From forested riverbanks in the Central African Republic to the bamboo slopes of the Aberdares Range, few rifles have accompanied hunters for more real hunting miles than a well-carried Rigby. In this Rigby Campfire blog, celebrated professional hunter Robin Hurt reflects on the decades-long journey of his Rigby .416, a rifle forged with British craftsmanship, proven in some of Africa’s most demanding terrain and ultimately passed from father to son. What begins as a seed sown in Robin’s mind by Paul Roberts as they stood at a Dallas trade stand becomes a lifetime companion in the field, treasured across generations.
By Robin Hurt
“Every professional hunter should have a Rigby .416!” So stated Paul Roberts, partner and co-owner of Rigby, and one of the maestros of British gunmaking.
We were at the 1987 Dallas Safari Club Convention. Paul continued: “I can build a .416 for you to take to C.A.R. this season. In fact, I can have one ready for you as a special favour. It is an ideal forest calibre for bongo, buffalo and jumbos.”
“Yes, Paul,” I replied. “I have so many heavy calibre rifles already, and I don’t really need another, especially an expensive Rigby.” But the seed of a .416 Rigby was firmly planted in my mind. “Let me think on it,” I said, being non-committal.
Having hunted bongo in both Kenya and South West Sudan for many years, I was fully aware of the importance of using large calibres for forest hunting. I had used an old .458 Winchester topped with a low-powered scope as my preferred bongo rifle for clients for many years. Unfortunately, that .458 was destroyed in a grass fire in Tanzania to the extent that it was unusable.
I was in need of another heavy calibre magazine rifle for my clients. Deflection of bullets in rainforest hunting had led to many disappointments, and I had learned the hard way to use only heavy calibre bullets to avoid a shot glancing off unseen bamboos and branches. It was a lesson learned well.
On top of that, I was due to leave for C.A.R. for a season of bongo hunting as soon as the convention was over.
I had found that medium calibre .375 bullets often deflected. Hunting with my friend Greg Duer from Chicago in 1974, high in the bamboo-clad mountain forests of Kenya’s Aberdare range at about 8,000 feet, we experienced the frustration of a bullet glancing off bamboo. Greg was using my Brno .375, which until that time had been my preferred medium calibre for large antelope such as bongo and eland, and for big cats. It used 300 grain soft points and 300 grain solids for thick-skinned dangerous game.
My clients often used the Brno on buffalo until a deflection on a big bull’s ribs from a frontal chest shot resulted in two full days of hunting to catch up with him and end the saga. It was then that I began to have reservations about hunting buffalo with a .375. There is nothing wrong with a .375 in good hands. On the contrary, it is one of the most popular and effective calibres for African hunting with good reason. But it has its limitations, and for dangerous game such as buffalo, rhino and elephant, my preference is for calibres over .400 loaded with suitable bullets.
We were tracking a herd of half a dozen bongo in thick bamboo forest. There was the sign of a big bull’s heart-shaped spoor among them. Greg, myself and my ace Nandi trackers, Laboso Arap Sura and Joseph Sitiene, jumped a bushbuck that barked an alarm as it dashed off through the bamboo. I signalled a stop with my upraised hand. The spoor was fresh, the droppings green and moist, and I was concerned the bushbuck would disturb the herd.
A deep barking erupted nearby. It was the bongo. We crept through the heavy undergrowth towards the alerted animals. The wind was in our favour.
In front of us stood a splendid black-hued bull, thick-necked with massive horns, gazing intently in our direction with huge ears forward and listening. Only fifteen yards away. He had seen movement or heard us but was unsure. Several red females stood on either side of him.
I knelt and whispered to Greg to lean over my shoulder, use it as a rest and shoot. Greg rested the .375 as instructed and fired. The herd crashed off.
We waited a few minutes, then followed. There was no blood. Hard to believe, as Greg is an excellent shot, and I could scarcely believe a miss. We searched for any indication that the bull had left the herd, which would have pointed to a wound. But he had not.
After an hour of searching, Laboso suggested we return to the spot where Greg fired. There was nothing except an empty cartridge case. Then the eagle-eyed Joseph called me over and pointed to a thick bamboo stem. The bullet had splintered three different bamboos, deflecting in a zigzag pattern. The evidence was clear. The bullet had struck the hollow bamboo, ricocheted several times and continued into the forest, missing the bull completely.
It was a huge disappointment after two weeks of hunting. Earlier we had seen another big bull across the Chania River valley gorge, but he was too far away, about 600 yards, for a safe shot. We watched him move through several glades before disappearing into the forest.
There is no doubt in my mind that the Kenya bongo is the most difficult animal in Africa to hunt, if not the world. Kenya has been closed to hunting since 1977, so I count myself fortunate to have experienced it.
Later on the same safari we hunted bongo near Yambio in South West Sudan. At Ringasi, Greg hunted a superb bull of over 33 inches. It would have been an unparalleled achievement to have hunted both a Kenya mountain bongo and a western bongo on the same safari, but it was not to be.
