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Question:
The question has been asked, which is the most popular among users of the various ".40s". In addition to the original candidates, I have added a couple more.

George

Choices:
.416 Rigby
.416 Rem.
.404 Jeffery
.450/400 (any flavor)
.416 Taylor/.416AccRel
.416 Hoffman
.416 Ruger
.400 H&H
Other (please name the round)

 

heh.. though the ruger and accrel are interchangable...

I have no doubt the 416 Remington is the best seller of guns and ammo, as it should be, but we are ignoring the new kid on the block, the 416 Ruger, and he will give the Remington a run for his money, just needs a bit more time...You can take that to the bank from a man of vision!

ray -- 3rd from bottom

George, this is not even close. The "most popular" 40 is the ancient 45-70

400 Whelen.

Rigby! No contest.

I answered with what I have ... the primary. Certainly powerful enough for a .416 caliber.

I do also have a .416 Aagard which is a .376 Steyr necked up and improved. Is a good cartridge for large North American game. It fits standard actions thus the rifles are handy.

Guys, you are voting with your hearts. The question is not which rifle you would prefer or which is the best African cartridge. The question is which is the most popular.. I would be willing to bet that since 1873 more 45-70s have been sold then all these other guns combined!. Heck, Marlin alone has probably mede more 45-70 than all these guns. Still going strong after 138 years

quote:

Originally posted by jeffeosso:
heh.. though the ruger and accrel are interchangable...

Sorry, Jeffe, I brain-cramped on that one.

I cannot change the poll without wiping out all the votes.

George

quote:

Originally posted by Dave Bush:
George, this is not even close. The "most popular" 40 is the ancient 45-70

Dave,

Th question was about ".40s", not "+.40s".

Just because you're presently in love with the .45-70 is no reason to insinuate it into every thread.

George

Sorry George. I misunderstood!

quote:

Originally posted by Dave Bush:
Guys, you are voting with your hearts.

Dave,

You're right, I voted for the .416 Taylor. Not the most popular but one of the coolest, at least to me.

Very tough one ...

I love the 450/400 and am tempted to say that.

.416 Weatherby - can load it up or down and I've used it on everything from woodchucks to Cape buffalo.

But the question wasn't "What do you like?" it was "What is the most popular?"

I'd have to say the .416 Remington for no real reason other than it seems that way to me.

.458 Lott here

I bought a 416 Remington because it was chambered in the new Model 70. But Ray is spot on once again IMHO. If the 416 Ruger had been introduced in the 1950's there would only be one clear winner in this contest. Jeffrys had the right idea on cartridge design but modern ballisticians perfected it. You cannot argue with the efficiency and practicallity of Ruger's design.

I may eat my words on this one and will gladly do so if it turns out that way but the Rigby is still leading the poll and has been each time I've checked it. There is something to be said for getting it right the first time and the popularity that created.

That and Robert Ruark!

I use my 400PDK. 06 cylinder brass left at 2.65" 40 degree shoulder at 2.17" shoulder dia .460"

The 416 Rigby may win a AR pole, but it won't win a national pole..The factory stats tell us the sale of ammo and the sale of rifles goes to the .416 Remington by a bunch..I belive that for sure and the .416 Rem in more popular in Africa than the .416 Rigby..Not taking sides just reporting the facts..Both are excellent calibers, in fact I would be happy with any 40 caliber named in the poll.

Don't be insulting the Taylor by putting it with the 416 AccRel

I voted for the .450/.400 because I prefer single shots and DRs. In a bolt gun, I'd vote for a .404 Jeffery.

BUT, if I was guessing which is most popular world-wide these days, I suspect it might be a pretty close run between the .404 Jeff and the .416 Rem, with the Rem maybe having the edge in sheer numbers in actual use.

quote:

Originally posted by Dave Bush:
George, this is not even close. The "most popular" 40 is the ancient 45-70

quote:

Dave,

Th question was about ".40s", not "+.40s".

Just because you're presently in love with the .45-70 is no reason to insinuate it into every thread. Big Grin

Dave! I can't help myself! HEH HEH.......


