I have been bitten by the 'Big Bore Bug' and I don't know why! I have a .375 H&H, although I don't consider it a 'true' big bore. I do have a .45-70, but that doesn't have quite enough ass behind it to qualify. I live in Texas, but I am going to Africa in July....but only for plains game.

I have a Savage 110 that would be a good/cheap way to do it but I'm afraid that I'll like the caliber too much and want a nicer rifle so chambered (who was it that said 'life is too short to shoot an ugly gun')?

WHY, WHY, WHY?????

Simple, you don't have one yet, that's reason enough

TXPO,
Do this..
get on midwayusa.com get you a savage barrel, some 416 taylor dies,a savage barrel nut wrench and some 458 winnie brass... head to houston. In about about 1 hour, we'll do you a 416 taylor barrel, hog out the stock, and make some ammo... you can shoot my 376 and 416 rem before we shoot the taylor... then, you can give me the 45/70 for being such a pal...

in all honesty, you can put a trigger and restock the savage, and it's a JOY to shoot... easy on the shoulder, eyes, and wallet...

jeffe

I'll throw a few more reasons at you:

1. You don't have one
2. brass is fairly inexpensive and readily available
3. Easy to reload, no hoop jumping involved
4. bullets galore
5. You already have a suitable rifle

6. Once you get one you'll be a member of a super top secret organization of totally cool people.

Okay, #6 doesn't hold much water. The conversion is pretty staight forward and reloading is a breeze. There's a growing body of reload data out there. As Jeff mentioned, its a blast (no pun intended) to shoot and won't cost you an arm and leg.

Eric

I built my Taylor on a Savage too. If you go ahead with it, you'll never regret it. Get the Hornady dies, they run about 2/3 the price of others and mine load great ammo. The best part of the Taylor is it's cost and the fact that a 400gr bullet at 2350fps has been proven effective for many many years by the Rigby.

You can haul it to the Houston Gun Show & show it off to.

Heck, let's get together at my range, Bayou Rifles, near Juliff ssouth of Houston.

Drop me an email.

Rusty
We band of brothers!

Rusty,

Thanks for the offer.....I would like to do that sometime seeing that we really don't live that far from each other. Several years ago I was a member of that little range on FM 2234...Greater Houston Gun Club I think it was called. Now that I have some property in Eagle Lake, which is only 20 minutes from me, I don't belong to a gun club any longer.

I think I'm going to give it a go and rebarrel that Savage....I only have $145 in it...seems a fellow co-worker thought he needed a CETME more than he needed a bolt .30-06

Rusty....you don't have any problems being seen hanging around one of Ft. Bend Countys Finest, do you?

Don't put down that 45-70 of your as it has a lot of class and it can be an awesome killer if you have a strong rifle and know what to do with it. I know a guy who killed a cape buffalo with a 45-70 shooting it lenght wise with a premium hard cast projectile. Good luck.

Mingo,

I know the .45-70 has alot of thump....it's one of my favorite calibers. I really don't consider it adequate for a DGR, although, I know that it will kill very big stuff....and I don't want to get the .45-70 debate cranking again....I was able to stay out of it from the beginning!

TXPO,

The .416 Taylor is a fine cartridge. That, and the fact that you want one, is plenty good enough to have one made.
I have one on an Interarms Whitworth Express rifle. This one was originally a .458 Win. I had it rebarreled using an Adams and Bennet Barrel.
However, I had the chamber recut to a long necked version. Brass length is 2.600 inches instead of the .458's length of 2.500. This allows for a longer neck and bullets being seated to the base of the neck. OAL length is about 3.425 maximum. Had to file the magazine box ends a little to a magazine box length of 3.450.
Brass is made by removing the decapping/expander ball from the dies and sizing .300 Win mag brass. This operation puts a shoulder in the right place. The dies are adjusted so that the bolt closes firmly on the shoulder.
Fireforming is done with 17 grains of Unique, large rifle primer and corn meal or cream of wheat filler. A paper plug made from a small wad of tissue paper holds everything in place. The .300 Win mag cases form perfectly every time. Trim to a 2.600 length, full length resize and load.
I am getting 2300 fps with 410gr Woodleigh Weldcores and 400 gr Hornadays. Rx 15 and H4350 Short cut Extreme work well. The long neck gives more case capacity and these powders can be used without compressing the powder too much.
Its fun to shoot and has plenty of power for anything on this planet. It also works well in the thick timber. I will use it on elk this fall.

