Praised by many professional hunters of the golden age of Safaris and Shikars, the Farquharson pattern falling block single shot rifles are extremely robust and lightweight firearms that have been produced by most of the British deluxe gunmakers at some point in their history. John Rigby & Co. have revived this type of action in their line of hunting rifles by introducing a limited edition run of Farquharson action falling block rifles. These new Rigby falling block rifles are designed for dangerous game hunting and will be offered chambered in .416 Rigby No. 2 cartridge only.
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Modelled on the late Victorian Farquharson rifles, London gunmaker John Rigby & Co. has just launched their first 10 new limited edition Rigby Falling Block rifles. After three years in the making, the rifle is built around a true Farquharson action, identical to the original patented John Farquharson design of 1875 and a strong match to the historic Rigby-made Farquharson rifles in the company’s historic ledger books.
The action is engraved with Rigby’s “Rose & Scroll” pattern as standard, however, bespoke engraving patterns can be ordered.
The 25″ light profile barrel of the new Rigby falling block rifle is fitted with a front sling swivel stud, front sight with a protective hood and a set of rear sights consisting of a main rear sight regulated at 65 yards and two additional folding leaf sights sighted in for 150 and 250 yards. The stock, which is bespoke to the customer, is made of grade seven deluxe Turkish walnut with an oil finish, has a pistol grip design with a grip cap and a spare front sight in the grip compartment, features a one-inch rubber recoil pad, a rear sling swivel stud and stock oval that can be engraved with customer’s initials or crest.
The blue enamel plate on the grip cap that bears the company’s logo and the serial number of the rifle, is designed by Melissa Rigby, the great-great-great-granddaughter of John Rigby, the founder of John Rigby & Co.
Introduced in 2019, the .416 Rigby No. 2 is the rimmed version of the .416 Rigby cartridge. Other than the rim design difference, both Rigby cartridges have identical dimensions and operate at the same pressures which means they should have identical ballistic performance. The CIP specs of the .416 Rigby No. 2 cartridge can be downloaded here.
The .416 Rigby No. 2 cartridge.
The price of the new limited edition Rigby falling block rifle is £39,950 which is about $50,000 as of publishing this article.
Pictures by John Rigby & Co., www.johnrigbyandco.com