…has to work every time it’s used, and not break, not ever.
I speak here of the dangerous game rifle — that final guarantee that the hunter won’t turn into his prey’s prey.
Now before I go any further, I need to back up a little. In the recent past, I’ve been somewhat scornful of “luxury brands” — you know what I mean: $100,000 watches, $2million Ferraris, and, in our gunny world, $200,000 (secondhand) Purdey shotguns… the list goes on and on.
Then you get a gun manufacturer who creates a piece that is admittedly expensive – horrendously expensive — but that expense is somewhat mitigated by the fact that what their product promises is actual infallibility. I speak here of J. Rigby’s “Rising Bite” double rifle, which is generally available only in super-manly chamberings like .416 Rigby Magnum, .470 NE (Nitro Express) and still larger diameters. (Excuse me, I need to go and pop an ibuprofen tab because my shoulder is starting to ache, just by thinking of these massive projectiles.)
Here’s what it looks like:
And here’s the “Rising Bite” itself:
Here’s an explanation of how it works, and why it’s necessary.
Here’s one in .470 NE that recently sold for about $35,000:
Note the Rising Bite:
Excuse me… .470 Nitro? I need another ibuprofen.
I should also point out that any proper double rifle is expensive (see this Karl Ferlach beauty here).
There is one last thing to be said, however.
While I yield to no man in my admiration for Rigby’s guns, I should point out that while their double rifles may well be worth the cost of ownership, I don’t think that’s necessarily true of their bolt-action rifles. Why?
Because Rigby’s bolt actions are built on that of the venerable Mauser 98 (link in pic):
It’s lovely, but honestly: at $25,000 secondhand? You’re paying for the brand. Me, I’d rather get a brand-new Mauser 98 for just over half the price (link ditto):
Same action, same durability and reliability… absent the desire to impress your hunting buddies when you uncase it at the hunting camp, it’s not really even a question. (And yeah, I’m a sucker for just about any Mauser over some fancy English trinket; go ahead and sue my ancient Boer ass.)
Honestly, no experienced PH is going to curl his lip when you take that bad boy out of the case to sight it in. (Incidentally,”sighting in” at a hunting camp is not only about sighting in your rifle to check that it hasn’t been damaged in transit, it’s also to reassure the PH that you know what the hell you’re doing.)
And finally: if anyone is thinking of doing an African safari anytime soon, let me know. I do have some small knowledge of the topic in question, but by now that knowledge is severely out of date (although I do know a couple of good Seffrican hunting outfitters.). Rather let me get the latest scoop from Mr. Free Market and Doc Russia, who are very experienced at the thing. Also, you may want to be on good terms with your bank manager… the cost of a decent rifle is not the greatest expense you’ll incur.
