Brevex #18 joins the collection - Belgium 416-460 Wby Mag

I've been fortunate to add another Custom Brevex Rifle to my collection. This one is also in my favorite 416 caliber, albeit a Wildcat in its day. The caliber is a 460 Weatherby Mag necked down to 416 caliber, aka 416-460 Wby Mag. Based on the History of Brevex rifles, this was likely an original Belgium 416 Rigby caliber from the late 1950's. Back then, 416 Rigby cartridges and brass were not readily available here in the U.S. So, it was easy to re-chamber this rifle to its current wildcat caliber and order custom RCBS reloading and forming dies. These custom dies came with the rifle and the cost marked on them is $21 and $18 per set. Very reasonable back then. About 35 years later, in 1989, Weatherby introduced their 416 Weatherby Magnum cartridge as a standard Big Bore chambering. The only difference between this 416-460 wildcat, compared to the current 416 Wby Mag cartridge, is this wildcat has sharp shoulder / neck geometry, whereas the current Weatherby cartridge has the typical radius shoulder / neck geometry. Because the Belt determines headspace, current ammo can be safety fired in the rifle. I added a 1-3/4 to 5 scope, and will followup with a range report as soon as temperatures become more tolerable.

This rifle's listing did not readily identify it as a Brevex, but pictures of the distinctive markings on the bottom of the action, identified it as such. BTW, if you have a Brevex rifle you care to sell, please PM me. I'd like to get to 20 by the end of the year. Mag cartridge,

http://www.buckstixwildcat.com/buckpics/416-460-000.jpg



http://www.buckstix.com/buckpics/brevex18.jpg

We are having a warm spell here in Wisconsin so I took the rifle to the range today. My load was very conservative, and very fun to shoot. And, as the target shows - excellent accuracy. Note: The first group was low, so the scope was adjusted for the second group. I have also shown the difference between this wildcat 416-460 Weatherby, compared to the factory 416 Weatherby Mag. It appears the only difference is the neck / shoulder angles.

and as always, your comments are welcome.

http://www.buckstix.com/buckpics/416-460COMPARE.jpg



http://www.buckstix.com/buckpics/416-460TARG-SM.jpg