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

Every fall for years, a high school friend & I go on an annual hunt together when he passes through my state on his way to visit his sister for Thanksgiving. During that time, he has repeatedly mentioned the idea of traveling to Africa to go hunting when we both retire in a few years. Because this might actually happen based on how well I know this person, I decided to educate myself by asking some questions of some more experienced hunters just to learn a bit more about a type of hunting I've only read about in books & magazine articles (many of them years ago when I was much younger).

In a different thread I posted on using DG rifles for PG hunting, a substantial number of posters recommended the 375 H&H as the rifle I should consider acquiring if I was going to get a left-handed bolt action. It's a caliber I can find in LH models and the ammo is readily available world-wide. I agree that for plains game hunting and possibly buffalo that this is a solid choice. It doesn't hurt that it's a classic which I have a nostalgic affinity for.

While no one has to convince me that this is a smart, practical & probably the more affordable option, the repeated mentioning of the larger .4** size calibers in that thread did pique my interest a bit. I have a single-shot 1885 in 405 Winchester that I love to shoot. But I have never shot or known anyone who owns a more powerful bolt action commonly used on African game. Over the last several months I've enjoyed reading various posts by members of these forums on their favorite large-caliber rifles. But to hopefully get some additional input from other hunters and get this information condensed into a single post, I thought I would ask about it here:

Question: What is your favorite .4** caliber suitable for large game (especially African & Alaskan)? I'm curious about the 404 Jeffery, 416 Rem Mag, 416 Rigby, 416 Ruger, 450 Rigby, 458 Lott, 458 Win Mag & any other ones I might have missed. Pros? Cons? Why do you like it? It's always interesting to see what other hunters get rid of & what they decide to keep.

The reasons don't all have to be technical as "sentimental favorite" is a legitimate response. Telling me that the juice isn't worth the squeeze & I should just stick with the more common 375 H&H is a good answer too. But history has shown that I don't always do the smart thing. Sometimes the heart wants what the heart wants (this applies equally to rifles & women). Because my left-handed shooting could make the effort to acquire an LH bolt action of this size a challenge, an obvious option would be to acquire an affordable & currently available 375 Ruger Hawkeye African and have it rebored to 416 Ruger since they use the same parent case. So any suggestions on rebores or rebarrels of known LH models is always a tip that's appreciated since the nuances of how certain rounds don't feed well through particular rifles aren't always obvious. A mention of a favorite custom gun maker would be great too since I may need one depending on where this goes in the future.

I don’t have any big-bores and have no experience with them, but if it were me I’d want the 416 Rigby….jus’ because! 😉 memtb

Fortunately, “jus’ because” is a totally legitimate reason for acquiring a new rifle. 👍

Your .405 WCF may be all you need.
I shoot the .405 and .458 and both have been effective in the USA and Africa on game from Ele on down through Leopard. Proper bullets are the key.

I shoot the .308 and .338 and skipped the .375.

Enjoy.

Based on ability to kill elephants cleanly, the 404J, 458 WM, 460 G&A are my choices.

Although I’ve shot the 450 Rigby Rimless quite a bit, circumstances have prevented use on elephants thus far. No reason to believe its performance won’t duplicate the above 45 cartridges, as the ballistics equal or surpass those listed. So pending a field test, it will probably join my list.

All these cartridges penetrate very deeply in a straight line with monolithic solids of proper design, break heavy bone without deflection, and kill thick skinned DG quickly. That, in the end, is the acid test after all. All can be chambered in rifles of reasonable weight which can be carried a long way and shot without undue recoil. Especially important when walking long distances and delivering follow up shots when needed.

Just my 2 cents based on my limited experience.

Thanks for the info. My 405 is a single shot with a 28" barrel. This new rifle I'm thinking about would be shorter and have several rounds in the magazine. So my interest in other large calibers is definitely not a criticism of the 405 which I do like. It was mainly a reflection of a desire for a different rifle configuration.


Taking a cursory look at the various bullet weights, velocities & energy these rifles were producing, I had a high level of confidence that they were all more than adequate for just about anything I would attempt to do. I figured the nuances that might make one more popular than another would come down to things that a reader would have trouble discerning just by looking at numbers on a page. But it's nice to know that the chances of making a bad choice are low.

Thanks for reminding me of the 460 G&A. I saw that my favored Ruger #1 was chambered in that caliber once & I had to look it up to familiarize myself with its origins. I've enjoyed following your G&A post this past year.

I'll never make it across the big pond to hunt. If I did, I'd take my .375 Wby and call it "good".

But that's not a .4** So, I have this walnut Model 70 Classic .300 Wby that I have no real use for. Always thought it'd make a beautiful .470 Capstick.

Just because.

My friend who keeps talking about going to Africa has a .470 Capstick. But his "just because" is the fact that he's a big rifle looney with over 100 rifles. So it never surprises me what he has in his collection.

The funny thing about that is the hunting we do each fall is at the opposite end of the spectrum from what we're discussing in this thread. On that hunt we're going after squirrels with pneumatics.

