Myself and a couple buddies went to the range this morning to get a little shooting in.

My purpose was to get a scope mounted to a new 375 H&H and get it on paper. I ended up shooting about a half inch group with the last 3 shots at 100 yards. The best part is I only shot the gun 6 times!!!

Additionally, I had acquired a 416 Rigby before Christmas and finally got a chance to try her out. I can honestly say the 416 was much more gun than the 375. My buddy owns a 458 and he thought the 416 had a much sharper kick to it than his 458. His brother, Snellstrom, thought the same thing. Both guns are Ruger 77 so is this something that others believe is true as well?

By the way, we were ringing the 12 inch gongs at 100 yards with iron sites and the 416! It was a fun morning!!!

It sounds like you don't have a scope yet for your 416 rigby.

I would recommend a Nikon Slughunter 1.65x-5x because of the 5.0" eyerelief throughout. If the rifle is only for stateside use, then you could also consider the Nikon 3-9 for Muzzleloaders that also has a 5.0" eyerelief. Both scopes are built to be rugged and take heavy recoil. You may need the extended front ring for the Ruger in order to handle the 4.75" mounting space of the Nikon scopes. They are worth the extra trouble. They allow a shooter to relax a little more, without concern of eyebrow jumping.

On recoil, make sure that your length-of-pull is long enough. Try out 14", if not already.
All of my CZ Rigbys have been very comfortable, as well as a custom Mauser.

For me, I also load the Rigby to 2800+ fps with 350 grain Barnes (T)TSX in order to get the most out of the capacity. It shoves a little but that is very comforting when up against something dangerous, or just big.

the recoil is ABOUT the same, the rigby is faster

No real difference in recoil although as Jeffe said the higher velocity round feels a little sharper. I would recommend a Leupold 2.5X compact or even the Leupold 1.5X5 variable. We know they won't break with even sustained use. Everything else breaks eventually. You send it in for repaires and it will break again. Then you get to learn the same lesson all of us have learned for yourself and get to spend money on stuff that actually works and lasts.-Rob

If you want to reduce the recoil of your 416 Rigby, just load it down to 450/400 double rifle ballistics, a 400gr bullet at @2150 fps.

This will cut the recoil quite a bit, and as I have proven to myself a 400gr .40 cal bullet at @2150fps is plenty for cape buff, lion and elephants.

quote:

I would recommend a Leupold 2.5X compact or even the Leupold 1.5X5 variable. We know they won't break with even sustained use.

Actually, Michael458 has been breaking Leupolds left and right. Maybe Rob's been lucky.

I've purchased a Nikon Monarch African 1-4x. I haven't ordered the Warne QD rings for it yet, which is why we were shooting it with irons.

quote:

Originally posted by graybird:
I've purchased a Nikon Monarch African 1-4x. I haven't ordered the Warne QD rings for it yet, which is why we were shooting it with irons.

The African is good for the Rigby, it has 4.1" eye relief, if I remember. And 4.1" is enough as long as you shoot with your head fairly upright.

quote:

Originally posted by graybird:
My buddy owns a 458 and he thought the 416 had a much sharper kick to it than his 458. His brother, Snellstrom, thought the same thing. Both guns are Ruger 77 so is this something that others believe is true as well?

According to the recoil calculators, the 416 Rigby has about 10% more recoil than the 458WM. This is mostly due to the extra 25 grains of powder the Rigby burns.(obviously this assumes the rifles are identical).

on leupolds -- after my latest return of a 1.5x5 --- i have determined that if leupold didn't have a fix it for free price, they would just be weavers

I've never broken a 2.5x compact ever. Period! And I've used em on guns that kick a mite harder than a .416 Rigby! I have at least 10 of them on various big kickers. Up to and including a 20 mm. I've yet to break a 1.5x5 but only time will tell. Most folks break scopes because they also don't know how to mount them properly. If your rings are too close to the front lens it's gonna break. Ivevseen supposedly knowledgeable folks use cheap rings and skip the essentials then it's the scope manufacturers fault! Lap the rings, add grit so the scope can't slip etc. Oh Mr Bill I can't do that because it will mar the finish of my scope!!!! It's easy to break a scope if you pretend you know what your doing. Cheap scopes and the hope that somehow they wont break are a never ending source of entertainment?-Rob

I find the subjective recoil of my .416 Rigby and .458 Win to be very similar, if anything the .416 seems to kick a little more.

In both cases stiff handloads are a lot more assertive than factory.

