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i'm thinking about a 416 taylor, anybody shoot one, tell me about them. i'd like a big bore just for fun!

I had one, my first of 4 .416s Excellent and stingy on powder. Close to the RM using 10/15 grains less powder. If I knew now what I did then I would go 411KDF and use 41 mag, 405 type bullet hand loads for fun and medium game and stout 411s or X bullets for bear.
Guys going to Africa should stick with 416 RM or other non wildcat type guns and ammo.

IMO the only real reason for the 416 Taylor was that it could be shoehorned into a standard length action. These days, I think the 416 Ruger is a better option as it is about the same length but has greater capacity. That's what I built myself.

That was 25 years ago! A pal gave me a shoe box of 458s, one pass in the sizer die... and presto Taylors! And it is efficient. Not a bad choice, I still say.

The Taylor pressure is much lower than the Ruger. Like Uncas says one pass and wala taylor brass.

cool guys keep it coming!

One swipe of my CC and walla, 416 Ruger brass. By the way, the Ruger is SAAMI approved at lower pressure than the 416 Taylor.

Easy to handle with 400's and moderate charges, full charge gets your attention a little but not unbearable at all. I had one on a VZ 24.

I built one on a Ruger 77 action. First stock was poorly inletted. It came apart. Second stock was well done.
Foolishly I let it go the other year when I gave up on ever getting back to Africa. I loved mine. I shot a lot of 350's and 400's with Reloaded 15. It was unbelievably accurate for me. I didn't find recoil that bad, but I'm not the sharpest marble in the box. Never got to shoot anything bigger than a groundhog. I'd stick to those little 350's for them. Plenty of penetration
If you can lay in a supply of cast bullets and some Trail Boss or 5744, you can have a blast. The brass was easy to form and she was cheap to shoot for a big bore.
Wish I still had mine. If I could find another one that I could afford, I'd buy it.

Go for it!
Bfly

I like the Ruger and the fact of it having no needless belt, but I have made quite a few Taylors and owned 2 of them myself. They do the 1910 ballistics of the 416 Rigby quite well. 400 grain .416" bullet at 2350. In some guns you can get over 2400, but I see no point in doing it. The Rigby's ballistics are wonderful and need no "improvement".

When the 416 Ruger came out I fully expected it to become the new round to be asked for. So far it has not. Not for any reason I know of, but so far no one has asked me to make a 416 Ruger for them. I have made about four 416 Taylors in the last 8 years.

There is nothing to complain about with either one.

I built one on a VZ24 Mauser Douglas 24" barrel Boyds laminate stock. Put a Limbsaver recoil pad on it. Shoots great.
I used 458 brass and 338 brass before I faound a few 416 headstamped brass. Not very practical for my needs but a nice
rifle that will do anything. I think my load is 72 gr Reloader 15 400 gr. Hornady. Same load 72 gr R-15 I use for my 375 Ruger 300 gr Partitions.

400's at 2150 or so are fun, 2350 gets a little sporty.

The 450/400 was just that and was (and still is) a VERY well respected round in Africa.
I own a 404 Jeffery and I like to load my bullets to 2250 instead of the Modern 2370 that the Germans load to. I love it's accuracy and I can't think of any game I would be under-gunned for shooting that load.

416 Taylor really started the 416 resurgence, lots of published data on it if you dig. Buried by the Ruger and RM but they all run about the same.
Supposedly Winchester looked hard at legitimizing it then had a change of players and proponents, it was too specialized for mass production - money talks, etc

It's a build I'd love to do one day - even bought a reamer for it!!

Not sure the 416 Ruger is all that popular yet, I wouldn't be surprised if the 416 Taylor is still used more in Africa. No longer a wildcat having a SAAMI proprietary offering at one time by A-Square, it is still fairly popular and performs the same as all 416s do, except the 416 Wby, which is another story. In Africa the 500/416 single and double rifles may now be encountered more than the other 416s. I would rather shoot the Taylor in a compact rifle over the Rem Mag. I see the Rem Mag offering nothing over the Taylor except being less efficient in powder, bolt throw, rifle weight, etc., if that really means anything to anyone. Double Tap (somewhat hot ammo) loads 350gr - 450gr grain loads for the 416 Taylor.



