London rifles still hit the mark
A combination of heritage, bench craftsmanship and high-tech ensure they remain a favourite with British sportsmen
They remain popular with British sportsmen, says Michael Yardley
London’s famous makers have long made bestquality, bolt-action rifles. Recently, however, both Rigby (in association with Mauser) and Purdey have innovated. Holland & Holland continues to manufacture first-class, bolt-action magazine rifles, too. Here, the focus is on the guns still being built in London on the generic Mauser ’98 style, controlled-feed action, long the favourite of the London trade (and of most professional hunters to this day). In the opinion of many with extensive experience, it remains the best action for a sporting rifle because of its absolute reliability in extremis.
THE NEW PURDEY
Launched last year, the new Purdey rifle was sure to arouse a lot of interest. The famous company is best known for its premiumquality shotguns but it has long made fine rifles, too (though not in vast number). I first heard of the new project from Nigel Musto who, having consulted for Purdey on other matters, took on the exciting brief to build a super-accurate but classical-looking bolt-gun for the great gunmaker. He invited me down to Bisley to try a .300 Winchester Magnum prototype. When I got there, I saw what looked much like a normal but very finely finished London bolt-action stalking rifle with a Swarovski Z6i 3-18x50 scope attached and a four-shot floor plate
magazine (which allows for an extra round to be chambered, too).
Well before we went on range, Musto showed me enthusiastically the extraordinary titanium chassis, beautifully and invisibly (from exterior view) inletted into the Purdey rifle’s Slacum-oiled, wonderfully figured walnut stock. This is an idea probably inspired by modern sniper rifles that incorporate something similar, as pioneered by the late Malcolm Cooper of Accuracy International as a means of ensuring bedding stability. Instead of mounting barrel and action into wood, they attach to an aluminium “receiver” (in the case of the Cooper rifle). I was immediately impressed by the innovation as developed by Purdey for wooden stocked sporting rifles and the workmanship evident in the new gun (the craftsmen responsible for the prototype were Ian Sweetman and Tom Nicholls). My flabber was gasted when we took it to the range.
Sitting at the 100yd mark my initial groups were adequate – perhaps I was acclimatising, perhaps the bullet had not stabilised – but we soon went back to 300yd and I was stunned by how precise a tool the new Purdey was. The first three shots went inside 2in without much difficulty. I felt quite pleased with that but Marcus Jansen, who shot it a little while later, managed an extraordinary three shots in 3in at 600yd. By any standard this is remarkable. The US rifle guru Townsend Whelen once opined, “only accurate rifles are interesting”. This qualifies as a most interesting rifle.
As for the backstory on the Purdey, Musto explains: “Many manufacturers are guaranteeing sub MOA [minute of angle] today but
that level of accuracy is not something the London rifle market is famous for. Our initial ambition was a sub-minute rifle... How do you achieve it? Most use composite stock, epoxy-bedded actions and free-floating barrels. Get those three right and you have basis for accurate rifle. The essential problem of putting an action into a wooden stock is because of humidity you can’t guarantee stability or consistency. A Purdey, meanwhile, is all about beautiful wood and engraving, but somehow we had to combine that with modern techniques. The question became how do we solidly bed an action into a wooden stock and free float the barrel without any danger of the wood moving? At that point the chassis idea came up, an idea developed in modern military rifles but which had not been explored sufficiently in the context of wooden stocks.”
He noted that the chassis concept – developed in-house by Purdey engineer
Andrew Wood working with the bench craftsmen – was extended into the foreend, too, to prevent any issues with warping. Titanium was used for the combination of strength and lightness; with aluminium it would have had to be significantly thicker. Purdey sourced a Cnc-made Mauser-style action in the UK and used a barrel made in Birmingham to its demanding specification and special profile (no less than five profiles are available, as well as lengths from 18in to 26in – the test gun was fitted with a semiheavy 26in barrel with 10-1 twist rate).
The cost of near perfection and Purdey bespoke construction? It’s £25,000 plus VAT, including whatever scope mounts you want (1in, 30mm, 34mm; swing-off mounts are machined into the square bridge of the action). Delivery is about six months, with calibre options from .222-458Lott.
RIGBY STALKER
The Rigby Stalker, made in association with Mauser (which has long been associated with Rigby), is another new rifle launched in 2017 by a great London maker. Made to a different price point to the Purdey, and with a different methodology, the predominantly machine-made Stalker has an RRP of £6,495 in most calibres, including the renowned .275 Rigby aka 7x57. Delivery is within about two months. The firm also offers its “Big Game” rifle at a little more as well as continuing with “London Best” fully bespoke production from about £20,000.
The .275 Rigby did much to establish the smaller calibre sporting rifle among British sportsmen. It was famously used by Jim Corbett and WDM “Karamojo” Bell, Corbett using his to pursue man-eaters in India. Bell, aka “the brain surgeon”, becoming one of the most successful ivory hunters of the modern era, shooting his Rigby and military issue full metal jacket bullets (which he chose for their penetration and ballistic reliability). Denys Finch Hatton also had a Rigby .275.
