I will be hunting buffalo with a 416Rigby this fall.
I will be using woodleigh 410gr. RNSN. But I will also be hunting plainsgame during the same hunt, but after the buffalos are taken care of... For the plainsgame I have an idea that a somewhat lighter bullet will be just fine. I have directed my attention to bullets like Barnes X 300gr. Woodleigh 340gr. and others like them, but I have no personal experience... ?? Does anyone have experience with shooting a lighter bullet from a 416R, I would apprciate hearing about it. Precision and effect are main issues, like allways.

Do you expect the lighter bullet to shoot to the same point of impact as the 410gr.RNSN, or will re-zero your rifle after the buff is down?

Why don't you want to stick with the 410gr. bullet for all the hunting?

George

George's question is a valod one and in all probability, your bullets will not hit to the same POI. Moreover, the 410 Woodleigh has the BC of a lead sled, making your rifle a 150 yard shooter. I'd switch to the new Barnes XXX, Nosler Partitions or Swift A Frames and shoot everything with them. In my 416, I can comfortably shoot out to 250 yards with no sweat. jorge

George- Jorge I wanted to re zero the rifle after the buff hunting. I do not wish to shoot the buffs at long distance ( the shorter the better) so I do not need a long shot.
If a shot is needed at anything else than buffalo during the buffalo hunting i'll use the loaded woodleighs, but after that I cannot see any need for that much power, so a lighter bullet is just fine and easier to shoot at longer distances, like plainsgame hunting sometimes asks for .

I dont expect the bullets to have the same point of impact, but I guess they could be loaded to a somewhat similar trajectory and POI if I fiddle enough with the loads. (I aim to do just that with the solids I'll use in combination with the woodleighs)

Bring a second rifle in a smaller chambering; a 7x64 Brenneke, 8x68S, or even 9.3x62 Brenneke would make fine plains game 'medicine'.

George

I could do just that, But then there is extra weight to carry on the plane.
Haven't you tried out any of the smaller bullets for .416

Niels, there is nothing wrong with planning a 1-rifle safari, and a .416 is versatile enough to fulfill that role. This being AR, you are not always going to get the replies you had hoped for, that goes with the territory here.

I have shot 350 grs in my .416 Rem - Barnes and Hornady, if I remember correctly. I have to admit I don't shoot the .416 much off the bench, but I think the 350 grs shot OK. They would certainly be enough bullet for plains game.

Another question (and what some of the other posters above were questioning) is whether the idea of re-sighting your rifle is worth the trouble. Personaly, I don't much believe in that idea, although it would clearly be a possibility. You are right that plains game won't strictly require the power of a .416/400 grs combination, but likewise, a .416/350 or even a .416/300 combination would not strictly be needed either. Like I said, possible but not necessarily something I would personally do.

If I was bringing a .416 on a 1-gun safari, I would probably shoot everything with my 400 grs bullet, or load a Barnes TSX in 350 grs for everything. Naturally, neither you (I assume) nor I have the same unlimited access to various bullet types or weights (not to speak of the price!) as our US friends do. Alas, such is life in Europe, it could be worse, though.

- mike

take the 2nd gun. a few more pounds isn't going to kill you, but paying for a safari, getting to your africa destination and finding out that the baggage handlers did a job on your only gun sure will. It happens.

I shoot 370 grain North Fork bullets through my .416 Rem and Rigby. I used the bullet for my Safari in 2004 with nothing but good things to say about it. It would make you and ideal plains game bullet if you don't want to use the Woodleigh. It and RL-22 like each other in my Rigby. Good luck and good shooting.

Niels,

Regardless of which bullet you use in that Rigby, it is going to have 'more power' than is needed on almost any plains game you will encounter.

There isn't all that much more drop with a round-nose bullet compared to a spire-point at typical safari distances. Stick with one load and be done with it. I've used my .375H&H on jackals, blesbok, impala, and bushbuck (as well as buff, eland, blue wildebeest and zebra) and they died quite nicely (I used 300gr. Swift A-Frames).

There is no such thing as 'too dead'.

At worst, rent/borrow a 'light' rifle from the safari company.

George

If you're using quick-detachable scope mounts, just get another scope and sight it in with the lighter, faster bullets. I intend to do exactly this with my .375: 1.5-5x20 with the solids and 300 gr. RNs; 3-9x40 for the 250 gr spitzers. This may be an unwieldy arrangement; I may settle on both sighted in the same way, depending on the overlap in the trajectories.

With Talley mounts, it won't take five seconds to change scopes. You'll have a backup scope if one fails. And, you won't have to pay the importation fee for the second rifle.

Just something to consider.