Below is a 1975 article by John Wooters who is probably the most noted user of the 416 Taylor on DG. It is by all accounts quite a hammer.

Wooters on 416 Taylor

Case capacity of the Taylor is minimal. The 416 Rem Mag has always been considered low on case cap and it is a good 10 grains larger than the Taylor. The 416 Ruger is only a couple grains smaller than the Rem Mag and should be a more efficient shape. Would believe lower pressure loads are an advantage in a hot climate especially if dealing with DG.

A short recap. Length - Capacity and Velocity with 400 grain bullet.
416 WSM 2.050" ----78 grs,-----2300
416 Taylor 2.500" ---92 grs.------2350
416 Remington 2.850" 104 grs.----2400
416 Ruger 2.570" ----102 grs.----2400
416 Murphy 2.570" ---104 grs. ----2400
416 Dakota 2.850" ----110 grs.----2500
416 RUM 2.860" ------118 grs,-----2550
416 Rigby 2.900" -----128 grs.-----2400 (original ballistics)
416 Weatherby 2.913"-134 grs.----2600

Chart from here-
http://forums.outdoorsdirectory.com...a-416-Taylor-comparitive-case-dimensions

One of my reasons for selecting the Ruger over the Taylor. the Taylor has to operate at higher pressures to overcome its limited capacity. Also, the Ruger velocities are most often reported from a 20" barrel.

It is easy for me to hit 2400 fps with a 400 at loads below book max in my 24" barrel. Again, its biggest attraction was the ability to be used in a standard 3.400" magazine. That made it very popular among folk building them on Mauser 98 actions.

Minimal for what? Again article above shows Taylor duplicates 416 Rigby in the field in Africa with no worries from tropic temps and no pressure signs pushing three 400 gr bullets averaging 2,400 fps. Article is 43 years old, imagine how good the 416 Taylor is today with today's bullet and powder technology. Back then a 400 grain solid from a 416 Taylor fully penetrated an elephant's brain from any angle (not knocking the 416 Ruger, it is no better or worse than the Taylor) with today's components. Larger platforms with the same bullet and bullet weights having more powder and higher velocity than 2,400 fps may show a decrease in their ability to penetrate. That may be why some PHs on DG like heavy for caliber bullets at slower speeds (.375 w/350 gr at 2,250 fps; .416 w/450 gr at 2,200 fps and .458 w/500gr at 2,100 fps. There is a point of diminishing returns on penetration when higher velocity is utilized. John Linebaugh has been one of the foremost authorities on studying heavy projectiles, velocity and penetration. Its funny that the outcomes are the opposite of what one would traditionally expect.

.416 Taylor brass.
https://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/category/categoryId/3610?

Rossimp,
As much as I respect Wooters work and have enjoyed his writing, looking at primers and brass is not an accurate means of determining pressure. Other means are now available to writers which are accepted as reasonably accurate. IIRC, Linebaugh's penetration tests were conducted in wet newspaper which is a questionable test medium.
416 Rem Mag runs 62k psi to make 2400fps, 12% less case capacity of the Taylor can't be good.

this is what i was thinking, i'm never going to the dark content and i will not be going to frozen land up north, i just want to satisfy an itch some thing to play with

FWIW: In 1988 I executed my first of 24 trips to Africa. My rifle(s) of choice: Pre '64 Model 70's. Light rifle: .270win/150gr Nosler Partitions for plains game/leopard. Dangerous game rifle: Custom pre '64 Model 70 .416 Taylor with 25" bbl shooting 400gr Jack Carter original bullets, Trophy Bonded Bear Claw soft points, and Trophy Bonded Sledge Hammer FMJ. Velocity for this rifle was originally 2400fps with both bullets. Ultimately, I reduced the load to average velocity of 2350fps. The reduction in velocity improved the accuracy shooting both SP, and FMJ bullets. (The reduction in velocity had nothing to do with pressure, or extraction problems.) The .416 Taylor" behaved" perfectly in all conditions, and temps (85F-100F) This rifle/caliber successfully accounted for nine buffalo, eleven elephant, one lion, one hippo, and more plains game than I can recall.
Mooshoo, if you're looking for a forty caliber rifle in today's world, there are several other choices which will be sufficient for big bears, or any of the African DG. But, if you're keen on the Taylor, go for it. As an aside; South Africa, Zambia or Zimbabwe customs never gave me any grief regarding my wildcat ammo.
When I began planning for my safari in 1987, there were not many choices in forty caliber rifles. Remington had not introduced their cartridge, and I certainly couldn't afford a Rigby, so I concluded a custom forty was the way to proceed. That decision was quite fortuitous. I'd do it again in a heartbeat!

