Tom Jeff Eley scouted up a piece from the John Rigby & Co. Campfire that he well knew would, well… trip my trigger. It is well-known that I am smitten with Rigby rifles, for their historical value, their aesthetic, and their legendary function. We were planning to visit the Rigby showroom in London on our COVID-aborted trip there in 2020. It’s still on the list. I also have a great appreciation for fine firearms that are well-used.
The piece is titled The Essence of Perfection. Here’s the caper:
A 120-year-old Rigby has recently resurfaced in the Alaskan wilderness and is looking forward to some spectacular 21st century adventures. Its new lease of life comes thanks to hunting guides Taj and Phil Shoemaker of Grizzly Skins of Alaska, both of whom have a long-standing love of classic firearms.
Taj is no stranger to vintage Rigbys: “My first familiarization with Rigby rifles was in Zambia, where I used an original .416 that belonged to Adrian Carr, my employer. Adrian had received the rifle from his father, Norman, and between the two of them it had killed over 1,000 bull elephants. Vintage Rigby rifles were still highly prized as high-quality tools there.”
Following his experiences in Africa, Taj quickly came to share this view: “In my opinion, Rigbys are the pinnacle of fine rifles – not always in an artistic sense – but as tools that are meant to be used. My 1903 .275 is a good example. It has no embellishments beyond a gold inlaid ‘SAFE’ on the safety and a silver or platinum line in the middle of the V rear sight. Both are more practical than an embellishment as the precious metal is still highly visible in good or low light and will never tarnish.
“The stock is of a plainer grade wood, dark with not a lot of figure. This is a good thing as it is obviously a high-quality and dense piece with straight grain. After all these years of use it has held up well; it has no cracks and still holds zero – and the rifle has been used plenty. The bluing has been replaced by the dull shine of well rust-blued metal that has been worn and cleaned 1,000 times. Even in costal Alaska the metal does not rust quickly due to this natural protection. A new rifle can turn red with rust overnight here, while this rifle will not show it. The stock does not swell or shrink with moisture or temperature due to the fine-grained wood, a good oil finish and years of oil soaking in.”
Sigh…
Matthew says
Off topic, Art of Manliness had an interesting article on Teddy Roosevelt’s reading habits while on vacation.
https://www.artofmanliness.com/articles/the-pigskin-library-or-trs-philosophy-of-vacation-reading/
David Wrolson says
Wow-you have been a busy posting boy the last few weeks while I have been gone to Namibia-lots of stuff to catch up on-that is a good thing. Just got back and draggy from hours and hours and days or on planes
The last couple of nights at the lodge there were some Afrikaner (Boer) meat hunters staying there. One of them was older (my age) and a commercial fisherman and ex rugby player who really liked to talk and was a bad influence-I even had a couple of shots with those guys-not my normal behavior-but hey when can I ever party with Boers again-LOL.
There might be a little competition-but I can’t imagine any livelier bar than an Afrikaaner bar-if a lot of them are like this guy.
I had fun with my Frontier Partisans shirt at a couple of spots that you might get a kick out of when we get around to downloading pictures.
Heavy German influence still pervasive there-many farms and businesses had German names.
Previously, I had no desire to visit Etosha National Park because it is a big “Tourist Bus” park-but it was still quiet from Covid-so the park was way bettter than I hoped for.
Speaking of Covid-the whole country still seems to be on a March/April 2020 type Covid footing. Major topic of conversation with lots of people wearing masks outside and masks required basically everywhere outside of the bush. People sprayed your hands with disinfectant when you entered a store=which might be a good thing.
More later
JimC says
This is great. Thanks for repping FP. Can’t wait to hear more.
Paul+McNamee says
That sounds great.
I never gave much thought to Africa as a travel destination. But having hung around the FP campfire these [redacted] years, the Dark Continent is on my travel bucket list now.
JimC says
That pleases me greatly…
David Wrolson says
Paul-It is a great place to visit. I have a few thoughts on what parks and so forth might be the best to visit-even though I haven’t been to all of them. For example, I have the Luangwa National Parks in Zambia at the top of my list for a photo safari
The funniest thing about going to Africa is that people make multiple visits to Hawaii/Mexico and so forth and nobody thinks twice about them going-but everybody notices when you go to Africa.
Paul+McNamee says
“‘In my opinion, Rigbys are the pinnacle of fine rifles – not always in an artistic sense – but as tools that are meant to be used.'”
The older I get, the more I appreciate this sentiment about *any* tool, … or musical instrument, for that matter. Nothing like some gorgeous wood (and stain) in practical application.