.416 owners, the ultimate big game hunting cartridge?

N

Northern Shooter

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Location
North
As a follow up to my big bore thread..

I've come to the conclusion that a big bore as defined by >0.45 such as the .458 WinMag, 458 Lott and 500's may be more bullet that many of us would ever "need" for our big game hunting and would be better suited with a .416 caliber class. I know the term need is very subjective here, so hear me out.

The .416 class appears to be the sweet spot when it comes to big game hunting, especially those that hunt Africa. It seems to weave the middle-ground between the 375's and the true big bores while being able to take game that would be hunted with either. A .416 like a .416 Rigby will take any game animal on the planet, while producing measurably less recoil while also being cheaper to reload than the 458's. A typical 400 grain .416 Rigby load traveling at 2,400 FPS is moving 200-300fps faster than some of the larger .45's and 0.50's and will have a better trajectory that the larger alternatives.

A few numbers for comparison sake. Cartridge - Weight - Muzzle Velocity - Muzzle Energy - Felt Recoil - Average cost/round (retail)

375 H&H - 300 grain - 2,550 FPS - 4,363 ft-lb - 37.3 ft-lb - $5/round

416 Rigby - 400 grain - 2,400 FPS - 5,115 ft-lb - 58.1 ft-lb - $12/round

.458 WinMag - 500 grain - 2,192 FPS - 5,336 ft-lb - 62.3 ft-lb - $9/round

.458 Lott - 500 grain - 2,300 FPS - 5,872 ft-lb - 70.4 ft-lb - $9/round

500 Nitro Express - 570 grain - 2,150 FPS - 5,860 ft-lb - 74.5 ft-lb - $13.5/round

The only downside I see above for the 416 Rigby is cost per round which is surprisingly higher than the 458's, I'm not sure why this is the case. This can be remedied by either reloading or going with either the 416 Ruger or 416 RemMag which are both offered at $6-7/round.


For those of you that own one of the 416's (Rigby, Remington, Ruger)

1. Why did you select this cartridge?
2. Having owned a 416, do you have any desire to go larger?
3. For those that hunt Africa with a 416, have you ever been left wanting for more?
4. Have you hunted North American game with a 416? Do you find it to be overkill for Elk/Moose/Bear?
5. Do you find the recoil to be manageable? Significant step up from a 375?
6. Do you reload? I'm guessing so seeing these prices.
7. With the discontinuation of the CZ 550 series what affordable rifle options remain on the market that are available in one of the 416's? I'm only aware of the Sako 85.

Cheers,
 
Last edited:
.416 favored by me as hunting/stopping round has range with VLD bullets. Mentioned .416 Ruger brass currently least costly compared to .416 Rigby & .416 RM brass.
 
I bought a 416 Ruger Hawkeye African

https://www.ruger.com/products/HawkeyeAfrican/specSheets/37185.html

Originally I was thinking of a 416 Remington (to go with my 8mm Rem Mag) but could only find a Ruger at the time.

I'm happy with my choice and may eventually go for a 458 Lott at some time down the road.

I've only killed one black bear with the 416 Ruger, pretty sure it was more deader than any other black bear I've taken before or after. :)

If I ever get a bison draw the 416 ruger will be my choice of rifle for the hunt loaded with 400 gr Nosler Partitions...yes more than likely overkill :) :)
 
hawk-i said:
I bought a 416 Ruger Hawkeye African

https://www.ruger.com/products/HawkeyeAfrican/specSheets/37185.html

Originally I was thinking of a 416 Remington (to go with my 8mm Rem Mag) but could only find a Ruger at the time.

I'm happy with my choice and may eventually go for a 458 Lott at some time down the road.

I've only killed one black bear with the 416 Ruger, pretty sure it was more deader than any other black bear I've taken before or after. :)

If I ever get a bison draw the 416 ruger will be my choice of rifle for the hunt loaded with 400 gr Nosler Partitions...yes more than likely overkill :) :)
Click to expand...

A Bison hunt is definitely on my wish list and I feel like something like the 375H&H or .416 would be appropriate for such a hunt. I forgot about those Ruger rifles, it looks like they offer the 416 Ruger in both the Safari and Guide Gun models. I'm actually intrigued by that guide gun as I love that stainless steel look.

