Guys

I am thinking of building a 40 cal rifle, but have not been able to decide on a cartridge choice. The 416 Rigby has that classic appeal, but really has way more case size than we need today with modern powders. Right now I am thinking of a 404 Jeff for a good sized case with some classic appeal or possibly a 416 Rem. I would welcome any comments on these or other cartridges that may help the decision process.

Thanks

Fergus

Fergus,
10.75x68Mauser .... a classic on a Mauser with lots of potential with modern powders. Mild to shoot too!
Cheers...
Con

I like the .416 Rigby and the .404 J so with the criteria you have given it's a .404 J.

404 Jeffery or 416 Rigby

Cheers
/JOHAN

Fergus,

I have been looking for a chance to build a .400 H&H.

jim

Fergus,

From a practical perspective, the .416 Remington comes out on top. Commercial brass, SAAMI standard (I don't know how relevant that is for you as a resident of Australia), a very good assortment of very good bullets, and lots of reloading data are strong factors in its favor.

George

I am just a 416 Rigby nut.

416 Rem most expedient, 404 Jeff would be nice too, 404 Dakota, 416 Howell, 416 Taylor also candidates. The Rigby will require a full size magnum action.

quote:

Originally posted by GeorgeS:
Fergus,

From a practical perspective, the .416 Remington comes out on top. Commercial brass, SAAMI standard (I don't know how relevant that is for you as a resident of Australia), a very good assortment of very good bullets, and lots of reloading data are strong factors in its favor.

George

George is dead on here but for one that might be looking for something different I think the 404 Jeffery takes high priority but the darn 400 H&H is also sitting there for those that want the trio.....300, .375, and 400 H&H.....

It might be a little impractical but certainly should be considered.

the 416 rem is the practical as Geo said. If your going to drop big money.......heck might as well build a 404 jeffery on a mauser.

CZ in a 416 rigby is a great place to start too, nice piece of wood and a little work here and there...........a guy can end up with a really nice rifle and not have a lot tied up in it.

I personally like the rigby, I don't have a rem, but do have 404 on a win classic..........oh heck.......I like um all.

i looove the rigby

plus if you dont like it you can convert it to the 470 mbogo

I went w/ the .404 jeffery & have no regrets. I'm sure I would have been happy w/ the .416 too, but something about the old .404 that's just right. Brass is readily available & there are some many good bullets out there. You can even make brass from RUM cases in a pinch.

fredj338,

Whats's the process in making 404 brass from RUM brass?

Thanks,

Roger QSL

I used .375RUM brass. Run them into your FL sizing die, partially sizing until they just chamber in your rifle (use a lot of Imperial or other good sizing wax & go slow). Load 25gr of H2400, cream of wheat on top to the middle of the neck & a wax plug. Fire in a safe direction & you get .404j brass. Just FL size & load. There is a slight diff. in rim size so I would not use them for DG hunting but they are great for practice.

Jim

You need to get in gear and build that 400 H&H. There should be at least one functional gun in the country before the darn cartridge can be used as a topic of conversation

These damn bullets are turning green setting on the shelf.

Guys

Thanks for the input. I agree that the 416 Rem is the sensible choice, but right now I am leaning toward the 404 as my preference. I am also building a 9.3x64 and a 500 A-Square, so the 404 would fit right in.

Thanks again for the comments.

Fergus

Fergus,
I was meaning to ask you the other day. Can you tell me what actions you've got tucked away for these? Is Peter van M doing the work on these as well?
My LH MRC action is sitting at Kudu Services waiting to become a 416 Rem. I went that way for all the practical reasons listed above.
- Stu

I agree with George. The 416 Rem. Mag. is very tough to beat any way you care to look at it. It's a true hunter's cartridge, very accurate and forgiving, plus you can have a reasonably light, handy rifle built that'll hold four or five rounds down.

The off-beat 416s just aren't practical alternatives, and personally, I despise wildcats and weird cartridges anyway..........

AD

Ah Allen, despise, come on. I never met a cartridge I didn't like, except most of the .30 bores & of course the .270 (but that's another thread).

quote:

Originally posted by Stu C:
Can you tell me what actions you've got tucked away for these? Is Peter van M doing the work on these as well?

Stu

I have a Waffenfabrik Hein action coming for the 500 A2. Not many LH choices for a cartridge of this size. For the other cartridges I have Zastava Mausers. Fortunately the left hand Zastava actions are easily available and reasonably priced at the moment in Australia. Yes, PVM is doing all the metal work and Slee will do the wood.

Fergus

Fergus,
Have you seen the classies in the latest Oz Shooter? Some bloke with a 'N' prefix licence [only mobile number given] has an LH M70 Winnie in .404 Jeff for $2k with brass and dies, and an unfired .375 Safari Express for $1600.

quote:

Originally posted by Gadge:
Fergus,
Have you seen the classies in the latest Oz Shooter? Some bloke with a 'N' prefix licence [only mobile number given] has an LH M70 Winnie in .404 Jeff for $2k with brass and dies, and an unfired .375 Safari Express for $1600.

Yes, was looking at that add tonight. Had the phone in my hand, but didnt call.

Fergus

...here are some interesting articles regarding the topic:

about .404 (at the bottom you can find a short comparisation to .416 Rigby)
http://209.221.146.166/reloading_the__404_jeffery.htm

and "new" .400 and .465 H&H:

http://209.221.146.166/new_h%26h_cartridges.htm

Guys

Just wanted to let you know that I have been thinking this over the last few days and am now leaning toward the 416 Rem for the reasons put forward by those advocating this round. I have about 24 hours to make my final decision because I will need to order the barrel.

Fergus