I am agonizing over my next toy. I want another No. 1H, and trying to decide between a 458 and a 416 Rigby.

I've never owned/loaded for a 416 of any kind, so am somewhat wanting one for a new experience. The only thing that has me hesitating is the skimpy bullet selection, compared to the 458...especially in the cast arena.

I want to use cast bullets for deer and hogs, and can't get the image of those 3/8 inch wide meplats on the 45 slugs out of my mind! Meanwhile, the 416 struggles along with girly-man meplats.

Are there some short range thumper cast bullets out there for the 416 and I just have not found them?

Please, I want the 416...but I don't want to spend the whole relationship looking over my shoulder to steal a lustful peek at a piledriver...

Why don't you e-mail Mountain Moulds and ask them for a pic of the "Ewing" .416 mould? It has a meplat which reminds me of the front of a boxcar. The designer uses it in his .416 Winchester Short Mag, and it IS a thumper!

For that matter, there is a bullet designing program at Mountain Mouilds' web site, and you can put any width meplat you want in any bullet mould you buy from them....just fill in the specs on the design program, and that's what your finished mould will cast........

P.S.: Don't remember if there is a pic of the bullet in there, but the .416 WSM rifle of Ken Ewing is the cover pic of the first ever colour cover of "The Fouling Shot", just a few issues ago. It moves a 400 gr. cast bullet at 2.300 fps or slightly more, which is PLENTY for me. I've shot it, and more "thump" back or forward I don't need.

Thanks! I'll check it out.

Since you don't have to worry about a stubby bullet hanging up in the magazine, you can go with quite large meplats. Going to an 80% meplat is roughly .330" dia, and I'd say you could go up to maybe a .350", .375" might be too much of a good thing. Mountain molds makes great molds and are my #1 choice for a custom setup.

That said, the 458 is so much more versatile than the 416 with existing componet bullets and molds that I'd be hard pressed choosing a 416 over a 458, especially the 458 Lott. You can load the lott down to 45 pistol levels with 300 gr bullets and unique, and all the way up to 500's @ 2300 fps. I've been shooting a Lyman 500 gr cast @ 2100-2200 from my 458 Lott, and it's a great cast shooter.

Well, confession time.

I ended up buying the 458...the overwhelming availability of components did it for me. That, and the 458 case is just that much more useful for mid-range loads.

I really tried to go with the 416, but my darn practical side won out.

I still want one, though....

Good choice! If I were to build a dedicated dangerous game rifle, I'd go with a 416 Remington. But for playing with big bores, you simply cannot beat the versatility of a 458.

I have a couple boxes of Beartooth Pile Driver Jrs on the way, among other bullets. I can't wait to whack a pig with one of those babies!