I have a 404 Jeffery made on a LH Model 70 action. I got back about a month ago using it for the first time on dry land hippo. I was shooting a 400 grain Barnes Banded Solid, flat nosed bullet. I had them loaded by Safari Arms and they were doing about 2200 feet per second out of the muzzle. I was very pleased with the performance of this set up and results. I plan on using this same set up for Cape buffalo and elephant in the next couple of years. I’ll be using 400 grain Swift AFrames for the buffalo. All that said, I went with the 404 Jeffery when I was looking to go above my 375 H&H because the nostalgia appealed to me, it has a great history of preforming and based on my research I felt the recoil might be a bit more manageable, which I think it is, for me. CZ 550s in magnum length actions are also good candidates for a re-barrel/conversion to a 404 Jeffery. I will says the biggest draw back for me has been the expense and limited availability of ammo/components. Best of luck with whatever you decide. Hunting in Africa has been one of the greatest experiences of my life, I hope you get to experience it as well.

My choice too, is the 404 Jeffery, which I have taken (5) times to Zambia. I now shoot 430 gr. North Forks out of her, both softs & solids. I’ve taken a couple of Buffalo using 400 gr. SAFs.

Yes, I was also attracted to the nostalgia of the round as well, but equally to the ballistics (2,300 fps) and the reduced recoil compared to my 458 Lott with 500 gr. @ 2,300 fps., a noticeable difference.

But also, in a Dakota/ParkWest, my two 404J rifles weigh 8.5 lbs., which are a delight to carry on a long Buffalo stalk. And, being a maker of custom rifles, Dakota (now ParkWest) can make you a left handed rifle.

I had a 416 Rigby some years ago and sold some years later for twice what I paid. Today it is a 416 Rem M70.

All things being equal, nostalgia for a classic round could easily tip the scales for me in the direction of an older design. I had seen LH Dakota rifles in the past (I even bid on a 76 once but didn't win) and as a falling block fan, I liked some of their model 10's. But they kind of fell off my radar screen after they were sold. The individual rifle pages don't mention LH models but the Hunters Catalog does. So I might have been looking in the wrong place when I visited their site a while back. Thanks for the tip. My memory tells me that Cooper used to make larger calibers before they were sold & plans were made to move operations to Arkansas. But their caliber selection tops out in the 35 Whelen / 33 Nosler range now.

EdM, normally I don't think of fluted barrels as something I would do but I have to say that is one sharp-looking rifle. I think the barrel band in the middle that breaks them into two sections looks really good. I'm also not a fan of the way a really fat black recoil pad looks but yours is red and a good size. So thumbs up on that too. Too bad the bolt is on the wrong side.

Seilders, a left-handed Model 70 chambered in 404 Jeffery would be a really nice rifle to own. Thanks for the specific round info. A few years ago my daughter was in Mozambique so I flew over & took her to South Africa, Zambia, Botswana & Zimbabwe. We spent time in both the Chobe & Mosi-oa-Tunya National Parks. It made a big impression on both of us & was a very memorable trip.

When Dakota was sold, it was taken over by Ward Dobler, the Dakota shop foreman, and all of his workers at Dakota stayed with him. So, none of the Dakota artisans left. ParkWest is really the old Dakota with a new name.

I ordered two ParkWest rifles, a 404 Jeffery Savannah (the old Dakota Safari model), and a 338-06 Custom Deluxe. I was Gobsmacked when they arrived. Gorgeous rifles, and super accurate, shooting less than an inch at 100 m. I think they are as good or better than the old Dakotas!

The only downside is, the prices have gone up from the old days of Dakota (name something in America that has NOT gone up recently).

My thinking............which is usually frightening........on the Capstick was thus:

If....... IF......... I ever made it to Africa, the 500-600 grain aspect with the frontal area of a greyhound bus was enchanting. Yet, if I never got across the sea, I could "plink" with .480 Ruger/.475 Linebaugh bullets and still hunt our local black bears (they can go over 700 lbs) with some 500's. Not that my .375 Wby can't and hasn't crushed some big bears with supreme authority. But something newer and meaner is never a bad choice.

The .458 Win Mag has always been my favorite 40+ rifle.

The 3 loads that l currently load are:
550gn Woodleigh at 2080fps
450gn Woodleigh Hydro at 2300fps
480gn Woodleigh at 2150fps

All these loads work well in my rifle and I've never had a problem loading for it.

Recently however I had a rifle built in caliber 425 Express and the longer l own it the more and more impressed l am with it.
For those who don't know the 425 Express is the .300 Win Mag necked up to .423" to give ballistics comparable to that of the 404 Jeffery but in a standard length action.

The 2 loads that I use in my 425 Express are:
400gn Hornady DGX at 2300fps
360gn Atomic 29 monometal HP at 2450fps

Both of these loads shoot to the same POI and with the 360gn Atomic 29 it has a useable trajectory out to 300m.
As l said earlier, the more and more l own and shoot the 425 Express the more l am impressed with it.

Russ

BadboyMelvin, I remember reading your post in this forum when you got that rifle a couple of months ago. I was unfamiliar with the 425 Express so I did some research on it after I read about your new rifle. It seemed like the cartridge designers did a pretty good job of achieving their intended goal with that one. For international travel, having properly headstamped ammo would be a consideration to factor in. A quick Google search shows that it is possible for me to go this route right now if over thinking & endless planning wasn't my preferred modus operandi. The consideration of a new acquisition is never settled until every option has been pondered & I'm filled with regret by all of the great deals I let slip through my fingers while I was waiting to make the decision.

No Africa experience but I have killed moose and caribou when we lived in Alaska with my 400 Whelen. I’m especially fond of the Woodleigh 400 grain round nose, though I can find no fault with the 400 grain Hawk RN or the 300 grain Barnes TSX.

