I am giving serious thought to purchasing a CZ 550 in .416 Rigby, and if I do, I will also be reloading for same.

Because the .416 Rigby is a LONG case, I have some concerns that my LnL Classic single-stage may not be adequate for at least two reasons: 1) the opening measures right at about 4", which may be quite tight for seating some of the longer bullets; and 2) should I need to full-length resize the cases, it is likely going to take a goodly amount of force to do so, and the press frame may not have sufficient strength to hold up to it.

Has anyone used the LnL single-stage press with this cartridge successfully? If so, what- if any- items of advice can you give?

I have no problem acquiring another SS press if it is needed to reload for this cartridge, even a .50 BMG SS press if necessary. Any recommendations regarding suitable SS presses (should another be needed) would also be very helpful.

Thank you very much in advance.

I used to load my 416 on an old RCBS Rockchucker, which has an even smaller opening without drama. You simply place the bullet tip in the bottom of the die first, then down onto the case mouth and hold it there until the case starts to enter the die fully.
I had no problems FL sizing in this press either, but I generally FL/seat on my RCBS Turret press now, which is far easier than my old Rockchucker, and is better than my new Rockchucker for long cartridges due to the larger open area to work with.
I can't tell you if you WILL have problems with your LnL, I've never used one, but try it and see what happens.
Cheers.
416.

Just get a Lee Precision Press. Either the Challenger or the Classice Press. I load 450/400 3 inch on my Classic Cast Press all the time. It will handle 416 Rigby.

Rockchucker works for me too. Get 20 gauge shotgun loading block and watch the crimping -- can waste brass from shoulder crumpling with softer brands. Hornady brass is good but I use Federal nickel brass for crimped loads...

I also use an old Rockchucker for my Rigby with no problems. I crimp my reloads but do it in two steps. I seat the bullets without crimping then back off the seating stem and adjust the die down so it crimps. Much better than trying to seat/crimp at one time.

May be simple clumsieness on my part, but with the steep shoulders of the Rigby case, I ended up pushing the shoulder down on about a fifth of the cases when I tried to roll crimp.
Seemed like an easier solution to get a Lee crimp die. Works fine, the only catch is, bigger die. The Rockchucker and the a couple of the Lee presses both work with a removable insert that normally holds the 7/8 dies. Take that out and the larger bodied Lee dies fit. Can,t remeber if the Hornady has that as well.
If you decide you want a larger single stage, the Redding ultra mag should be plenty big enough..
Votin yes on the Rigby...

I load 416 Rigby on my Rockchucker with no problems.

I loaded mine on a Redding Boss with no issues. Just did the same thing as 416RigbyHunter. Never bothered crimping though.

When I got my Rigby, rather than fumbling with my fat fingers and a Rockchucker, I bought a Rockchucker Supreme from a fellow who wasn't happy with his, at least for loading standard length cartridges. I have my seating dies set so they do not crimp. I load for the .375 H&H, .404 Jeffery and .416 Rigby on the Supreme and everything else on the Rockchucker. I don't crimp for the above because my rifles are all Ruger #1 single shots.
Paul B.

Thanks everyone.

I think I will give my LnL a try and if it doesn't work out, I'll get a LEE Classic Cast, RCBS Rockchucker Supreme or Redding Ultramag (the Ultramag would be fun to load .25 ACP with)-

I use my LnL for the 416 Rigby. Its not difficult at all. Make sure the cases are well lubed. I also use some graphite powder on the case neck for resizing. When it comes to seating a bullet you have to place the brass in the holder then place the bullet, with the tip going in first, at an angle into the die, and then you align the base with the brass and then seat it. PM me for any load data you want to try. I have loaded Swift A-Frames (400Gr) and Woodleigh hydrostatic bullets.
Regards
Jas

Just searched and found this. I have committed to a CZ 500 in 416 Rigby with Kevlar stock. I will be reloading as soon as all the bits arrive.

I have 2 questions

1. Do I need to full length size the cases because it is a DG round? or can I just neck size because of the low pressure of the Rigby? (I will not be going above the orioginal Rigby load of 2400 fps for 400 gr bullets)

2. Is it necessary to crimp the bullets for the magazine rifle? Or has anyone tried gringing down the expander plug to tighten the neck tension on the bullet and avoid crimping?

I would appreciate any help.

Naki, I wouldn't worry too much about crimping at this stage until you load some rounds and try them out. I do crimp my 404J rounds in the bullet seating die but of course the 404 lends itself well to this process with a nice taper to the shoulder and no hint of collapsing the shoulder. The 416 Rigby is known to be sensitive to crimping with that abrupt shoulder likely to collapse if the crimping die is not set fairly precisely and all cases trimmed to same length.

Try out a mag full of full power loads and see how your rounds hold up. Obviously the last round in the mag is the one that will best show any tendency for the bullet to be pushed back into the case under recoil. Of course if you use a powder and charge that fills the case to the base of the bullet then this will help prevent the bullet being driven back under recoil.

You may find that provided your neck tension is good then crimping won't be an issue.

I load for the Rigby on a Rockchucker and it works fine. I have been tempted to buy the big Lee Press that uses the oversize dies so I could use the Lee Factory Crimp Die, which only comes in the larger size. I like using this die more than using the crimp that is in the seating die.

Regarding grinding the expander to size the neck smaller to avoid crimping....I doubt it will work. I'm sure the recoil is more than adequate to push a uncrimped bullet back into the case, particularly the bottom round in the magazine.

When hunting DG I want everything right. I want my ammo properly sized and don't want the bullet to move in the case. This is not the place to save $50.

Edit: Eagle 27 mentions using powder that fills the case to the bottom of the bullet. I found RL-25 does a good job of that and is also accurate.

If I get the Lee crimping die, can I use it in the standard press like the Lee alloy (Part of the anniversery kit) or the Redding Boss (I have both)? Or do i need a bigger press for this dies? (Groan!)

I also prefer to crimp the ammo. I used to do this in my old 358 Win which is a baby compared to the Rigby & also do so in my 9.3X62.

Another question - Can I use the Lee Factory crimp die for 416 Rem on a 416 Rigby case by just adjusting the die?

What is the risk of doing this?

I can buy a 416 Rem crimp die on eBay for $15 but getting a Rigby crimp die is not easy.

The Lee crimp die for 416 Rigby is a 1 1/4"-12 die. A Redding Big Boss or Ultramag has a removable bushing that would let you use the bigger dies when neccesary, 7/8"-14 the rest of the time. Don,t think the Boss press will do that. Can,t remember if Rockchuckers have the same pitch or not, pretty sure the Lee Classic does.

I doubt that a 416 Rem Lee crimp die will work with the Rigby. The Rigby measures .540" at the start of the shoulder while the Remington measures .487". The Remington die would have to be real loose below the neck.

I have not gone the direction of a Lee Crimp die for my Rigby because I would have to buy another press, and I believe the die runs around $100. Ouch!

I will probably do it before I do another DG hunt.