I have followed lots of posts about the 400 Whelen ( Petrov ) but can’t get too excited because of the bullets and bore diameter.
Has anyone tried .416 using a similar case design or does the extra diameter make using an 06 case impossible? Would a 9.3-62 case be preferable. I am not hung up on nostalgia.

I'd think a 240 Weatherby case would be the way to proceed, if so inclined.

Or a 284

Hah! Rin, I’m right there with ya. I’ve been staring at an old Mauser I bought for a bigger bore project for a while. At first, I was thinking 9.3x62, then decided if I was going “big bore” I should get something that was actually considerably more than one of the 30-06 I have and go .400+.

That led me to the 416 Ruger. Bought some bullets and got a few cases and let the thought cool off for a bit.

Then I see 400 Whelen and Mainers .410 on the x62 case. Also wondering if there’d still be enough shoulder for a .416 bullet. Guessing it’d be marginal at best. Called around for a barrel and started making a list of cases, dies, etc.... well schit, barrels are long in lead time, same with the cylinder brass, dies ain’t on shelf and are quite expensive. Wednesday I started thinking about the Ruger again. Brass is half the price and available, bullets are available, as is factory ammo if I want to shoot and don’t have any loads ready to go.

While not wanting a hot rod, I am wanting 2200 with 400 grain bullets and the Ruger can do it at pressures that are less than the Whelen.

Sure, I’ll have to open the bolt face, but that’ll likely be less than money saved in brass and dies. Feed rail work as well, but the Whelen could very well need it to.

The .473 case that looks interesting to me for a .416 wildcat is the weatherby rpm. How much for custom dies and reamer?

All in all, I’m back on the 416 Ruger train. Lol. For now😂 I just need to order some schit and make it happen.

When I was first forming 375 Whelen AI brass from ‘06 and 35 Whelen brass I opened the cases to 416. That case had no shoulder.

The .400 case, done correctly, has a .458" diameter at the shoulder. Take a .416" bullet, add the thickness of your brass and I think you are pretty much looking at a straight-walled case.

.416 Ruger is the easy button. The .416 Taylor is a little more interesting IMO and belted magnum brass is everywhere.

Why no love for 350 grain bullets?

Too small. We’re talking Buffalo JWP, Not prairie dog bullets. Sheesh

I bought a box of 350TTSX to put in 416Rgr cases to see how they fit.

It’s an impressive looking hunk of copper!

416 Ruger or Remington (easy button)

or a 416 Taylor if you want to be different.

What about a 350 Rem Mag case? Has a belt if there is not enough shoulder.

Mad mooner, a decade ago i had necked up a 338 rcm case to take a 350 416 bullet. Looked like an overgrown 358 winchester:

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/15949971/2



In the end, no more redundant bllsht: 416 ruger african cut to 22.5" is my go-to moose gun on the rivers. Can pick up 400 grain dgx bonded for a really good price locally.

Here on campfire, age dosnt nescassarrily exude wisdom. 416 ruger, right off a shelf is fkn smart........

416 Taylor for the win, i have one with brass and dies i'm thinking about selling again, BRNO 98 Mauser, syn/cerakote, express sights, barrel band, with Winchester type swing safety, with CFE-223 powder you can easily get 2400 fps with 400gr partitions if need be.

These days, I have to agree. This is what I went with on my 98.

Smart man. All the do-nothing dingdongs that shoot off at the mouth about rifles more than they hunt, the 400 whelen nor my .410-9.3x62 makes little sense. Not with 416 Ruger all over the place.

Once you get to the stopping effect of the 41 cals, you dont really need 4 or 5 rounds down. Nor do you need pointy boat tail bullets. The 400 grain dgx bonded yields 2,455 fps from a 22.5" barrel.

Seems quite few here hunt with their .40+ wildcats. It doesn’t have to make sense to anyone but the fella that builds it.

A lot of folks enjoy putting loads together and experimenting with modified chambers. To each their own.

There seems to be two groups of loonies. First, are guys who use and carry guns for a variety of purposes. To these men guns are useful tools, and like any other tool they're modified as needed to make them perform the best way possible. The other group are guys who collect a lot more than they shoot. To these guys the idea of modifying a gun is sacrilege. One of the neat things about the day and age we live in is we can pretty easily get/make what fits our exact little niche. I have a foot in each of these streams, but more so in the modification camp. I was happy to turn a pristine Model 70 classic stainless 7 mag into a 7.25lb .416 Taylor. The rifle went from about useless to me to eminently practical.

When a cartridge case is necked-down it becomes less efficient and less powerful. And, of course when a case is necked-up it becomes more efficient and potentially more powerful. That's why a .25-06 is less efficient (for amount of powder used) and less powerful than its parent case, the .30-06, and why the .35 Whelen is more efficient and powerful than its parent the .30-06. The most efficient and powerful cartridges, potentially, are straight wall, assuming suitable powders and projectiles.

