Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors What ever happened to the Rigby Custom 1920???

Hunting down old leads on old 1920s... What ever happened to Vigillinus' (Mark Benenson) custom Rigby 1920 250-3000?

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt...del-1920-year-of-manufacture#Post1846305

https://www.invaluable.com/auction-...920-bolt-action-rifle-b-255-c-a50408c8b3

Last spoke with him at SavageFest II before the mountain wedding. I recall something about flood damage in his NY apartment and Mark passing a couple years later.

Did the custom Rigby 1920 250-3000 resurface?

Cheers!

Sold to somebody onsite at the Amoskeag auction in 2015 for $5,250 plus juice.

I don't think I've seen it since.

https://www.proxibid.com/Exceptiona...le-By-John-Rigby/lotInformation/23899083

Thanks for that link. If you search that auction for Benenson you will see Mark's estate sold near 100 guns. Very interesting reading.

Auction Benenson

I am not 100% certain that more than one of us know where that rifle is.

Thanks for the link Mike.

I knew there was a good reason why I was re-reading all the Vigillinus posts from a decade back. I was TOO ignorant to understand some of the information that was passing before me at that time. If those were the leftovers that were sold at auction, I can only imagine what caliber of pieces were kept in reserve.

There were some incredible custom Savages sold that day!

"I am not 100% certain that more than one of us know where that rifle is."

To paraphrase Counsellor Beneson, "somebody brought a wall of money to the auction!" [yes, i still have my notes from SF-1]

You are the man!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Going through the auction results I see "Stever" aka 1899sav, from the Fire and FB, picked up a couple of interesting items in 7-30 Waters and 257 Roberts:

Custom Savage Model 99-C Lever Action Rifle Lot # 697

Custom Savage Model 99 Lever Action Rifle Lot # 361


Definitely a pair of unique 99s!

FWIW, the 257 Roberts uses every fraction of an inch in the 99C/CD magazine such that you run into COAL issues pretty quickly with bullets over 100 grains.

Same/same with the 25-284..

The 25 Souper fits into the magazine better, 51mm case length, verses 55mm for the 25-284 and 57mm for the 257 Roberts, with most bullets over 100 grains. The 25 Souper, 25-08, produces approximately the same performance as the 257 Roberts, but is it enough different than the 243 to be worth the extra expense and aggrivation.

Or at least this has been my experience with those three cartridges in 99C/CDs.

Thanks for the link Mike. I remember the sale. I thought this was the sale that had the Krag take down/switch barrel. I’ve been reading on my tablet for hours and my eyes are so blurry and hurt so bad I couldn’t read the descriptions. Was just scanning for a Krag with four barrels. I’m pretty sure it was one of Marks. Does anyone else remember that rifle, if it was in this sale? I always wanted a custom Krag in 35 Winchester. The rifle had 30-40 , 35 Win, and two other barrels. As I remember, the sale with the custom Krag was while we were on vacation I actually had the money to bid, and no device to bid on. I was so mad I never went back to see what it sold for.

The 4 barrel Krag set was on the second day of the sale, March 29, 2015. I've got to register to get the sale price. I was mistaken about the barrels. they were 20'"30-40, 20" 30-30, 18 1/4" 22 LR, and 18 1/4" 410. The rifle came with instructions how to swap out the barrels. It sold for $632, I would have bought it.

Dang! What a desecration of a Savage Model 1920/26! Terrible! So... Tongue in cheek for sure, my comment. Yet... To me a 'non-sequitur'. Not making sense such embellishments even at that era. Now, for me, simply "anomaly". These Savages were certainly era guns and for most of the wide gun collector folks. My belief 'them as genre', somewhere between 'also ran' and unknown.

They were an important 'first link' general production, 'successful' American manufactured bolt high power rifle. (Charles Newton's valiant if not commercial success, as not counting by above definition.) The 1920 Savage preceding Remington's Model 30 by a year. Yet, in reality, Remington rolling out the 30 so slowly and sporadically, that any reasonable "production" measure barely! Such occurring in '21! My first date coded Model 30 in 16xx SN, indicating produced in late 1923!
s
But back to the Savage 20, a happily simple gun utilizing stamped components. Practical, economical; but fodder for Rigby custom...??? Stretching the imagination. I'd analogize to the latter forties Remington Models 721 & 722. Same category of cost conscious stampings, but getting the job done nicely at price point. Those predictably not within Rigby 'customization' orbit! The fact that someone paid Rigby good money to customize a such a Savage, to me more an exercise/example of "gilding the lily"! Interesting specimen and my usual categorization, to buy such "at a price", just maybe closer to maybe $1200 at most!
With money, to do so very many things. But the question of 'wise', defined in aesthetics or practicality... Here to me... NOT!
Abundance of great guns, amongst nice 'original' Savages' on which to spend my money. This Savage, not within such orbit!
Just my take!
John

I would say the gun lives in Maine.

A confirmed sighting of Lot # 255?

A friend of yours or a friend of ours?

Or a friend of a friend perhaps?

Well, if I'm understanding your point, why was such a lowly rifle used for such outstanding work? The pics wouldn't post for me so I couldn't see them, just the description. I can only fall back on the John Madole engraved Savage 219, and what he purportedly said when asked why he did such work on that rifle. Paraphrasing, he said, "Did Da Vinci ask the canvas if it wanted him to paint the Mona Lisa on it". here's the one pic of the 219 that I have. If you want to see one beautiful 219. google "engraved Savage 219"

I did a search to look at the Madole 22 Hornet 219. I misquoted what he said. Correction, "What was the canvas worth before the Mona Lisa was painted on it?"

what would those Savage's bring in today's market, I would most likely sell the house.

Second session.

https://www.proxibid.com/Custom-Fou...n-Takedown-Rifle/lotInformation/23894142

I have a 1920 that was 'smithed by G&H and have had 1920s that were 'smithed by Jaeger and Niedner. I bought the G&H and Jaeger 1920s from well known NY Savage collector Charlie McCarthy back in 1988. They weren't original, but they were nicer than any of the factory 1920s or 20/26s that I've seen and I've seen a lot of them.

I have a custom 1920 in 300 savage, its a "NO NAME" job but still nice.

A work of art is a work of art no matter how it started out. The Mona Lisa canvas is a good analogy