I took a 416 Rigby to Tanzania this year and used it on the following: 3 buffalo, lion, sable, 3 zebra, hartebeest, wildebeest, reedbuck, impala, warthog, waterbuck, hippo and duiker. My loads where a 410 grain Woodleigh solid and 400 grain Barnes X bullet. Any shot inside 250 yards shouldn't be a problem and most of your shots will probably be inside 200 yards. Another thing to consider, is you may shoot a buffalo and impala in the same day. Also, it doesn't take many 416 rounds to get to your 11 pound weight limit (i.e., airline). If I recall, 22 rounds of my 416 Rigby loads with 400 grain bullets weighed 3 pounds. Just something to think about when making your decision.

I took a .416 Rigby to Africa in May as my spare. Shot a Gemsbock with it. Used 350 Barnes X bullet driven at 2688 fps. Load was 98.0 gr IMR 4350 in Norma cases with Fed 215 primers. Load is very consistent delivering less than 1"groups at 100 yards from a properly bedded CZ 550.

Recoil of the load is moderate for a cannon, and it simply stunned the target when hit at 35 or do yards. He staggered a few feet and dropped. Amazingly effective! Meat damage was very reasonable.

Less than an inch at 100- reasonable meatdamage- reasonable recoil. Just the information I want. Thanks a lot
The buff I will be shooting at short distance, so the heavy recoil doesnt have any considerable effect on shot placement.
The 300 or 350 gr. bullet have less recoil and because of that lesser recoil I am confident that, that will help me on a longer shot at a smaller target such as some of the plainsgame I have in mind. I am a very able shot with a rifle, but I dont think that a heavy recoil will not affect my abilities, no matter how much I am used to shoot the heavy recoiling gun. This is why I would prefer a lighter bullet, when there is no need for a heavy one.

Sticking to one load will work of course but if you are that set on another bullet for light game (which is fair enough - half the fun is giving our toys a good work out after all) the 340gn by woodleigh was designed for the job you are talking about.

Karl.

Hi Karl

But of course it is and I am very keen on it. Have you tried it yourself?
I see you're from Brisbane I have a couple of cousins there, maybe you know them, allthough Brisbane is a big city, they are both gorgeous enough to be noticed.

Niels,

You didn't say if you were going on a 7-10 buff hunt or a full blown 21 day affair. What comes to my mind is if you go on a short buff hunt what happens if your buff doesn't come until the latter part of your hunt. Your lighter loads will be wasted. Stick with one bullet weight. A safari should be simple and multiple loads will just complicate things. Your 410 grainer will work wonderfully on everything.

Regards,

Mark

HI Mark
Thanks for the input. If I dont spend the lighter loads in Africa I'll just use them for moose when I get back home

You might try the North Fork 325 sp. I have my 416 sighted in for that load for a plains game hunt this year. I have several other rifles that are contenders for ballast on the trip so I am not sure it will make the cut, but maybe. Mine gives me similar POI to my DG load but not at the 325's maximum velocity. I am only 150 fps faster than the 400 gr SAF DG load. If you are looking for a 3000fps load it can be done in the Rigby using Barnes 300 gr bullets and a Weatherby style load. I worked one of those up but it wasn't my most accurate loading. Do not expect a similar POI to your 2400 fps 410 gr loads. You might try it. Stranger things have happened. I don't know how much money you want to spend on this project. I think others have given you reasonable answers if you want to keep it simple, but if you are looking for a fun rifle investigation, what better excuse. Find all the light weight bullets that have good reps on performance and buy a bunch, load em up and see how they shoot. That is what I did. The best combo I came up with was NF 325's and 103 gr of H 4831sc. Realize however that it may take quite a bit of time and/or money to find a combo that fits all your needs. I know you are looking for a shortcut to loads and bullets that have worked for others. I asked the same basic question about 18 months ago and got similar responses to the above. Truth be known, each rifle is a world unto itself. Your rifle may not like my loads at all. PM me if you want more complete load info and I will tell what I know.

D. Thanks for the input. Yes I am looking for a shortcut. for instance: I once heard that the 300gr. Barnes did'nt fly that well.
Some of the plainsgame might be taken at longer distances and I would like a sweeter shooting recoil for that, so I can place the bullet with better precision. (I have not heard of any one that could place a bullet from a 416 as well as a bullet from a .22 consistently)
So big heavy ones for the big heavy ones and vice versa. That Is how I like it.
But if my trophy kudu shows up in the middle of the buff hunt, of course I will shoot it with whatever is in the rifle. Once the buff's are over and done with I intend to re sigt it, I cant see any problem in that.
Do you have any loads using norma or vithavouri powder?

Niels

I have used my 416 on many African hunts. I only use the woodleigh 410 gr bullet (soft or solid). I have shot everything from bushbuck & monkey to buff & eland. Those bullets shoot plenty flat out to 200 yds.