OK I voted and I have not heard anyone mention it, but it's the SMALLEST of the 416s in platform, equal or more than the Taylor, and not far short of the Remington, 18-20 inch barrels 6.5 to 8 lbs depending on the stock, the

416 B&M of Course!

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
The 416 Rigby may win a AR pole, but it won't win a national pole..The factory stats tell us the sale of ammo and the sale of rifles goes to the .416 Remington by a bunch..I belive that for sure and the .416 Rem in more popular in Africa than the .416 Rigby..Not taking sides just reporting the facts..Both are excellent calibers, in fact I would be happy with any 40 caliber named in the poll.

I would be happy with any of them also as I agree, they are all great calibers. These polls and forums are just for fun anyway, so my post was made in fun as well. Like I said, if the Rigby looses, I'll eat crow. It won't be the first time, or last I fear.

I do wonder however about the sales data as guys like me will likely fall outside of current sales reports. Sure, when I purchased my rifle, that sale could be counted but unless the sale of brass is reported, I would likely look like someone who has never bought any ammo for it. I have never purchased factory ammo for any of my current rifles except 243 and 7mm Rem Mag. The remainder have all been loaded in my garage including 375 H&H, 416 Rigby, 458 WM, and 500 NE.

I'm really not sure how or if reloading practices affect sales data of ammo, especially the large bores due to the expense of factory loads. I don't know what the going rate on the 416 Ruger or Rem factory ammo is but the Rigby is about $200 or a bit more for a box of 20. Obviously, I can load for a fraction of that once the brass is purchased. My point however, is that there may be many other folks like me who favor the Rigby, but don't register on the current sales data for ammo due to reloading.

Then again, I may be wrong. If so, it's no big deal. I mean after all, we aren't solving world problems here. Just having fun passing time.

BTW, next time you run this poll here or elsewhere, you might want to consider adding the .405 Winchester to your list...there are a fair number of original M1895 Winchesters out there, as well as some Japanese repro M'95s, and the newer Ruger No. 1 Tropicals....and some cookoos like me even have them in bolt action rifles.

quote:

Originally posted by Todd Williams:
I'm really not sure how or if reloading practices affect sales data of ammo, especially the large bores due to the expense of factory loads. I don't know what the going rate on the 416 Ruger or Rem factory ammo is but the Rigby is about $200 or a bit more for a box of 20. Obviously, I can load for a fraction of that once the brass is purchased. My point however, is that there may be many other folks like me who favor the Rigby, but don't register on the current sales data for ammo due to reloading.

Then again, I may be wrong. If so, it's no big deal. I mean after all, we aren't solving world problems here. Just having fun passing time.

Good point. I thought exactly the same thing about the .404 Jeffery when I voted.

quote:

Originally posted by Alberta Canuck:

quote:

Originally posted by Todd Williams:
I'm really not sure how or if reloading practices affect sales data of ammo, especially the large bores due to the expense of factory loads. I don't know what the going rate on the 416 Ruger or Rem factory ammo is but the Rigby is about $200 or a bit more for a box of 20. Obviously, I can load for a fraction of that once the brass is purchased. My point however, is that there may be many other folks like me who favor the Rigby, but don't register on the current sales data for ammo due to reloading.

Then again, I may be wrong. If so, it's no big deal. I mean after all, we aren't solving world problems here. Just having fun passing time.

Good point. I thought exactly the same thing about the .404 Jeffery when I voted.

Yea AC. I would think the .404 Jeffery would fit right in with my statement. Again my take on it might be incorrect, but how many .404's have been made and sold recently compared to the 416 Rem. We know that the .404 was the go to caliber for many game departments early in the 20th century; but only a few produced lately. Yet, there it is in this poll, right up at the top. There must be quite a few of them out there being shot without registering on the current sales charts.

I have a real nice .416Rigby which I`LL keep for the rest of my life, but with the knowlegde I have today I would today take a .404Jeffery.

