I decided this year is the year to purchase a large caliber primarily for no other reason at the moment other than I think everyone should own one sometime and am looking to round out my collection which currently consists of guns from 17hmr to 338 mag. I was referred to this site by someone else because of this specific board. Currently I have sort of narrowed the choice to a cz 550 american in 416 rigby or the remington 375 ultra mag in the 700LSS. It would appear that the ft/lb of energy are very similar albeit the 100 grain difference in bullet weight. From the posts I have read here regarding the cz, it would appear that they require some reinforcing which while it may not be a big deal is something I would rather not get involved with at the moment. I guess the question is that I only plan to own 1 at the moment and have no plans at the moment for African hunting then what should I be looking at and for.

You forgot the Ruger RSM in 375 H&H or 416 Rigby. If you're headed that way, prowl the ranges until you find somebody who has one and lets you shoot it.

For the purposes of this site, any 375 caliber is still considered medium bore. Saeed made the rules.

The 375 Rum while a "powerful" round, is not considered a large one.

If you want a big bore to play with, you should seriously consider one of the various 45's, my prefernce being the 458 Lott. The versitility of shooting cast bullets, and the larger selection of componet bullets makes the 45 a much better choice. You can load 350's @ 2400 fps for mild loads, or go up to the 500's or heavier.

Tped,

If the objective is to mainly have a powerful rifle for "the just to have" then I think the CZ 416 Rigby is the choice. Getting the rifle bedded is a simple thing.

In my opinion the 375 Ultra makes a much better using rifle but when combined with the Rem 700 rifle is perhaps not real good in "the just to have" area.

As a using gun the 375 Ultra will be superior if you don't reload and will also be superior if you do reload. 375 bore size has lots of bullets whereas the 416 bullets are very thin on the ground unless you include premium bullets. As an example Sierra do not even make bullets in 416, Hornady makes a 400 grainer and Speer makea 350 grainer.

I agree with Paul H on the 458 Lott but based on what you said about having some work done on a CZ 416 as something to be avoided, then the 458 Lott might not be your thing as you will have to get a 458 Win rechambered or rebarrel another rifle, unless your budget extends to the Ruger or you would be happy with the the Ruger Number 1 single shot. To get the most from the 458 Lott you need to be an enthusiastic reloader.

Mike

onefunzr2:

This forum is for the 375 & up......as posted under the forum title "Big Bore". So tped is in the correct room to discuss thiscaliber and larger.

tped:

glad to see you found the site. Welcome to AR

thanks again, Iron Buck. I agree that the forum description says 375 and up and besides I am asking primarily about the and up so I figure this is the place. Too bad someone has to take me to task on a first post rather than welcome another user and it had to be another local PA boy at that -- go figure.
Anyhow, I was leaning toward the CZ in the 416 Rigby, I am not intimidated by getting the extra work done, I have and do use one of the best gunsmiths around to do the work, I just do not want to get a couple grand in a gun that will probably be used very little. I also do reload extensively so loading my own and developing the loads is not a problem. I have considered the Ruger, winchesters and Remingtons is 416 and 458 but from all I here and see other than the stock problems is the CZ is a tremendous gun and exceptional value. I have no problem with the Ruger #1, having owned several and still have one of the stainless versions ( abeautiful gun by the way) in 25-06 and I do most of my hunting now with either that or a t/c encore muzzleloader. My purpose is in finding the opinion from others more knowledgeable than I in these type rifles to see if I'm on the right track with the CZ in 416 or would the 375 or 458 be a better choice. Thanks for the help