The new Rigby Stalker taps into this history, and at an attainable cost. The rifle, built on a Mauser ’98-style controlled-feed action as ever, is partly made in Germany by
Mauser but hand-finished in London. Rigby was the original Mauser importers in Britain and supplied many other firms with its actions (which it was also the first to use). Two action lengths are offered, standard and magnum. The former accommodates most of the classic stalking calibres – .308, 30-06, .270, 8x57 as well as .300 Win Mag. The latter is ideal for the .416 Rigby and other long-case, dangerous-game cartridges.
Rigby Mausers have always been respected for their feed-function, accuracy and form. Intriguingly, even from the 1890s they were often supplied with telescopic sights. The latest Rigby differs little from its forebears. Mechanically, there are a couple of tiny differences with the pre-war action, and the action steel itself is harder because modern production technology allows for it. The barrel is cold-hammer forged now. All of the work with regard to putting the gun together and checking its accuracy is done in England. When the plasma nitrided barrel actions arrive from Mauser, they go to the London proof house for testing (and stamping with London marks).
On return from the Worshipful Company of Gunmakers, a Rigby metal worker will
The chassis had not been explored in the context of wooden stocks
polish down the action parts – bolt, extractor spring and magazine – to ensure they are smooth, and smooth functioning. The bolt is chemically blacked by traditional rust blacking and the extractor spring flame blued. The rifles, equipped with free-floating barrels, are “glass” bedded and finally tested at a range to ensure feed reliability, grouping accuracy and zero of the iron sights (still routinely fitted to Rigby’s).
Rigby’s offers various decorative upgrades, including colour-case hardening (£1,000), “Grade 8” wood (£1,500) and a leather covered recoil pad (£480). It can also supply a dedicated moderator (£650). This is a useful accessory. It weighs in at under a pound and is supplied in a leather case with two spare threaded-end caps. The angle at the back of the moderator matches the front sight block and, when fitted, it comes back over the barrel ½in or so, almost abutting with the front sight block. The top is also 1mm lower than the front sight block, so iron sights can still be used with the moderator on.
How does the Rigby shoot? Extremely well. I’ve shot several of them and been impressed not only by the accuracy (typically 1 MOA) and lack of recoil but by their general handling and function. The 30-06 I used most recently weighed in at a sensible 7lb 8oz (without the scope), had a 22in 1-in-11 twist barrel and had a four-shot floor-plate magazine (allowing for the possibility of another chambered round). If I bought one, I would go for .275, 6.5x55, .300 Win Mag or .416 in the magnum action.
H&H BOLT-ACTION MAGAZINE RIFLE
Holland & Holland continues to make marvellous bolt-action and double-barrelled rifles. As with Purdey and Rigby bolt actions, the modified Mauser ’98-style action is still at the heart of it. The Holland magazine rifle is available in calibres from .240 to .500, though perhaps the best-known version is the .375 Holland & Holland belted rimless Magnum. This is a versatile round. I have used one myself for much African game, as well as boar shooting in Eastern Europe and the Balkans (when it can provide a margin of safety without intolerable recoil when beasts get bigger).
Like the Rigby .275, the Holland .375 boltaction magazine rife is an icon of gunmaking style that has influenced many others. In whatever chosen calibre, the Holland is still a London best bespoke production and the price – from about £40k – reflects this. The
latest guns use a FZH generic Mauser made in Germany (considered to be one of the finest) and a barrel made in-house (with one exception of which I am aware). All production occurs in the Holland & Holland factory in London.
The rifle is available in all common stalking and big-game calibres – including .243, .308 and .270 Winchester, 30-06, .300 Win Mag, .300 H&H, .375 H&H as noted, .416 Rigby, and .400 and .465 H&H Magnum,
.458 Win Mag and .500 Jeffery (other calibres may be considered). Entirely bespoke, delivery time for the Holland magazine rifle is about 18 months, though some guns are available off the shelf for immediate or accelerated delivery. Features of the rifle include a 4+1 floor-plate magazine, Holland’s own single-stage trigger, a three-position Winchester Model 70 wing safety and a front sight with folding protector. Holland & Holland’s quick-detachable scope mounts, long favoured by professional hunters, are available at an extra cost.
The stock form is classic H&H with a full pistol grip and cap box (containing a spare foresight element). The cheekpiece is beaded. A recoil bar is normally fitted. The wood, Turkish walnut, is oiled to best London standard. An ebony fore-end tip is an option. Rifles are built free-floated or not, at customer preference. The weight of the finished rifle will depend on calibre. A .300 H&H chambered gun (and it’s a cartridge well worth considering) would be about 8lb 4oz, a .375 H&H about 9lb and the bigger bores around the 10lb mark.
I have shot many of these rifles over the years and always been impressed by their excellent handling, beauty and the effort that goes into their manufacture and regulation. For the classically minded stalker or biggame hunter, they must be close to the ideal. If I ordered one, I would go for the accurate at long range (but not unpleasant recoiling) .300 H&H or the supremely versatile, and easily sourced, .375 belted magnum. I would order the Holland system quick-detachable mounts, too (not inexpensive but excellent).
It delights my old shooter’s heart that Holland & Holland still offers a take-down model among its wide range of models and options. The gunmaking production operation – in total about 65 units a year (including shotguns) – is extraordinary in the modern world, with the factory in Paddington, the shooting ground at Duck’s Hill in Northwood, as well as the flagship shop in Bruton Street (and another in Dallas). Long may it continue.
It delights my old shooter’s heart that Holland & Holland still offers a take-down model among its range