The .416 Ruger would be more efficient and powerful if made into a .458 (I'm sure it's been done), and why it's more efficient and powerful than the .375 Ruger. If I were serious about a .416 it would likely be the .416 Taylor because of its efficiency (using far less powder) to get 2400 from a 400gr.

But 94 grs powder for about 2640 fps from a 350gr TSX in .416 doesn't compare well with 2780 fps from a 350 TSX using 81 grs powder in my 24" Ruger #1 in .458 - which is a straight-wall cartridge. Of course, I know the 350 in .416 has a better SD and BC, so better at longer ranges, but it still has 21% less cross-sectional area than .458-cal.

Bob
www.bigbores.ca

According to Speer a 350 grain bullet can be driven to 2800 FPS with 2000MR, in the 416 Remington. If I ever get some I'm going to find out

I've never had a 416 Ruger so can not comment on it.
I have had/have 3, 416 Remington's. 2 of which I hunted with a lot and have had 2, 416 Taylor's. 1 of which I killed a lot of game with. The other one has dumped Lots of bears as I gave it to a friend who is a guide.
From a close range dumping a brown bear. I never noticed any difference. I Really Really like both cartridges. And both have saved my bacon and filled freezers equally well.
I would very much like a Ruger Guide Gun in 416 Ruger. And I think it would work just as well.

I also have been hung up on .410" bullets . Ron had good success turning 416 bullets into 410 bullets by pushing them thru a sizing die. So it's not such a huge ordeal.
The main attraction for me with the 400 Whelen,/ Petrov is the ability to use useless 06 brass to make a great cartridge for bear and moose.
But I stopped at 375 cal with the 375 Whelen A.I. . As 375 bullets are easier to come by than 410 or 416 bullets are.
A 250 gr TTSX .375 bullet at 2500 fps is a very good all around Alaskans load. And in a nice short light rifle it's very easy to have with.

In lieu of the .the 9.3x62 case there is the 416 Aagard which is a 376 Steyr necked up to .416. The 376 Steyr was based on the 9.3×64 Brenneke IIRC.

Thought about it… then bought a 416 Ruger Alaskan. The platform is solid and could be loaded down if need be. The only compromise is magazine capacity. I am fine with 3+1 in this case.

RinB- JD Jones from SSK industries has made a .416/06 JDJ. Page 267 of my "Cartridges of the World", 60* shoulder, about a half caliber length neck. Probably cylindrical to the tiny but sharp shoulder. Made for the Encore/Contender break open pistols. 400gr projectile @ 2000fps, 300gr @ 2200fps. So, it's doable, but not practical. Making the brass looks tricky. If I had a 400 Whelen/Petrov, I'd just be happy using the 300gr TSX for hunting & .41 pistol bullets for plinking, as it has a very good track record once you make up your brass correctly and primarily neck size and have a Petrov-spec'd full length or shoulder bump die. But a new 416 Ruger barrel for my Savage 110 375 Ruger sounds like a much easier way to go, which I'll probably do down the road (and a 300PRC barrel, too, just to round out the family). CRS & mainer in AK got it right, too. Factory brass & ammo are the way to go w/ the current options. IMHO. Mark&Belle

I have been tossing around a few ideas regard a Zestava Mauser. Very nice gun, Very bad barrel. I would like a 400 whelen. I also want to be practical and consider how effective the gun will be over your simple 3006 with 220 bullets. And also factor in 375 bullet performance and availability. Looking at 35 Whelen and bullets choices. I have a 3006 reamer. The bolt face and feeding is setup for 7x64, which should be '06 compatible. No decision. I am not going to pay a lot to salvage a messed up gun. I am thinking and reading this was interesting. To a point.

As I type, no decision made. leaning heavy toward a 375/06 (not improved). I think bullet availability trumps a few 1000's bore size. I do not mean low cost, I do mean good bullets are much more important than fps or me. Like idea of reusing my reamer. Dont like the cost of barrels. I dont know. I hope, I am not another ding dong. The OP never came back. I also hope he was not offended? Well, this is not the hobby for the thin skinned. I am actually surprised we did not get any 458 WM posting on this.

I'd either do a 35 Whelen or 9.3x62, no reason to make it more difficult and expensive.

As I already have 375 Whelen Ackley improved reloading dies. And when I anneal the necks of 06 brass they neck up easily. Also, as mine is on a 98 Mauser I can cream of wheat the brass very easily with 19 grains of Unique. I will just stay the course. I've already taken caribou with the rifle and just really like it.
That being said, I don't think I've gained a ton of performance over the 375/06.