👍 When I built my .375 AI, an African hunt (or two) was the driving force behind the build. I never made it over there either…..but, I still fantasize about it! So, it get’s used here…..the money wasn’t completely wasted! memtb

If I'm choosing a rifle larger than a .375 H&H, I'm choosing a .458 Lott currently. Worked splendidly for me on an elephant bull this spring. May give it a whirl in 2025 for another cape buffalo. If I did not have a .375 H&H (for some, unknown, reason) I'd choose a .416 of one flavor or another (Remington vs Rigby depending on rifle size).

I've had numerous instances where I've been temped by a .404 Jeffery, but I keep talking myself into using those funds for another hunt. Every .404 I've looked at will cover at least two cape buffalo trophy fees.

Yes, it's all good.
Having done too many myself, much to the chagrin of my ungrateful heirs,
I would say the no-holds-barred way to go is to get a .416 Ruger Hawkeye for training wheels,
and a .458 WinMag as your ultimate expert rifle.

Phil Shoemaker notes near identical performance of the .416 Ruger to his 404 Jeffery,
in both terminal effect and overall handling.
But he probably still prefers the .458 WinMag he has been using since the early 1980s, a MkX Mauser with 21" barrel,
as best prescription for the pucker.

Get a .458 Winchester Magnum for the ultimate rifle savoir faire.
Handload it correctly and it will out-do the .416 Ruger (and .416 RemMag) in both reach and smash.
Re-barreling a Ruger M77 Hawkeye of any H&H belted case head from 7mmRemMag on up is perfect.
Single loading to COL as long as the .458 Lott will out-do the .458 Lott: Higher velocity or lower pressure or both.
It can have the sheet metal box and the bolt-stop-ejector re-worked to 3.6" COL length if ever desired.
That is all it takes.

Meantime you will have two rifles that can be made twins for overall handling.

BTW, mentioning the .450 Rigby (a me-too late-comer) without the forerunner .450 Dakota (460 Weatherby with belt turned off): Tisk, tisk.

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.

ParkWest Arms:

https://parkwestarms.com/

Where is the price list ?
If you gotta ask you don't want to know ?

I worked in South Dakota in the early part of this century.
I visited Dakota and Jamison Brass in Sturgis several times.
Both gone now.
At least Dakota lives on in ParkWest Arms. That is good, I guess.

I ended up with only one Dakota Arms rifle. The Long Bow M76 in .338 Lapua Magnum, happy with that.
I would have bought at least one other Dakota Arms rifle, except they would not sell an M76 without a walnut stock.
You would have to buy walnut and have them fix up an MPI separately.
I already had a walnut .450 Dakota Magnum 98 from Cabela's, strangely enough.
So I just bought brass and reloading dies (.450 Dakota, .416 Dakota, .423 Dakota) and made a general pest of myself in Sturgis.

Oh, yeah, I got a Dakota M76 African action from Brownells and went my own way with that ...
yep, got stuck with an MPI for that,
bedded and reinforced with an oak block in the foam-filled-open butt, by Bubba himself.
Gunsmith put a recoil pad on it for me.



Yes indeed it is funny that the .416 Dakota was not a best seller.
Homemade one with 24" Douglas barrel, 1:12" twist, No. 5 Sporter, HS Precision stock,
surprisingly light at 8 lbs. 7 oz:



Here is my homemade M76 African with MPI stock, McGowen 23" barrel, chambered for another wildcat
which I claim all blame for, the 404 RIP, aka the .423/.416 Rigby Improved Plus:



The improvement to the .416 Rigby case was only by changing the funky 45* shoulder to a 20* shoulder,
just like on the original .416 Ruger, on a Ruger Number built for Bill Ruger's birthday in 1991,
brass not made by Jim Bell until 1997. Bill Ruger was born in 1916.
Hence the odd headstamp below:



I use the .423 Dakota dies as a neck sizer for the 404 RIP.
No need for a .423 Dakota nor 404 Dakota here.
Also have a 404 Jeffery made on an M70 RUM stainless action with Brown Precision stock.

By golly my Magnum-actioned 404 RIP weighs exactly 9.5 pounds too, bare and unloaded, with Talley peep.
It and the .416 Dakota are the only bolt action repeaters that I use Talley bases with,
kind of got stuck with them before I learned better.
Yes they are stuck on with J-B Weld to the actions.

The 404 Jeffery M70 weighs 8.5 pounds, bare and unloaded, peep-sighted, 24" barrel.
The Brown Precision stock required no oak block in the butt.

The oak-butted 404 RIP does not do enough more than the 404 Jeffery to justify its existence.
It is also butt heavy whereas the 404 Jeffery has delightful balance with its No. 4 Sporter McGowen barrel.
The 404 Jeffery makes a great African Sheep Rifle.

Here is the only regret I have in rifle chambering:



I had the barrel screwed off of a CZ 550 Magnum 404 Jeffery factory rifle,
stock had already been replaced by CZ USA after the fancy walnut snapped off at the wrist.
The barrel was replaced by a .410-caliber Douglas No. 4 sporter, stainless, 1:14" twist, 6-groove, 26" long.
A Wisner pocket floor plate, Lapour 3-pos. safety, and Timney trigger were installed.
Then the crime was the chambering.
It was chambered for the .410/404 Jeffery Rimless Nitro Express.
Brass is formed by sizing the Norma 404 brass in 450/400 NE 3" dies.



