Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Express Rifles and Big Bores Only The big 40+ calibers. What's your favorite?

I have a CZ550 chambered in 416 Rigby that I want to rebore to the 470 Mbogo. I have 280 500 grain Barnes TSX bullet that can easily be driven to 2500+ FPS.
The Mbogo load as above should leave a mark that A-jax can't get out.

Speaking of fun for fun's sake: 470 Mbogo named MuleNear



That was my first and only checkering job, done on a laminate stock for the BBK-02 action and Pac-Nor barrel.
Covered up the booboos in the right side lightning bolt by "inlaying" a Hammer of Thor
and a mbogo head silhouette over the booboos.

Then when the tang cracked on the laminated stock,
it was repaired and the grip was wrapped with stainless steel wire, and the whole mess covered over with more epoxy.
Then the entire stock was painted with clear epoxy inside and out.

The grip is like the Selous Side Plate of Thor.
Norse mythology tells of a "power glove of Thor" that he used to wield the hammer Mjolnir.
I call this 470 Mbogo rifle "Mjolnir" but I pronounce it "Mule Near" because that is how it kicks with top loads.
It weighs 10.5 pounds as shown, no ammo or scope,
4 ounces lighter than my 470 Capstick,
3 ounces lighter than my 470 NE DR,
but 3#11oz heavier than my .475 Linebaugh Ruger No. 1 (6#13oz).

The 2.5x20mm Leupold is nice on MuleNear.



Future fun might include switching to Varget (grain for grain as RL-15 replacement)
and loading to over 2700 fps with the 500 grainers.
Also, this case capacity is near identical to 470 NE.
Standard 470 NE loads would make nice plinkers.
Go even lighter with the handgun bullets for .475 Linebaugh and 480 Ruger.

Do you know where to find dies and a reamer?

I got dies from CH4D.
The reamer came from JGS IIRC.
I bought it and left it with my Gunsmith.
He might still have it, used only once.
This way lies madness, but everybody is crazy about something or their life gets sappy.
If you can get some dies, I'll look for the reamer.

You may need a new barrel if that is a factory CZ .416 Rigby barrel,
or cut it down to very short for enough wall thickness at muzzle.
Not ideal with all that powder to burn.
Would make for a very nice muzzle flash.

My twist rate was 1:16", 6-groove, for 470 Mbogo, muzzle diameter was 0.750" at 25" crown,
Pac-Nor "custom" contour.
CIP twist for the NE is 1:21".
A-Square used a 1:10" twist on the 470 Capstick.
Ruger used a 1:18" twist on the .475 Linebaugh.
Take your pick of twist.
1:12" or 1:14" might be nice.

Are you interested in selling your dies?

Heavens no.
I ain't dead yet.
Still crazy after all these years.

I am biased to the .400 Whelen because it has been a lot of fun playing with mine. Have shot a fair variety through it but pretty well settled on the 300 grain Hornady for plinking/light game and either the 350 Hawk or 360 North Fork for elk/moose/etc. Maybe not a “stopper” but certainly leaves an impact on the target without abusing the shooter. Mine is not throated properly for 400 grainers without seating them way down and they don’t feed as well as the 300-360 grainers in my rifle (100% reliable now).

A factory alternative would be the 450/400 3” but may be limited to single shots and double rifles???

I have a .458 WM getting fitted to a McMillan as we speak. Looking forward to playing with that quite a bit in the coming years. Seems like a good option with a wide bullet selection.

I have a bunch of .416 Ruger Ammo but the ease of making .416 Taylor (I believe Raven Rock has some properly headstamped) makes that a nice option for those of us that like screwing around with wildcats that underperform vs. factory offerings

I also have a 375 Ruger getting fitted into an oregunsmithing stock that is pretty light. Doubt it will be much fun to shoot but for a packing rifle it will be a joy to carry and the 20” barrel should be plenty handy. Not a .40 Cal but a pretty good do-all setup.

I did it to get the balance corrected when the McMillan stock dropped the weight 8 oz.

Literally my second centerfire rifle when I was a kid was a 458 Win Mag. I lived remote in Alaska and killed everything with it. Have had a full range on big bores except 416s. 3 calibers that have had a memorable impact for me have been the 458 win mag, 500 3” and 577. The 500 3” has a great balance of recoil and penetration. Really a well balanced 21” 458 win mag works for me. That being said, I find more utility in a 9.3x62 or the 375 wby.

