Friends !!
I have a Ruger M77 MK II in 338 Winmag, who needs a new barrel.
There is space for a bigger bore in my cabinet, and I have been looking at the 416 Taylor, 375 Taylor or the old st.by 485 Win mag .
The general use will be moose hunting in Norway, and perhaps the trip to Afrika for antelope or Canada for bears.

What about recoil ??
I�m not recoil shy, but got a dental work in my lover right jaw, and will not risk ruining a bridge worth US$ 2K
Which one will be the most gentle ??

So here I come to the "rock of the wise".
What you guys and gals think ??

If you fear for your dental work, go back to the .338. If your dental plan is a good one, get the .458 and handload according to the game hunted.

George

Hi Arild,

If you are a reloader and are not allergic to wildcats, then look into either the 375 or 416 Taylor. One of these days I'm going to try the 375 Taylor. The 416 Taylor is a bit stouter in recoil than a 338 Win but not much IMO. It's a great round that someone should chamber from the factory. Do a search on Brian's 416 Webpage or something similar to that (on this site) and you'll find a link that has loading data for both the Taylor cartridges. The 458 Win will rock your world in comparison to the 338! Good luck finding what you want!

The 375 Taylor is the most practical and useful big game wildcat on the planet. It duplicates all of the ballistics of the venerable 375 H&H and can be made simply by seating a 300 gr Sierra Gameking (Boattailed) into a 338 Win Mag case. It has the same expansion ratio as the 308 Winchester, and uses the same powders to achieve the same velocities. The case thrives on R15 and is very accurate with reduced loads.

Essentially it is a 9.3X64 that shoots the wider selection of .375 bullets that you can make without dies...if you need to.

I guess a .376 Steyr would need some bolt-face work.

For as much performance as it offers the 416 Taylor is very sweet shooting. (It was the first big bore I ever shot). I think for perfomance/recoil ratio it is the best of your list......DJ

If I were planning a African Safari, considering the changing gun rules running rampant in Africa today, I would not opt for a wildcat of any kind and it can be a problem even today....

I'd just rebarrel it to another .338 and if I wanted a big bore then I would opt for a 300 gr. 338 cal. Woodliegh bullet at about 2400 FPS, that will be as good as any 375 and have better SD....It is an excellent killer on Cape Buffalo.

Another real option would be the 9.3x64, its the European version of a 375 H&H and will work fine in that action.....

Is Ray still suffering from aftereffects of shooting his magnums over in Africa? Or maybe Walter doped his coffee?

You can say that again, and again, and again, and again!

I suspect Walter has been tinkering with my mind again, he sneaks in and does little annoying things like this from time to time....