B is the .416 Dakota,
A is the .410/404 JRNE, with a shoulder weaker than that of the 404 Jeffery.

I made the mistake of firing one of the rimless cases in a 450/400 Ruger No.1
to see if the shoulder was adequate to head space.
It was not. A case head separation with new Norma brass occurred.
No harm to Ruger No. 1.
No misfires when rimless rim is held in CZ 550 Magnum claw extractor.
I guess it headspaces on the extractor.

I still have the 404 Jeffery barrel to screw back onto the rifle.
The true magnum rifle as picture above weighs 8 lbs and 15 ounces.
Rebore the .410 to something bigger, or get the .416 Dakota shoulder reamed into it ...

.416 Taylor

This 26"-barreled Ruger M77 MkII weighs 8 lbs. 2 oz.
Shilen No. 5 Sporter, 26" long, 1:14" twist , tupperware stock,
easily +2400 fps with 400-grainers from the 26" barrel:

.416 Weatherby Magnum Mk V "DGR" weighs 8 lbs. 14 oz. when minus the scope, rings, rail and muzzle brake
and no ammo onboard:





Muzzle brake is mandatory if Talley ring use is unwisely attempted:

I am lost on what the 458 Win does better than the 416 Rem?

IMHO, EdM's.416 Remington Magnum rifle would be a lot more interesting if it was a .458 Winchester Magnum
that shoots 404-gr Shock Hammers of about 0.419 G1 BC at faster MV than a .416/400-grainer can do
from a .416 RemMag at 65,000 psi SAAMI MAP.

Hence the .458 WM+ housed in the M70 Long Action would have a flatter trajectory and greater impact at all ranges.
It could certainly beat the .416 RemMag at lesser pressure, whatever MV is desired.
The standard SAAMI .458 WinMag of 3.340" COL pushes 400-grainers to +2400 fps MV at 60,000 psi MAP.
Assume 24" barrels all around.

Jacketed and monometal bullet weights from 250 grains to 600 grains: .458 Win
Cast bullet versatility outstanding, even paper-patched and BP, with even greater weight range of bullets: .458 Win
Subsonic to near Mach 3: .458 Win
Greater powder variety versatility: .458 Win

You can even make better birdshot/snake loads with the .458 WinMag than with a .416 RemMag.
I will concede the .458 Lott might make a better shotgun.


.416/400-gr SD = 0.330
.458/500-gr SD = 0.341

.416 RemMag: 400-gr at 2400 fps and 65,000 psi

.458 WinMag: 500-gr at 2200 fps at 60,000 psi:

The .458 WinMag will out penetrate the .416 RemMag on game animals if a proper FN monometal solid is used.
When you get to 2200 fps little is gained on penetration by going faster,
other than shock and awe,
more to the shooter than the shootee.

Thus the .458 WinMag is better at long range with 404-gr Shock Hammer.
It is better on elephant at close range with a 500-gr FN.

Those are routinely attained MV's with 24" barrels.
Winchester is loading the 500-gr Nosler Partition and Solid at 2,240 fps.
Hornady used to offer 500-grainers at 2260 fps, soft and solid, when their bullets could not handle it.
Lately they have backed off to 2140 fps with better bullets.

This reminds us of a possible explanation for why Winchester reduced the MV of .458 WM factory loads
from 2125 fps with their 500 & 510-grainers (standard from 25" barrel since 1956),
to only 2050 fps in 26"-barreled double rifles.
They were catering to the .458 WinMag double rifle craze that sprung up when the rimmed DR ammo got scarce.
It was not because of any problems with the .458 WinMag.
It was because of the abuses of the ammo by shooters of double rifles,
lower pressures for the delicate things.
Factory goofs and bad storage of aged ammo can explain any anecdotes of the
.458 WinMag bullets dropping to the ground right out of the barrel in deepest Africa

The .458 Winchester Magnum is without peer. It is the King of +.40-bore hunting rifles.
Everybody ought to have at least one of them as a show of good judgement.
Re-barrel or re-bore your .416 RemMag to .SAAMI .458 WinMag, and you will have two rifles in one.
A SAAMI .458 WM and a .458 WM+.

My 350 gr TSX handload was not lacking at 130 yards on buffalo or 250 yards on kudu. How far have you hunted your 458 so loaded?

Gunner500, used the 404 gr. Shock Hammer loaded to 2500+ FPS to take a Warthog at 200 yards.

Easy shot with the 416 Rem and the 350 gr TX. Maybe I am missing something? I'm still not seeing the advantage from those actually killing game. A 358 Win 200 gr TSX worked on a big wart hog at 240 yards in 2015.

EdM,
Lately I have been killing deer at only out to 200 yards.
I am planning all my future hunting with the .458 WM to 300 yards, dead certain.
I don't want to leave it all to the kids.

I was taking game at 342 yards (Laser) with a Ruger No. 1 .416 Rigby and the old 350-gr Barnes-X during the late 1990s.
I killed caribou at 350 yards with the .340 Wby in the 1980s.
One time, out at 350 yards I had to shoot twice, so that probably ought to be my limit
with a non-tacticool-tool sporting rifle.
One shot meat, two shot maybe, 3 shot heap big crap.

