I'm thinking about having a 450 Rigby built on a CZ550 magnum action. Anyone with any experience in this cartridge? Good hunting.

------------------
Andy Cooper

Oh yeah! This is a true Class III DGR. I consider it the King of Class III though some might quibble and award the crown to the .505 Gibbs. A nice moderate load of around 106-gr. of IMR 4350 should drive a 500-gr. Hornady at 2300+ fps and generate over 6,000 ft. lbs. Its field performance is impressive to say the least. I shot a buffalo in the brisket with one and he sat down and fell over. My partner shot another broadside two minutes later (both 40 inchers) and completely knocked it down. Admittedly the first shot alarmed the herd and with its adrenaline up, the second bull did get back on its feet but it was one sick pot roast, I can tell you. The effect on game has to be seen to be believed. I love this gun.

Sarge

Sarge,

If Hornady start making some .505 bullets and Norma start making some 505 cases, I think you have you have a rebarrel job coming your way

Mike

Andy,

Rigby was using a BRNO 602 action to build their magazine rifle before they were sold and moved to the US of A. IIRC now they use the Dakota action. The BRNO 602 morphed into the Chay Zed 550 Magnum.

I handled one of the older .450 Rigby's at their booth at the SCI show a few years back. Wonderful feel and balance.

I spent some time talking to the folks at KYNAMCO about their loads for the .450, which are both 480 grain @ 2,368 fps at low pressure numbers -- as you would expect with this case.

The performance reports have all been glowing.

jim

------------------
"if you are to busy to
hunt, you are too busy."

You may wish to consider the 450 Dakota. It and the Rigby are, of course, both based on the 416 Rigby but the Dakota has a bit larger capacity. It has the advantage of more easily available cases. I'm sure the Rigby would work just fine though.

I'll second JohnDL's comments! Love my 450 Dakota, and being able to call them for brass or ammo at anytime is sure nice!

Mike,
You have a point, but I'm not holding my breath!
Sarge

Andy,

If I was doing it I would get the 450 Rigby.

You could get a few 450 Rigby cases just to have. Then you do what John S does and get some 450 Dakota cases and resize/reform. I do not know if the shoulder on the 450 Rigby is further forward than the 450 Dakota. If it is then you could not just resize 450 Dakota cases in 450 Rigby dies.

But that would not be a problem. You would just expand the neck up to 50 and then run through the 450 Rigby die.

My friend John S will disagree with me but I think a 450 Dakota on a CZ action is just another version of indigestion.

Personally, for that type of indigestion, I would just do a 460 Wby and get Norma brass.

Mike

The Dakota and the .450 Rigby were both inspired by the .416 Rigby, but the designer of the .450 Dakota (Art Alphin) told me he actually actually based his design on the A-Square Excaliber case. There are slight dimensional differences between the two cases.

I expect you will see lower pressure in the Rigby cartridge with their loading, and this can be a good thing in hot country hunting.

jim

------------------
"if you are to busy to
hunt, you are too busy."

Jim-
As the 450 Dakota is only loaded to 2450fps there is no pressure issue. The same case in belted form(460Wby) is loaded to 200fps more velocity, with no pressure pains. Either cartridge is trouble free in any climate. One thing I don't understand is why Rigby used the lighter bullet!
The 450 Rigby is actually a bit shorter than the Dakota round, not much but worth noting. Easiest way to make 450 Rigby brass is to purchase MAST Rigby 416 cylinders and run them through your sizing die, then trim to proper length.
Mike-
I wouldn't have indigestion with either caliber on the CZ action, but since Rigby hasn't bothered to market their 450 to any degree I can't see a bright future for it. It is nothing more or better than the Dakota or the Weatherby, for that matter. I'd be happy to use any one of them, so long as the action and stock was to my liking.

[This message has been edited by John S (edited 12-02-2001).]

Another point I didn't see mentioned is that AHR is making their .450 AHR which I'm of the understanding it the same as the .450 Rigby. AHR sells brass and loaded ammo. Brass I believe is by Bertram which some on this board have had problems with. I had Ed make me up a few dummy rounds a while back and it sure looks like a nice round! Brass is headstamped "450 AHR" if I remember - go to www.hunting-rifles.com for more info.

OldSarge - My parents lived in Lakewood, CA when I was born - some 42 years ago! ...On Freckles St.

Jeff P

I'm not sure about AHR's current offering, but they used to sell rifles in what they called "450 Dangerous Game" which was their 500 AHR case necked down to .458. Somewhere around here, I've got dimensioned drawings of it, along with a .416 and .475 on the same case. I can did them up and scan them if anybody is interested.

Hey Guys,
Thanks a bunch for your input! I'm beginning to get excited about this project. Now all I have to do is find just the right piece of quarter sawn English walnut to put on it! Neco makes a little unit to headstamp brass so I'll probably use BELL blank headstamp basic 416 Rigby brass and stamp my own. I know this is going to be a fun rifle, but I doubt it will ever come close to being as fun as my 470 NE!
Good Hunting!

------------------
Andy Cooper

Oldsarge,
I don't want to sound dumb, but how do you classify a Class I, II, or III DGR?

I think it goes like this:

Class I...BANG!...ouch, that's not so bad.

Class II..BANG!...damn, that hurt.

Class III.BANG!...holy $hit that hurt.

Rog,
Close, but it really goes like this:
Class I - bare minimum DGR (.375 H&H, etc.)

Class II - stopping rifles (the .416 twins, .404 Jeff, .458 Win, .470 NE, etc.

Class III - anchoring rifles (.450 Lott/Rigby/Dakota, .505 Gibbs factory load)

Class IV - over fast or over sized recoil giants. The only one I personally respect is the .500 Jeff but for the guy who can handle them these things definitely kill. They hurt, too.

Sarge

[This message has been edited by Oldsarge (edited 12-11-2001).]

Now I've come up with another question. I'd like to put a relatively nice piece of English walnut on this rifle, but I'm not sufficiently experienced to be able to pick one that has some figure in it that will be strong enough to take the recoil without cracking. I may just have to go with a plainer piece of wood that has the proper grain flow. Any suggestions? I've been told that as long as the grain through the grip area is right that glass bedding and crossbolts will do the rest. Help!
Good Hunting.

------------------
Andy Cooper

Oldsarge, Thanks

Andy,
Call Frank Wells in Tuscon AZ, in the White Pages, he lives on Fairmount PL. or St. I forget. In his catalog he uses a vacuum/pressure polymer fill on stocks/blanks. Essentially filling the wood with a plastic. It adds about two pounds to the average heavy rifle stock. I asked him about this awhile back and he told me you cannot tell this has been done to it. You can use the finest wood you want.

I believe that the product is PVC 1000 and it can be done just by hot soaking the blank. Unfortunately, that way it takes a long time. If I am correct in this, it also makes the walnut easier to work. One stockmaker described it as making the walnut as easy to shape as cheese. It's completely waterproof and doesn't require finishing. You just give the wood a good buffing!

The 450 Rigby, 458 Lott, the Dakota, Ackley and the watts are all about the same...and include the 460 G&A and 450 G&A

based on that, if I was building a rifle Id go with the one that the most components were available for.. If I found a nice old English rifle, I'd jump on that 450 rigby.

By design the 450 Dakota and 460 G&A are the best in the barnyard....

All this is biased opinnion on my part however..so you take your pick, and damn the torpedos...

------------------
Ray Atkinson

ray@atkinsonhunting.com
atkinsonhunting.com