Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Express Rifles and Big Bores Only 416 Weatherby and 350gr TSX

Well finally I finished my test and here is what happened. I started working on loads Friday night around 10:00PM til early in the morning and setting up my rifle taking off the Zeiss and putting on my new Leupold and bore sighting til early in the morning. Went to bed and got a few hours sleep then went to the range Saturday and accomplished the following. Using MRP and RL-22 which were the final powders to test against each other since they both earlier this week produce good velocities and accuracy. My Mark V 416 Weatherby Magnum Deluxe with Accubrake and its best group came when I was - using 120grs RL-22. I had no max signs and the base of the brass expansion after fired measured less than .0004 and there were no shinny marks on bottom of the brass and no flattened primers. Please do not use my load unless you work up to it because I have a cool lot of RL-22 and your lot could be as much as 10% hotter than mine. My average velocity is 2930fps, shooting .625" at 100yds. The 350gr TSX is outstanding. My OAL was 3.750" I have put a Leupold VX III 2.5-8x36mm with Wide Duplex for acquiring my target faster and it really is a nice scope with sharp picture and tracked well even after the recoil of the 416. Here are my load ballistics.

Muzzle 2930fps - eng. 6671 pounds
2750fps +3 1/2" 100yds - eng. 5876 pounds
2577fps +4.04" 200yds - eng. 5161 pounds
2410fps - .73" 300yds - eng. 4516 pounds
2250fps -11.5" 400yds - eng. 3935 pounds
2096fps -29.3" 500yds - eng. 3414 pounds
1948fps -54.6" 600yds - eng. 2950 pounds

I can hit out to about 370 then hold cross hair on top of shoulder and hit out to 430 to 450 on deer and elk size game and a little further on moose. Will work real well on big bear. Now this does not mean I will get the chance to make a long shot, nor take one unless I am sure of my shot. I will not take a long shot on dangerous game. I will practice at long range to get use to it and make sure that my ballistic calculations are close to right. Sometimes a ballistice program will not be exactly what you get in the field. But this load will be devastating up close or far off. What ever it hits it will be dead. This 416WBY completes my trio of Weatherbys. I have a 257WBY, a 300WBY and now the 416WBY. The 257WBY I named "Nancy Jean" (my wife), because the 257WBY does not hit me back when I pull the trigger and it has fine lines and shoots straight. I named the 300WBY "Thors Hammer" because of the 180gr TSX that moves out at 3287fps and hits with authority. I named the 416WBY "Odin", Odin was the father of Thor in viking myth and Odin was brave and would face the enemy up close and not run, delivering a deadly blow. I am really excited about this load and its potential. This has truly been fun. The Accubrake made the 416 feel like a 220gr bullet in a 300WBY that has no brake. It was easy to shoot and reload for. My 416 Rem. nor my 416 Rigby can come close to the preformance of my 416WBY and accuracy was better in my 416WBY.

I will go out again the end of this coming week to tweak my sight-in for my load and shoot through the chrno again so I will have more data than a three shot group to average my "fps" and "deviation of velocity spread." This will help me calculate what to possibly expect when I start to practice on long shots. As I said earlier, the accubrake makes the 416 feel like a 220gr load in a 300WBY with no brake, but that is not bad considering the power and the mass of bullet I am sending down range. What amazed me is that the 416WBY has as much energy at 600 as most 06 loads at muzzle. Wow!! what a cartridge and rifle. This rifle makes you feel like you can face anything any where. You should hear the thud when it hits an animal and this load should be even more impressive when it hit the game. Yes! This was the right cartridge to complete my trio of Weatherby's.

Go big or stay at home . . . . . I guess . . . .

Yea shootist, I guess you are right. The Taylor knock-out value is 146.5, not bad for only kicking like a 300Wby.

That should be enough for deer or elk sized game, I suppose.

Yea, I just go to my trio and pick one for deer, elk, or anything else

257WBY, 300WBY, 416WBY

beartooth,

What loads do you shoot in your .257Wby? I have a SS Vanguard.

Cool!!
The .416 Wby is a hoot to load for, and shoot. My own. .416 Wby. is probably the most accurate rifle I own, using Barnes TSX bullets.

I worked up a load to use without the brake, in the event I want to use it but a PH or whomever doesn't like or allow brakes. It is 112 gr. of RL22, with a MV of 2600 fps.- about like .416 Rigby velocity. Recoil is manageable, as well.

BTW- my most accurate full-power load is also 120.0 gr. of RL22 with the Barnes 350 gr. TSX.

A little too much for most North American game, but I intend to give it a workout on a big Cape Buff or two, next time to Africa...

It is the most accurate load I shoot also.

100gr TSX, OAL 3.168-3.171" using MRP 72.7grs CCI250 primers WBY/brass.

Here is an average group size moving 3688-3712fps

I use almost the exact same load, except 71grs of RL22. Is MRP the same as RL22?