I decided it was time to add a .416 caliber rifle to the stable. The .416 Taylor looked attractive but being a strictly custom job I thought to pick up a factory rifle in this caliber to see if it grew on me.
The two that were readily available at my favorite shop were the Winchester M70 in .416 Rem. and Ruger Alaskan. The Ruger, was much less expensive at just under 900.00, and this would be my first centerfire stainless rifle, I decided to pick it up.
I am very glad I did. Boy is this a nice rifle. Compact, light, handy and the 20" Bbl. actually looks and feels right. I am normally a 24" Bbl. man.
Fit and function are good. Slow and fast cycling with rounds repeatedly, good. Yes the ramps need minor polishing because they are leaving scratches on the cases but that is a minor job that can be done at home.
Overall, This rifle is really growing on me. I think I may just pick up a .375 version.

I ran 10 rounds of Hornady DGX, 400 gr. over the chronograph today.

Chrono, 12 ft. from muzzle. Temp. 65 Deg.

FPS- 2368, 2326, 2376, 2343, 2339, 2335, 2310, 2368, 2318, 2339. ES- 66. SD- 22. Avg. Vel.- 2342. ME- 4872

Congrats! I sure like my .416 Ruger Alaskan. It's about my most favorite hunting rifle in my collection. I've taken moose with it using 300gr and 350gr TSX bullets.

Have the 375 Alaskan and love it. Have only shot Hornady and shoots well. Will be shooting some hand loads soon. Also, love the shortness of the gun. Easy to carry in The bush in Zim.

Good choice going with the ruger. I did a 416 taylor years ago if I had to do it again I just buy the ruger.

I have to admit this rifle is nice. Never thought I would say that about a stainless synthetic big bore, but you have to try one.

I'm starting to like the idea of an all weather rifle I don't have to worry about scratching.

At the shop they tell me they sell the 375 version well. That seemed a little odd since this is Pennsylvania. I am starting to get the impression that these rifles are more popular than I thought. They sell fewer 416's, but they sell all they get. Mine was only there for a week.

I got both the 375 and the 416. I replaced the H-stock on the 375 with a later model Ruger composite stock to make it a bit lighter and trimmer. Handles and feels great. I elected not to do that to the 416...it needs some weight and the thicker H stock gives a bit more to hold on to. I am in Pa as well...the 375 makes for an excellent black bear rig in the Pa woods.

Woodrow,

Is the 375's barrel diameter the same as the 416's. Are they identical?

Colt Commander,

Ruger has done very well with these Hawkeye African and Alaskan chamberings.
The barrels are properly contoured for the specific cartridge and barrel length.

.375 Ruger African 23" barrel, matte blue and walnut:
muzzle diameter 0.675"
barreled action weight: 6.0 lbs.
stock weight: 1.75 lbs.
complete rifle "dry weight": 7.75 lbs.

.375 Ruger Alaskan 20" barrel, stainless and Hogue:
muzzle diameter: 0.675"
barreled action weight: 5.75 lbs
stock weight (Hogue): 2.5 lbs
complete rifle "dry weight": 8.25 lbs.

.416 Ruger Alaskan 20" barrel, stainless and Hogue:
muzzle diameter: 0.755"
barreled action weight: 5.5 lbs.
stock weight (Hogue): 2.5 lbs.
complete rifle "dry weight": 8.0 lbs.

Now in order to beat the .416 B&M whomp (custom rifle) in almost as short and light a package,
just get rid of that tacky rubber and plastic Hogue stock with aluminum pillars,
and put that 5.5# barreled action into the old canoe-paddle stock from an early Ruger M77 MkII "All Weather."

That stock weighs but 1.5 pounds and does not attract lint and dirt, and is more rigid to boot.
Your .416 Ruger will lose a pound and come in at a trim and handy 7.0 lbs, with balance shifted muzzleward,
perfect balance restored by putting the scope and rings on.

Another alternative is the HS Precision stock that weighs 2.5 lbs and is a better composite construction with full aluminum bedding block.
In that, the .416 Ruger will still weigh 8.0 pounds,
if you like it that heavy.
Good with iron sights, but butt-heavy and muzzle-light with scope.

If you put that 416 in an old Ruger canoe-paddle stock, you better have good dental insurance, because you'll probably knock a few fillings loose.

RIP,

Thank you for the STATs, much appreciated.

Good to see this thread - the 416 Ruger hasn't got much attention here lately. I've had mine for about a year and recently added a 338 Ruger RCM to make it a set! Like them both.

I have both the 416 and 375 alaskans. They are exceptional rifles. I used the 416 on cape buffalo last year in zim and I use my 375 for EVERYTHING else here in Montana(even my wolf). Lots of my friends have bought the 375 for all around use and are very happy. Its a popular rig here in the mountains! Good luck with yours.