I feel appropriately chastened. I was out looking at the ammo online vendors carried & lazily just copied some of those to post an examples list. So to revive an excuse from high school, I didn't get it wrong: The person I was cheating off of did. There was 450 Rigby ammo in stock. But no 450 Dakota to be seen (was it ever produced commercially?). So let's just blame Gordy & Sons for this egregious omission.


A very good piece of information to know. Since I already have a Sako 85 Hunter in 30-06, if I went 458, I might keep that in the Sako line too since they're a left-hand friendly company like Ruger. I have options!


While the smart choice for me "feels" like a 375, I wanted to think about it a bit to really make sure. As much as I like the kick & boom of my 405 Winchester with its metal butt plate, something tells me I might enjoy something with a little more oomph even more. I'm pretty sure I don't need it. Just trying to figure out how much I want it...


I love my Ruger #1 in 9.3x74r!

For some years my favorite was a CZ 550 .416 Rigby, which was purchased slightly used due to actually having fired Harry Selby's famous rifle, which he eventually sold to one of his clients who lived in Arkansas.

It kicked a lot less than expected, so I modified the CZ to match Selby's, which weighed 9-1/4 pounds with its express sights. It also recoiled comfortably, and I used it as my primary dangerous game rifle for a while--both with the express sights and a scope, which brought the weight up to 10 pounds.

It killed buffalo well with 400-grain bullets at the traditional velocity of 2350-2400 fps, but generally buffalo shot with the .375 H&H didn't go any further before falling. And that includes buffalo shot by hunting partners with the .416 Remington and similar rounds.

The 416RM is the most practical choice. Ballistically the twin of the Rigby in a shorter, handier action(in it's original offering and yes I know you can stuff more powder into the Rigby case, that's what Weatherby does and adds a belt). That said I DO own and like my 416 Rigby very much, but if one is going to tote that HUGE action, might as well make it a 505 Gibbs!

Edited to add, but my favorite plus 40 (other than big tits) is my Verney Carron 450 NE 3 1/4"

Guns are just guns until you shoot something with them.

50’s have always been interesting…



50 Express…







50–100-450…





50-70…

Other than the fact that I absolutely positively have no need for a 505 Gibbs, I have to admit that your logic is flawless so I guess it needs to go on the list. Some people might be put off by the $18 per round for some factory ammo, but if you don't shoot it a lot is that really a valid criticism?

"I'm shooting a 505 Gibbs" does sound pretty awesome.


That Winchester 1886 is quite nice!

416 Ruger with 400 grain Swift A Frame in Ruger 77. 4 buffalo and 2 zebra. All one shot each. Ruger needs polishing. Only downside is ammo tough to find in Africa if yours does not make it. Ballistic equivalent to 416 Remington or original 416 Rigby. 416 Remington is more common in Africa. 416 Rem or Ruger rifles are much lighter and shorter action. I sold 416 Rigby CZ because it was like driving a garbage truck. I have a NECG receiver sight that fits the Ruger milled bases. Still looking for a way to store receiver sight on rifle.

While the question I originally posted here was to give me ideas and insight into larger caliber bolt actions, your post does bring up one option that I've discussed elsewhere. I'm a fan of Ruger #1's because I'm right-handed but shoot left & I've always liked their ambidextrous design plus their simplicity. Earlier today while surfing around I saw a ParkWest 404 Jeffery for about $14k. If I really wanted a large caliber rifle then buying a factory left-handed 375 H&H bolt action and also getting a Ruger #1 in any of the dozen large calibers it comes in could be done at a fraction of the cost of that ParkWest I saw. I don't think I would ever personally go hunting for dangerous game with a single shot but certain larger plains game might definitely be doable. I would need to become more proficient on my followup shooting in case, unlike you, it took me more than one shot. I have several options to consider and buying a practical 375 bolt action and then a Ruger #1 if I really want a big .4** caliber rifle is a possibility. If I did that then other rimmed cartridges like the 450/400 would be looked at.

I'm a little late to the party here, but I have some thoughts/experiences that might be helpful. Well maybe not, but here goes anyway...

I have a half dozen cape buffalo hunts under my belt. All but one have been shot with a 404 jeffery. The other was shot with a 450 Rigby. Sadly, I lost my first buffalo shot with my 404 Jeffery. My fault, not Jeffery's!

