elephant turned and all my months of practice with my Rigby paid off. At 50 yards, I fired my Rigby .470 behind the shoulder…Lou said fire again…my second shot it turned out was within one inch of exactly where I had aimed behind the shoulder.
Now the real excitement began. While mortally hit, the elephant did not go down but moved to our right. Lou said, “let’s go” and we ran parallel to catch up with the bull who, unknown to us, had hit a trail and was coming our way. Suddenly I stopped and could now see the bull at 30 yards away as I was standing on an elephant trail…I cannot begin to describe what it sounded and felt like to hear the bull see me and let out what can only be described as a mix between a growl and high-pitched scream as it came for me!
Lou, showing his incredible experience, very calmly said, “Craig, please shoot that bull.” At 20 yards I made a perfect frontal brain shot and my hunt with my incredible Rigby was over.
I will try again for my final Big Five animal, the leopard, with Tsala Safaris in Mozambique. Of course, I would take none other than my Rigby Highland Stalker in .275 Rigby to complete my magical vision of one day taking the Big Five in Africa!
The first instalment from Rigby Community in the Field - Craig Hodnett - John Rigby & Co.
“This company is nothing without its people. The gunmakers in our London workshop, the engravers, the craftsmenLearn more
www.johnrigbyandco.com
