Right, where do I start?!
Jim - now I've looked at it I've made the connection. Your quirky .458 clarified it nicely! I've bought a CZ550 Safari with the Aramid composite stock. Not the prettiest rifle but said to be one of the toughest you can buy. That'll do the job nicely for me - I have pretty rifles but this one I would rather not be fussy about slinging it in the back of a pickup etc.
Now, pretty rifles. The drilling is my pretty rifle. I'm quite sensitive about how it's used and am careful to make sure it's spotless before it goes back in the safe. It's a nice gun, made in 1943 in Suhl according to the serial number references I've found online. Sadly I've not shot much with the rifle barrel yet but I have all the time in the world for that. It'll happen one day. So far the best I have managed was a squirrel when I first had the rifle - I pulled the wrong trigger. My rule of no sky shots without an empty rifle chamber saved the day on that little accident, he had a backstop. It proves it fits me well though - I hit it without consciously looking at the sights on the gun at around 20 paces...
As for how did I get the Rigby for deer. Well that was a fairly drawn out process with help form a very decent FEO. I initially put in for a Lott but that was refused. My insisting on being able to use it in the field in the UK to gain familiarity ready for a dangerous game hunt just wouldn't cut it, they were having none of it. A few emails later and I was asked to go in and collect my FAC with my new .357 slot that I'd applied for at the same time. That turned into an hour long meeting with said FEO, who had gone to the trouble of searching the firearms database for clues as to what had already been granted for UK use in my area. He then prodded me in the direction of the Rigby because in his words "if someone already has one then it's easier for us to justify the grant of another to our superiors". Someone else does have one, I now have the second!
Shooting deer with it should be OK I think. I plan to load to the lower end of the standard charge range. Brass supposedly lasts well in the Rigby and I have around 150 cases ready to use, sourced as once fired from various places. The Woodleighs have come to me at 65p each for a 410gr Weldcore soft point - I pay more than that for Nosler Accubond for my 7STW. A tub of powder will load approximately 80 rounds at a sensible charge level, so all in all I'll be looking at £2.50 a pop roughly taking into consideration the expected brass life. A good factory 6.5x55 round costs that so it's not awful. Factory ammo is a different story all together, 20 Hornady DGX come in at £150+!
From what I've read, I don't think there will be any mistaking when the gun is fired. The recoil is stout. But I used to have a .375H&H Brno 602 which is a very similar rifle, and I actually found that more pleasant to shoot than my friends Tikka T3 Lite in .270 when used side by side one after the other. I'm hoping the Rigby will be similarly acceptable. The CZ550 comes in at nearly 10lbs unscoped and has a huge recoil pad to spread the load. It's not a small gun.