Reproducing Harry Selby's 416 Rigby

[Marine A5 Sniper Rifle]

Very valid points, gimp. I guess I forgot to mention I epoxied a steel rod through the grip from rear of receiver tang to the back of the grip cap. She isn't going to break - ever. She might bend!

The floor plate hasn't come open yet, but I still intend to put a stronger spring behind the release lever. I made the floorplate hinge setup, so I have a lot of confidence in it. I had a 1909 Argentine hinged floorplate/magazine, but I knew I was going to do some serious cutting on whatever I used, and chose to use an altered military floorplate.

jt

[sdkrag]

What is the solution that you apply to the reciever?

[Marine A5 Sniper Rifle]

Basically it is an acid solution with solvents and other secret stuff added. If you want to try rust bluing, I strongly recommend Pilkingtons' stuff. You can't go wrong with that brand.

If you aren't a chemist, it is difficult, or impossible, to buy the chemicals to mix your own (nitric acid, mercury, etc.). I got my mercury from an old mercury switch. Mercury is a federally controlled substance and very expensive.

I was going to post pictures of the finished job, but I was using a power carder and I let my hand slip. Now I have to blend in a repair - aarghh!! I will post pictures tomorrow.

jt

[older than dirt]

Yo Sniper, good reading on the stock & recoil thing. I have an Interarms Mark X with a Mannlicher style stock & although it`s only in 270w cal, the top of the butt pad is in line with the barrel & the butt stock is off set too. It also weighs a hefty 8 1/2lbs & no real noticeable recoil. Very good artical as always from you.

[Marine A5 Sniper Rifle]

Thank you for the kind words. I have enjoyed the process, and now all I have to do is figure out a cheap way to get to Africa. Airfare, round trip, is less than $1K. Maybe I could show up at the airport and hitchhike to the bush with Old Rosey and find some guide who would have mercy on me. Doubtful that. I am saving all my pocket change.

jt

[Marine A5 Sniper Rifle]

I finished fixing the glitch, and this is the finished product (pictures). I forgot the bolt stop , so I am doing it now. Even though I did the job in stages, it all matches perfectly. One cannot beat rust bluing for looks and longevity.

I still have a few coats to go on the stock, as I am still filling the pores. I apply a thin coat, let it dry for 12 hours, and wipe all the finish I can off the stock. I will eventually get to a point that when I apply that thin coat, the stock will look like a mirror. After that I apply two more coats and the job is done unless I want to kill the shine, in which case I rub down the stock with 0000 steel wool (no acetone wash).

Now I do the cosmetic work on the floorplate and install the rear sling swivel and I am finished except for checkering, which is always last.

jt

[older than dirt]

Yo Sniper, when you do the checkering, do you just cut over the finish, or do you sand it first or what? I thought you did the checkering before finishing.? Seeing how you named it Rosie, it can be called a very purdy rifle. LOL Really, it`s one fine looking custom.

[Marine A5 Sniper Rifle]

By now, everyone should realize that a checkering master I am not. The finish is super thin, as I go for penetration over a built-up coat. Cutting through the finish is no big deal, and the finish shows the initial cuts better for me to see, as I am old and my eyesight sucks. I can't hold a glass of water very long, or it will fall from my hand (I suffer from hypothyroidism). I work in spurts. I was given some very good checkering advice by Darreld Walton in another thread and I intend to follow his advice to the letter. I have seen pictures of Darreld's checkering work and I was impressed. Checkering is my weakness, and I am naturally a little apprehensive in doing the job myself; but when I started this project, my intent was to demonstrate to others that a nice rifle can be built using tools anyone would have or could buy locally. If I don't do 100% of the work, I would fail in my original intent. I have been doing little jobs, like polishing the shroud, striker, and safety lever last night, to avoid the commitment, but I am staring the job in the eye now.

Thanks for the compliment. I like the little jewel myself. She came out way better than I had hoped. One thing that helped was planning. The order in which I did the work helped immensely. I had to alter a lot of parts to make it all work, and that required every part to be completed when needed to make alterations for feeding the rounds or altering the next part. For instance, the follower was drastically altered to allow the last round to release from the magazine, although one might never notice it from the pictures. If one removes too much metal, that part is history. Therefore the alteration of the follower actually took place over several days and required several hours of work in total. I moved the back wall of the magazine back, which required moving the back of the magazine opening in the receiver back, as well as altering the bolt stop to allow the bolt to retract further back, and it all had to match exactly with the back wall of the magazine. It was a lot of work, but this alteration minimized the amount of metal removed from the feed ramp up front, and made the little half-moon cut in the receiver ring very small indeed.

One thing I did not really mention previously was the balance of the rifle. I wanted the rifle to balance on the front receiver screw, and low and behold it balances exactly on the front receiver screw. It seems to be an insignificant point, but when you throw a rifle up to your shoulder and the balance is correct, it just naturally lands in position ready to fire with zip effort without the shooter straining some distinct muscle over the others. The rifle balances in two directions. Without its recoil pad, it will stand on it's butt with no teetering, and it will balance on the front receiver screw. Old Rosey swings up and sets on the shoulder in one smooth effortless swing. I like that in a rifle.

The only items I had to purchase to build the rifle was the barrel sling swivel and the recoil compensator. I had all the other stuff lying around in my parts bins. Old Rosey has a stock that fits me perfectly, a Pachmayr recoil compensator, a barrel band front sling swivel, a wonderful Timney trigger, express sights, she will hold 3-rounds, one in the chamber and two in the magazine, glass bedded from receiver to tip, two glass bedded recoil shoulders, steel reinforced grip, Cape Buffalo horn tip, the bolt is smooth as butter, and it has a (now) smooth as glass safety that is on the right side (your left thumb releases the safety as you naturally grip the rifle in one smooth motion, something you cannot do with a Model 70, Remington, etc.). Considering the original cost of all parts used in construction, I have a total of $299 plus my time invested in Old Rosey.

VZ 24 98 Mauser Receiver - $75
CZ 550 Magnum 416 Rigby Barrel - $80 (never fired take off)
Stock - $15 (eBay)
Timney trigger - $45 (eBay)
Recoil compensator - $40 (Midwest)
Barrel sling swivel - $29 (Midwest)
Bedding kit - $15 (eBay)

The least expensive commercial 416 Rigby I know of is the CZ 550 American Safari Magnum, which sells for $1,800 plus tax and shipping. I think I did pretty well, as my rifle fits me, and a new CZ 550 doesn't. Custom rifles that fit you perfectly do not have to be expensive, but they can be fun. I highly recommend building one.

jt

[da gimp]

Ed's guide/PH is here in town right now. Saw Ed @ the store yest, he said if you want his phone #, to send it to you & Ed'll talk to you about your hunt. He's hunted all over the world from a coupla times in Africa to Siberia & daam near every point in between.

Ed recommends the guy 100% on dangerous game.

Might not hurt to talk to him Jimmy, from advice on rifle cases, vacinations, gear'll you'll need etc.

As it is obvious to us all, you really mighta muffed that one up, being the good hearted, kind, modest gent that I am, I'd be willing to take that poor thing off your hands.......................... In other words....... Daam it looks sweet, congrats.

[Larry C.]

Do you experience deformed bullets in the magazine when you shoot? On my .416 Rem the nose of the bullets slam against the front of the magazine when fired, flattening the tip of the bullet. Not so much as to make them unshootable, but enough to impact accuracy. I have installed metal shims inside the magazine that sit on each side and center on the shoulder of the case. This has helped somewhat, prevents the bullet from being pushed back into the case, but the tips still get deformed.