Hope this helps,
The BearmanMT....Montana Territory

P.S. This chamber is the same as a standard .416 Taylor in every way except the neck length. So, cases can still be made from .458 Win brass. Bullets are just seated out. I have not found that crimping is necessary as long as the bullets seat firmly in the neck.

Rusty,
I just might take you up on that!!

TXPO
Goto midway, get the 50 buck 416 dies, and get to shooting... it's a hoot!!

you might go ahead and get a set of magnum headspace gages, btw. Get some rl 15, some hornady 400 gr sps, and go shooting!!

jeffe

A few thoughts:

1. #6 is true!

2. If you think the .375 is a little feeble, open it up to .375 Weatherby (not .378 Weatherby). Don't know how much you'd gain (200 fps?), but somebody will know.

3. Because you already have a .375 and a .45-70, you don't really need a .416 Taylor as much as you need a .500 A-Square or a .510 JAB or a .500 Jeffery.

4. May as well take Jeffe up on his offer.

I have been thinking that sometime in the future I want a fast-twist long barrel .22 on a Savage action. I don't even have a Savage action yet, but I was wondering: anybody know of somebody who specializes in those?

OK....I think I have been talked into it (Like I really needed to be talked into it in the first place????).

From what I have gathered by my limited research on this particular Savage conversion, I need the barrel, the magnum size bolthead (mine is chambered in .30-06), barrel nut wrench and magnum 'go/no-go' headspace gauges.

How well will this thing feed with the standard mag box or will that need to be replaced also?

This rifle has the ugliest, hardest kicking wood stock I have ever seen on a rifle! But my ploans are to replace that later should things go somewhat smoothly.

Jeffe..... I have plenty of RL-15 around for loading my .35 Whelen, as well as lots of other powder, so that isn't a problem. Sounds like all I need in the reloading department is dies, brass and bullets....are you serious about lending a hand with this fiasco???

Anything else that ya'll see that I need or don't need?

There is no reasoning why you need it, it's simply beacuse you want it and life is to short not to have things you want (within reason). At least when you get your Taylor you can start thinking about the next gun you want

TXPO,
I was a member of the Fort Bend Rifle and Pistol Club next door to Greater Houston when Bill and Etta Poole ran the place. When they sold the ladn for Greater Houston the new owners decided they didn't need us and we lost our lease. Best thing that ever happened! Bayou Rifles is a first class operation.

And Heck no, I don't mind being seen with someone from East Benard! We Fort Bend folks are very hospitable!

Hope to get with Jeffe and take him out maybe next week or so. Let me know whe yo are up this way or just contact me via email.

Rusty
We band of brothers!

TXPO
I'ld be glad to help!!
You need the barrel, wrench, bolthead, and gages... Make you up some taylors' before you head down... or we can make some here. It wont take much time at all!!!

You'll might need to do some work on the feeding, but it's the same col, or can be, as your '06.

heck, bring some lead, and we'll put a pound or 2 in your stock, and away we go.

It REALLY aint bad to shoot, tons of fun, and we can be at the range 30 mins after we are done.

jeffe

Rusty & Jeffe.....

Ya'll have me pumped now! Sounds like we can have that thing rockin in a couple of hours!

Rusty...actually, I live inside Fort Bend Co...and work for them too....for the S.O.

If we are able to get together and your range will allow it, I'll bring my subgun...but bring lots of 45ACP....she has a awesome appetite!

Give me a some time to get everything together.

Another vote for the Taylor. Mine is on a Ruger M77 Douglas Barrel and use premium bullets have had it for over 10 years and "love it". I use it on everything from deer to Moose and Bear. It doesn't slap you like a .375 more of a push in recoil. Plus it's fun to have a classic.

John