Gene Simillion is one of America’s top tier custom rifle makers. This 416 Taylor chambered rifle is a stunning example of his work.
Fast Facts
- Gene Simillion is a renowned custom rifle maker, a hunter with a deep understanding of what makes a hunting rifle great.
- Gene’s preference has been to build his custom rifles on either Winchester Model 70 or Granite Mountain Arms actions.
- The 416 Taylor rifle cartridge was based on the 458 Winchester Magnum necked down to take .416″ diameter bullets. It produces ballistics very close to the much larger 416 Rigby.
- A Gene Simillion custom rifle in 416 Taylor is coming up for sale by Rock Island Auction at time of publication.
Gene Simillion is a custom rifle maker located in Gunnison, Colorado. He is known for both the quality and artistry of his work: and he has a background as a hunter who understands bolt action hunting rifles and what makes a rifle great.
Simillion custom rifles have typcally been made on Winchester Model 70 actions, or Granite Mountain Arms actions.
This rifle is one he built in 1992 and it is based on a Winchester Model 70 action which was made in 1948 and features the cloverleaf tang.
The rifle is chambered for the 416 Taylor cartridge, which was created a few years after the 458 Winchester cartridge made its debut in 1956. The cartridge being a 458 Winchester Magnum necked down to take .416″ bullets.
The 416 Taylor was created by Bob Chatfield-Taylor to produce near to identical ballistics with the iconic 416 Rigby, but in a standard (i.e. 30-06) length action, and using less expensive and usually more easily obtained cartridge cases.
It proved to be a great success and was shown to be able to drive a 400 grain bullet at velocities around 2,300 fps, which put it squarely into the same category as the 416 Rigby.
The 416 Taylor also showed itself to be quite flexible and could use lighter bullets at higher velocities making it suitable for North American hunting and African Plains Game hunting. For example the Woodleigh .416″ 340 grain Protected Point Soft Nose (PPSN) bullet at around 2,500 fps. This bullet has a ballistic coefficient of .330 and this combination of velocity and ballistic coefficient allow the rifle to be zeroed at 200 yards and used with confidence at ranges a bit beyond that.
This 416 Taylor Simillion rifle is made as a classic safari rifle with quarter rib mounted “open V” rear sight with white pyramid graduated for the 400 grain bullet at 50 yards. This being matched by a ramp mounted white beaded blade front sight.
The stock is in the classic style with Simillion’s wrap around fore-end checkering and pistol grip checkering. The stock is fitted with two reinforcing cross-bolts and has a leather covered recoil pad.
The stock is fitted with an ebony fore-end cap and extra quick detach sight blade and filler in the engraved satin blue trapdoor grip cap.
The rifle has the classic Winchester Model 70 three position safety and the bolt handle features five panel checkering while the bottom metal has a straddle floorplate and rolled edge inside-the-bow release trigger guard.
The rifle is fitted with a Leupold Vari-X III 1.5-5×20 mm riflescope installed in a set of Simillion’s double lever quick detach scope bases and rings.
This rifle is being offered for sale by Rock Island Auction at their Premier sale scheduled for August 21st, 2026.
You can find the sale page for this quite superb rifle if you click here.
Rock Island Auction describe the condition of this rifle as follows:-
“Excellent as built by master gunmaker Gene Simillion, retaining 98% plus original blue and gold finishes with minor handling evidence. The wood is very good with a few dings and scratches and sharp checkering. Mechanically excellent. The scope optics are clear.“
The rifle comes with a set of RCBS 416 Taylor reloading dies and an extra Limb Saver recoil pad.
Barrel length is 24 inches and weight is 8lb 13oz without riflescope fitted and 9lb 12oz with the Leupold Vari-X III fitted.
Picture credits: All pictures courtesy Rock Island Auction.
Jon Branch is the founder and senior editor of Revivaler and has written a significant number of articles for various publications including official Buying Guides for eBay, classic car articles for Hagerty, magazine articles for both the Australian Shooters Journal and the Australian Shooter, and he’s a long time contributor to Silodrome.
Jon has done radio, television, magazine and newspaper interviews on various issues, and has traveled extensively, having lived in Britain, Australia, China and Hong Kong. His travels have taken him to Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan and a number of other countries. He has studied the Japanese sword arts and has a long history of involvement in the shooting sports, which has included authoring submissions to government on various firearms related issues and assisting in the design and establishment of shooting ranges.
