I rang a Darwin gunshop today and thought I'd price some .416 Rigby rounds. Good news is they have two boxes of Fedral ammo on the shelf. Bad news is that they cost...wait for it....$224 for 20 I knew I should of built a 458 winny

Could be worse, mate!
At least there are cheap dies [Lyman] and bullets [Taipan] available for the .416. No such luck with the .404 Jeffery, for example.

Norma brass is about the same price for both - $75/20 at Rebel.

Or Hermann Finken might have some once-fired .416 left at $250/100 [small ad in classifieds, September Aust Shooter]

$11.00 a cartridge,thats gotta hurt Bakes.

ebay Item number: 8340148924

Thats one of the reasons I like the 416 Rem Mag. Factory ammo is a little cheaper (about half the price of the rigby stuff - still bloody expensive) but cases are cheaper - can be fireformed from 375.

Don't worry Bakesy,think of the style points when you get you ugly mug on the cover of Guns and Game holding "The Classic" standing over a big spotted pig.

Thats going to be an expensive pig!

If I get brass I'll have to buy a bigger press...hmmm. That may be the way to go. This rifle will be a hand load only option

Thanks for the info Gadge.

And everyone laughed when I said I was building a 416 Rem!
Now, at least Bakes knows why. Since I make them from 375H&H brass, if I lose a case in the scrub, it's no big deal. But at $4 per case, that's going to add up! Even RWS is cheaper!
Don't try to buy it in Vic, either. The only 2 shops who had 416 Rigby (1x Federal@ $ 260, 1x Norma@ $228), were not planning on ordering more unless a deposit is made prior.
Of course, as you say, 404 is much worse!
Or you could try 470 NE?

Cheers, Dave.
Non Illegitium Carborundum

Bakes

Rebel has 416 Rigby brass (Norma) at $75 for 20 cases - in the latest shooters journal.

quote:

Originally posted by Sambar 9.3:
....... Or you could try 470 NE?

Try a 450 No. 2 NE

Should have had a 416 Taylor, (458 cases are as cheap as chips), on a nice compact rifle with a 30-06 size action.

450 No 2 NE? No thanks, I don't have shares in Bertrams.

I'll stick with stuff I can make from readily available brass, thanks!

Cheers, Dave.
Non Illegitium Carborundum

That is cheap, Still paying $140/20 for 577/450 EMPTY brass cases. At least for another $4 you get a big bang!

Oh Bakes, stop your whinging ....$224 per 20 is cheap and, I would guess, an old price. I saw Federal .416 Rigby ammo in Horsley Park Gunshop for around that price about ten years ago!

And recently I saw Federal .470 ammo for over $400 per 20 and I think that .416 and .470 are meant to be similar prices in the Federal range.

I shoot .404, .416 Rigby and .470NE and none of them have ever been poluted by a factory round - reloading is the only way to fly....

.....but that is just an "old timer's" view!

quote:

reloading is the only way to fly...

Very wise you old timers are

I got onto Midway's site and found some Rigby Brass, $196 or so for 100 cases. Also had an AR member offer to sell me some (very kind of him). I rang NT firearms to inquire about importing some. "No worries" they said, "Just order it and when customs impounds it and send you a letter, just give us a call"! Well there you go, easy. Now I just have to come up with the $$ for the cases and buy some dies and a new press and...... More toys!!

What! I can't believe those prices.
I mean there must be all of 5 bucks worth of brass contained in 20 cases and I could employ some old guy with a hammer and a blunt hacksaw for a week to make 'em by hand and they'd still be cheaper than that!
$400 for 20 cases....Bawhawhahahaha....no way Jose.

Bakes, you do know that Midway only export to dealers?

But fear not, Huntingtons have 'em, and are actually slightly cheaper at USD181.98 per 100.

Now for the awkward bit: ammo components need a US export license. Which Huntingtons won't charge for, if the order is over USD200, but it still takes 30-60 days for them to get it.

The other US suppliers we Aussies use, like Sinclair International, Grafs, Midsouth, either have a higher minimum order in this instance, or charge quite heftily to get the license.

Another possible is Lock Stock and Barrel, who don't mention needing an export license for brass. One of the blokes over at AHN is giving them a try, and will let me know how he goes.

As I mentioned earlier in this thread, Lyman dies are by far the cheapest in .416. About half the US price of the other brands!

No I didn't Gadge, thanks for the info.

quote:

Originally posted by Bakes:
I rang a Darwin gunshop today and thought I'd price some .416 Rigby rounds. Good news is they have two boxes of Fedral ammo on the shelf. Bad news is that they cost...wait for it....$224 for 20 I knew I should of built a 458 winny

$224 ? That´s much about what they cost in Argentina also ... and guess what ? if you are lucky enough to find them ... so reloading is the only solution (at least an easier and cheaper solution - thou not for much !! )... but then components are quite difficult to find and get (mostly cases, since por either 416 Rigb or RM local powders are quite good) ... I was asked $195 for 20 rounds of 416 RM ... and was about to buy them but then the generosity of two AR members showed up and some cases were delivered to me ...

I understand your penuries, Bakes .... but thanks God (and Saeed ) we have the AR forums and the generosity and solidarity of its members to make things much easier for us