Announced in 2022, the unique rifle was commissioned by the Gunmakers Trust and is being built by five world-class gunmakers. Each of these craftsmen are past winners of the McMillan Trophy, an award given by the Certification Panel of the Worshipful Company of Gunmakers for gunmaking excellence. A rare and unique award that is not given lightly and not every year. It is only awarded when an exceptional gunmaker presents his or her work to the certification panel, and the panel approves of the exceptionally high stand expected for such an award.
The .416 calibre rifle has received a traditional Rigby Barrel profile built onto the action thanks to Ian Sweetman and has passed proof. The rifle has been stocked by Vincent Lafont at Purdey but with a traditional Rigby style stock and Mark Remnant has now completed the chequering as can be seen in the photo below
It is now at the finishing stage. Regulation has been carried out by Ian Sweetman and his team, and it is now on the bench for the fitting of the pins and then polishing. To quote Ian Sweetman, “The rifle is an absolute killer in terms of accuracy; it’s not too often you get a big rifle to shoot this well. “
The final stage will shortly be engraving by Saija Maija Koskialho at John Rigby.
This remarkably unique rifle will be offered for sale in mid-2025, with all the profits being donated to the Trust, and it goes without saying that it will be an exceptional and totally unique rifle, one for serious collectors only…
By way of providing some background to the award, Count Andrew McMillan, Baron Cleghorn was quite specific and particular in the awarding of the trophy that bears his name, making clear that the trophy was only to be awarded for excellence within the craftsmanship and art of gunmaking.
The people listed below have demonstrated this high level of skill required and are all McMillan Trophy winners. The Rifle build is being coordinated by The Gunmakers Trust and the management team at Rigby, one of the most prestigious gunmaking firms known throughout the World for their rifles.
The craftspeople listed below are all contributing to the rifle build.
Ian Sweetman – Actioning and Finishing
Vincent Lafont – Stocker
Mark Renmant – Chequering
Saija Maija Koskialho – Engraving
Jamie Holland – Regulating and Gun Scheduling
The rifle will come with a high-quality leather case and a book about the McMillan Trophy and the gunmakers that contributed to the building, along with pictures of the various stages of the gun build.
The rifle will come with a high-quality leather case and a book about the McMillan Trophy and the gunmakers that contributed to the building, along with pictures of the various stages of the gun build.
If you are interested in purchasing this rifle, then we recommend you register early as there is keen interest already. Please register your interest at info@gunmakerstrust.org or with Marc Newton at Rigby.
The picture above shows the state of the build prior to stocking.