Most PH's I know say the 375 H&H is adequate, but the 40's are better. Based on my limited experience, I agree with this assessment. A 400 grain bullet at about 2200 fps - 2400 fps is just about perfect for cape buffalo. The 450 Rigby hits them noticeably much harder. I have used the 375 H&H on plains game. I took the 375 H&H loaded with 250 TSX to Africa a few years ago to shoot plains game and serve as a back up to my 404 Jeffery. It worked fine on the plains game, but I'm sure glad I didn't have to use that combination on buffalo because that bullet didn't pass through neither an eland nor a sable. If I was to use the 375 H&H on buffalo I would have it loaded with a heavier bullet such as the 270 or 300 TSX.

I love the 404 Jeffery, but it has a few downsides aside from its storied history and stellar reputation. First the gentle slope on the case shoulder makes setting FLR die a little tricky to get the right headspace clearance. Second, the .423 bullet diameter is an odd duck which makes component/ammo availability a challenge at times. IMHO the perfect buffalo cartridge would be based on the 404 Jeffery case (smaller than the Rigby case for ease of transport and action size), necked down to .416 for bullet availability, and the shoulder blown out the 30 degrees for easier hand loading. This of course describes the 416 Dakota, which never became popular and was discontinued by Dakota many years ago. Yet, it (the 416 Dakota) stands alone as my theoretical choice for the perfect cape buffalo cartridge for bolt action rifles. Everyone else's opinion is likely different.

All that said, I imagine in today's world the 416 Rem or Ruger would be the top pick. However if I could get the ammo and components and the funds, I'd go for the PW 404 Jeffery and also get the Ruger No 1 in 375 H&H as a back up and awesome plains game gun.

LJB, thanks for the detailed reply. Feedback like this is very useful in helping to sort through the variables I need to consider. In the end, I may not be able to execute the perfect decision, but at least I'll be making an informed one. Based on the hunting I have been doing in the southeast, I have a small collection of rifles that could work as a back up. But a couple of those were single shots with longer 28" barrels and I felt a shorter rifle might be more useful. The questions I was asking were geared more towards larger bolt actions in anticipation that I might need a quicker follow up shot.

So if as you suggested I acquired something like a PW in 404J, then my Sako 85 Hunter in 30-06 or my Ruger #1 in 9.3x74r could be looked at as a possible backup. But several posters have made compelling arguments for rounds like the 416 Rem Mag, 416 Ruger & the 458 Win Mag that I think I would be able to acquire at a more affordable price which is always a consideration based on expected usage. Do I want to be practical or do I want to give myself a really nice retirement gift? Or as BrandonGleason posted earlier do I want the bulk of my funds go to funding additional hunts? I enjoy sifting through the possibilities.

This is the PW 404J rifle I saw earlier. Would uglier & cheaper rifles get the job done? Absolutely. But it would be fun to own something that nice in an LH version.

I am a believer the 458's are "more". But, the 416's obviously are no weaklings. I have some of both.

For Alaska the 416 Ruger certainly gets my vote. My favorite rifle / cartridge combination just might be a non-braked 20" stainless 416 Ruger Alaskan. I have no kept up with smaller ammunition companies offerings in the past several years. But, hand-loading there are obviously many good/great options.

There is exaggeration run amuck about the weight and bulkiness of the .416 Rigby.
I got to handle one of the originals, built on a standard M98 action, just like Harry Selby's was.
Yes, opened front and rear by the experts at Rigby of London, same action usually used for a .30-06.
Like Mule Deer, I was impressed with how similar it was to the CZ 550 Magnum in .416 Rigby in weight and handling.
Smaller action and heavier barrel on the original Rigby, not a Magnum Mauser 98, standard M98, cobbled just right.
CZ in the Hogback walnut stock with skinny 25" barrel and true magnum action was 9.25 pounds when I weighed one too.
Liveliest and best balanced of all the CZ 550 Magnums.

Here are couple more true-magnum-actioned rifles more powerful than the .416 Rigby that weigh 9.5 pounds exactly,
with iron sights only, and no ammo:



.500 Mbogo, my wildcat of Dave Estergaard's design, it is a .510/470 Mbogo 3-Inch:



My first cape buffalo was killed with a .416 Rigby, my second one with a .500 Mbogo.
Both were shot the same, through the heart and breaking the offside shoulder.
Both one-shot kills, both ran about 50 yards before dropping.
But the one shot with the .500 Mbogo bucked about twice as high into the air upon impact.




My blue eye is dominant over my green eye.