Some of the tests I have run and others such as Mike La Grange tell me all I need to know about penetration. The .416 calibers simply will out penetrate those larger slugs in the .458 Win mag. Also if you really want to gain the power from using the .458 bullet, one must jump to the Lott or Watts to do so.
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To outright claim that the 416 outpenetrates the 458 can be misleading unless you also compare bullets
Here are two bullets fired into the same stack of alternating wet and dry magazines. On the left is a 400 swift A-frame from a 404 Jeffery that was basically duplicating the 416 Rigby load at around 2300fps. It is resting on the page where it stopped.
On the right is a 500 gr Hornady soft fired from my 20" bbl 458 Win and was clocked at 2050 fps. The bullet out penetrated the 404 bullet by another 4" (20% farther) and you can see the damage it was doing during that time.
![[Linked Image]](http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk168/Grizskins/404w400grSwift458w500Hornady.jpg)
Considering the thousands of elephants and other big game that Mike LaGrange has shot his opinion is one to consider and in his book he says that when everything is considered the 458 Win is his favorite as there comes a time when the most important thing is shot placement and the 458 Win is enough for any animal under any conditions.
Also when Harry Selby decided sell his .416 Rigby he chose the standard 458 Win as a replacement- in a PF M-70!
My point is not that the .416 or .404 are bad. They are great rounds. So is the 458 Lott. But there are no flies on the standard 458 Win with modern ammo.