thanks again loved it!

Well, if I can't kill it with a 400gr bullet at 2150fps, I shouldn't have been there in the first place.

I'll be putting my 416 Taylor up for sale soon. It was built by a great gunsmith on a Remington 700 action and a McMillian stock.

I love the 416 Taylor, talk about efficient bang for the buck, my rifle is a 24" barreled BRNO Mauser with two position Winchester model 70 type safety, it looks about like Phil's old ugly 458 WM, 400 gr Partitions at a case friendly, and very accurate 2400 fps with CFE-223 is a hoot to shoot, the barrel express sight was filed dead on at 50 yards with that load before cerakoting, it wears a 1.5-5 Leupold in Talley lever rings, the receiver and bases were drilled and taped for 8x40 screws.

A B/C syn stock with spacer and new pad added for a LOP of 13-7/8ths then repainted by Darren75 right here at the fire, it's and all weather, all game basher that I'd be glad to hunt any animal anywhere with, donsm70 here at the 'fire generously gave me some proper stamped casehead A-Square brass if it ever needs to make a trip to Africa.

I bought a Ruger 77 in 7mm RM with the idea of making it a 358 Norma Mag or a larger caliber. First thing, I changed out the stock to a B&C stock, as the Ruger's stock wasn't right for me and I think the barrel is too light on that 77 for a rebore that big, so a new barrel would be in order. A 416 Tayler would be one of the cartridges I'd consider. Another would be a 375-338 or rather a 338 WM necked up to 375. I have never had a 700 extractor fail, but all of my bigger bore cartridges 338 Win and up now have claw extractors, just because of all the whining I read about extractors.

I have two other 7mm RM's on 700 actions and I really don't need a third 7mm RM all that much. For me, I've come to realize I have more larger caliber rifles than I'll probably ever use.

Back to your situtation: I think a 416 Taylor would be a hoot. Go for it.

I don't have any experience with the 416 Taylor, so can't comment.

The 416 Ruger idea is a good one as it will duplicate the 416 Rigby ballistics with a 400 grain bullet. At 2400 fps MV it can handle anything, including elephant, if that's what you're after. Cases are easy enough to find - or form - from the 375 Ruger or the Hornady 375 Ruger Basic brass.

I favor the 404-375 Ruger wildcat, as it has pretty much the same relationship to the 404 Jeffrey as the 416 Ruger has to the 416 Rigby. If you're looking for something unique, the 404-375 Ruger is worth a look. I've turned both of my Ruger 375 Hawkeyes (African & Alaskan) into the 404-375 Ruger and have no complaints.

I have owned a Taylor, a Remington, and a Rigby. I prefer the Taylor and the Remington. The Rigby rifles are just too chubby. A 22” barrel is just right. Loading a 400 to 2150-2200 makes either much more pleasant to shoot. For practice, Trail Boss is your friend.

No fear about head stamped brass...buy 416 Remington cases and cut shorter. 40-50 will be plenty. Have your barrel marked “416”. No problem. Mostly use 458 Winchester cases.

while I think about it, I might as well clarify what my "custom" .416 Taylor entailed. The rifle originally was a tired pre '64 model 70 .264 FWT. The barrel was pulled, and a Krieger barrel installed. Basically, the barrel swap, and check for proper head space and function, and adding hidden x bolts in the stock was just about all. I had this beater .264FWT, and a dead Super Grade stock (with pad) so the parts/pieces were available for the switch to the .416 Taylor. This was all accomplished for about what a standard model 70 would've cost in 1987 dollars. The rifle was such a hit, my wife suggested I sell her model 70 .375H&H SG, and have another .416Taylor built for her. She is 5'6" 130lbs, and swears the Taylor has no more recoil (her estimate) that the .375H&H. Well, it must work...she shot two buffalo, and one elephant plus plains game with HER rifle. Having my wife enjoy African hunting as much as I, is a special experience.

