After a few plains game hunts in South Africa I decided to step it up a bit and I sent in deposit for a buff hunt for 09 to Zim.

I went out and purchased a CZ 550 in 416 rigby. I had a gunsmith bed it, a recoil reducer installed, and I topped it with Talley QD mounts and a Leupold 1.5x 6 VX-III scope.

After looking at the price of factory ammo and even custom handloads I figured I would go all in and learn how to reload. I have read as much as I can here on the forum and printed up a bunch of PDF's. I am looking to load
400 gr barnes TSX or Banded Solids
Jamison Brass
Federal 215 M Primers
HG 4831

Any pointers or extras items that I might need that the more experienced hands here can suggest to a complete novice. Any and all info is appreciated.

Sounds like you have some great starting points for reloading this great caliber. Another powder you might try is the IMR 4831 (start at 93grains up to 96 grains) see which one is most accurate. If your game to try other bullets the Swift 400 grain softs and the GS solids (370 grain) are some other options you might give a try. See what shoots the best out of your rifle, they're all good bullets and your powder choice is also a good one.

Dirk

The CZ .416 Rigby has a 1:16.5" twist instead of the usual 1:14" of modern .416's. Alas, a 1:12" would be even better on all of them.

You would probably be better off sticking with bullets shorter than the monometal 400-grainers, and the Barnes bullets are undersized.

In the CZ 400-grain Woodleigh (soft) or the GSC 380-gran FN and 330-grain HV at higher than traditional velocities would be optimum.
400-grain Swift or Nosler Partition?

I killed a cape buffao with the GSC 380-grain FN at 2500 fps, and I have killed water buffalo with the old Barnes X 350-grainer at 2700 fps in .416 Rigby.
Those bullets will make them sicken and die pretty quickly.

If you want to keep cost down,especially for practice loads, try Speer 350gr mag=tip. Lot cheaper than premium bullets. My practice load is the same point of impact as my hunting load so I don't have to rezero when going on a hunt.

The 400gr TSX is a long bullet, I use the 350TSX loaded with IMR4831 @2600+. 2 buff this past fall in Tanz. went down real quick with this load. Plus the 350gr can be loaded fast enough to shoot fairly flat for long shots on plains game.

I'm a firm believer in the old 410 gr woodleigh soft over 102 gr of Rl-22. The reults are impressive. Your CZ with the 1:16 twist will shoot them perfectly. For practice use the 400 gr Hornady's or cast bullets of 400 gr with 56 gr of XMP 5744. YOU'LL ENJOY YOUR .416 Rigby its a big step up in killing power over a .375 H&H.-ROB

load them up and see how they go. barnes work great at 2400-2600fps

I have a set-up almost identical to yours and have been very happy with it.I do recommend fitting a Mod 70 style safety,the standard ones have a nasty habit of being snicked ON by accident leaving you with a rifle that will not fire.If you do a search you will uncover a bit about this

If you crimp, be sure the shoulder doesn't collapse. Might investigate in a Lee collet type of crimper vs. using the seating die a la RCBS. Also, cycle all rounds through your own rifle to be sure -- sometimes the "collapse" will resolve itself. Hard to see without looking close.

Hornady brass is great for practice loads (uncrimped). Good luck finding Federal primers. Might check out CCI 250's or work up loads with WLRM's which I understand are HOT.

Lots of good advice in those earlier posts...

BNagel

I have been very happy with the 350 grain Barnes X in an identical rifle. 98 gr of IMR 4350 in Norma Brass with Fed 215s makes 2700 fps.

Shoots flat and strikes like the Hammer of Thor. Recoil is only moderate.

Has taken Gemsbock, Hartebeast, Cape Buffalo and Bison. Load game over 6 feet of penetration on a Cape Buffalo in Tanzania October of 2006.

Gents-

Awesome advice all around and greatly appreciated.
BNagel I just ordered a Lee collet crimper. I will also cycle all rounds through the gun as this seems to be common suggestions in all threads.

I am thinking now of switching to the 350 gr TSX as they seem more then ample for the job and may load a bit earier?

My young cape buffalo guide/PH in Botswana used a .416 Rigby CZ with 350-grain Barnes X-bullets.
Having some familiarity with that combination, that was alright by me. His employer-PH carried a .416 Rigby by John Rigby and guided the more wealthy client after elephant from an adjoining camp on the Duba Plain.

What I took to Botswana for the .416 Rigby was loaded with the GSC 380-grain FN and 350-grain Barnes X.

I left all the ammo with the PH's when I left. They appreciated the ammo too, having seen the performance.

If you have trouble getting hold of the GSC 380-grain FN (2500 fps) and 330-grain HV (2800 fps) in time for a buffalo safari with a CZ-barreled .416 Rigby, just get a bunch of the 350-grain TSX and go to town: 2700 fps.

That would be almost as good as a .395/340-grain at 2800 fps.

Hutty,

Did you have to send Lee a dummy round? Or is this pretty much a standard die that they can make as needed? They don't list the Rigby as a standard on their site, so I assumed I was gonna have to do the "custom" thing. I'll have to call them tomorrow.

David Walker

Hutty,

All good advice from above. My basic 400-410gr bullet load is with 100gr of RL-22. Nothing special but it works and IMO a good mid level load. You can of course crank it up but that is up to you. As BNagel said the Lee "factory crimp" dies are worth a look. As he cautioned don't overcrimp the loads! The .416 Rigby is a nice round for sure.

John

Hutty

Where did you find a Lee die to order?
With my .375 WeM a .375 H&H factory crimp die works, but don't know about something close enough to the Rigby.

RCBS seating die works fine for Federal nickel brass -- HARD! NORMA and Hornady are softer.

BNagel

Just talked to a lady at Lee about the .416 Rigby crimp die. She said it's a custom in a large series, which is the wrong threads for my Rock Chucker. It also requires a dummy round, $79.00 and about 10-12 weeks to get it made. I guess I'm gonna stick with the standard RCBS dies I have and play with the roll crimp. I'm not real happy with what I'm getting right now, but I'll just have to play with it a little I guess.

David

It'll fit the RockChucker. Just unscrew the insert that is threaded for the 7/8" standard die. You will need a big honkin 1 1/2" open end, box, or socket wrench.

Geronimo

I thought the RSBS used a 1-1/4" insert while the Lee used a 1-1/2". I'll have to re-read that.

Thanks Gero.

David