What would be the best choice for Cape Buffalo at 100yds, a .458 Winchester Supreme 500gr. Nosler solid at 2240 fps or a 400gr Hornady solid at 2370 fps from a .416 (In this case a Rigby).
My .458 is a Browning FN with a 24" barrel. The Rigby is a CZ 550 with 25" tube.The recoil is about the same with the Rigby weighing an extra pound. Both rifles are scoped with Swarovski 1.5-6x42 glass.
Since I can only bring one gun I need a little help.
Cape Buff will be the only game on the menu with these rifles.
Thanks
Wana

Neither. You don't want a solid for hunting buffalo anymore, at least for the first shot, with all the good expanding bullets available.

There are a bunch of good expanding bullets for both cartridges: Barnes TSX's, Hornady DGX's, North Forks, Nosler Partitions, Swift A-Frames, etc. etc. Either round will work fine on Cape buffalo with any of these.

Exactly what MD said. The only times solids are needed are elephant, rhino and hippo on dry land.

If it were me I'd take a 416 with 350 grain TSX bullets and not look back. If you want a few solids then the 350 Band Solid flat point will work nicely.

The TSX bullets will be about all that you will need

from what i've heard the .416's ruger,taylor, rigby, remington... penetrate better then the .458 win mag, but the win mag has more knockdown power and stopping power because it can fire heavier bullets. The .416 has slightly smaller diameter making it easier to penetrate anything. The .458 win mag was originally designed to be the only gun you'd need for any animal on earth in any situation, however early safari guys found out that it has lack of penetration because the powder did not allow the 500 grain bullet to reach 2,150 feet per second which was considered the "golden mark" to kill any animal on Earth. This is why the .458 lott was invented which pushes a .458 500 grain bullet at 2200-2300fps so slightly greater than the win mag... some argue if it's really necessary. Hornady's superformance makes a good win mag load that gets up to it's 2,150 fps golden mark.

IN general the rule of thumb is such that the larger diameter the bullet the harder it will be to penetrate... all else being equal. So therefore a .458 win mag 400 grain load @2350fps and a .416 ruger load @ 2350fps with both the SAME EXACT bullets the .416 ruger will penetrate further.. this is common sense of course

Since yoru going for cape buffalo I would use a high quality controlled expansion bullet... a-square makes a "dead tough" bullet which is basically like a medium expansion bullet some where in between a monolithic solid and a fully expanding soft point. Controlled expansion is what you want for cape buffalo, atleast on the first shot, the rest of the bullet i'd want solids in case of a charge. But thats just me.

I'd be more apt to want a solid if the buff was headed away. And even then, a heavy controlled expansion bullet would not worry me.

As others have suggested, I would reconsider using a solid. Personally I would use the 416 Rigby; I also suggest getting much closer than 100 yards. Good luck on your hunt!

As Lhook brings us too..

I too was wondering, why do you want to shoot your Buff from so far??

MM

I wanted a .416 Rigby in a CZ550 when I went to Tanzania three years ago....none was available locally ,but I got a deal on CZ550 Safari Magnum Express in .458 that was too good to pass up.I called Barnes and they recommended a load with H4895 and their 450 gr. TSX which chronoed 2170 with the bullet set out closer to .458 Lott specs.That rifle has a longer magazine box than most .458 Winchester chambered guns. It fed very well and my first shot came at 103 yds. (lasered). It was a complete passthrough on a broadside shot just behind the shoulders.
Unfortunately, I shot just a hair high and the job required three follow ups.He was dead on his feet,but he didn't know it. They were all from straight on in the front and all penetrated completely to his hips through a full paunch. All mushroomed perfectly.When the skinners dug in to retrieve my bullets,I couldn't believe all the grass.
With TSXs,penetration with the .458 will be everything you need.As always,bullet placement is the key.

I dont think either caliber is a bad choice, but I do think the 416's are better for all around use.

A trip to Africa is the treat of a lifetime for many and you all know enough to know that just about any of the legal combo's will work and you always have your PH to fall back on to confirm any info you learn from external sources.

My advice is to take the rifle that pleases you so you can focus on the enjoyment of the experience.

I personally would prefer a .458 caliber over a .416 for dangerous game so there is my choice. It has a lot to do with the rifle, the way it handles, feels to grasp and manouver if situations get tight. Your response time with follow up shots and the ability to place those shots accuractely, all of primary importance and way above cartridge choice.

