I’ve drooled over this particular piece for years, ever since I first saw it in Lud Olson’s book, Mauser Bolt Rifles. It’s an original John Rigby & Co. Mauser sporter, made by the REAL Rigby company (not the guys making gaudy, blinged-out parodies in California). It is also the sleekest, sexiest, most beautiful bolt-action rifle I’ve ever seen. You just don’t see lines like that on anything being made today.

Part of that sleekness comes, oddly enough, from the chambering. It fires the .350 Rigby Magnum No. 2 cartridge, which is more or less a rimmed, British .35 Whelen. Being a rimmed cartridge, it needs a special, slanted magazine box to ensure proper feeding and avoid rim lock. That unusual magazine (similar to the one used on Siamese Mausers) also means the floorplate is at a steeper angle relative to the axis of the barrel and action. The stock follows the contour of the floorplate, resulting in a very short forearm and a long, lean look. I absolutely love it.