John Rigby (1829–1916) was the founder of rifle and shotgun maker

John Rigby & Company John Rigby & Company (or John Rigby & Co. (Gunmakers) Ltd) is a gunmaking firm founded by John Rigby in 1775 in Dublin. The company was established by the first John Rigby in Dublin, Ireland, apparently in 1775; his grandson, also John, opened a ...

. Rigby was a world-class rifle marksman, forming the Irish team for the NRA's Imperial Meeting at

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

(later Bisley) for twenty-eight years. In 1887, he became superintendent of the Royal Small Arms Factory at

Enfield Lock Enfield Lock is an area in the London Borough of Enfield, north London. It is approximately located east of the Hertford Road between Turkey Street and the Holmesdale Tunnel overpass, and extends to the River Lee Navigation, including the Enfi ...

, where he oversaw development of the British service-issue

.303 British The .303 British (designated as the 303 British by the C.I.P. and SAAMI) or 7.7×56mmR, is a calibre rimmed rifle cartridge. The .303 inch bore diameter is measured between rifling lands as is the common practice in Europe which follows th ...

calibre rifle. He also designed the .450 3¼-Inch Nitro Express and

.416 Rigby The .416 Rigby is a rifle cartridge designed in 1911 by London based gunmaker John Rigby & Company, for hunting dangerous game. It is the first cartridge to use a bullet of .416 inch (10.57 mm) diameter. The rifles, as built by John Rigby & Co ...

. In addition, he collaborated with Mauser on redesigning the G98 to accept

magnum cartridge A magnum cartridge is a firearm cartridge with a larger case size than, or derived from, a similar cartridge of the same projectile (bullet) caliber and case shoulder shape. The term derives from the .357 Magnum, the original cartridge with this d ...

s.Helsley, pp.27 and 153. Rigby was also mainly responsible for bringing Rigby's name to the fore in riflemaking.

Notes

Sources

*Helsley, Steve. "Rigby Marks 275th Anniversary", in ''Safari: The Journal of Big Game Hunters'', Safari Club International, Nov–Dec 2009, pp.24–7. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rigby, John 1829 births 1916 deaths Firearm manufacturers of Ireland 19th-century Irish people