A Classic Westley Richards .425 Bolt Action Rifle.

The Classic .425 Westley Richards rifle has become a scarcer and scarcer item to locate. The distinctive style and performance make it a desirable rifle for both collectors and hunters alike. The rifle has a totally distinct look which is, like the hand detachable locks, unique to our company. The .425 round is a match for the .416 Rigby, Rigby would say their round is more powerful and we would of course claim our is. Both use a .410gr bullet. The .425 is certainly more comfortable to shoot and being built on the standard size Mauser action is also faster to feed and load. The drop magazine was designed to take 'at speed' the contents of the 5 round clips of ammunition by which it was sold.

By Simon Clode

Finding a .425 rifle like this in its original specification and without having been through poor restoration or repairs is a very welcome surprise these days, it is a rifle I would like to be able to sell frequently but rarely get the chance. This particular rifle has been 'sleeping' in South Africa 'has done a little work' and is now home here at the factory and will be up on our used gun site shortly.

The rifle was built in 1937 and has the original 28" barrel ( 27 3/8" from front ring of which many of which have been shortened to 25-6") stock length of 14 3/8" and weighs 9lbs 15oz. The rifle is not cased and the accessories shown are from my collection of bits and do not come with the rifle. We do make in our leather shop a replica of the sling with hooks and also the belt and ammo holder.

By Simon Clode

15 Comments

Fredrik K on October 3, 2016 at 10:34 am

Cracking rifle! Whos made the belt?

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Fredrik K on October 3, 2016 at 10:34 am

Cracking rifle! Who made the belt?

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- Simon Clode on October 3, 2016 at 10:42 am
  
  We make the same belt and sling in our leather shop. I will email you a photo of them.
  
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  - Fredrik K on October 6, 2016 at 6:55 am
    
    Thank you, please do so. Could not find the belt in your online shop
    
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    - Simon Clode on October 6, 2016 at 7:21 am
      
      No not there yet, I will send you a photo and price now whilst it is in development. I will need your size if you wish to proceed.
      
      Simon
      
      Reply
Peter on October 3, 2016 at 2:23 pm

Very nice gun.

I love the sling swivels, are they original WR?
They would be nice on my WR double rifle or my .318 .

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- Simon Clode on October 3, 2016 at 2:39 pm
  
  Thank you Peter, these are as originally fitted to the rifle, they accept the swivel hook type sling we were recently able to re-intorduce. I did a post on these and they have been very popular as fit many old classic rifles. www.westleyrichards.com/theexplora/wp-admin/post.php?post=9136&action=edit
  
  Certainly we can fit these to either or both the rifles, I think certainly the 318 and perhaps the classic type on the double as 'a little more sturdy' and the correct non detach fitting look very good on the doubles.
  
  Simon
  
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Neil McVeigh on October 4, 2016 at 3:06 am

Simon why did these guns invariably sport a 28" barrel?Was it just a "fashion" at the time or ballistically the long barrel was a necessity?I have read criticisms of the .318 and .425 from time to time due to the barrel length.Can you put the record straight?
Neil

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- Simon Clode on October 4, 2016 at 4:03 am
  
  All the ballistic testing was done at the proof house with 28" barrels so I assume as peak ballistics were reached with this length barrel they made initial models with this length. Some people get on well with them and in particular the old African hunters seem to like them, they point well and I have used them open sighted with great success in the bush.
  
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Vance Daigle on October 4, 2016 at 8:40 am

Good Day Simon,

Thanks for showing another rust ole nail Simon, this one seems to have a bit of a different front site...ring around the barrel? Very manly package in my humble opinion. Thanks!!!

In Chrsit
Vance,

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- Simon Clode on October 4, 2016 at 8:51 am
  
  A feature we are actually going to reintroduce! It gives a very secure fixing.
  
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Vance Daigle on October 4, 2016 at 10:53 am

Great- I like that look, it gives a gun even more of a vintage appeal.
Thank you for the response Simon,

In Christ
Vance,

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Ned Cowell on October 6, 2016 at 11:12 am

Would it be possible, given the very similar rim diameter and overall length of the .318 and the .425, to make one of your takedown rifles with interchangeable barrels in these two calibres, like the .375/.300 H&H combinations that you make. Would the difference in the diameter of the cartridge bodies necessitate a change of magazine follower when the barrels were switched? Given that you lead the field in take-down bolt actions, as in so much else, it would seem like a tremendous 'flagship' bolt action if it combined your two iconic cartridges!

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- Simon Clode on October 7, 2016 at 5:01 am
  
  Correct it can and has been done, the follower is a key part of the success as very different for each calibre.
  
  Kind Regards,
  
  Simon
  
  Reply
Dr Rahman on April 17, 2019 at 8:15 am

A good friend of mine has a double barreled 425 and has put it to good use in Africa . It must be quite rare to find the ddbl version of the 425 Westley Richards

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