What is the heaviest bullet available for a bore of .416 and what are your experiences with it? Thanks.

I haven't tried it yet, but Woodleigh make a 450gr 416 bullet.

I remember Hawk making a 500 gr., but I've never tried it.

Hawk 500 grain .416"

Hawk made a 500 gr. .035 Jacket 416 bullet, a 450 gr. .050 jacket and a .065 400 gr. bullet.. why I have no idea, seems to me they went in the wrong direction, but Hawks been going the wrong direction from the get go IMO.....

Your best bet is a 450 gr. Woodleigh for the 416..and/or one of the 370 to 400 gr. monolithic H.P.s...I like the GS Customs monolithic HV, the best if you can get them.

Could the .416 Rigby case (with good brass) push a 500 gr .416 bullet to 2300-2400 fps ??

If so it's in the lott area for power and would penterate better due to higher sd. Sought of like a giant 6.5x55. What it would give up in frontal area it may gain in pentration ??

The Rigby .416 case has a lot of capacity.

I had worked with a 500 grain .416" in my Rem Mag....in the end, it didn't shoot that well so I'm back to 400s. Personally, I wouldn't want to go above 450s.

Lee Martin
www.singleactions.com

Lee,

what velocity did you get ??

What velocity could the Rigby case throw it at if you were that way inclined do you think ??

PC,

If you give the 416 Rigby 2600 f/s with 400 grains then the 500 grain bullet would develop the same energy at 2325 f/s.

A 500 grain in 416 has the same as SD as a 275 grain 308. However, more important for this exercise is that a 500 grain 416 scales back to 202 grains in 308. What this means is that if both bullets were exactly the same shape then the length of each divided by its diameter would be the same whidh of course would mean that the Rigby 500 grainer would be 416/308 times longer than the 202 grain 308, that is, 1.35 times longer.

A 1 in 14 twist in 416 is like a 1 in 10.3 in 308.

So all in all the 500 grain 416 fired from a 1 in 14 twist at 2325 would be similar to using a 202 grain 308 at 2325 f/s from a 1 in 10.3 twist.

Mike

Thanks MIke,

I thought by shooting 500 gr .416 a 600 gr .458 etc. you would have these magical bullets with super high SD's which would give extreme penetration. That is why I am always bemused that the African crowd have not jumped on the woodleigh 450 gr .416's and 550 gr .458's etc as a much better performing bullet than the usual .458-500 gr and 461-400 gr offerings.

I like heavy bullets, long for caliber, but there is a stopping point, and a too long bullet will tip on contact with heavy game and I suspect the 500 gr. in a 416 just might well do that from time to time....I am going to test the 450 Woodleighs this year in my 416.