Being of aged persuasion, I figured that the "most popular" meant over time so I voted the .404, too. Now if you had said "most popular at present" I would have understood . . . maybe.

quote:

Originally posted by Oldsarge:
Being of aged persuasion, I figured that the "most popular" meant over time so I voted the .404, too. Now if you had said "most popular at present" I would have understood . . . maybe.

That's what I'm talking about!

I voted for the 404 for the same reason as it was the go-to caliber for a lot of game agencies for many years while the 416 Rigby remained a carriage trade round. The 450/400 was popular but only in singles and doubles.

If I am voting on todays rounds I would probably opt for the 416 Ruger ---- if I didn't already have a 416 Rem bolt gun and a 450/400 double.

I'm not sure that the original question has been answered by many. To me it is asking the "users" of the various 40 cals to vote on what is the most popular for them i.e. what do they use, not what everyone thinks may be the most popular in sales or use?

quote:

which is the most popular among users of the various ".40s".

.

Me, I only have one, a .404 and it was only by chance that I bought this many years ago and to be honest it was more the Oberndorf Type A Mauser that sold me on the rifle not so much the cartridge as I knew very little about any of the big bores back then. Since using it for many years I will say it is easy to shoot, accurate, works the cartridges through the action with any bullet like a hot knife in butter (in a standard length action too), and got the job done for me on some big buffalo without fuss.
The big plus for me is that the .404 cartridge is so easy to reload, plenty of components around now and not fussy on what it is fed. Feeding and shooting good cast bullets loads is a breeze.

If wanting another 40 cal? A double in 450/400 3" appeals to me.

Todd,
your post about says it all..

I suspect there are two catagories and that is "which one is the most popular" and "which one is your favorite" You would get different answers.

Most popular is the 416 Rem hands down according to stats and I really like the 416., but my all time favorite is the 404 Jeffery's.

My present Jefferys is a refinished, recheckered, and rebored Remington model 30-S in 404 Jeffery's that I have added all the bling to such as a quarter rib etc, and I intended to restock it and sell it, but it sucks up recoil like no 404 I have ever shot, and it shoots one inch with irons at 75 yards, so I think I will try to keep it as my working gun. I don't have to baby it around yet its a pretty gun but if it gets stolen then it can be replaced for about $3000 as that is about what I have in it I think, and few 404s can be had for that kind of money. Its a keeper and my all time favorite caliber. I am a total nostalgic on the subject of calibers.

The poll results show what I was thinking, the 404 is like a Ford, every boddy is driving one but the is chaugh by advertising, the want what the press tel them, but what they have is the best! Onley 3 rifles is good for a life time, .22 long rifle, .303 Brit, and 404 Jef, and you can shoot anything on earth!!

Hey Ray,

Yea, I guess I interpreted the question with more of a sense of history rather than the latest, greatest "right now".

Todd

Since I shoot the 9.3x62; 375HH; 404 Jeff and 458 Lott, I would vote for the Jeff. Excellent velocity with 400 grain bullets and easy on the shoulder (compared to the Lott).

.405 Winchester with a 420gr. paper patched or 370gr. grease groove bullet in a Ruger #1 here..
The #1 with it's laminate stock and Tropic barrel contour is just a bit to heavy and clumsy for my tastes so doesn't see any field use..
I plan on having the barrel either turned down or rebarreled to a lighter contour..

I do not own a 400 cal yet. But if I was to buy just one, then it would be a 450/400 double which has been my dream for over 30 years. So that was my vote.

Dreams apart, I would build a 404 Jeffery - hopefully in the next 2 years. Another classic with a lot of nostalgia.

.400 Whelen

Let's see, I have a .400 Whelen, a .405 Winchester, a 10.75X68, a .404 Jeffrey, a .416 Rigby, a .450/.400 3", and a .425 Westley Richards. I also used to have a rifle built around a wildcat cartridge which I developed based on the .300 Winchester Magnum case opened up to .416 (I had never heard of the .416 Taylor). The .400 Whelen is the only one I have actually killed game with, however.

Ah ha! xausa did the .416/.375 Epstein,
or did legendary baseball player Mike Epstein do the .375/.416 Warren?
The .400 Whelen is a favorite deer rifle of mine.

Rip ...