Let's get one thing straight right now: when it comes to gunsmithing, I'm dummer than the box the rocks came in. Hell, I'm dummer than Kellie Pickler. Now that's dum!

It took me three years to find out that the reason my 404 Jeffery would not ignite reliably was not a headspace problem, but simply a weak firing pin. (In my defense, three gunsmiths and several members of this board who looked at and fired the gun were convinced it was headspace). SOB still won't feed for crap, but that's Dennis Olson's problem now.

Now I have a new quandary that I have been talking about on the Big Bore forum. You see, my cousin has given me (yes, for free) a CZ .416 Rigby (ugly hogback) NIB. I don't really want a .416, cause right now my head is in "big bore" mode (yes, size DOES matter). So I have decided that this might be a good starting point to build a .450 Rigby.

Jeffeosso said that Dan Pedersen could easily rebore and rechamber the rifle for a reasonable price. I confirmed this with Dan Pedersen, and was surprised at how cheap this can be done. Except, he does not have a .450 Rigby reamer; his is a .450 Dakota reamer, which is almost identical to the Rigby, but with easier to obtain, properly head-stamped brass. Ok, I'll bite.

But then, I think back to my experience with my 404. It began life as a .375 H&H. The smith who converted it said he had no feeding problems. Bulls--t! It will jam without fail when operated at "oh f--k" speed. (Never knew what that was until I hunted buffalo in Zimbabwe, and it jammed every time!)

So now I'm gun shy. Am I going to have endless and hard-to-correct feeding problems when I have this conversion done? Since the gun is currently chambered for 416 Rigby, and since the Dakota round is ever-so-slightly smaller than the Rigby dimensions, is this going to present a rechambering problem?

I guess I'm asking, what problems am I going to encounter next time I get into that "Oh F--K!" situation in Africa?

All I want is a Free rifle that shoots MOA groups, looks and handles like a custom AHR, and feeds like greases owl sh--.

Is that too much to ask?

The 416 rigby sure is a nice big bore. I empathise mightly with the feeding problem deal. I have never had it happen in Africa but have spent $$$$ trying to get rifles to feed properly after changing from on cal to the other. It is not as simple as taking a barrel off and adding another. My hat is off to the talented gun smiths that can change cartridges and make the gun feed beautifuly.

It is so easy and so much fun to take a perfectly funtional low dollar rifle and turn it into a marginaly functional rifle that cost two to three times as much. I'm an expert at it

GA,
you know what? I was thinking (and that's nearly always a bad thing) ... sorry to present you with another option

if you had a CZ take off 458 barrel and your 416 rigby action .... well, nearly any barrel plumber could time that CZ and headspace it for either the 450 rigby or 450 dakota.

In fact, Fred Zeglin has the rigby,
http://www.z-hat.com/Reamers%20Avail.htm

You would need to talk with Fred on this, but I bet you could be in and out pretty durn cheap...

How does the gun feed as a 416? If it feeds well, it should continue to do so... otherwise it's a brace of 100$ to denis for perfected feeding.

Now, all you have to do is find a 458 win or lott CZ take off barrel. these can be had, well, i've bought them from 50 to 150 bucks.

jeffe

A "Weak Firing Pin" . . .
Pickler is a rocket scientist.

Sorry could NOT pass that one up

Yeah, but you gotta admit one thing -- She's 'the best looking rocket scientist at NASA!

Jeff,

Why would that be different from simply having it rebored? (Other than it might save me a hundred bucks). My cousin has a .458 Lott in the same rifle. If that would make a better starting place, I'm sure he would trade me. However I don't think he would give me the barrel off it, effectively giving me TWO free rifles.

I just thought that since the two Rigbys are the same exact case, I would be ahead of the game in terms of clean feeding by starting with the .416.

As you can tell, clean feeding is very, very important to me. I'll give up accuracy for feeding any day of the week.

quote:

Originally posted by GAHUNTER:
Jeff,

Why would that be different from simply having it rebored? (Other than it might save me a hundred bucks). My cousin has a .458 Lott in the same rifle. If that would make a better starting place, I'm sure he would trade me. However I don't think he would give me the barrel off it, effectively giving me TWO free rifles.

I just thought that since the two Rigbys are the same exact case, I would be ahead of the game in terms of clean feeding by starting with the .416.

As you can tell, clean feeding is very, very important to me. I'll give up accuracy for feeding any day of the week.

Difference is you can get about all your barrel money off eBay when you sell your 416 barrel after you buy a 458 one. If you cousin will trade straight up I guess it's thet same thing monetarily but there is no guarantee that CZ has the same rail set-up for 458 Win Mag and 416 Rigby. They're pretty different.

quote:

CZ .416 Rigby (ugly hogback)

Hhhmmmmmmmm. Beauty-eye of beholder- all that stuff.

GA,
sorry to have gone off in this direction ") ... A 416 action, with boltface and feeding, will probably feed the 450 rigby cases... a 458 win or lott WONT without more work. If you had a cz 458 barrel, and a 416 rigby action, I believe you would be much closer (or cheaper?) to a 450 rigby.

Though the rebore will do the same thing, and should get the weight to about were it belongs, as I think most CZ's are too heavy.

jeffe

I agree with Jeffeosso...but you have gotten a lot of different opinions...so how about this, I will give you a 500% profit over what you have invested in the 416, ugly hogback and all. I will even pay shipping!

Thanks Jeff,

You are right; If I can find a .458 barrel somewhere, I'll be ahead of the game. If I can't find one, I'll simply let Dan "do his thang."

Now, Dan didn't mention anything about engraving the new caliber onto the barrel. This is important when traveling to some African countries (cartridge headstamp has to match rifle caliber). I assume he can/will handle this task.

Of course, I could leave it engraved .416 Rigby and get my cases by fire-forming .416 Rigby brass. Then my ammo and rifle will match perfectly!

Congo,

That's a hell of a good offer. I'll have to consult with my business partners (Kellie Pickler and Jethro Bodine), do some cifering, and decide whether or not it's a fair deal.

GAHunter,

Since you said it needs to feed like grease through a goose then ponder these:







Given that the body taper on the 450 is .015" less per side you WILL at a minimum need some feeding work done. If you want to tackle this conversion with the expectations you've outlined then be prepared to have a real pro work on the action.

If all you are likely to be facing in the field are charging water jugs, then maybe you might get by with a rebarrel or rebore & rechamber. But, if you really plan to square off against dangerous game I'd invest the time and money to ensure that it feeds.

I don't claim to be a CZ550 expert by any means. But, one thing I do know is that many of the Mausers and it's derivatives that I've come across were said to have fed flawlessly by their owners. When, in reality, that was far from the case. I guess it depends on your standards or expectations. For many, only having to jiggle the bolt two or three times before the round can be forced into the chamber qualifies as flawless. Another thing I know is the fact that the individual who sent these to me bothered to take the time indicates that this is not as simple a procedure as you are led to believe.

quote:

Originally posted by GAHUNTER:
My cousin has a .458 Lott in the same rifle. If that would make a better starting place, I'm sure he would trade me. However I don't think he would give me the barrel off it, effectively giving me TWO free rifles.

GAHUNTER,

Why not simply swap rifles with your cousin and go with a .458Lott instead of a .450Rigby?

You may still want to restock if you don't like the hogback stock, but otherwise you could put your money into making the Lott a reliable rifle
ie bedding work ect...Seems a lot easier road to a big bore than rebarreling ect..

Regards,

Pete