TSIBINDI,

Your 416 Taylor sounds perfect! I have had the urge to build one for years. When I do It will be very similar to yours.

Went back to the loading data my father used for africa. We used varget as the propelent and woodleigh 400 weldcore as the slug data says a little shy of 5k foot pounds of energy. Dad said his buffalo rolled on his back hoofes in the air from the impact. Woodleigh's 410 solid shot to the same point of impact with the same load data. He never used the sollid in africa.

Taylor VS Rem Mag...if a .308 makes sense to you, you will like a Taylor. If you would choose a 30'06 over a .308, then the 416 RM would add up. .358 or Whelen? ...Same situation.
My Taylor was a Howa with a no name barrel it cost me $300. Since then I built 3 Rem Mags a 26" Sendaro clone a 22" Brno square bridge Scout gun and a Remington KS. The Brno (5 shot!) was the fastest by far for first shot and follow up shots, by stop watch... twice as fast as any other 416.
Currently my RM KS is on consignment the others are hopefully still hunting in Alaska.
In America I would go 411KDF or 400Whelen or 400 H&H if you want to shoot a lot, that is!

Just FYI, a buddy has a .375 Taylor, uses .338wm brass and seats .375 boattails directly in the brass for his reloading of the Taylor.

When Wooters wrote the article, looking at primers and brass were pretty standard indicators of pressure at the time. As you mentioned, we now know that isn't necessarily the case so I'm not sure what you're getting at. I've never had any indication of high pressure with mine. As others said, SAAMI spec ammo is/was available for standard loads.

What is questionable about wet newspaper as a test medium? So long as all else is equal, results can be compared. John didn't use wet newspaper to try and simulate flesh, although we did place cattle bones several inches behind the first layers at times to see the results. Funny thing is, wet newspaper does give an indication of bullet performance and penetration capabilities.

My Taylor is built on a CZ BRNO Mauser. I shot it for years with the steel butt plate on the original stock before I finally had Randy Selby finish it with a nice piece of wood and a two position model 70 type safety. I've made brass out of everything from 7mm Rem Mag to .458 Win Mag brass. I've shot mostly cast bullets through it. It's good for 500 yard steel silhouettes on a regular basis. It's a handy little rifle and fun to shoot.

These are the SAAMI specifications from ANSI Z299,4 for 416 centerfire rifles:
416 Remington Magnum 350 2,525 650 666 691 400 2,400
416 Rigby 400 2,370 520 533 553
416 Ruger 400 2,410 620 636 660
416 Taylor Magnum 400 2,370 650 666 691
416 Weatherby Magnum 400 2,655 Piezo Pressures Not Established
The headings for the data did not copy to this reply but are bullet weight, velocity, max average pressure, max probable lot mean and max probable sample mean. Note that the 416 Ruger pushes a 400 grain bullet 40 fps faster at 3,000 psi lower pressure than the 416 Taylor.Also note that at equal pressures (65K) the 416 Remington is 155 fps faster than the 416 Taylor but the bullet weights are not the same.

All this data, while contributing, does not negate real world physics and the fact that most if not all African PHs suggest that a bullet of sufficient weight having SD above .310 and a magical speed of 2,150 fps will dispatch most anything on earth. Bottom line is that with no undue pressure the 416 Taylor without breaking a sweat will hurl a 450 gr Woodleigh bullet with SD .371 at 2,200 fps . The 416 Taylor is more than capable of stopping any bull elephant, just like all the rest, only a matter of preference for the 416 shooter.

Hear, hear!

My Taylor is my favorite .416, my .416 Howell is probably the rifle with the most sentiment since it is the first .416 Howell, and my .416 Remington is my most generic in a Model 70. They all perform pretty much the same. I'm sure the Rigby I'm building will be in the same ball park as the others.

