Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Express Rifles and Big Bores Only 416 Ruger vs 416 Howell

I have a 416 Howell and enjoy shooting it; however making the brass for it is a pain. I was in Cabella's yesterday and I took a look at the 416 Ruger rounds. They looked very similar to the Howell round, but I did not have one of the Howell rounds with me to compare.

If any one has a piece of brass they would be willing to sell/lend/give me I would appreciate the help.

I don't want to have to buy a bag of them if they won't work.

They may or may not work, depending upon the exact chamber dimensions of your 416 Howell.

The 416 Ruger is not based on the 404 Jeffery as is commonly believed. It is actually a new round, based on the standard magnum cartridges (7mm, 300 H&H, 300 Win Mag etc.) but without the belt.

Fired cases from my Howell are right at .5435" at the expansion ring, while those from the Ruger are .5313" with normal full power handloads.

My feeling is that the extra .012+" is slightly more than I care to deal with for this level of power. Your Call !

My .416 was cut with Ken's reamer. Thanks for the measurement. I don't think I will be using the Ruger brass.