Rigby Highland Stalker 250th Anniversary Model in .275 Rigby, Tested and Reviewed

The Rigby Highland Stalker is a throwback to the golden age of sporting rifles. The design and materials used in its construction are the same now as they would have been more than a century ago. Were you to place this rifle in the hands of a sportsman going on safari in 1925, the oil-finished walnut stock, blued metalwork, hand checkering, engraving, flip up leaf sights, and Mauser 98 action would seem utterly familiar — though the variable power Leica would have left him dumbfounded with wonder.

Not many Rigby rifles have been made since the company was founded 250 years ago in 1775. Approximately just 30,000 guns have emerged from the Rigby’s workshop over the last two and a half centuries — a specific figure is impossible to ascertain — but the company has had an outsized impact on the shooting world. Rigby has achieved numerous milestones over the decades though is probably best known for their proprietary cartridges. Most notable among those is the .416 Rigby, one of the finest dangerous-game calibers ever and a personal favorite of mine.

To say the company has had its ups and downs since it first opened for business in Dublin, Ireland, would be a gross understatement. As recently as 2012, the company was a mere shadow of itself, a gun manufacturer in name only — in reality just a collection of old records and legal paperwork.

But starting in 2013, under new leaders and ownership — specifically managing director Marc Newton and the German-based Blaser group, which owns Mauser, Rigby’s traditional partner in bolt-action rifles — the company experienced a renaissance. Like a proverbial phoenix, Rigby has reestablished itself and, in honor of its sestercentennial, has rolled out a limited run of Highland Stalker bolt-actions with many upgrades and flourishes. There are just 250 of these in total, and I’ve been fortunate enough to spend a few months with No. 33, the glorious .275 Rigby you see here.

Rigby Highland Stalker Specs

Superlative Workmanship

One doesn’t need to be a connoisseur to appreciate the craftsmanship that goes into this rifle. Visually, it is as beautiful as a bolt-action rifle can be. The figure in the stock — as unique as a fingerprint — consists of prominent waves and swirls formed by the erratic growth of the walnut tree from which it was hewn.

The checkering, which has been finished by hand, has a classic diamond pattern that wraps gracefully around the fore-end. The checkering on the rounded grip is done in the same pattern with panels on either side that meet at the top and bottom.

The fit of the recoil pad, traditional red rubber with a black spacer, is perfect as is the inletting of the stock. Around the action and bottom metal there are no gaps between the stock and the wood, while there is the slightest bit of space at the front half of the fore-end to free-float the barrel.

The metalwork is also a delight to look at. The bluing on the barrel and receiver has a smooth and lustrous matte hue, which provides excellent contrast to the engraved lettering which reads, “J. Rigby & Co. London, England” on the barrel and, “Mauser M98 Standard Made In Germany” on the action.

The bolt release and large claw extractor — one of the hallmark design elements of the 98 Mauser action — are color case hardened, and the floorplate is high gloss, with the Rigby logo, caliber designation, and serial number done in gold inlay.

The finery on the metalwork doesn’t just serve as eye candy. The checkering on the bolt handle — done in three panels — is extremely fine and gives the shooter a solid purchase on the bolt when running the action. The treatment of the action screws on the bottom metal is a pure flex, however. They are timed — meaning their slots run in line with the barrel — which elevates the rifle’s elegant looks and is a beautiful demonstration of the gun maker’s skill.

(As an aside, the timing of those screws, traditionally referred to as “pins” in the British gun trade, is accomplished by threading the post and leaving a cylinder of metal that extends from the head. The pin is screwed to the desired torque and its orientation is noted. After unscrewing it the top of the cylinder is cut flush and a slot is machined to line up in the desired direction.)

The .275 Rigby High Velocity

People usually think of the .275 Rigby as a 7x57mm Mauser with a different name. And they are correct in that assumption — to a point. The .275 Rigby and 7mm Mauser have identical case dimensions and both use a .284-caliber bullet. (Per a common British convention, the cartridge designation “.275” is based on the diameter between the barrel’s lands and not the bullet diameter.)

Ammo can be interchanged between the two, and historically that spans bullets ranging from 120 to 175 grains in weight.

For deer stalking — remember we are talking about the Highland Stalker here — bullets around 140-grains were considered ideal. Heavier bullets can work well on shots that require deep penetration, a precept made famous by ivory-hunting legend W.M.D. “Karamojo” Bell who killed 800 elephants (give or take) with a 7mm Mauser shooting 172.8-grain military ball ammunition in his Rigby Mauser 98. But the flatter shooting bullets in the 140-grain class were preferred for fallow deer, red deer, and roe buck — all traditional quarry in the Scottish Highlands and other parts of the U.K.

To eke out more accuracy from these bullets Rigby created the High Velocity variant, also seen as “H.V.” What it boils down to is a tighter chamber with less bullet jump to give those lighter bullets an accuracy advantage. A rifle cut with a .275 Rigby H.V. reamer will be too tight to chamber a 175-grain bullet.

The Highland Stalker is an H.V. model. On top of the barrel, just in front of the receiver, Rigby engraved the following into the metal: “Sighted For Rigby’s Special High Velocity Bore Cartridge Soft Nose 140 gr Bullet.”

Lively Balance

The two-lug action has a 90-degree throw and operates smoothly. It cocks as you lift the handle and the effort required remains consistent and moderate throughout the motion. As with any good big-game rifle, the Highland Stalker is designed for quick shooting, and for that you need a gun that can be run from the shoulder.