Imo a 416 Rigby, loaded with a full charge of modern powder and a big heavy 400+projectile can have a fair bit more recoil than a 458 wm

Reg S&F

quote:

Originally posted by ShortandFat:
Imo a 416 Rigby, loaded with a full charge of modern powder and a big heavy 400+projectile can have a fair bit more recoil than a 458 wm

Reg S&F

that happens when you load the Rigby to its capacity, 6000+ ftlbs.
Highly recommended. It makes the 416 an all-around cartridge for short and long range, 0-400 yards.

The Rigby is still a very comforting rifle as long as the buttpad is nice, the trigger pull is long enough, and the stock doesn't slam your checkbone. It's just a big 270 with some authority. Even Jack O'C liked it, but in factory doses.

I've owned and shot plenty of Ruger Big Bores. Here's my take. If the Rigby has the factory hard as S&%# recoil pad on it you will feel it kick harder. My 9.5 lb 500 Jeffery with a fancy pad is a baby next to my stock 458 Lott and 416 Rigby. I'd say the harder the pad the more felt recoil given same stock, same weight in general. That being said my 458 Lott RSM hits much harder than my 460 Weatherby MKV. I think that fancy KDF Muzzle break and the UGLY Weatherby hump back stock do something together to lessen the felt recoil. If I had to shoot 40 rounds of HOT full house loads I'd pick the Weatherby in a Heart beat (Never Thought I'd being Saying That...) In fact I'm really starting to like my 460 a lot. Don't give up on trying different rifle configurations eventually you'll find something that works great for you. I still love my RSM 416 Rigby and it has the go to Big Bore crown at least for now in my house.

Brad

One of my tricks for recoil reduction in Big Bores is a custom stock with as" wide" a butt as esthetics can bear, a F990, or kickeze Pad fitted to that wide butt and a nice piece of leather to cover the Pad and make it look "English"really is a nice touch and takes little time to do. Basically this approach spreads the recoil over a wider area and the Pad gives with the recoil. For a .416 Rigby thats all you need. They really (even a max) don't kick enough to matter. Truth be told I'd hunt anything on this planet with one( and have) with full confidence.-Rob

I've got an RSM in 416 Rigby and a #1H in 458 so it's not exactly apples to apples but I don't really find one worse than the other. I remember feeling pretty worn out after running a half-dozen test loads through the Rigby (thankfully I'm satisfied with 3 shot groups) but when you're not shooting them off the bench they're not that hard to live with. Now, were they chambered in the same rifle I would probably find the 458 a fair bit tamer, but that' sjust speculation on my part.

I've noticed a similar phenomenon. My .300 Wby seems more unpleasant in the kick department than my .375 H&H.

I think it's more than just calculated foot pounds of recoil and has something to do with the velocity or acceleration rate of the recoil being higher with rifles having higher muzzle velocities.

It takes at least 25% more time for the .375 bullet to go down the barrel, so the recoil must be spread over a longer time period.

The same would apply in part to the .416 which has a higher velocity than a .458.

Old thread, I know, but just wanted to chime-in and say that I love both mine, but find that the .416 Rigby lets me know that it's gone-off just a bit more. In fact, I call my .458WM a gentle little kitten. Love 'em both.

The 416 Rigby at full noise (300gn @ 3000fps or 450gn @ 2400fps) is at least 10% more emphatic in recoil compared to the 458 Win Mag. In fact the 458 Lott with 500gn bullets at 2350fps exceeds the Ridgy in recoil by only about 5%. However all this subjectivity dissappears into nothing when you use them in real life on game, so don't even think about it. As far as scopes go I have a 1.5-5 Leupold on my Rigby for the 400 or 450gn loads, and a 2.5-8 Leupold for the 300gn loads. Both have enough eye relief, and I have fired hundreds of rounds, and even dropped the scope, with no problems or zero changes. On my 505 Gibbs I am very happpy with the 2.5 Leupold compact, having learned from painful experience that the 1.5-5 Leupold didn't have enough eye relief. I am not sure how it would go on a 577 Tyrannosaur or a 600 Overkill, but 5.0 inches is plenty of eye relief on my 11 lb Gibbs.

This brings to mind the 338 vs 375 discussion .One has more recoil Energy the other has more recoil Velocity .Many don't understand the recoil energy part.

Modern high tech foam rubber actually absorbs energy rather than just slowing it down.

But first the stock should be made for you , just like a shotgun. Shoot off the bench and lean into it !

Another way to moderate the recoil of the Rigby is to go to the 350 gr TSX projectile.

Easy to get to 2700 fps and 5600 pfe. Accurate.

Has killed the heck out of everything I've shot with it ... including Cape Buffalo.