Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats 416 Rigby Custom Project

I�ve been working towards building this 416 Rigby for about eight years. This project seems to have been snake bit time after time. Finally though, things are progressing smoothly.

Ralf Martini did the integral barrel work and Duane Wiebe will complete the metal work and stock the rifle. Here are a few photos of Duane�s work in progress:

The action started life as a Granite Mountain Arms double squarebridge magnum action. It�s a nice action but requires a lot of hand work to bring out the beauty and functionality. Step one � remove all the awful markings and add some hand detailing like a clip slot�




I�ll be using clawmounts with the front mount dovetailed into the quarter rib. For this reason, I don�t need and don�t want the front squarebridge�so it�s a goner�



The rear bridge is about a foot too high so it needs to come down a bit�



Duane is adding extended tangs to the action and bottom metal. This is such a nice looking detail�



[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v705/Burford/Wiebe%20416/ExtendedTangJig2.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v705/Burford/Wiebe%20416/bruch4052.jpg[/img]

From the factory, the bolt handle on a GMA is as long as a greyhound�s hind leg. It needs to be shortened by about this much�

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v705/Burford/Wiebe%20416/GMAshorteningtheboltknob1.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v705/Burford/Wiebe%20416/GMABoltKnobShortened.jpg[/img]

Next, the bottom metal gets some finish work and weight reduction�

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v705/Burford/Wiebe%20416/Millingthetriggerguard.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v705/Burford/Wiebe%20416/Guardbowbeforeandafter2.jpg[/img]

Here�s my action after it�s been worked-over alongside a factory GMA original action�

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v705/Burford/Wiebe%20416/bruch4222.jpg[/img]

After taking a little metal off but adding the extended tangs, my action weighs exactly 1oz less than when it started�

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v705/Burford/Wiebe%20416/Bruch4062.jpg[/img]

The integral quarter rib is dovetailed for the rear sights and the front foot of the claw mounts�

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v705/Burford/Wiebe%20416/dovetails.jpg[/img]

The remaining squarebridge is broached and profiled for the rear lock-up of the claw mounts�

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v705/Burford/Wiebe%20416/416rearbridge.jpg[/img]

There�s a lot of handwork that goes into making and fitting the locking mechanism�

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v705/Burford/Wiebe%20416/lockingplate.jpg[/img]

Here�s a low tech way to get the proper scope height and to check the bolt handle clearance�

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v705/Burford/Wiebe%20416/416playdough.jpg[/img]

Yep, it�s kid�s modeling clay�

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v705/Burford/Wiebe%20416/416playdough2.jpg[/img]

From modeling clay to zip ties�

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v705/Burford/Wiebe%20416/ZipTiescopemount.jpg[/img]

It�s almost time to start the stocking�

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v705/Burford/Wiebe%20416/Bruch4233.jpg[/img]

I�m using a pretty sedate piece of European walnut�

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v705/Burford/Wiebe%20416/stocklayout.jpg[/img]

I�ll keep you posted.