I'm curious about all the expert opinions and their experience with any .416, other than what they've read in books and magazines. Sounds like nothing more than a bunch of hypothesizing.

bobmn, I'll see if I can glue a strain gauge over the chamber of my Taylor in a week or two and see just what I get.

Thanks Paladin. Will you be testing a 400 grain bullet? When I finally acquired the resources to afford Africa I chose a 416 Ruger for my cape buffalo hunts. I first tried a CZ in 416 Rigby but the extra long action and weight made it cumbersome. The 416 Ruger operated at a slightly lower pressure than the Taylor. The other consideration is that while the Ruger is not common in Africa the Taylor is impossible to find if you get separated from your ammunition as happened to me. If I were to do it over I might live with the higher pressure of the Remington in exchange for greater ammunition availability in Africa. If Africa is not a consideration I find the Ruger perfect.

I got separated from my ammo for 3 days. Fortunately my buddy brought his .470NE so I was able to use a round or two of his. Of course the PH had a .470 also, so it really wasn't a problem. I'll probably take the Howell when I go back. I doubt there's one round for it on the Dark Continent. On the other hand, it wouldn't surprise me if there's someone there that has one.It's

Yes, 400 gr is what I have but I'm not sure what I've got. I probably have Swift Breakaways, cast bullets for sure, and possibly North Forks. Wait. I've got a bunch of various bullets I got with the Howell. We'll see what I can come up with.

While I understand the hobby of it all I cannot, in all accounts, see not going with the 416 Remington in a M70 action. Mine is pretty tidy.

Exactly, could not agree more.

I tend to agree as well. In fact don't see any major reason to choose the .416 Taylor when there are so many .416 factory rounds (often with ammo relatively available even in Africa) these days.

Back when the .416 Tayloer was developed, the .416 Remington hadn't appeared (and the .416 Ruger was far off in the 21st century), and rifles for the .416 Rigby were either extremely expensive, or custom jobs that required handloading, which was often a PITA due to brass availability. The shorter bolt-throw of the Taylor makes no difference in the real world, unless you're so short the withdrawn bolt will hit you in the face. The big factor in rapid repeat shooting with a bolt-action isn't action length, but practice. It might take 10 more milliseconds to work a long bolt between shots.

Plus, of course, the Taylor isn't capable of .416 Remington muzzle velocities without considerably higher pressure, just as the .338 Winchester can't match .340 Weatherby velocities.

But hey, all of it's mostly about what we like and shoot well, and a .416 Taylor loaded to .450/.400 muzzle velocities will kill stuff just as well as either of the .450/400's. Which apparently have always killed buffalo and elephants very well, despite lagging behind the .416 Rigby/Remington/Taylor, et al, by around 200 fps.

The truth is that very few of today's sport hunters will ever kill enough really big game with any cartridge to come to really firm conclusions about any difference in "killing power" with a wide variety of cartridges from .375 (or even 9.3mm) on up--partly because today's bullets are so good, both soft and solid.

I did a fair amount of work developing loads for my Ruger in 416 Taylor a few years ago and had a lot of fun in the process. I did tear the recoil lug area out of a Ruger laminated stock and knock some glass loose in a very well known scope. The only data that I had to reference was Mr Wooters article. I was using a Piezo Pressures program and had my barrel set up for that. I couldn't get velocities any where near his reported velocities with safe pressure levels while using IMR-4320. That is when I found out that loose primer pockets and sticky bolts indicate way too much pressure. If you are thinking about that powder, work up to the velocity you want with caution. There are many more acceptable powders now. My rifle loved 350 grain bullets and was very comfortable with 400 grain bullets at 2150. I think 2350 was about as fast as I was able to get a 400 grain bullet to go from my rifle. Another thing that hit hard with me while doing this development was the great disparity in pressures when just changing bullets. I know it is common knowledge now but back then, not so much. That a gun with that level of power was capable of shooting 1 to 1.5 inch groups at 100 was very satisfying. All shooting was from a bench rest and recoil was brisk but very easy to live with. It was very much like my 375 H&H. One gun writer called it a great lady's elephant rifle. Probably right. Biggest thing I ever shot was a tree.

super cool info thanks guys!!!

