Mark van den Boogaart tours the impressive Rigby gunroom
On the corner of an otherwise innocuous commercial road on Brisbane’s south side is an equally innocuous commercial building. Yet if you take time to look closer, the other thing separating this building from those surrounding it is the colour scheme. The front is different to the rear, probably due to previous tenants looking to delineate their businesses from each other.
No signage, no storefront just your everyday commercial premise and inside is Pro-Tactical, a brand well known within the Australian gun trade. Owner Tom Auger meets me at the loading bay gate and on walking through I immediately recognise lots of brands and products, though I’m not here to peruse the Pro-Tactical range. Like a book, you shouldn’t judge a building by its outward appearance and on cutting across the warehouse floor, Tom ushers me into the Rigby showroom.
For those not in the know Rigby, or more correctly John Rigby & Co, is a world-famous and world-class British gunmaker with a history stretching back to 1775. Sharing the same rarefied air as James Purdey, Holland & Holland and Westley Richards, Rigby rifles are among the best of the best. While known as a bespoke gunmaker, Rigby specialise in hunting rifles – deer rifles, boar rifles, big game rifles, dangerous game rifles, bolt-action or break-action – and create outstanding firearms for the hunting adventurer.
Taking it all in, your brain does demand a few moments to comprehend the fact you’re in the official Australian and New Zealand showroom for some of the best rifles on the planet. It’s a bit like finding a Bentley dealer behind the 7/11 store. The showroom itself is in two parts, the first displaying a wide range of Rigby products including some highly desirable hunting knives, a full range of hunting and casual clothing, boots and belts. Along with those are gun and hunting accessories such as rifle slings, covers and slips, leather bullet pouches (of which I own one) and cleaning gear. And for the Rigby enthusiast and showroom traveller there are themed gifts and memorabilia.
But it’s the second part of the showroom, the gunroom, I really want at look at. On stepping through, at any given time the gunroom holds up to 20 different Rigby rifles, a fair battery of bespoke firearms which reflects the fact Tom and his John Rigby & Co. of Australia and New Zealand business is one of the top three dealers in the world. Even more impressive is that at times he has punched past third place in worldwide Rigby sales rankings.
What you find is the gunroom holds a range of rifles, the idea being that while no Rigby rifle is cheap, there are options available for those looking to stand out from the crowd. The Highland Stalker is Rigby’s entry-level offering, a bolt-action rifle built around a true Mauser 98 action. All Highland Stalkers are finished by Rigby at their London workshop and can be individualised through custom-ordered engraving and higher grade timber stock selection.
The Stalker comes in typical game calibres including .275 Rigby, .30-06 Sprg, .300 Win Mag, .308 Win, 8×57 and 9.3×62. There’s also The Big Game, a variant of the Stalker available in heavy calibres including .375 H&H, .416 Rigby, .450 Rigby and .404 Jeffery. To top it off, Tom informed me there’s a Big Game lightweight available in .350 Rigby and .300 H&H with another option, the Big Game PH, available in a selection of calibres.
From bolt-actions we move on to double rifles and again Rigby has created a place where you can own a true, custom-built double in the Shikari rifle, an authentic option built around a box-lock action. Custom-made double rifles are expensive by design, so by incorporating the box-lock action Rigby has produced a true, made-to-order double for the price-conscious enthusiast.
From the Shikari our focus and conversation turns to individual works of gunsmithing art. The famous Rigby Rising Bite double and single-shot Falling Block are rifles for the true safari devotee with a price to match. Every Rising Bite and Falling Block is custom ordered and can take many hundreds of hours to design, build and finish to individual customer specifications.
And if that’s not enough, Tom then produces a recent London Best order. This is a rifle built in London to the highest standards where nothing is spared, no shortcuts and no pre-assembled parts, a firearm designed, built and finished to the individual customer’s specific requirements and wishes. The London Best option includes Level 7-grade Turkish walnut, endless options on engraving, colour case hardening and multiple other inclusions the discerning buyer may desire in their one-off Rigby creation.
The Rigby showroom is open via appointment and its owner, the very approachable Tom Auger, is happy to guide you through if you’re looking for that special book, bullet pouch, hunting knife or rifle. He can be contacted through the Rigby and Co. Australia and New Zealand website at johnrigbyandco.com.au/contact-us. Also check out the virtual gunroom tour featuring the Big Game and Highland Stalker on YouTube.