In my Hornady manual, the 416 Rigby looks to have more capacity than the 416 Remington but the average velocity for a 400 gr bullet is higher in the Remington. What gives? Which has the most potential?

The Rigby is notoriously under-loaded in the books. It�s got plenty of legs beyond what the manuals state when used in modern bolt action rifles.

I just picked up box of 416 Rigby at Scheels. I saw $119.99 on the box and my eyes just about popped out of my head!!! Needless to say, it was the only box and it's still there. At $6 a shot, I'd be going broke instead of going hunting.

Mast Technolgy BELL Brass
You can buy 100 BELL 416 Rigby Brass for about what they want for 20 loaded rounds.

Rusty
We band of brothers!

Nebraska:To answer your question, the Rigby has conciderably more case capacity, hence more potential than the 416 Rem. case. This is because the Rigby was originaly loaded with cordite (extruded nitrocellulose cut to case length,like spagetti)which was temperature sensitive, especially in the African climate. High chamber pressures could lead to a stuck case in the chamber, not a good plan if you botched the first shot on a cape buffalo and it now decides to even the score. As such, many of the African big game calibers made by the British were loaded in the range of 18 to 19 long tons (38,000 to 40,000 psi) chamber pressure and because of this the Remington case has to be loaded to 52,000 or 54,000 c.u.p. to do what the Rigby does at 40,000 c.u.p. The Rigby case loaded to max will come within 40 to 50 fps of what the 416 Weatherby case (which is basically a belted Rigby case)can do.Hope this helps.

The Rigby can definitely be stoked up a little more, I run woodeligh 410 gr SN's to around 2550 fps. There is still room for a little improvement on this.

Nebraska,

We are using H4831SC with weights from 102.5 to 104gr. and are getting 2400 to 2500 fps. per the Chrony with bullet weights from 370gr. to 400gr.

I had the loads faster when we were first developing loads. Believe me when I tell you that you can safely put more powder in that case than you want to shoot from the bench!

As a side bar that others hear can also atest to, is how accurate the .416 Rigby is.

We are using: Norma brass; Federal 'Gold Medal Match' Magnum primers; North Fork, Swift A-Frame,& Hornady bullets; H4831SC powder; LEE 'Factory Crimp Die'.

As you know, start low and build up to the velocity that you and the gun like.

All the best and good luck with your choice.

SAM

Nebraska

Here is a general rule that works quite well when comparing different case capacities.

The percentage incease in velocity will be 1/4 of the percentage increase in case capacity.

So if a 416 Wby case is 8% (I don't know the actual difference) larger than a 416 Rigby case, then when both are loaded to equal pressure and with equally suitable powders, the 416 Wby will be 2% faster with the same bullet weight.

Mike