The Highland Stalked checks that box very well. Much goes into how a rifle handles, including its weight, how it balances between the hands, the shape of the stock, and the quality of the trigger and safety. The Rigby has no shortcomings in these areas.

The rounded pistol grip and gently tapering fore-end make the stock lively and fast-pointing. The trigger breaks at a crisp 3 pounds, 2 ounces, and the relation of the trigger finger to the face of the trigger — known as the trigger geometry — is excellent, meaning the pad of the trigger finger bears evenly against the rounded trigger shoe for top-notch control.

Leica 1.8-12x42i Fortis

The stock’s comb is flat with little or no drop. This works well for rifles with scopes, which my Highland Stalker has. The scope is a Leica 1.8-12x42i Fortis in an old-school high-gloss finish with lettering done in a vintage font — a special run the company did explicitly for this rifle. It can be ordered for an extra $2,500.

When brought to the shoulder, my eye centered perfectly in the Leica for quick target acquisition. Dialing the second-focal plane scope’s magnification to 4X or less provided a wide field of view that made it easy to spot hits and misses on steel at 100 yards and keep my eye on the target while cycling the action. It required no great leap of imagination to see how this would translate to brisk shooting at running game.

The scope is also capable of longer shots. It has a fine duplex crosshair with a small center dot for precise shot placement. The capped windage and elevation turrets adjust the point of impact by .36 inches per click at 100 yards. This translates to 1 cm per click at 100 meters in metric, and the ballistically savvy will recognize each of these clicks equating to .1 mil.

The glass is clear and bright, but should you need extra help placing the crosshairs on target the center dot illuminates. The illumination control sits right next to the parallax focus wheel and has nine levels of intensity settings with an off position between each step.  

QD Scope Mount

With the press of a small lever on the rear scope mount the optic comes free, and by swinging it 90-degrees you can remove it quickly from the rifle. It reattaches just as easily by inserting the dovetail on the forward scope ring into the recess in the front mount and rotating the scope to the rear until it clicks back into place.

Three Leaf Express Sights

This system allows for a quick transition to the rifle’s iron sights, which consist of a shallow V rear and a brass bead up front that’s protected by a hood. At the base of the notch of the V is a vertical line made of brass that lets you line up the front bead with greater speed and precision.

The main notch is engraved “65 yds” and is regulated to shoot the 140-grain soft points at that distance, while the two flip-up leaves are marked “150” and “250^th.” That “250^th” is a charming detail celebrating the rifle’s anniversary designation.

As Rigby managing director Marc Newton pointed out, it is highly unlikely that anyone would ever take a shot at an animal with the iron sights at those longer distances but the three-leaf system was common on rifles before magnifying optics were in widespread use.

During my testing I was able to consistently hit a 12-inch steel gong at 100 yards with the open sights, so they certainly would be effective at that range if you really wanted to go old-school.

Since the stock has a flat comb in the American Classic style, I had to mash my face into the wood to get the open sights aligned. That’s to be expected, since the stock is shaped for use with a scope, but you could order your rifle with more drop if you wanted to prioritize the iron sights.

Rigby Highland Stalker Accuracy

From the bench while using the Lecia scope cranked to its max 12-power setting the rifle printed 5-shot groups that averaged 1.482 inches. I shot two types of 140-grain soft points through the rifle: one from Hornady and the other from Rigby. In reality, both were loaded by Hornady, which you can tell by reading the fine print on the Rigby box.

This isn’t a competition rifle, but for the type of hunting it is meant to do it is plenty accurate. Controlling the shots is easy thanks to the crisp and consistent 3-pound, 2-ounce single-stage trigger.

Through the 22-inch barrel the 140-grainers averaged 2570 fps. At sea level they will retain 1800 fps of velocity at 375 yards. That speed is comfortably within the bullet’s impact velocity envelope, meaning it will give reliable terminal performance out to that range.

The .275 Rigby is a mild round and, scoped, the Highland Stalker weighs 9 pounds, 13 ounces, so felt recoil is minimal. The rifle is a real pleasure to shoot. The cartridges glide easily into the chamber when the bolt is closed — the rifle holds five in the magazine and can be topped with one in the pipe for six total — and the action runs smoothly.

The 90-degree bolt throw provides plenty of leverage for primary extraction and, because the rifle has a mechanical ejector, the shooter can control the force with which empties are kicked free. When the bolt is drawn back slowly the brass flops gently to the ground, whereas a strong rearward stroke on the bolt will send the case flying into the next zip code.

Final Thoughts on the Rigby Highland Stalker 250^th Anniversary

Don’t let this rifle’s elevated aesthetics fool you. Beneath the eye-catching stock, tight fit and finish, lovely metal work, and overall attention to detail, the Rigby Highland Stalker is a serious hunting tool. As much as I’d love to put it through its paces in the heather and gorse prevalent in the highlands from which it takes its name, I think that Africa would be even better suited to its charms.

The .275 Rigby, which debuted in 1898, has taken on all manner of game in the last 127 years. And what better way to appreciate it than to shoulder a Rigby chambered in this iconic round while stalking through mopane thickets and grassy savannah where anything from a bushbuck to a kudu or eland might make an appearance.

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The Highland Stalker is obviously an aspirational rifle, even though in the Rigby ecosystem it is their most attainable offering. But only 250 lucky souls will be able to own one of the anniversary models. Despite this scarcity, this is an important firearm.

It is sustaining an old-world gun making tradition, executed at the highest level of skill, while keeping Rigby, one of our oldest and most venerated gun makers, vibrant and relevant 250 years after its founding.