I've had a Taylor for over 20 years. Mine is built on a tang safety Ruger M77 action. When I first got it I shot it a lot and regrettably it hasn't been in the field for quite a while. Part of the reason is that through two moves I've lost all my data. I did take it to Africa and I used it for everything from Warthogs to Buffalo with Swift 400gr A Frames. At one time I had loaded Hawk 325gr soft points for deer and killed an Elk with it and a couple of whitetails.
I just need to start over with the reloading process and work up a couple of loads suitable for deer.

The allure of wildcats and less common rounds has worked it's way through my system. The 416 Taylor made perfect sense when it was developed, today not so much. I can't see building one when perfectly capable factory 416's are availble, same with the brass and standard dies.

Now if I came across a reasonable priced well built 416 Taylor I wouldn't pass it up.

Phil,

Can you ream out the Taylor to a 416 Ruger?

Agreed, I bought a BRNO 98 mauser 416 Taylor from a guy in your state for 175 bucks shipped, it came with 50 sticks of necked down WW 458wm brass and a set of dies, I threw the stock away, had a B/C syn for a mauser lying on a safe top, took it and all the metal to my 'smith, he owed me about 200 bucks labor on a gun deal.

Had him black matte cerakote all steel, even the bases and ring screws, full length bed the rifle to the stock, tune the trigger to a crisp 3lbs, sent the stock up to Darren75K here at the fire for a nice paint job, mounted a spare 1.5-5 leupold in the talley QD rings and went to the load shop, it was easy to get 2400 fps with 400gr partitions in the rifles 24" barrel with CFE-223 powder, iirc extreme spreads are less than 10 fps, the rifle is way more accurate than a heavy medium bore rifle that will be shot at large game at relative short ranges.

Donsm70 here at the fire graciously sent me some free A-Square cases with the proper 416 Taylor head stamp, I got a hell of a deal and love the rifle, I simply cannot imagine what a 400gr partition leaving at 2400 fps would not handily dispatch,

There's one for 450 on A H dot com. Well, its a 338/416, close to the taylor but the shoulder is a few thousandths forward. Comes with dies. If I wasn't trying to shrink my safe, and didn't have the 400 Whelen and 10.75x68 I'd have snatched it up already

Sir,
That is the most badass review of the 416 Taylor I've ever read. You have me sold. Where a lotta guys "talk" about their hand load exploits, and talk about how they're going to "someday" hunt. YOU, and your WIFE ran those 416s like straight up bosses, for decades.

My dear 416 Taylor was built as an northwest Wyoming elk rifle. I guess elk don’t need such a cartridge but don’t tell them. 350 grain Speers at 2550 just dump them, no trailing involved.
Did a lot a bison hunts, 400 grain Hornadys exited always, 350 Speer got six feet of penetration front towards the back. Just a wonderful cartridge. Picking up 7 mag brass and reforming to 416 just warmed my heart and turned a useless object into a real cartridge of great power. After years of the great 458 I wanted a little better trajectory so built the Taylor. Had a wounded bison cow a ways out, held the front sight on hair. 400 grain Hornady soft smacked and she fell on her nose. My old 458 would have to have held above hair.
I sold it recently as I have two more cervical fusions to endure in November. The sale of that rifle has saddened me greatly.

Frank, don't worry bud, the mighty 358 winchester would be a humble replacement with a lot less recoil.

Yah, for north American game, I much prefer the 41 cal 350 grainers over the 400's.

My two biggest moose one shot with the 358 and this past season a 41 wildcat off the 9.3x62: They both dropped instantly. Both needed a finishing shot.

Kinda hard to differentiate the kill power of a medium from a large medium. BUT......the recoil sure is less in the little 358 win.

