.450 Rigby whats your opinion

[expresshunt]

I second the recommendation of a CZ 550. Action is as solid as a bank vault. The rifle is really made for the 450 Rigby, 500 Jeffery and 505 Gibbs. I would send it to Wayne at AHR for his CZ #1 upgrade (replace the two stage trigger with his match quality single stage trigger, install an M70 type 3 pos safety, and straighten and fill the bolt handle). Off the bench, I only do load development (which is done now). I use 35 lbs of weights, it lifts the sled about two inches off of the bench when I fire it and usually knocks off my hearing protection lol. I think my sons took a video but they won't let me have it. I don't use the sled for the last 3 sight in shots. I typically practice offhand or sitting with a sling(I don't use sticks, since I've only hunted in the United States so far) Here's a picture of my rifle and a 3-shot group taken at 50 yards.

Lovely looking rifle, great grouping, love that action.

 

[expresshunt]

A while ago I went past the local gun dealer showing me the Mauser M98 450 Rigby and yes I am very interested.
Anybody here have some experience with it? Whats you opinion? Its got me thinking.

Hi Zana,
You are a strong rubgy player and hunt elephant, hippo and cape buffalo... if you want a bolt action with penetration, reliable feed, magazine capacity, secure safety catch, available 458 projectiles, definitely a great choice, the 450 Rigby by Mauser or Rigby. IMO a better choice than a 500J, as your back up shot may be at departing game, where penetration is also important.
Cheers my friend, Graham

 

[Daga Boy]

The .450 Rigby is a superb cartridge.
And I agree with Expresshunt. A PH was killed here some years back when the client's rifle snagged on branch and fell. The bullet (a 375) went straight through the PH , killing him instantly. No-one will ever know what exactly happened, but clearly the safety either was not on or it failed. In my view there is no need to have a round in the breach unless one is actually on spoor/closing in, etc. Accidents happen easily and usually without warning

 

[Professor Mawla]

This is an excellent calibre . I personally consider all of the .450 bores to be the perfect all rounders for hunting dangerous game , under any and all circumstances . And the .450 Rigby is among the best in this class . It is equal in performance to the .450 Dakota , but with the relatively easier availability of factory loaded ammunition . Norma’s 550 grain round nosed steel jacketed solid and soft nosed factory loads are perfect for this calibre .

 

[WAB]

The .450 Rigby basically duplicates the Lott’s performance with lower pressure. Having killed a number of buffalo with the Lott, I can assure you that a 500 gr bullet at 2300 fps is extremely effective. If I were in the market for a DG bolt gun, I would take a long hard look at the Rigby Big Game in .450 Rigby.

 

[Daga Boy]

Its basically as good as it gets.
The only downside is the need for a full length magnum action, but ito performance it really doesn't get any better.

 

[NewForester]

People seem to be saying very positive things about this calibre. (I am still fairly new here) but my understanding is that .450 Rigby is relatively rare.

If that is the case, why isn't it more common?

 

[Professor Mawla]

People seem to be saying very positive things about this calibre. (I am still fairly new here) but my understanding is that .450 Rigby is relatively rare.

If that is the case, why isn't it more common?

@NewForester
I believe that I know the answer to this question for you . You see , there are a large number of hunters who are traditionalists and who prefer older calibres ( namely the ones which were used during the golden age of safari hunting such as the .404 Jeffery or the .470 Nitro Express ) . Being introduced in 1995 , the .450 Rigby is a fairly recent newcomer to the game . For the exact same reason , you will not see too many double rifles being built in .500/416 Nitro Express . It is a relatively recent innovation and does not harken back to the golden age of hunting ( despite it’s ballistic qualities )

That said , the .450 Rigby is unrivaled if one only takes ballistic performance into consideration .

 

[CoElkHunter]

I have no opinion on it, but I want one!

 

[Daga Boy]

Prof Mawla has answered. That said, its not that rare over here (SA). One does see more Lotts , but the Rigby is preferred by those who don't mind paying a bit extra to get the right thing. Other popular calibres here which you probably don't come across in USA are .458x3"; .458 African (uses a .404 case) and .458 Sabi. All are superior to Lott.

 

[colorado]

@NewForester
I believe that I know the answer to this question for you . You see , there are a large number of hunters who are traditionalists and who prefer older calibres ( namely the ones which were used during the golden age of safari hunting such as the .404 Jeffery or the .470 Nitro Express ) . Being introduced in 1995 , the .450 Rigby is a fairly recent newcomer to the game . For the exact same reason , you will not see too many double rifles being built in .500/416 Nitro Express . It is a relatively recent innovation and does not harken back to the golden age of hunting ( despite it’s ballistic qualities )

That said , the .450 Rigby is unrivaled if one only takes ballistic performance into consideration .

For a medium bore lol

 

[krish]

I have no opinion on it, but I want one!

Are you looking for one ? Can make it happen.
Krish

 

[Labman]

I hunted Elephant with my RSM in 416 Rigby. MY PH, Karl Stumpf, was carrying a 450 Rigby custom rifle. Karl knows his stuff when it comes to Elephants, so I take that as a good recommendation.

 

[Hunter-Habib]

I’ve hunted water buffalo in Australia with this cartridge. And I fully endorse it. I recommend the Magnum Mauser 98 Diplomat as the rifle of choice for the .450 Rigby.

MAUSER 98 Magnum Diplomat | 80112504

www.mauser.com

As for bullets, I recommend the excellent 500Gr Barnes TSX and the 500Gr Cutting Edge Bullets Safari Solids. For lion, leopard and “softer” game… I recommend the 500Gr Swift A Frame or the 500Gr Hornady DGX Bonded.

 

[Wishfulthinker580]

I’ve hunted water buffalo in Australia with this cartridge. And I fully endorse it. I recommend the Magnum Mauser 98 Diplomat as the rifle of choice for the .450 Rigby.

MAUSER 98 Magnum Diplomat | 80112504

www.mauser.com

As for bullets, I recommend the excellent 500Gr Barnes TSX and the 500Gr Cutting Edge Bullets Safari Solids. For lion, leopard and “softer” game… I recommend the 500Gr Swift A Frame or the (now extremely difficult to source) 500Gr Hornady DGX Bonded.

45 CALIBER (0.458') 500GR DGX BULLETS | Brownells

The 45 Caliber (0.458") 500 grain DGX® Bonded (Dangerous Game™ eXpanding) bullet features a copper-clad steel jacket bonded to a lead core to provide limited, controlled expansion with deep penetration and high weight retention. Bonding the jacket...

www.brownells.com

 

[Hunter-Habib]

45 CALIBER (0.458') 500GR DGX BULLETS | Brownells

The 45 Caliber (0.458") 500 grain DGX® Bonded (Dangerous Game™ eXpanding) bullet features a copper-clad steel jacket bonded to a lead core to provide limited, controlled expansion with deep penetration and high weight retention. Bonding the jacket...

www.brownells.com

Thank you, Wishfulthinker580.

I initially was going to write “500Gr Nosler Partition” (which really is extremely difficult to source at the moment). But at the very last moment, I remembered that the 500Gr Hornady DGX Bonded bullet is currently in production and widely available. So I suggested that, instead. I negligently omitted to remove the “now extremely difficult to source” part.

My mistake.

 

[RAVEN ROCKS PRECISION]

Anyone lucky enough to have a 450 Rigby and needing Solids, we have a limited amount of Norma PH in stock.

450 Rigby 500gr Solid (10 Round Box)

Norma 450 Rigby Ammo

ravenrocksprecision.com

We also have brass for those who want to load their own.

 

[CoElkHunter]

Are you looking for one ? Can make it happen.
Krish

I’m sure you can Krish, but even the used CZs in .416 Rigby, let alone .450 Rigby, are now beyond my financial zip code. I’m glad I bought my CZ African big bores in 2018-2020, because I couldn’t afford them now. I appreciate your offer though.

 

[krish]

I’m sure you can Krish, but even the used CZs in .416 Rigby, let alone .450 Rigby, are now beyond my financial zip code. I’m glad I bought my CZ African big bores in 2018-2020, because I couldn’t afford them now. I appreciate your offer though.

I know what you are saying. Prices have gone up. I wanted CZ 550 Magnum in 450 Rigby. Some how 5 times, missed or lost bids or too late. So I went and got the Mauser. Then came 2 Sako 85 safari classicc Deluxe. Lastly the one cz 550 came about after all those. I thought I will thin the crowd. Either way it is fine.
I like them all hard to let go one of them.
Krish.

 

[geoff rath]

Somehow, I "picked up" a 416 Rigby barrel from a Ruger RSM, I've wondered about having it rebored to 450 Rigby; have to source an RSM action first ...