I can't even remember the last time I saw either of these in stock. I wonder if they have to be custom ordered?
 
Last edited:
Northern Shooter said:
A Bison hunt is definitely on my wish list and I feel like something like the 375H&H or .416 would be appropriate for such a hunt. I forgot about those Ruger rifles, it looks like they offer the 416 Ruger in both the Safari and Guide Gun models. I'm actually intriqued by that guide gun because as I love that stainless steel look.

I can't even remember the last time I saw either of these in stock. I wonder if they have to be custom ordered?
Click to expand...

Oddly enough, I found my 416 Ruger African sitting behind the counter at a local Canadian Tire Pro Shop.
 
Last edited:
hawk-i said:
Oddly enough, I found my 416 Ruger Alaskan sitting behind the counter at a local Canadian Tire Pro Shop.
Click to expand...

That's the thing with Canadian Tires, typically their gun rack inventory leaves much to be desired but the odd time you walk in and find a real gem. I also find some of their prices are much cheaper than other retailers, I assume they just don't update them as often.

Arsenalforce.ca is only showing one guide gun in the country. Tenda has it for $1800 but its in 30.06.
 
4fifty8 said:
Remember Wholesale Sports got my .416 Ruger Alaskan from them. Thing of the past went out of business about 7 years ago.
Click to expand...

It doesn't even look like Ruger offers the Alaskan in .416 any longer. I'm only seeing 300 WinMag, 338 WinMag and 375 Ruger listed on their website.
 
Any cheap old magnum 700 action is easily re barrelled to .416 Rem Mag... as just about any magnum action is. I built a few several years ago.
 
Not seeing .416 Ruger rifles in stock anywhere in Canada? Corlanes has 1 .375 Ruger Alaskan. https://www.corlanes.com/ruger-m77-hawkeye-alaskan-375-ruger-matte-ss.html

Nice rifles wow these sure have appreciated in value over the past decade. Now equipped with a muzzle brake makes quite a difference in felt recoil.

From Buffalo Bore website .416 RM 400gr TSX ammo -

"This new load is designed to fill dual roles. As a 416 caliber, it is obviously large enough for true Dangerous Game hunting and stopping, but with its high BC and high muzzle velocity, it will also perform big game hunting tasks out to 250+ yards if you know the distance of your target, muzzle velocity, and the bullets exterior ballistics.

For decades this was the role the venerable 375 H&H filled both in Africa and in Alaska. However, the 416 being four calibers bigger in diameter and utilizing a much heavier bullet, is simply a better stopper for those close range emergencies..."
 
Last edited:
hawk-i said:
I mistakenly wrote Alaskan here when I should have wrote African, mine is the African.
Click to expand...

That's a nice looking rifle, I actually remember cross shopping it when I was looking into 375's. I ended up going with the CZ 550 instead because A) I could actually find one in stock and B) it held 5 in the mag vs 3.

Either way you have a pretty rare rifle there.

How do you find the recoil on it? I see it's only listed at 7.8lbs which seems pretty light for that kind of cartridge. My 375 weighs 9.2lbs with considerably less recoil.
 
4fifty8 said:
Epps had a new Winchester Model 70 .416 RM listed last week think it was ~$1700 (?), it's been sold.
Click to expand...

Right, the Model 70 Safari line, I'll add that to my list and see if anymore come in stock. I believe I read on here before that all Model 70 Safari models were custom order from Winchester and take around 12 months to arrive.
 
Northern Shooter said:
That's the thing with Canadian Tires, typically their gun rack inventory leaves much to be desired but the odd time you walk in and find a real gem. I also find some of their prices are much cheaper than other retailers, I assume they just don't update them as often.

Arsenalforce.ca is only showing one guide gun in the country. Tenda has it for $1800 but its in 30.06.
Click to expand...

This is true, our local one in Rocky Mountain House Alberta has had a Kimber Mountain Accent in 270 win sitting there for around 5 years now, at $2600 if anyone is looking for one, haven't seen a mountain accent anywhere for sale other than this one. I would have bought it years ago if it was not in 270
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom