Sorry if this has been addressed here recently. If so, I missed it.

I want to move up from the .375 H&H cartridge in a new rifle for African and North American game. A 400 gr bullet at 2400 fps/5000 ftlb seems about right. My options are the .416 Rem and .416 Rigby. The .416 Wby is too much of a good thing.

I lean toward the .416 Rem because I see the same ballistics, smaller case diameter lets the same magazine box size hold more rounds, chance to handload fired .375 H&H cases. The .416 Rigby operates at lower pressure. I don't know how significant this is, as it seems that people use higher pressure cartridges in Africa all the time.

Which do you recommend, and why?

Thanks for your help,

As you've so astutely observed, folks do indeed use high-pressure cartridges all of the time in Africa (self included), and I've never heard of an honest, contemporary problem associated with the various .300 magnums, .270 Win., .338 Win. Mag., or .416 Rem., etc. in Africa.

I like the .416 Remington, and I own an excellent custom Model 70 in .416 Remington that is one of my most prized rifles. It's fairly light, incredibly accurate, feeds like butter, and has a special magazine box that holds four-down, yet it's no deeper than a standard box. A bulky five-round drop-box magazine is not necessary, and represents a minor extra burden that I'm happy to do without. Most .416 Remingtons are lighter and less bulky than most of the .416 Rigbys I've handled, and so (obviously) is the ammuniiton.

I get just under 2450 fps. out of my rifle (fast barrel) with 400 gr. Swift A-Frame bullets, and pressures are absolutely reasonable at all temperature levels.

The Rigby is an excellent choice, but for my purposes, the .416 Remington simply makes more sense, and I'm very happy with it.

AD

Opinions on this vary.



The 416 Remington can produce identical ballistics to the original 416 Rigby at higher preasures. However, the 416 Remington can be built is a sleek Mauser or Model 70 Winchester rifle.



The 416 Rigby produces its proformance at low preasure which is desireable in Africa in the heat. The 416 Rigby can be pushed to the levels of the 416 Weatherby if desired, but it has worked at 400 grs. at 2400 fps with great success for a long time.



The final point will be nestalgia. Carrying a classic Rigby does give you a feel of things as they once were in Africa. That big old case is impressive.

Steve