Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Express Rifles and Big Bores Only .458 Win Mag/.416 Rigby

I have never had a big bore; the top of my chain right now is a Ruger .338 win mag. Nice shooting and very accurate. A Ruger No. 1 is a rifle I have always wanted and am looking at either a .458 win mag or .416 Rigby. Would you give me some of the pros and cons of each as you see it? Would mainly be used for moose/bear. Thank you in advance.
Dave

I would see the 416 Rigby as a far superior choice there since it has a fairly flat trajectory and can make shots at 300 or so yards and such are very difficult with the rainbow trajectory and energy fall off of the 458. My 416 Rigby Moose and Brown Bear Load is a Brnes 350gr Tipped Triple Shock at 2750fps. No useful bullet in the 458 can approach that kind of speed and trajectory nor longer distance energy on target. Add in the fact that the 416 recoils less and penetrates better and in my opinion it is a non argument. The 45 cal's are, as I see them, specialized rounds for hunting of Elephant and Cape Buffalo at short range and as a PH's stopping rifle. Even for Elephant though I like the 416 Rigby as per the one in my avatar immediately to the left here. Think of it as a big 375 on steroids and you have a a good idea or picture of what the 416 Rigby is.

I agree with safariman on the 416, especially in a No.1. Recoil is pretty viscous in a 458 in that lighter rifle. I see the 416 as being much more versatile for your needs, plus they're just cool.

CDNN has the No 1 Tropical Laminate/Stainless in 416 Ruger or 458 Lott for $750. Heck of a deal. I keep circling back to it and pondering on one myself.

If you do a little searching you can find a used CZ550 in 458 Lott for that price. There are also Interarms Mark X/Whitworth rifles and the Remington 798's out there. New Winchester M70 Safari Express and CZ 550 Safari Classic can be had new on a budget. There are more bullet options in .458 than .416 from 300-600gr, lead, jacketed or monometal. .458 is a popular diameter 45/70, 450 Marlin and 458 SOCOM are just 3 that use it. Handloading you can roll elephant stomping 500gr Solids @ 2400fps or mouse fart 405gr lead round nosed @ 1200fps. For factory ammo you can buy ultra premium ammo with a price to match or Wisconsin Cartridge Corp 405gr RNSP @ 2200 fps and Hunting Shack Munitions 350gr FPSP @ 2500 fps starting at just $2/round.

I've got the #1 in the 458 Lott and you can also launch a 350gr TSX at 2750fps. Yes, the 416 does have better ballistic coefficient at same weight bullets, but the 458 Lott can use cheap 45-70 bullets and both win mag and Lott cases. Both of them are more than plenty for anything on this continent, so it's totally personal preference.

I really like my Lott now that I made a few improvements.

Thanks for all of the excellent input, greatly appreciated. Sounds like for my use and the No. 1 the .416 is the way to go. Thank you again.

Using trajectory to choose a stopping rifle is silly. If you need flatter trajectory why not include the 375 or the 338 in your choices ?

I think the 416Rigby will actually perform both stopper and plains game functions, as least that's what my friend reckons. He has developed 2 loads for his Rigby - 400gn for close up big game and 300gn for plains game. He's got a QD scope for each load. The 300gns are doing 2700fps MV and I think he's using Barnes so gets a good BC. I've seen him knock down steel ram silhouettes at 400yrds (or is it further than that?) - I saw the projectiles come in and strike using a pair of 10x binoculars (actually it was a grey streak but very noticable - never seen this before).

The 416Rigby does have a sharper boot that the 458WM, as you'd expect with the extra powder it burns - still, not too unpleasant though.

Let me take a different track. You have your .338 as a medium rifle which will handle anything in North America. Either the .416 or .458 will handle anything in Africa. So with having a .338 I would go with the Ruger #1 in .458 Lott. You can load it down to sub .45/70 velocities or high enough that you wished you hadn't pulled the trigger. The .338 is there to handle any long range shots you may have.

One thing I like about the .458 is that it is easier to do cast bullet loads with if you ever want to go in that direction.

So glad you said that Phil !! so true,so often forgotten!
Everybody is always looking for the multi-tool.
The best .458's I've ever seen didn't have 100 yard sights....

We can all argue over minutia but basically, in real world performance, the 416 splits the difference between the 375 H&H and the 458 Win.
It fires a bullet that is .041" larger, 100 grains heavier and 200 fps slower than the 375 while the 458 tosses a bullet .042" larger, 100 gr heavier and 200 fps slower than the 416.

My guess is the 458 Winchester Magnum shows best results when used inside 100 yards. What say you?

Not only does it give quicker results inside 100 yards, if a guy knows his trajectory and can shoot it gives great results way past 100 yards as well.

Actually I have hit a pig silhouette target (300yards?) with my 458WM and open sights but I kinda think I got really lucky - it was my second shot too.

It's the sort of thing you only try once as further attempts will probably result in failure and ridicule.

An awful lot of bison were killed in this country at long range with various low velocity 45 caliber weapons. When called for, I have killed game at over 400 yards with my 458.
But, as I said, there is no reason to look at long range trajectory when choosing a stopping rifle as the requirement are entirely different.
If one wants a versatile rifle with pretty fair stopping power however the 416 is a good choice.

All I know is both the 458 and the 416 will do quite well for chucks and yotes and porcupines...

Dober

It's kinda tough on the hides though.... Best to use a solid bullet on coyotes and rodents

I got a 416 Rigby and love it, but I was seriously considering a Lott at the time.

I would caution you to be ready for sticker shock as you buy Rigby Brass.

I think them Buffalo Hunters had a few .40's available too Phil, but actually a lot of em were shot with the old 50-70 Govt too, because there were good deals on ammo.

I honestly feel either round is a good choice and envy you getting to make the choice.

If you go with the Lott you get to shoot ammo that looks like it should be fired from an underground silo!