Hi There,
As I say we are all still learning
Ahhh yes I almost forgot that it's Thanks Giving in the US so that means the Missouri rifle season is over. I need to catch up how the brothers did this year
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I was lucky to have visited Rigby's in London after acquiring a Mannlicher built by then in 1908. The dealer didn't know what it was and it was priced low, I paid £225 which is about $450 US for it. After contacting Rigby's and talking with them I took it up to London and discussed it with them. There was some rust marking on one side prbably from laying in a felted gun case. We agreed the work and they cleaned it up best they could re-blacking the buttplate and magazine trigger guard and giving the whole rifle a clean and service.
When I collected it they had also found an original box of Kynoch ammunition for the rifle which I brought and gave me a copy of the page from their original ledger from 1908. I got to admire some of their rifles and shotguns in progress. Later I met Ron Wharton who was their habds on workshop manager and now builds rigby style rifles on his own and have visted his workshop several times. Due to my interest in classic sporting (huntign) rifles I have met several rifle smiths and custom makers. Ron put me onto Lewis Potter of Potter & Walker who fitted the new Steyr made barrel to my project Schoenauer Mdl 1903 and who fitted it up after blacking.
This interst led me to purchase a new in the box parker-Hale 1200 Super in 7.92mm (8x57 Mauser) from a special export order P-H did. Of course P-H is no more thanks to greed of developers and moey men from the holding company who owned them and the property they occupied. The 1200 super was made during a take over period and quality control suffered, the beddign was horrible as was accuracy. If P-H were still operating I would have returned it however another friend put me onot a rifle smith who specialises in beddign and regulation of rifles and it was sent up to him to be sorted. now it looks like it should and shoots as it should although the action is not as smooth as earlier made p-H riles I have. It seems they cut corners on this one but it's a representation of their late production and goes well with the late model BSA CF2 in 7x57 I have. Apart form the trigger which is betetr on the P-H being a Timmney type, the BSA has the P-H beat quality and smoothness wise hands down.
As for hyper velocity it's not new
Ross did it in 1906 with the .280 Ross, then Newton with his range of cartridges, later in the early 1920's BSA along with a ammunition maker brought out three high velocity cartridges the .26 BSA, .33 (or .3300 BSA and the .40 BSA in the model 1923 high velocity rifle. the rifle was built on a Pattern 14 action and ther .33 gave performance similar to that which the .338 Win Mag but some 30 years before it. Sadly they didn't have a Roy Weatherby to seel and market them and add in the depression and they failed with only a few being built. I nearly had a .330 marked one but after I left to do the research which took several weeks the shop closed down and no one seems to know where it went
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Perhaps on day I will get the chance to examine and handle one of the modern Californian Rigby's but until then I cannot put them alongside the originals and just relying on the hype in the media is not a good idea ................... to me anyway!
Oh you might find this interesting. A friends grandson brought a Sauer 202 in 7x64, I was slightly concerned as it appeared to have a pit inside the muzzle probably from snow as it wwas used and the previous owner had done a lot of Boar huntign in Germany with it. Anyway he brought ti and various factory ammo but it shot horribly. He is an excellent shot but could get much better than 3" groups at 100 yards. After trying ever type of factory ammo he could get it finally went back to the shop who fitted a new Sauer barrel for him and it was still not very good. Finally he called it a day and swopped it for a Blaser R93 in 7x57.
Even reputable makers can put out a lemon
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Now he has finally acquired the rifle he has always craved a Mannlicher GK in 7x64. It came through a contact of his grandfathers in Germany and he is very happy and it shoots well so he sold the Blaser professional he had to fund this purchase.
Hope you all had a good holiday
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