Back to the .416. With the loss of my .458 Winchester and my disillusionment with the .375, my thoughts returned to Paul Roberts’ offer. I already owned a .425 Westley Richards that I loved, which was ballistically similar to the .416. The .425 fired a 410-grain bullet of .435 diameter at 2,350 feet per second, and the .416 Rigby fired a 400-grain bullet of .416 diameter at 2,300 feet per second. Very similar performance.
The .425 was deadly as a backup rifle on buffalo hunts in Tanzania and on elephant hunts in Botswana. I had never experienced bullet deflection issues with the .435 diameter bullet. However, its 26-inch barrel made it unwieldy for rainforest hunting.
My thoughts drifted back to 1966 in Uganda. My neighbour in Kampala, Ian Ross, was a keen amateur hunter. He owned a .416 Rigby. Together we occasionally hunted elephant on resident licences. On one occasion he took a heart shot on a big bull with 400 grain solids. The bullet passed clean through the animal. It was the most remarkable penetration I have ever witnessed. The .416 Rigby’s reputation for penetration was well deserved.
As I reflected on all this that night in Dallas, I decided to take Paul up on his offer. The next day we met and he made me an offer I could not refuse. Unknown to me, he already had the rifle with him at his stand.
I tried the rifle for size and balance. It fitted like a glove. Nothing needed adjustment. It was built on a Mauser ’98 action with open shallow “V” rear sights and a bead front sight, exactly as I liked. The front sight had a folding moon bead for low light conditions. It pointed naturally and balanced perfectly. The trigger was crisp at about four pounds. With a 22-inch barrel, it was ideal for close forest hunting. I was sold.
My late friend Cordra York of Memphis, Tennessee found me a couple of boxes of his 400-grain handloaded soft-nosed .416 Rigby cartridges and a handful of solids. I was ready.
From Dallas I travelled via Memphis to visit Cordra and Martha York, then on to Paris, and from there to Bangui in C.A.R. Travelling through Paris with firearms was simple in those days, and leaving the USA with one was also straightforward provided it was declared. Times have changed.
A few days later I was on the Chinko River for a bongo hunt. I tested my new rifle by cutting a blaze on a tree fifty yards away. When I tried to push a round into the magazine – blow me down it wouldn’t fit. I found that the cartridges were too long, as Cordra had loaded them with the bullets ‘ long ‘ seated . Immediate frustration. So, I took one cartridge and shoved it in the breach; the bolt closed!
I was in business but only one cartridge at a time. I fired several shots and it was dead on at the 50 yards – that was pleasing . I hunted that whole season with that rifle, with only one shot loaded at a time – luckily my clients were good shots and only a couple of back ups were needed. But hunting buffalo got my attention and made me aware that in the event of a ‘situation’ developing, I would only have the one shot! Luckily I wasn’t put to the test…
After the season, I sent the rifle back to Rigby in London, and Paul arranged for the magazine to be slightly enlarged to accept both Cordra’s longer handloads and factory ammunition.
I later took the Rigby to Tanzania and used it as my backup rifle, with a tracker carrying either my .470 William Evans, which I later gave to my good friend Ross Perot Jr, or its twin, my .500 William Evans, which I gave to my son Roger, for close quarter follow ups.
I also owned a Winchester Model 70 in .416 Ruger. One of our top Tanzanian PHs, Maasai John Ngalasoni, was short of a heavy rifle, so I gave him the Winchester, which he still uses today. A piece of good fortune often benefits others in unexpected ways.
I hunted with the Rigby for many years, and it served me well. Buffalo do not like .416s. I never had deflections off bones or branches with the .416, unlike my experiences with the .375 even with 300 grain solids.
Hunting buffalo in Maswa with a Mexican client, I carried my double .500 as we were in thick undergrowth. My Maasai tracker, Lekina, carried the .416 Rigby safely over his shoulder with the barrel pointing up. The .416 snagged on a branch and as Lekina freed it, the sling, which was well worn with use, broke. The rifle crashed to the ground and the stock broke in half at the pistol grip – no one’s fault other than my own for not noticing the worn sling. Fortunately, the safety was engaged.
The noise was too much for the old buffalo we were following and he crashed off. That was the end of that hunt.
Back in camp, I repaired the stock using strong glue from my toolbox and bound it tightly with raw impala skin. Ten days later the skin dried and tightened to form a strong bandage. The rifle was usable again and the stock as strong as ever, but the binding increased the grip size and altered the alignment. It no longer pointed quite where I looked. I adjusted, but it was far from ideal for a dangerous game rifle. Sending it to London for a new stock was not an option due to the cost and the difficulty of exporting and re-importing it.
Five years ago, at 73, it was time for me to step down from hunting dangerous game. I asked my son Derek if he would like the .416. His eyes lit up. He loved that rifle and had used it often.
“Thanks, Dad,” he said, “but only if I can fix the stock properly.”
The Rigby ended up in Derek’s capable hands. He removed my field repair, used modern glues and fillers, and restored the stock to perfection. It is now stronger than ever and one of Derek’s favourite rifles.
He fitted a 1 to 4 power Trijicon scope with quick detachable mounts. From my side, and I believe from Paul Roberts’ side as well, I am simply happy that the Rigby is in the hands of someone who will cherish it: my son, Derek Hurt.
Copyright Robin Hurt