Update,

Handload.
http://forums.accuratereloadin...311051281#7311051281

The overall balance and feel of the Ruger is nice. I, too, was pleasantly surprised with the way that the fat Hogue forearm makes it easy to hold on to the gun. The texture, too, seems designed to provide a good grip. Only one question remains for me (perhaps aggravated by going up to 6500-7000 ftlb loads, see below.)

How is accuracy with the Hogue stock?

I picked up a lightly used 375Ruger Alaskan last year as a donor base for a 500AccRel (Nyati) build. The first thing that I did was load up some 375Ruger handloads and test the rifle to make sure that it was not super accurate in 375Ruger as delivered. There is no sense in taking apart a great gun. Fortunately for me, accuracy was not sterling. I don't remember what it was but none of the groups were close to MOA, more probably they were around 1.75" and over 2". If that was going to be the final calibre there would probably have been ways to work with the rifle and accurize it. But as I said to someone at the range where I did the test firing, the rifle just earned the right for a rebarreling and an overhaul.

Now, the 500AccRel turned out to be inaccurate, too. The rifle is currently being rebarreled again to remove an excessive parallel freebore. So when the tighter throat comes back I am wondering if the Hogue stock will produce the accuracy that I expect? If not, I have a nice Boyd's laminate ready to throw on the rifle.

So my question to 416Ruger Alaskan owners and 375Ruger Alaskan owners is what kind of accuracy do you get?

A follow-up question would be if accuracy for anyone of the above has improved with either Hogue full aluminum-block bedding or a woodstock?

If the accuracy improved what kind of magnitude of improvement are we talking about? A 1/4" difference or one or two inches?

I have a .416 Ruger that is "stock" except that the action and trigger were "smoothed up" a bit. Both with Hornady factory ammo and 350 grain TSX's it has never shot a group bigger than 1.5" and usually less than one inch.

I also bought an Alaskan with the Hogue stock for my daughter and traded the Hogue stock for an African model stock. I had the barrel fully bedded and cut off a bit of the stock and put a better recoil pad on it for my daughter. I never shot it with the Hogue stock but now it shoots 250 grain TTSX's and Hornady DGS's to an inch or better without fail.

I wish I remembered the loading data for the Barnes bullets, but I've moved and have no clue as to where it is, alas!

I ran out of the 20 rounds of factory ammo checking for velocity's.
The batch of hand loads I made up, 30 rounds, left me with 20 for sighting
in.It took me 14 rounds to get the scope set at 1.5" high at 100 yards.
Shot two groups of three rounds for accuracy, and even with a beat up shoulder
I was getting sub 1-1/2" groups.
On a good day I think this will turn out to be a very accurate rifle with the right
loads.

CC,

To my mind the Ruger Alaskan is the best off the rack big bore available. There is so little to do to it. Adjust the trigger and go shoot it It's equally as appropriate in the brown bear alders as it is in on the trail of a big jumbo. If I needed a 375 or 416 the Ruger would be my first choice if I could not afford custom.

Mark

Mark and Colt,

I would agree, the Ruger Alaskan is a fantastic platform and a first choice for bang for the buck.

I'll find out more when I work with the 500ARNyati. If the Hogue handles the recoil accurately, that is a win, and if the Boyd works that is a win. so either way, a win win.

With the 300gr TSX bullet, Hornady brass, CCI 250 primer and 83.0gr RE15 I get just under 2700fps. With the 350gr TSX or 350gr Barnes solid with 76.0gr RE15 I get around 2450fps. Both loads are near maximum in my (and only in my) .416 Ruger Alaskan.

From what I've seen, at close range the faster 300gr TSX imparts more shock and kills quicker than the 350gr TSX bullet. I suppose the 350gr TSX would have the advantage at long range. It would have close to the same velocity as the 300gr TSX because of its higher ballistic coefficient.

Here's a photo of a 300gr TSX bullet recovered from a moose shot broadside at close range -

4sixteen,
nice numbers for a 'handle'.

Your bullet looks great and the results are about what one would expect.

On loads, you might try out some higher doses. While you mention 76.0 grains of RL15 as 'near-max' with the 350TSX, Barnes themselves list 80.0 grains [maybe =78grains in 416Rug] of a faster powder, H4895, with a 350TSX in the 416 Remington. The 416 Rem has about 2 grains of added case volume, so corresponding loads should be about 2 grains less. If the RL 15 doesn't fit (I don't work with it), I would work up with H4895 from 74-79 grains. You might find that your rifle will safely and cooly shoot 2550-2600 fps with 350TSX in a 20" barrel. That should add a little shock value to your terminals.

For that matter, you can probably use the same H4895 powder with the 300 TSX up to about 81-82 grains for 2800fps. Monometal bullets do like velocity.

If you try out the 350-TTSX for longer shots or wind, then cut an extra 2 grains and work up because of the longer bullet projection into the powder. You can probably attain the same velocity as the 350 TSX, safely.