I killed both moose and marmot at 100 yards with the .458 WinMag but then,
in the 1980s I succumbed to propaganda
and sought way too many rifles, invented over two dozen wildcats of my own.
Established a new caliber of my own, .395, and 5 wildcats for that, barrels by Harry McGowen, custom bullets galore.

A couple of member here have used the 404-gr Shock Hammer to do one-shot kills on cape buffalo
with their .458 WinMags.
Gunner500 was one of them and used the same load extensively on plains game beyond 200 yards.
He left his ammo behind with a PH and one 404-gr Shock Hammer dropped a big bull giraffe.
Amazing bullet for an amazing rifle.
All one-shot kills by their expertise.
I am proud to claim being the instigator of that bullet.
I got Hammer Bullets to put their design to a 400-ish grain bullet of .458-caliber,
meant for all-purpose soft-point use, near and far.
The 404-grain Shock Hammer is what we got.
+2500 fps at COL of less than 3.4" is easy in a standard .458 WinMag.

If young whippersnapper EdM keeps being a pest, he is going on ignore.

Ron,Thanks for sharing the interesting photos of the rifles & the associated rounds. As a left-handed shooter I've always been very fond of companies who cater to my particular minority...except for Weatherby. And there's no good technical reason for that slight that I can justify. I think it's totally aesthetic. For whatever reason (e.g. the Monte Carlo stocks, the longer barrels, the brand-specific calibers that are mostly magnums, the big recoil pads, my friends didn't shoot them, etc.) there was always something about that brand which didn't appeal to me. Which is a shame because for this particular discussion, some of their offerings might have been a good recommendation.

At auction I've seen left-handed 416 Rem Mag ($1560 & $1920), 460 Weatheby Magnum ($2040 & $2280), 458 Lott ($1800), 416 Weatherby Magnum ($1080), etc. The only thing I haven't seen is anything very desirable. A few have been okay if I squinted from a distance but for reasons of personal taste, they are just not doing it for me. Hence the no mention in my original question.

Having said that, your Weatherby is not too bad. Maybe the older LH models that are now showing up at auction were just uglier.

Comical at best. Do you really think I GAF about your useless views? You are a silly pphhuuccckk>

Sir Ron.

As usual, another provocative idea. After taking a small step in the direction of a 458 WM+ by rebarreling a Ruger Hawkeye 404-375 Ruger to 458 WM, I’ve been thinking about a good way to put together a true 458 WM+. The passage above may be the answer.

There’s a Win M-70 Classic chambered in 416 Rem Mag sitting unused in the safe. A ‘nice rifle’, but given my penchant for 404s - 4 versions sitting in the safe now - in the heavy medium class and my tepid-at-best opinion of the 416 Rem Mag, it doesn’t get any use. Been thinking about rebarrelling it with a spare 416 Rigby Ruger No. 1 barrel sitting on the workbench - and rechambering it in some odd shortened wildcat - but haven’t been able to get back to the shop recently.

Looks like I’ll need to pull out that 416 Rem Mag and take some measurements of the barrel. If it pans out the barrel will likely be on its way to Jesse O at JES for a 0.458” rebore. Weight and balance will likely be favorable and with 458 WM finishing reamer, it might all work out.

Time to look at the chamber spec diagrams and do a bit of mulling on feasibility. Only down side is creating another alternative to the resurrected Ruger RSM 450 Rigby Rimless I’ve been wanting to get over to Zim for the proverbial ‘next time’.

Loony wildcatter fevered minds just don’t seem to rest or reason. But as JOC said “It’s all about fun and games.” Given that life’s all too short, let the games resume!!

Crank:" I was impressed with how similar it was to the CZ 550 Magnum in .416 Rigby in weight and handling"
I disagree. I owned a CZ550 Magnum. It weighed as much as a M1 Garand. It had a 25" barrel screwed onto an action longer than M98. If I could afford a M98 modified to take the longer 416 Rigby I am sure it would handle better than a CZ550 Magnum but I have never handled one. Not only did the Ruger work great in Africa chasing buffalo but it has served me well in Alaska in bear country.

All the rifle advise is good and each has their place but I haven't seen anything about what you want to hunt. Theres no reason (other than I want one which is good enough) for a big bore if you aren't going after any nasty stuff.
I have only been to Africa twice so my experience is more limited than others. I used a 416 Taylor to take most everything from a Wharthog to Caper Buffalo on my second trip. The Taylor is a great caliber but you need to handload for it.
Your left handed so a suitable big bore in a LH rifle might be hard to find and undoubtly harder to sell later on. You have a 405 and like single shots so do I. I have #1's in 375,405 and 450-400 among others. If your safari is to be plaings game only your 405 is a fine canidate if you want something a bit bigger than the 450-400 is a good choice. If you have a LH rifle that your not in love with then consider rebarreling it to something you like maybe the 416 Ruger if it will accomadate the change.
Big bores aren't only for Africa, I load mine down and deer hunt with them. A 270 will tear up a deer worse than my 375, 405, 416 Taylor, 450-400 or .500 BPE
Whatever you decide to do one thing is certain you will have a great experience.

One of my shorter shots at 130 yards.

This is the item that got the ball rolling so to speak. In a previous post, I had asked the question about shooting deer-sized game with cartridges like you listed because I wanted to know if I was going to be mangling or destroying the smaller game.

I only have plans to hunt plains game. The largest most dangerous animal currently under consideration is buffalo. This is just long-term planning since retirement is still a few years away (I'm 62). A high school friend of mine is keen to go to Africa and keeps talking about it but no definitive plans have been made yet so I'm just trying to educate myself. The advice I've been getting has been excellent & much appreciated.

I'm not going after any nasty stuff. The most common advice in the previous thread was that I could accomplish my goals with my LH Sako 85 Hunter in 30-06 & a LH 375 H&H. Two classic calibers with wide ammo availability was considered a solid recommendation that covered a lot of situations. So that makes this particular thread more of a "I might just want one" kind of question. From published numbers describing the cartridges being discussed, I was pretty sure before I even asked the question that everything listed was going to be more than adequate for anything I would likely be doing.

I keep things pretty simple & after the kids left for college & the Army, I downsized substantially. So I don't have a large collection of rifles nor the room to store many more. I have ten centerfires with four of them being Ruger #1's & four being 1885's. Since I already have eight single-shot falling-blocks, my questions focused on acquiring LH bolt actions because that's what I wanted advice on. I started this thread for three reasons:
1) I didn't know much about these cartridges & had never shot them.
2) I wanted to know why some hunters preferred one over the other.
3) I think I would really enjoy shooting a larger caliber based on how much I like the slightly smaller ones I currently have. The fact that I don't really need one isn't carrying as much weight in the decision-making process as it probably should.

My Winchester 1885 Traditional Hunter in 405 is setup with iron sights to be used for primitive hunting in MS & LA. So the range is as good as my eyesight which is nothing to brag about. I do have a Winchester 1885 High Wall Safari Octagon in 375 H&H with a Swarovsk Z6 1.7-10x42. It's 10.7#, 46" overall with a 28" barrel. So once I sort out which large-caliber bolt action I want to anchor the top of my collection, I'll decide where to use my 30-06, 9.3x74r, 375 H&H & the 405. Obviously once an actual hunt is planned, a more informed decision can be made. I'm just absorbing information & opinions right now.

Going with the initial recommendation of a 30-06 / 375 H&H combination and then adding another Ruger #1 in a big unnecessary caliber just for the fun of it is an option being considered. I do like rimmed cartridges like my 303 British, 9.3x74r & 405 in a single shot so the 450/400 would be a good fit. This was a possible Plan B if acquiring a large LH bolt action proved difficult or prohibitively expensive. At this point, no options have been rejected.

About 18 months ago I came across a LH Cooper in 8mm Remington Magnum at an attractive price. But it was a caliber that didn't seem to be a good fit for my selection goals at the time. Now that this thread makes me realize what its 375 H&H parent case could have been rebored to in the 416~458 range, I wish I had a time machine. My Sako is my only LH centerfire so nothing available to rebore. All the rest are ambidextrous single shots (plus a Wilson Combat in 300 HAM'R just to have something from the current century).

Thanks! We usually always have a good time (even when everything is going sideways). I'm enjoying the research part right now. This has been great.

EdM: Nice looking buffalo!

Buy a big bore and use it on whatever you want.

This is my .460 Wby mag and some rabbits I killed with it.

That's excellent! Thanks for sharing the photos.

A few more rabbits killed with the .460 Wby.

My big caliber rifle used to be a 416 Rigby. Now it’s a 45-90 1885 Win and/or a Marlin 1895 and a 1886 Win in 45-70. These don’t add up to many of the powerful rounds the op is talking about. But if I were going somewhere to shoot dangerous game I would go with my pre-64 Mod 70 chambered in 375 H&H AI or maybe my Mauser 98 in 375 Whelen AI if they allowed it.
I find I now have more of a limit regarding big guns on how much I accurately shoot. Same with revolvers I find that a fully loaded 320 grain cast load in my 44 Magnums satisfy my needs.

I’m thinking a 375 H&H is all that is needed for everything on the planet. But going after elephant, hippos or Cape or lack of same puts me in an “armchair quarterback” category.

At 130 yards has DG become PG?

It's hunting so take the oportunity that's presented.

Pure comedy.

I very much enjoy the .416 Taylor loaded to duplicate the .404/.450-400 with 400gr bullets at 2150. It's quite manageable and effective. At eight pounds it's also pretty nice for carrying. All I've killed with it so far are deer and brown bears.

Once you add Buffalo into the bag the financial aspect changes drastically as dangerous game increases the daily rate a lot. I lucked out on my last trip as I did a 7 day plains game hunt in one area and a 7 day Bufflao hunt in another area. Basically I did two hunts with two different price points.

Good to see EdM can make a joke.
I hear he is O&G retired.
Obstetrics & Gynecology does cramp a sense of humor.
At medical school graduation, the bottom 10% of the class
went into Orthopedics if they could bench-press more than their own weight.
the rest did O&G.
Latter were advised to take up the .416 Remington Magnum instead of the .458 Winchester Magnum.

Back before my enlightenment, I took a Ruger No. 1 .416 Rigby to a game farm in Tennessee.
That was with the 350-gr X-Bullet.
I shot a fallow deer doe at 342 yards.
Hit her in the bottom of her ribcage, just a little low, below the heart.
It unzipped her belly and her intestines popped out on impact.
Got that on video, old VHS zoomed in.
Can't fault the .416/350-grainer for that, just me.
But their was very little meat loss and it was a good start at field dressing.
Not the perfect one-shot kill, however.

Same day I also shot a one-ton water buffalo bull.
Ok, maybe it was a meat-steer past his prime and cast off to the game farm for a profit.
No balls, but he was sturdy, not confused about his gender.
Used same load, from 150 yards.
Hit him in the boiler room and he acted like it was a horse fly bite, just a little shiver of hide shake.
He started walking in tight circles.
Bumfuzzled, I reloaded the Ruger No. 1 and walked a hundred yards closer and shot him in the neck.
He finally dropped.

Moral of the story is that, ideally, buffalo should be shot at 50 yards, not 150 yards.
Do not let a lazy PH tell you to shoot at a buffalo moving through a clearing at 150 yards away
while you are perched on the side of a termite mound with wobbly shooting sticks about to go sideways,
unless you are the reincarnated Buffalo Bill in Africa with a 50-70 Trapdoor named Lucretia Borgia.

Sir Khulu,
You are a wise man.
I do love the 404 Jeffery also.
Will return the .410/404 JRNE to straight 404 Jeffery.
Rebore of that .410 barrel, or original factory barrel ...
Here is a nice 404 Jeffery in a Brown Precision stock that I rebuilt from fitting an M70 short action to fitting the M70 long action,
re-barreled .300 RUM:

I wanted and have a 416 Rigby because that is what Harry Selby carried.

I also have a Whitworth MarkX in 416 Remington

Love 416s

I got to fire Selby's rifle around 20 years ago, which he'd sold to one of his regular clients, a guy from Arkansas. It was actually pretty lightweight for a .416, weighing 9-1/4 pounds, since it never had a scope mounted--and impressed me with the relatively tolerable recoil.

Bought mine from a friend a year or so later, a CZ 550 Magnum with the European high-comb stock--with a very long forend. I remodeled it to match Selby's rifle, both the weight and stock dimensions, and also slicked up the action a little so it fed easier. Used it on two buffalo, and worked very well, of course--but the second one was taken with Luke Samaras Safaris.

Luke is a long-time PH, first in Kenya until it was closed down, and then in Tanzania until it was closed for a couple of years. He then went to work for Rigby until Tanzania opened again. He had several fine dangerous-game rifles in various chamberings, but preferred a .416 Rigby bolt because it shot flatter and more accurately than larger cartridges, especially double-rifle rounds.

He liked that it could flatten a wounded lion at 200 yards, without having to hold over--but could also stop bigger game. Yet it operated at relatively low pressure compared to smaller .40+ rounds, which helped when he operated in the Selous, a pretty hot area. (I hid my thermometer when it hit 105 once day, and other days got hotter...)

We had quite a conversation about the .416, and I also got to take some photos of his genuine Rigby rifle--which he helped build. Might post one here later.

A thank you to everyone who posted replies to my question. There's a lot of useful information here that I do appreciate. As a general rule, I don't do a lot of things impulsively: I enjoy the planning phase too much. It gives me something to think about. For my intended usage, I feel that the majority of the ones being discussed here would work well for me as long as I do my job correctly. It appears the probability of making a bad choice is really low.

Having said that, there is a very good chance that the one that I choose will be the "great deal" that I stumble across that's for sale at an attractive price. If a LH 404, 416 or 458 materialized one day in the next several years & I really liked it, chances are high I might grab it based entirely on how rarely this occurs. At auctions with 500+ guns it's not uncommon to have less than ten LH rifles listed and most of them will be much more common calibers than what's being discussed in this thread. So random opportunity may be the deciding factor instead of desire or statistical superiority.

As someone who is fond of classic calibers, going to hunt in Africa with a 404J appeals on a lot of levels. If one of those ever appears (I can't remember ever seeing one), that would definitely grab my attention. If an affordable Ruger #1 appears in this caliber, I might grab it regardless of what else I've purchased just to own one for the fun of it. A Ruger #1 in a more available 450/400 is another one that might scratch that particular itch.

But when it comes to LH bolt actions, the main thing this thread has done has increased my appreciation for the capabilities of the 416 Rem Mag & the 458 Win Mag a lot. If time passes & it looks like an African hunt is going to become a reality, then rebarreling a readily available LH 7mm Rem Mag into the 458 Win Mag as Ron suggested will definitely start moving up the list as a viable solution. Fortunately I have several years to figure out exactly what I want to do so it'll be interesting to see what opportunities appear.

You sound pretty logical. Were I in your situation I'd look for a left hand Model 70 .375 or a regular length magnum boltface, or a Ruger 77 chamberd for a magnum and then rebarrel to the .404 or .458. If you find one with enough meat in the barrel have JES rebore it to .458 for you.

Regardless, there's a alot of opinions out there with some strong feelings behind them. We all have to figure out what works best for our situation and application. Best of all, unlike religion, there are multiple correct options that lead to the same pile of large, formerly dangerous, dead animals.

I went with the .416 Taylor because it shoots bullets of great sectional density with good options in both heavier and lighter weights, is a commonly available diameter, could be housed in a light rifle to be carried alot, and can be formed from (in better times anyway) commonly available brass. It works for me and I'm happy with it but the reality is there's a number of options that would work for people looking for the benefits of a .40+ cartridge.

When I was looking around at rifles in the past, there were certain cartridges with a 375 H&H parent case that I would often ignore because they weren't on my To-Buy list (e.g. 7mm Rem Mag, 300 Win Mag, 8mm Rem Mag, 338 Win Mag, etc.). Now that I know these could be a good base to build one of these larger caliber rifles off of, I'll evaluate them from a different viewpoint moving forward. For a JES rebore, I might have the best luck if I find a LH rifle at the more powerful end of the rifles I just listed.

