Is the .416 Rigby too big ?!!!

hesher66

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Just when I had my mind set on a .375H&H I went into my local gunsmith and on the wall was a custom made CZ.416 Rigby with all the trimmings (I NEED it!!!). So my question is "Is the .416 Rigby too much gun for this country" Keeping in mind it will be in addition to my 30-06's, it will not be my only hunting rifle (definetly my biggest), and I do venture into grizzly country quite often.
 
there's no such thing as 'too big,' provided you can shoot it well. a 416 would take quite a bit of practice to master
 
Aside from polar bears and grizzly, I'm not sure what you would hunt with it but I'll bet it would be a lot of fun to shoot. You might want to look into getting some adult diapers, as I'm pretty sure every time you shoot it the recoil will make you pee your pants a little:D.....

Just a little......
 
Buy it! Shoot it for anything!
It is a great rifle and round - the recoil in the CZ550 is really not that bad at all. It is a relatively heavy rifle tho. But a good kind of heavy - solid and real -

I have one with a Leupold Mk4 1-4 (a heavier scope). With 400 gr TSX or Nosler partitions I get cloverleaves at 100 yds at 2400 ft/sec
 
I carried a Rigby as my bear gun for a couple of years, with 350 gr Xs and Magtips as my go to bullets, over 102 grs of 4350. That combination gave me 2850 or so. The flat trajectory made hits out past a quarter mile easy, and it had oodles of power to solve any bear problems at bad breath range. I like the round and would have stuck with it, but at the time, the late 90s, Norma's Rigby brass was $180 for 50 so I switched to the Ultra. I hear .416 Rigby brass is more affordable these days

IMHO, the .416 Rigby is the most powerful rifle that is suitable as a general purpose rifle in terms of trajectory and recoil. A .460 Weatherby would shoot as flat, but while I could hold the Rigby for 3 shots prone (I was tougher then) I can't with a .460 unless its throttled back.
 
I have to agree with most in saying "There is no such thing as overkill !"
Nothing says you have to use full house elephant or buffalo loads for North American game.
Mind you nothing says "STOP" like a 416 Rigby.


RC
 
If you're seriously interested maybe you can arrange to test shoot it. I'd suggest starting from standing position, not from the bench. If the recoil doesn't bother you then it's not too much.
 
if your thinking -in your face knock-out power.
a 45/70 guide gun is amazing,extreemly short fast handling & hits like a sledge hammer.for far far less per round,could actualy afford to get good with it. although it has a rainbow tragectory,even with the lever-evolution bullets-they realy only give a bit more range.can also get ammo almost everywhere.I like shooting the exotics myself but my GG is a no brainer in deep woods
 
Just when I had my mind set on a .375H&H I went into my local gunsmith and on the wall was a custom made CZ.416 Rigby with all the trimmings (I NEED it!!!). So my question is "Is the .416 Rigby too much gun for this country" Keeping in mind it will be in addition to my 30-06's, it will not be my only hunting rifle (definetly my biggest), and I do venture into grizzly country quite often.

I have a CZ 550 in 416 Rigby. It is a substantial rifle but I don't find it particulary heavy or awkward. I can get the holes touching off a bench at 100 yards.

I found that the recoil took some getting used to at the range - but definitely manageable.

I've killed a few critters with it now, most notably two large black bears, one of which was wounded and coming to discuss his discomfort with me at about 20 feet.

The 416 Rigby, from my experience, works very well on bears. Oh, and I don't seem to feel the recoil when something is in fromt of me.
 
Got the very rifle in my valt, shot a nice bull moose with it 2 years ago, 1 shot behind shoulder angled forward; took out most of his heart and left a nice 5" vent hole to speed cooling. Didn't go far!
 
No kill like overkill. You don't need an excuse to buy a .416 and a .416 Rigby is ###y and nostalgic to the core. Buy it, buy it, buy it. Then save money for ammo and reloading supplies cuz the Rigby is pricey that way.
 
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