Rigby made in California......any experience

[vette447]

Yep. I know who he is. I just meant that it is unfortunately that he represented the Rigby name for those few years. Glad it is back where it should be now.

 

[sierraone]

I would look it over very carefully, and know your audience before you show them your "Rigby."

Sorry I missed this comment when this thread was being initially discussed, but it is so true!!!

 

[Rare Breed]

This may not be too popular based on most of the bulk of the responses I see. However, here is my firsthand experience as a BIG Rigby fan:

I have a few of the California made Rigby rifles and several British Rigby rifles. I would say that I prefer the British made rifles by a long stretch, of course. However, I have not found the american made guns (at least those that I have) to be bad guns. In fact these that I have are very well made, nicely engraved with beuatiful wood and good shooters. One of mine is a very nice boxlock in 500 NE. It is well built, very handsome, and balances and shoots great.

Now, should the be worth as much as my British born Rigbys? No! However, they didn't cost nearly as much either (My prewar Rigby double cost 3x what the 500 NE boxlock cost me, and appropriately so). Thus, take them for what they are. A nicely engraved and handsome rifle (considering their doubles an upgraded Merkel is probably fair).

Just my $0.02 based on my experience. Take it for what it is worth...

i just shot a CA 470 Rigby. i agree with you. after having it looked at it is very mechanically sound with no problems, balances well in my hands, shoots within 2 inches and has beautiful wood, grade 8 and gold engraving. it is only an eighth of what a London based Rigby would cost in a DR. beautiful gun at a good price

 

[Rare Breed]

i just shot a CA 470 Rigby. i agree with you. after having it looked at it is very mechanically sound with no problems, balances well in my hands, shoots within 2 inches and has beautiful wood, grade 8 and gold engraving. it is only an eighth of what a London based Rigby would cost in a DR. beautiful gun at a good price

not recommending to buy it at all but i did find out the gluing of barrels was quickly abandoned by CA so if you see a soldered one it does not mean it has been redone. again not trying to recommend or not just with an example i saw and shot then had looked at a nice rifle for the money asked. to earlier posts pricing seems to be more real now that people understand them. i do feel sorry for earlier people who were taken to the cleaners for what they paid

 

[Shakka]

The California Rigby, another "Endorsed by Boddington" fiasco

 

[Rare Breed]

Forget Boddington, after holding, checked out and shot a beautiful gun correctly priced compared to others i have shot. i run Marketing for my company…let’s not forget half any products price is brand good will. yes CA Rigby has a bad reputation but their price refocus this and until you have held one, shot one and had it examined by a DR pro you are only expressing your opinion not experience

 

[Rare Breed]

Forget Boddington, after holding, checked out and shot a beautiful gun correctly priced compared to others i have shot. i run Marketing for my company…let’s not forget half any products price is brand good will. yes CA Rigby has a bad reputation but their price refocus this and until you have held one, shot one and had it examined by a DR pro you are only expressing your opinion not experience

reflects

 

[Rare Breed]

Just a quick question for the uninformed like me, Is the barrel stamped Rogue River or how do you tell between a true Rigby and California Rigby?

it is stamped J Rigby

 

[Rare Breed]

@Red Leg sir is correct in his assessment.
I am a regular reader of a magazine named , " Man Magnum " and they had THIS to say about the California made " Rigby " rifles ( I use the term " Rigby " loosely " of course . )
View attachment 332150

When a person takes over a British gun company with a very apparent disdain towards British products ... well , it is downright shameful.
During the time of my career from 1961 to 1970 , the only 2 double barreled rifles built by John Rigby & Co. which l have seen clients bring , were both chambered for .375 Holland & Holland magnum . But they were beautiful things which functioned reliably even with the belted rimless cartridge .I believe that a gentleman named David Marx was at the helm of John Rigby & Co. at the time.

let’s be clear here…no CA Rigby is going to hold a candle to a london built Rigby…that does not make them a bad rifle. today like a known stock in the market the price is priced in for what they are

 

[Wishfulthinker580]

They were basically just a Merkel right? So just buy a Merkel. The only time Rigby and California should be in the same sentence is when a Californian owns a London gun.. What a joke.

 

[Wishfulthinker580]

let’s be clear here…no CA Rigby is going to hold a candle to a london built Rigby…that does not make them a bad rifle. today like a known stock in the market the price is priced in for what they are

They should be priced like a Merkel. Or less..

 

[Rare Breed]

They should be priced like a Merkel. Or less..

you are correct that they are built on a Merkel action. beyond that it is about grade of wood and engraving that’s all. i do think in my humble opinion Rigby london rips people off with their engraving work. a good example is just one gold engraved animal is 6,000 pounds…when in reality good engraving is just that and it far outstrips the value charged. i know many people on here will think that’s heresy but i trust my research looking at other incredibly well respected engraver…she does U.S. presidential work who charge less than half of that. just my two cents. to me the standard London based Rigby in whatever choice is incredible in design function and value. it is the extras where i think they are incredibly over priced and i have no problem saying so.

 

[Sideshow]

Fascinating. Thanks for that.

 

[Doug3006]

To put this question into automotive terms….back in 1986, Lee Iacocca was running Chrysler. Somehow he convinced Maserati to license their name to Chrysler for a tarted-up LeBaron convertible called the Chrysler TC by MaseratI. Nobody thinks these boat anchors are Maseratis. A near mint version of this abomination is worth 10 grand, though I wonder to whom it would be worth it!

In short, a California Rigby ain’t a Rigby.

 

[Wishfulthinker580]

you are correct that they are built on a Merkel action. beyond that it is about grade of wood and engraving that’s all. i do think in my humble opinion Rigby london rips people off with their engraving work. a good example is just one gold engraved animal is 6,000 pounds…when in reality good engraving is just that and it far outstrips the value charged. i know many people on here will think that’s heresy but i trust my research looking at other incredibly well respected engraver…she does U.S. presidential work who charge less than half of that. just my two cents. to me the standard London based Rigby in whatever choice is incredible in design function and value. it is the extras where i think they are incredibly over priced and i have no problem saying so.

For the most part I agree with you. I think that’s the case with most of the best makers. I have a hard time making sense of the pricing. Especially when it comes to bolt actions

 

[Shakka]

let’s be clear here…no CA Rigby is going to hold a candle to a london built Rigby…that does not make them a bad rifle. today like a known stock in the market the price is priced in for what they are

I think that what you just said here is the bottom line of this discussion.
The CA Rigby might be a perfectly capable DR, but it's no Vintage Rigby....which is fine as long as the buyer realizes that.

The issue I had with the CA Rigby is that Geoff Miller was a Phoney Marine/Vitenam Vet who totally disappeared, yet he was praised and endorsed by the shameless Boddington, who praises every product that he gets a piece of.

Eh, my 2 cents anyway...

 

[Rare Breed]

I think that what you just said here is the bottom line of this discussion.
The CA Rigby might be a perfectly capable DR, but it's no Vintage Rigby....which is fine as long as the buyer realizes that.

The issue I had with the CA Rigby is that Geoff Miller was a Phoney Marine/Vitenam Vet who totally disappeared, yet he was praised and endorsed by the shameless Boddington, who praises every product that he gets a piece of.

Eh, my 2 cents anyway...

Ah…i did not know any of that!!! i was just commenting on the rifle i shot and had checked out. If i owned one to @redleg point i would never pretend or intimate it was a london based Rigby but it also does not make it a bad rifle in any way

 

[Shakka]

Ah…i did not know any of that!!! i was just commenting on the rifle i shot and had checked out. If i owned one to @redleg point i would never pretend or intimate it was a london based Rigby but it also does not make it a bad rifle in any way

I totally understand

PS: That said, I would gladly own one

 

[Hunter-Habib]

The California made Rigby rifles used Merkel actions. In an of itself, they were not bad rifles. But there were a few which had difficulties in closing the action, at times. Nowhere near the grade of the London made John Rigby & Co. rifles. I'm personally happy to see Rigby back in business, at their country of establishment.

A little known fact is that John Rigby & Co. was actually using a non-British gunmaker to build some of their wares even back in the 1970s. For a decade or so (when Mr. Vernon Harris was running the company), John Rigby & Co. was actually having all their shotguns made in Spain by Pedro Arrizabalaga.

A philosophical question for all of you gents. The vast consensus is that the Rigby rifles made in California are not to be classified as "Authentic John Rigby & Co." , even though the Californian owners did (at the time) possess legal ownership of the Rigby name. Using the same principle, would you all say that the currently manufactured Browning shotguns being made by Miroku in Japan are not "Authentic Browning" ? Or the currently manufactured Winchester Model 70 rifles which are assembled in Portugal by Fabrique Nationale are not "Authentic Winchester" ? Or the currently manufactured CZ shotguns which are built by Huglu in Turkey are not "Authentic CZ" ? Or the currently manufactured Webley & Scott shotguns which are being built in Turkey are not really "Webley & Scott" ? Or the Mossberg shotguns which are being built in Turkey ? Or the Weatherby Orion shotguns which are being built in Turkey (and formerly Japan) ?

I don't have an opinion here. but it is something to think about. One has to draw the line somewhere.

 

[Sideshow]

Good point @Hunter-Habib I have a BLR browning made in Belgium and for some strange reason I feel this is more browning than the Japanese made ones 5 years later when they moved