Would a 20 inch 416 Rem Mag make any sense for Africa? I am meaning velocity / power-wise? I may have the opportunity to build one up.

sure.. big bores don't lose as much vel per inch than some .

it would be handy, and you MIGHT lose 100fps, but i'd wager more like 25to 40 fps, over a 24"

I had my .416 Rem Mag bbl cut back to 22" - no reason to have 24" in my opinion.

Thanks, I just might proceed with the project.

My 416 RM 24" to 20" carbine muzzle speed loss only ~60 fps.

You might not lose significant velocity BUT depending on how you build and configure the rifle it might be butt heavy or muzzle "whippy" and it WILL be louder on the bench than a longer barrel

Look at the .416 Ruger. One of the Ruger rifles comes with a 20 bbl.

Hip

I have total dislike to short barrel hunting rifles.

I have no idea why, but I do.

My current rifle, that has been on many African safaris, for many years, has a 26 inch barrel.

And I love it.

With RL15, I got 2425-2450 FPS out of a 22” barrel with numerous 400 grain bullets. My current 20” mauser gets a solid 2380-2410fps with any 400 grain bullet. I don’t feel any of my loads are over pressure. I know what over pressure in the 416 Remington looks like as I have popped a couple of primers at 2500fps+ about 10 years ago with monolithic solids in the 22” rifle. All in all, I would be happy with 2300fps and a 400 grain. Your prey won’t know the difference.

I hope this helps.

My 375 H&H has a 25" barrel (factory pre 64 Win 70). I have a spare magnum action and an opportunity to buy a very clean 20 inch 416 Rem barrel for it, or just wait until something else presents itself. No I don't want to sell the action. You could buy a whole gun for what I would want to part with it!

I used my Model 70 Winchester with a 24 inch barrel and load a 370 grain Northfork bullet and picked up 60 fps over the 400 grain bullets. You could try that bullet with your 20 inch barrel and see how it turns out. The Northfork softs and solids of 370 grains printed within half inch of each other. Good Shooting.

quote:

Originally posted by airgun1:
Would a 20 inch 416 Rem Mag make any sense for Africa? I am meaning velocity / power-wise? I may have the opportunity to build one up.

Any differences would be splitting hairs. Build what you can carry and shoot well.

quote:

Originally posted by Code4:

quote:

Originally posted by airgun1:
Would a 20 inch 416 Rem Mag make any sense for Africa? I am meaning velocity / power-wise? I may have the opportunity to build one up.

Any differences would be splitting hairs. Build what you can carry and shoot well.

Exactly!

Shooting well takes priority!

My to go gun is a Win Mod70 416 Rem with the barrel cut back to 20,5”. It shoots a multitude of 400gr projectiles easily at 2300fps. It has served me well on ellie, buff and lion and the whole gamut of plains game.

For me personally I don't see any purpose in long barrels unless you need max velocity to reach out over the plains or buck the breeze.

quote:

I have total dislike to short barrel hunting rifles.

I have no idea why, but I do.

Muzzle blast and noise level and they don't hang as nice for off hand shots as a longer barreled ones do.

I went through a short barrel phase.

I prefer longer barrels now.

My 416 has a 25 inch barrel

Thanks but it doesn't matter now. Think long and think wrong. Too late the barrel is gone! Relieved actually!

Early on I like the balance of a 26 inch barrel for off hand hunting and it never bothered me at all, today I like either a 20 inch big bore or a 26 inch barrel as long as the short tube weighs the same as the long barrel...I really liked my Win mod 70 in 416 REm with a 20 inch barrel..I think I got that gun from Phil Shomaker on AR..It balanced nicely. Ive noticed when you cut a long tube off it naturally gets thicker and stiffer and shoots better to one degree or another..

a funny thing is I can these days with waning eyesight I presume can see my irons better with the short tube unless its my imagination, but I think Im correct..