As JB said, the quality soft points tear up a lot of flesh, break bone and penetrate well enough to make them the best choice for at least that first shot and I would be happy to also use them for the follow up shots. There is also the safety aspect to reduce the possibility of complete penetration when using a solid and wounding a second animal inadvertenly.

That aforementioned 450gn TSX is a super bullet that I feel is somewhat underated in the .458 case. I can load it to 2300-2350fps in my own .458 Model 70 and would be happy to use it on the larger bovines.

JW

Get a .375 H&H it's good for everything.

And a 416 or 458 isn't?

of the two choices mentioned, I'd take whichever rifle felt the best or I shot the best with. Use Barnes TSXs in either one and you're good to go, no solids needed.

Not so good for plains game IMO.

Can't see why not especially the 416's

I took both a 416 Rigby and a 458 Lott on this years trip to Matetsi area in Zimbabwe. The 416 was scoped, the lott not. I took bull elephant,zebra,hyena,impala,and waterbuck and hunted buffalo. Either would have worked fine for all species but I prefer an unscoped rifle for the close range elephant work.

When my .416 Rigby has a scope, it's in detachable Talley rings so the scope can be taken off if I hunt big stuff in thick stuff. When scoped, it's just as flat-shooting and accurate as a .375 H&H.

I must also comment that while the .458 Winchester hits somewhat harder than any of the three .416 "R's" (Rigby, Remington and Ruger) it would take a hell of a lot of buffalo killed to find any statistical difference. If you make a good shot with either, the buffalo will soon be dead. If you don't, you be flinging more lead--or copper.

Yeah an dif you REALLY want to impress a buffalo, try at 416 Weatherby like Layne Simpson says. That 400gr@2700 really gets their attention! As to the 458, no doubt a proven and impressive killer, but it's almost like a double in that it is a specialized caliber for closer in work. There's just no getting away from the fact the 416 "Rs" are a great caliber and a lot more versatile. jorge

+1.........

I think most PHs will tell you to use a soft point for the first shot and solids for the rest. After the first shot the buffalo will probably be running away and you can penetrate to the heart/lungs with a Texas heart shot if you use a solid. I too, like a previous poster, have had success with the Barnes 450 grain .458 TSX at a MV of 2250.

Just did some "uploading" of the .416 Rigby. Turns out it's easy to get 2650 with a 400--which makes sense as the case holds just slightly less powder than the Wby. Think that would work?

Nah, better AI it...

Now Jorge, if you really, I mean REALLY want to impress them just try the 450gr TSX @ 2550fps...guaranteed to impress you too,LOL!

Oh yeah! On the PHs, that's changed a lot over the last few years, they are all becoming TSX fans!

Thanks for the input. Seems like the consensus is that a premium controlled expansion bullet at 2150+ will do a better job than a solid in the .458 Win. The 100 yd distance was actually the max I would normally take a shot at. The final call will be up to the PH. I am not hand-loading at this time so I will likely go with the .416 Rigby 400 gr TSX at 2400fps.

The big fun in shooting a cape buffalo is to shoot it at spitting distance. I shot both of mine at less than 25 yards with a 416 Remington.

You could do what I did when faced with this decision: buy a 450 Rigby and push your 500grs at 416 Rigby velocity!

It appears that people believe that either of these cartridges will work for buffalo and that the 416s are more a general purpose rifle the the 458 W. Is that because they have a flatter trajectory that the 458?

I would go against the advice of the overwhelming majority of PHs if I did not agree that the .375 H&H is the best all round caliber for African hunting.
I have a .375 for the plains game,kudu,sable antelope and gemsbok.
However since Cape buffalo is the only game on the menu I would prefer not to use the minimum legal caliber.
If I were hunting only leopard I would use a 30-06.

If I were to add another rifle to my collection , strictly for the most dangerous game, it would be a .505 Gibbs.The Safari Classics from CZ is close in price to the .450 Rigby and it is a classic cartridge. Norma makes a 600gr PH load that should get a bull's attention.

I would prefer a .450 Rigby to my .458 Win. But Magnum Mauser actions are costly and my FN Browning circa 1959 is sweet and feeds flawlessly.
I and others have had issues with feeding in CZ 550 actions that were not polished and tuned by an expert.My .375 needed extensive work and would jam if cycled slowly(to minimize the noise in a hunting situation)with certain bullet shapes.It was so bad I traded it to a dealer.

100 yds would be the max I assume I would be allowed to take a shot at.
On the other hand I have totally annihilated large woodchucks at over 100 yds with the Rigby during a practice session.

100 yds is a goo range for me 'cause I can't run as fast as I used to.