Kind Hampshire cops have just allowed me to add .416 Rigby to ticket. I will be hunting buff in Zim as my 50th.Birthday present to me and intend to take a rifle in that calibre. Question is having declined H&H's kind offer to sell me one at �15,0000 I am a little limited in choice here.Looks like Ruger MkII (CRF, traditional lines) CZ (ditto, and much cheaper) or HS Precision (push feed and v.modern) I kind of like the HS not least as it has a recoil reducer thingy in the stock, but (no flames!) it is push feed. Has anyone any experience of HS?
Compromise answer is Ruger and have gunsmith fit recoil device as aftermarket accessory.
Advice would be welcome, as also recommended factory loads, as I just don't have time or aptitude to load my own. I am limited to solids on my licence in UK, but can buy non-solids in RSA on way through.
Regards
Robert

Robert,

Fine choice, 416 Rigby, in either rifle of the two CRF's: Ruger or CZ.



I have a transitional model Ruger that is just like the current ones, except my barrel is heavier contour (0.810" muzzle) and weighs about 10.5 lbs bare. The current ones weigh about 9.5 lbs bare and have a muzzle diameter close to 0.750" ballpark.



The CZ 550 Magnum is a real sport at only 8.5 lbs bare and a muzzle diameter of 0.666", the mark of The Beast.



If you are worried at all about recoil, then get the new Ruger. It will weigh over eleven pounds with scope ammo and sling. The CZ will be about one pound lighter.



For me, I prefer the old Ruger with iron sights, and the CZ 550 with a scope. I just had to have one of each, for they sure beat 15,000 pounds sterling for a new H&H, and you can make either one fully functional for hunting.



The Ruger does have some great touches like the integral quarter rib and three position safety right out of the box.



By the time you customize the CZ it will be more expensive than the Ruger, and still not as pretty.



Since I have put any fears of the Ruger bedding system to rest in my mind, I would recommend the Ruger. My old fat barrel Ruger is one of my most accurate rifles, right out of the box. I took it for buffalo, and only one shot was needed.



The Ruger .416 Rigby with Warne QD lever mounts and a Leupold 1.5X-5X scope was the recommendation of Kevin "Doctari" Robertson to any new cape buffalo hunter looking to equip himself well.



If you must stick with factory ammo, just use the Federal Premium Safari brand and you won't go wrong, except for the expense!

Robert,
If you want to have a look at a CZ let me know.I have had one for a couple of years. As soon as I bought it I sent it up to Paul Roberts who added another cross bolt, bedded it, slicked up the action and sorted the trigger. If I remember rightly they charged me about �200 for the work. I didn't try the rifle before the work but after it prints 3 bullets all touching at 50 yards. Great buffalo medicine!!
Cheers
Ed

I have a cz550 .416 and have added a custom composite in the weatherby style. It habdles recoil well. I also have a leupold 2.5x in warne fixed mounts on it..originally I had a 2-7 leupold but it just did not look right...either the cz or Ruger will serve you well. I would like to one day add a ruger to my collection.

Forgot to mention - with Kick Eze on the the CZ and slip on Limbsaver recoil pad on Ruger (medium fits perfectly) I really don't find the recoil an issue (use sandbags etc for sighting in). Think carefully before adding weight and going to the expense of mercury etc. Shoot it first.

Larry,
I will say that my Ruger came with a very crisp trigger that breaks right around 3lbs out of the box...I have never touched it and I'm very finicky about clean breaking triggers...
The CZ had a lot of creep and broke kinda rough. I had that slicked up for not a lot of dough. Some people want to eliminate the set feature...I see no reason to do so. If you don't want to use it don't use it. The CZ trigger was still manageable but I knew it would only take about $30 worth of gunsmithing to make it perfect.

I own both ruger and CZ and respect them both. My CZ had some feeding problems rectified with fairly minor tuning but it was highly annoying. It now feeds flatnoses etc flawlessly. The stock was extensively whittled down (hogback and cheekpiece taken off etc etc) and looks classic English now. I also had it bedded, triple crossbolted, etc. Barrel band and bigger foresight bead, rear sight bead blasted. Looks like a real working English style rifle. The Ruger is beautifully finished,too heavy, nice wood, but the stock feels like a club to me. It feeds everything except flatnoses flawlessly. Atho I love it dearly it will never feel like a true African rifle - even the fabled quarter rib looks too high for my taste. BUT out of the box I would have to recommend the Ruger, also needs a bigger foresight bead, however (Brownell's have the NECG version but even that is smaller than the brass 'match head' I have on my CZ).

rdash,

We have 3 of the Rugers. There are only two items that I would strongly recommend anyone change.
1) Have it full bedded by someone who knows how to do these.
2) Have the safety extended. Makes it much easier to work with a scope in place. Baity's in Wilkesboro, N.C. did a wonderful job on ours.

We also had ours matte blued, recoil pad installed, trigger work, N.E.C.G. 3/32" front sights, checkering customized and stock refinished. We have Ruger rings that we put QR levers on. I would recommend the Sims Limb Saver, grind to fit pads. They won't have the ribs showing. Excellent pad.
They are all VERY accurate.

My load is:
Norma brass; Federal Gold Medal magnum primers; 102.5 gr. H4831SC; .370 gr. North Fork bullet crimped with a Lee factory Crimp die (1/2 turn); Velocity is 2500 fps. With out the crimp, I needed 105 gr. of powder to get the same velocity.

Along with the features that RIP stated, I feel that you won't go wrong with the Ruger. I don't have any experience or knowledge about the CZ.

All the best with making your decision.

Cheers,

Sam
eclemmons@hotmail.com

rdash,

Get the Ruger and have a Timney adjustable trigger installed or do it yourself. Then have a C&H Research mercury recoil reducers installed(this will help with the recoil) and leave the muzzle brakes for those that don't care about their hearing. Lawdog

Sorry no more photos now...they both sit at the back of my safe and I'll need to move 40 guns to get to em. I like the McMillan stock and if I had it to do over I'd send them the action and let them bed the gun in their stock. As it was I paid a good smith $125 to have it done.
You might want to consider a black coating such as Roboguard or Black-t finish. I have several guns done in Black-t by Walt Birdsong and they look and wear wonderfully.

Many thanks, chaps. HS has fallen off the list and I'll see about availability etc for the Ruger and the CZ. Pleased and surprised to see another Hampshire shooter on list - I though we were an endangered species!
Replies like these remind me what a service Saeed has set up and what a decent bunch use it.
Regards
Robert