I had a 416 Wby complete with 26" barrel and a KDF brake. Recoil was barely manageable as 15 shots were the max I could do in a session. Removing the brake once was punishing. In another session I removed the brake again. BAD IDEA. Recoil brought the gun back hard enough for the bolt knob to bruise the outside of my hand!! I have since sold the rifle and had a Taylor made on an 03A3 action. Currently it has a 24" barrel, but I think I'm gonna go down to 21". I haven't killed anything with it and might not ever, but it is a dream to shoot compared to the Wby. I use 338WM, 7 RM and 458WM for brass. Sometimes the 7 RM necks are cocked and need to be trimmed and squared up.

On a subsequent 375 AI build, I had the dogleg bolt handle cut and flipped forward on a '17 Enfiled. I did this to prevent the bruised hand syndrome - it worked. No need to do it on the Taylor as it is much gentler to the shooter.

I have a 416 Rigby and I could load that up to nearly 416 Weatherby power, way beyond the Ruger, the Remington or the Taylor. But I noticed that with 400 grain bullets the Rigby is just fine at Rigby pressures, no need for me to go further - for me. Of course I'm in my 70's and have bursitis and arthritis.

I'm pretty sure a Taylor would be a good rifle for an old fart like me. I'm not positive what rifle I'd build it a Taylor on. I have a 375 Whelen AI on a Mauser action and a Mauser would work pretty good, I think. If I don't sell my tanger Ruger 77 in 7mm Mag, that could be re-barreled by ER Shaw I suppose and that would require very little extra work, I'd think.

Bugger my Taylor is on a tang safety M77. I like my Taylor, I have used it on deer just because I have it but I've taken an Elk with it and it's been to Africa where I used it almost exclusively.

GSPfan, what barrel - length, weight or contour did you use for your Taylor?

I was thinking nothing longer than 22” and heavy enough to make the rifle ~ 9 lb.

But I’d sell my Rigby first.

I have had my Taylor for 20+ years and it has served me well in North America and Alaska.

It is a Ruger M77 Tang safety with 25" Douglas barrel with 1-4 x 20 Nikon. Shoots everything sub MOA and really like the 400 gr and 350 gr pills. My powder of choice is RL15.

Good Day

Bugger the barrel is 24 inches a Douglas premium. I don't recall the contour, I've had it for over 25 years probably closer to 30. The gun with Tally QD rings and a Burris 1.5 X5 scope weighs just a shade over 9 lbs.

I had one someone put together on a Mauser action. It was beautiful and put together right. But the rifle was very light. With 350 or 400 grain heavy loads the recoil was sharp and not pleasant and I’m not recoil sensitive. I sold it. In hind sight I wish I had just rebarreled it. I loved the cartridge and I loved loading for it. I’d definitely own another Taylor but I’d want it in a rifle 9lbs or heavier.

I keep sitting on my two Winchester LH Classics thinking a 338-06 and 416 Taylor would make a neat pair of guns.

My Taylor, completed last summer weighs 7.25 lbs with a peep sight. 400s at 2300ish are quite unpleasant, but at 2165, it’s as gentle as a .375.

My 411 KDF weighs 9 1/2 lbs,, 400gr Barnes @ 2150 is a comfortable and makes for follow up shots with ease. 300gr TSX @ 2350ish shoots groups with ease.

That would be a nice combo.

If you wouldn’t mind - can I get the load info on RL-15 for that 416 Taylor? I’m building one now and I use RL-15 in my other rifle loads. You can text me at (540)420-3003 if you don’t feel comfortable posting it on here. I really appreciate it.

What powder/load are you using in your 404 ?

Now that I sold my Rigby, I have to decide 416 Taylor or 416 Ruger. I' think that I'll put a SS barrel on my Ruger 77 Tang. If I were to put a barrel on a 700 action, the 416 Remington would be another choice.

But seriously, I really doubt I'll go to Africa again, though I'd really like to. I only went there on a building trip and repairing a hospital (Cameroon) and didn't didn't bring a gun. I prefer having a rifle that others don't have so much. But that can be counter productive, I suppose. (I could give a rats --- if the cartridge has a belt or not.)

Not Phil, But looking only at case dimensions it looks like a guy could do that.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.416_Ruger

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.416_Taylor

By far superior to listening to pages of drivel/
suckup from gunwriters on sponsored hunts.

