RIGBY FOR BIG GAME
History has not recorded what made the first John Rigby decide to enter the gunmaking business in Dublin, Ireland, in 1775. But whatever it was that stirred his emotions, it clearly worked because Rigby soon earned a reputation as a first-class maker of not only rifles and smoothbores but duelling pistols as well, at that time a gentlemanly (if noisy and sometimes painful, even deadly) way of settling disputes.
However, history has recorded that Rigby is the oldest gun-maker in the English-speaking world. In spite of trials and tribulations (which we will shortly get to), the firm is today forging ahead and once again concentrating on its core business: making first-class firearms for discerning sportsmen and -women.
In 1818, after the first John Rigby’s death, his sons, William and Jason, took over the family business. Things changed yet again when William Rigby died in 1858 and his son, also called John, joined the company. John Rigby the Second would bring great fame to the Rigby firm as he was a famous target shooter who won the prestigious Wimbledon Cup several times. He also developed the renowned Rigby Match Rifle, which, along with other noteworthy target rifles of the era, such as the Gibbs-Farquharson, gained an excellent reputation for accuracy over time. Therefore, Rigby also became an established maker of target rifles in addition to its normal run of rifles as well as shotguns.
John Rigby the Second eventually spearheaded the opening of a London branch of the firm at 72a St James Street in the city’s prestigious West