The good thing about all of the cartridges listed above and the 458 Win Mag is that they have the exact same overall length at ~85mm. The 416 Rem Mag is 91.4mm so it's a bit longer. And rifles like the Ruger 77 have a magazine that is limited to 87mm. So not to knock the 416's capabilities but my guess is that I would run into less unforeseen feeding problems if I favored the shorter cartridge since both would be adequate. The good thing about any decision along those lines is that I can always post my plan here and have people throw rocks at it. As much as I appreciate you saying I'm logical, other people are more than happy to point out when I'm about to do something dumb too.

Here is some left-hand rifles.
https://www.gunsinternational.com/guns-for-sale-online/rifles/left-hand-rifles.c312_p1_o6.cfm

Hey elkhunternm, thanks a lot for the link! As a big computer nerd, my internet searching skills are not too bad. It's almost a necessity because I'm often looking for a needle in a haystack.

In my Chrome browser I have about 60 searches grouped into 7 folders. All I have to do is right-click on the folder & select Open All (<count>) and it will open a new tab for each search. So I have searches on GunBroker, GunsInternational, eBay, etc. grouped by category & already setup, sorted & filtered to only show me the new stuff that's appeared in the last 48 hours. I can quickly see if any of the unicorns I've been searching for have popped up during the night while I'm drinking my coffee each morning. It's a methodical system that's worked pretty well over the years. I just glance at each tab & if I don't see anything interesting, I hit <Ctrl><F4> to make the tab close & on to the next list. It only takes a few minutes each day to look at a lot of stuff.

👍

What !
In Botswana in 2001, the PH Ronnie McFarlane had .416 Rigby like Harry Selby used.
He was backing up an elephant hunter with it.
I was being soired for buffalo by the young PH-appy
who toted a CZ .416 Rigby that had a straight-combed, slim stock
unlike the Lux "Euro-Hogback" and "Fat-American" style stocks we got in the USA.
I fondled both and the similarity in weight and balance was remarkable.
I bought one when I got home and the Lux-stocked one weighed about 9.25 lbs with the
muzzle diameter of 0.667" at 25" length and integral "dognut" rear sight base,
and hidden heavy steel F-Block in the forearm barrel lug contraption.
I think I bought about a half dozen of the .416 Rigby CZ 550 Magnums and re-barreled them all
to a crazy collection of wildcats on the Rigby and .338 Lapua case heads.

Disagree with me and you must disagree with Mule Deer too ?



Those first CZs in those calibers had no cross bolts !
I had a gunsmith install them on mine and perfectly glass bed throughout, and still the 404 Jeffery snapped through the wrist.
Just bad grain, marble cake.
CZ kept the broken stock and I hope this taught them how to crossbolt and glassbed the later rifles,
as well as being more careful with stock wood selection,
and they started putting the "Kevlar" stock on factory rifle routinely,
instead of just selling them for $200 more than B&C does now.
That was almost 20 years ago.

Big Red the meat steer water buffalo taken with Ruger No. 1 in .416 Rigby, old 350gr X-Bullet required two shots.
150 yards was like a horse fly bite.
50 yard neck shot ended it at the game farm.
I scored another dollar-per-pound bargain, last century.

404 Jeffery Winchester M70, Brown Precision stock, decorated with J-B Weld inside and out.

When you find your buffalo at this range



crawl as close as you can, it was 80 yards here:



404 Jeffery M70 with 380-gr North Fork SSP at 2535 fps from 24" barrel did the job with one shot:



EdM, what a joker.

Mutt and Jeff:





Mutt is over 3 lbs heavier than Jeff.
Put Jeff in a 1.25 lbs stock instead of the 1.5 to 2 lbs stocks
and the difference would be 4 lbs.
Same scope and rings, same weights field ready except .416 Rigby ammo is a wee bit heavier than .416 Ruger (brass and powder),
for 4 rounds each, 3+1.

They may have the same muzzle whomps, but very different butt whumps.

The final Gen 3 RSMs had skinnier barrels shortened to 23".
The .416 Rigby then weighed about 9.5 lbs,
almost as light and lively as the 25"-barreled CZ 550 Magnum in Lux Euro-Hogback walnut,
almost as light and lively as Harry Selby's and Ronnie McFarlane's twin .416 Rigby rifles.

I left Ronnie my .416 Rigby ammo loaded with GSC FN 380-grainers at just over 2500 fps from my 24" Ruger RSM.
It was a bugholer and impressive on cape buffalo, so he heard from PH-appy.
He liked the South African make of the bullets, he was familiar with the Gerard Shultz product.
That .416 Rigby of his was stout in the barrel shank, ".416 Rigby For Big Game,"
and it was a standard M98 Mauser opened up at both ends.

Mule Deer,

Hope you post Luke Samaras’ Rigby. It is always interesting to see the DGRs PHs use as tools in their work.

The Nickudu Files at Nitro Express Forums has the excellent
Layne Simpson article
"Harry Selby's .416 Rigby Out of Africa"

http://ezine.nitroexpress.info/NickuduFiles/Africa-PDF/Africa317.pdf

From my paper files and the internet:













In Harry Selby's own words, recalling the "Kwaheri (farewell) Safari" of 1962 with Robert Ruark:

From the Layne Simpson article"