Re: action length- does matter to some . IIRC
Phil Shoemaker and WDM Bell wrote they prefer a
shorter action to magnum length., but folks are free
to consider them inexperienced or their views trivial.

If anyone here has done fast close shooting on DG
where buck stops with you - with the frequency they
have , please share.

You won't be disappointed with the Taylor.

My experience with the 416 Taylor isn't overly vast. But it is one of my favorite carts.
I'm a carbine addict. 18" barrels are almost my favorite length barrels on bolt rifles. Tho a couple of mine are 26" or close.
My first 416 Taylor was built on a 17 Eddystone Enfield with a Shaw barrel. I dumped a brown bear that was rushing me with it within a couple months of trading into it. 1 shot , dead on the ground bear. Bear was dead before I came down out of recoil. Chest shot, 325 gr X bullet iirc 76 gr of IMR 4320. Range around 50 ' . Mv around 2600 fps.
Barrel length 19" . I well and truly pressure tested that action and barrel. No idea what the pressures were. But they were HIGH . I couldn't get any 300 gr X bullets at the time. So I developed loads for the 325 gr bullets. And 350 X. The 400 X was too long so I didn't do anything with them . 74 gr8 of 4320 was a great load in that rifle with 350 gr X and Speer Hot Cores. They did 2450 fps from that rifle and worked Great at dumping brown bear up close . And shooting Sitka Blacktail deer. The deer usually fan about 20 yards. The bears just went straight down.
I shot a bunch of 400 gr Hornady Soft nose thru it. And Barnes Original 49 thou jacket soft nose Round nose. I worked up to 2300 for a good working load. Iirc that was 70 gr8 of 4320. All hunting, work loads had Fed 215 primers. It destroyed the wood stock that was on it when I got it so I put an MPI stock on it and bedded it with Marine Tex epoxy. I mostly kept a Vx2 1-4 on it.
That rifle went down the road years later .
Then I had Montana Rifle Co build me a stainless barreled action in 416 Taylor with an 18" barrel. It was far too heavy for my wife who I had it built for. I shot a couple few deer with that one then gave it to a friend that is a bear guide. Along with the 375 H+H barrel I got from MRC for it. I put a fixed 3x Leupold on that one. In 375 dress I killed 8 deer 1 fall. Made the single longest game shot of my life with it that early winter. Federal High Energy 300 gr Swift A-Frame factory loads. Which that rifle LOVED .
Since my friend got it he has capsized a bunch of bear with it in 416 Taylor. Iirc his load is a 350 gr bullet @ 2300 fps. He has been working that rifle for the past 14 years.
Other than a malfunction with the factory safety malfunctioning. Which cost his client a bear. . Which MRC fixed free of charge. Not the cost of the lost bear tho.
I asked him a couple years ago how it was doing and what he had changed. He said absolutely nothing. And he still packs it for spring and fall brown bear.

If used Ruger M77 Mk2 RP in 7 mag, or 300 Win. Were available like they used to be. I would build a 16" barreled 416 Taylor and put a fat short muzzle brake on it. Keep the scoped weight less than 8 lbs
I figure I could get 2200 fps with a 400 gr bullet and 2550 with a 300 gr TSX.
I'de probably take it hunting Everything up here .

Now with the 416 Rem mag I have more experience. I've had 3 of them. My current one is a reboared/chambered from a 375 H+H . Whitworth express . I restocked it in a nice synthetic stock I had . bedded it FULLY with JB Weld. I got it just prior to moving and starting a homestead. It has a peep rear on it and shoots to the sights @ 50 yards so at the moment it's resting but ready.

Safarilife:

Since I'm a firm believer of "Heavy for calibre" bullets, I only load/shoot 400gr bullets. Early on, I loaded only Trophy Bonded bullets, both Bear Claw, and Sledge Hammer. I checked my load data for RL-15. and began with 69gr and worked up from there to 72.gr.

Good luck with your Taylor.



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For some reason I didn't have as good a success with Rl15 or 4895,4064 as I did with 4320.
Perhaps its because I had short barrels or I was just able to wiggle and dance more of it into the cases.
I do know that the next one I get I will give it more throat . More along the lines of the 458 Winchester.