Who shoots one, and what do you think about it.

Go to the big bore forum lots of info there.

More gun than you will ever need in North America..........on both ends.

quote:

Originally posted by 30378:
More gun than you will ever need in North America..........on both ends.

Maybe in Texas- but it is about idea for a back up rifle for Alaskan bear guides.

I think that it would be a sweet moose gun. Hornady makes reasonable priced ammo but like the Rugers-you can't even find many 375 Rugers for sale up here in Fairbanks.

I think that the 416 Ruger will be the keeper of the lot for Alaska.

Sincerely,
Thomas

I also think it has a future up here. The 416 is a great carry piece for guides or really anyone that wants a stopper in the bush.
I've taken to carrying my open sighted 458 when I take someone for moose with no intention of shooting myself. It's a light weight Savage thats a pleasure to carry, kicks like beast, but is oh so good at delivering 500 gr when you need it the most.
When I have intentions to shoot something I usually carry my 375 (except for sheep its a 300wm).
All that said, the 416 splits the difference, has stopping power and range.

Well, after shooting a couple .416s now, I have a powerful hankerin' for one. I don't mind the recoil, and really like the power it delivers.

Have not taken anything with a .416 however, and is nice to hear some feed back.
I like a .375 for small game, so figure a .416 would work OK on Deer sized game and maybe even larger. . . . . . .

Dennis you need a .416...just because you do.

This looks a lot like the .375 Ruger thread on another branch of this forum. Tell me again why I need a .416 Ruger when there are a mess of different flavors of .416 out there that will do essentially the same thing? Also, can someone explain to me why the .416 Rem sucks because of "pressure issues" but Ruger can advertise a lower volume cartridge claiming equal velocity out of a shorter barrel and it is the bees knees?

quote:

Originally posted by tendrams:
Tell me again why I need a .416 Ruger when there are a mess of different flavors of .416 out there that will do the exact same thing?

The info that isn't clear from your post is whether you already have one of those different flavored .416s that will do the exact same thing. If so, then probably you don't need a 416 Ruger.

However, IMO it's a good choice for Alaska, for moose and big bear, simply because the cartridge has the power. But the main reason to choose the Ruger is because it's reasonably priced, and decent quality for the money, and is ready for Alaska conditions, and apparantly shoots well right out of the box. Of course, if I owned one, I'm sure I would find something to tweek.

I already have a 458 with a custom barrel on a Ruger action, or I would consider a 416 Ruger. I don't need both, and I'm still getting acquainted with my 458, and so far it's way better and more fun than expected. I'm handloading 350 and 400 gr bullets with powder charges a good 10% less than max, which is still plenty for my uses. I also load some very mild loads at 1400 fps just for fun. I think handloading for the 416 Ruger would be fun too.

Before the 458 busted my scope, it was no trouble at all to hit the steel plate at 300 yds at the range. I really don't need to shoot further than that, and that was just for fun. I had this rifle made for close shots, 100 yds or less. Truth is that I could have simply bought a 416 Ruger factory rifle, and saved some money.

KB

I do own one of the primary (not "other") .416 cartridges and am quite content. I give credit to Ruger for producing a safari capable rifle at a relatively low cost....but doing it with what is essentially a redundant proprietary cartridge is more than a little ridiculous.

JMHO

Let's see. A weather-resistant rifle that will shoot .416 caliber 350 grain TSX bullets into 1" at 100 yards at 2500 fps and is lightweight, quick pointing, compact with a 20" barrel and short(er) action and costs less than $800.... I think all Alaska hunters should have at least one.

I've only seen one 416 up here amongst my friends.

The Indians all use 30-30's they get given to them at potlatches. The rural Whites mostly use old military rifles, 06's, 308s.

Moose go down easy, saw one Native neighbor shoot 4-5 moose/year (that were bothering her horses) for many years with an old 243. I've never had one walk off with my 7 mag.

I guess I could use a 416 for bear, but more bear have been killed with old 30-30's (once again) than any other caliber. The Indians think they are special.

quote:

Originally posted by Zhurh:
I've only seen one 416 up here amongst my friends.

The Indians all use 30-30's they get given to them at potlatches. The rural Whites mostly use old military rifles, 06's, 308s.

Moose go down easy, saw one Native neighbor shoot 4-5 moose/year (that were bothering her horses) for many years with an old 243. I've never had one walk off with my 7 mag.

I guess I could use a 416 for bear, but more bear have been killed with old 30-30's (once again) than any other caliber. The Indians think they are special.

You could probably also say: "more indians have been killed by bears while carrying 30-30's than any other caliber"

quote:

Originally posted by Zhurh:
I've only seen one 416 up here amongst my friends.

The Indians all use 30-30's they get given to them at potlatches. The rural Whites mostly use old military rifles, 06's, 308s.

Moose go down easy, saw one Native neighbor shoot 4-5 moose/year (that were bothering her horses) for many years with an old 243. I've never had one walk off with my 7 mag.

I guess I could use a 416 for bear, but more bear have been killed with old 30-30's (once again) than any other caliber. The Indians think they are special.

I didn't quite get your last sentence. What is it exactly that indians think is special, indians(themselves) or 30-30's?

FWIW, one can find them in Anchorage at Walmart, Great Northern Guns and Mountain View Sports - they also have the 375.

Been to many potlatches where there are 25-30 new & used 30-30's on the floor to be given away as gifts. Indians believe those old 30-30's have some good luck vibe with them. If you ever spent a year in a village as the only White boy you'd completely understand.

Indians think the bear around here are their dead relatives; usually don't shoot them unless they cause problems; always talk to them up close too. I've never seen local Indians mauled either, but have several White friends who will show ya extensive scars after a few beers.

Wife and I once taught in this Indian Village. Bear would walk around the village like they owned the place. Young grizz look the kids over on the playground. We had a rifle in the school office, never had to use it on bear. Indians would laugh, say bear only eat White People, no joke.

quote:

Originally posted by 458Win:
Maybe in Texas- but it is about idea for a back up rifle for Alaskan bear guides.

Now Phil, you know the 30-06 with 220grain bullets is the ideal Alaskan bear guide rifle.

quote:

THE ACCURATERELOADING.COM ALASKA HUNTING FORUM

Dirk, Touche - There are a lot of guides however who did - and do - think the 30-06 with 220's is the perfect caliber for everything - including the biggest bears. As you know it certainly works so long as the shooter is up to the task. But when worrying a wounded boar out of the pucker brush I would certainly prefer the .416 Ruger - unless I had something larger

I took my Ruger Alaskan .375 Ruger on my Kodiak Mountain Goat hunt. Not because I need a .260 grain .375 to kill a goat but that rife sure felt good when we were hauling huge packs full of raw meat through that country with all those bears. I remember my .300 WSM feeling a little light when I was packing Goat out of the Kodiak mountains in 2005. Either the .416 or the .375 are great Alaska rifles and calibers!! The indians can keep the .30-30's. More power to them.