It is important to examine the big-bore cartridges carefully to understand how to handle them as a handloader. The.416 Rigby is a 1911 design, while the.375 H&H dates back to 1912, and the.470 NE in 1907. Also, the.458 Winchester Magnum was created in 1956, and the.416 Remington Magnum was created in 1988. The.450 Rigby was introduced in 1994. These cartridges lasted the majority of the 20th Century, but their geometry and pressure levels varied greatly.
The.416 Rigby is a unique design in cartridge and bore diameter. It remains a popular choice today based on field performance and nostalgia. The Remington Model 700’s high pressure nearly cost the Remington its life. Due to the availability of powders more than three decades ago, excessive pressure was a problem in the hottest areas of Africa. The Model 700 action could not reliably extract the cartridge in 120-degree areas. Thankfully, a good number of folks tried the .416 Remington in controlled-round-feed actions and saw the wisdom of using it as an all-around African game cartridge, as well as an Alaskan brown bear cartridge.If, quite like yours truly, the cost of these big cartridges plays a role in selecting which you’ll be purchasing and using, you’ll see a savings in factory ammunition when buying the .416 Remington Magnum or .416 Ruger in comparison to the .416 Rigby. The former pair of young upstarts will also be more economical in the powder department. The ballistics of all three cartridges are very similar. I chose the.416 Remington Magnum. It gave me 2,400 fps with a load 78.0 grains IMR4064, sparked by large-rifle magnum primers and pushing a 400gr bullet. My Winchester 70 has never had any problems with sticky extraction or high pressures. This is true, but I also know that I don’t have to drive a 400-grain bullet faster than 2,400 fps to kill any game animal. The.458 Family
The.458s are still a popular choice. John Rigby’s 1898-designed,.450 NE is the benchmark for performance in driving a 480 grain bullet to 2,150 feet per second. The big-rimmed cartridge was a huge success; however, the British ban on .45-caliber ammunition in the Sudan as well as India gave rise to the .470 Nitro Express, .475 Nitro Express and many more, which would greatly diminish the .450’s popularity.Winchester used a shortened, belted H&H case to develop their .458 Winchester Magnum in 1956 to mimic the .450 NE’s ballistics, albeit with a 510-grain bullet. It didn’t measure up. It didn’t measure up. The Lott case is longer and can be used for 2,150 or 2,200 feet per second. The 0.300-inch extension gives the reloader more space, which helps to prevent over-compression of powder charges. I like the.458 Winchester ball powders because they maximize the real estate. However, the.458 Lott can be loaded with powders such as Hodgdon’s Varget, IMR4166, or IMR4064. I have had great results pushing a 500-grain bullet at 2,200 feet per second.
The.470 Nitro Express is my favorite case in a Heym Model 89B double. The large, 3 1/4-inch case is big and has lots of storage, but you don’t really need it all. Although I was able to achieve both accuracy and proper velocity with H4831SC and 500-grain bullets (double rifles have a specified bullet weight/velocity), I also got the same ballistics using Reloder 15 compressed with a Kynoch foam wad. However, the recoil dropped significantly. I used 88.0 grains of RL-15 and several 500-grain slugs to get the rifle’s desired velocity. I was able to achieve the velocity I wanted using a 525-grain Barnes TSX Softpoint and Woodleigh Hydro Solid at a drastically reduced recoil level. Although factory loads may be suitable, I prefer handloading for big-bore cartridges. Target grids and bullseye sizes can be downloaded in MOA. Get Free Targets
