.416 Rigby

[wiese]

I have a 416 Rigby in a CZ 550.
I use Hornady shells and S365 gunpowder . What charges can I use? I would be loading 400gr Bear Claw bulletts, and then the Hornady 400gr Encapsulated solids. I also looked at Rhino's 430gr points because I think a 430gr point will work well in Rigby.

I am aware that guns are different and all the old thingamajiggies ... but the Somchem book's intheir example recomends 90.0 gr behind a 410 S365 Wood Leigh, for a maximum and a minimum 85

Now some "experts" tell me that I should not go higher than 83gr S365 ... am I wrong if I want 89gr S365 Loading ... I want to get 2350vt/ps, I would shoot everything I can ... I know I should start with low charges, but where do I start? I can use Somchem's data in his book work?

[Rudib]

88gr S365 met 430gr Rhino
89gr S365 met 400gr Dzombo solid
CCI 250 (Magnum) Primers

[wiese]

88gr S365 met 430gr Rhino
89gr S365 met 400gr Dzombo solid
CCI 250 (Magnum) Primers

Dankie... met die ladings sal ek dan ongeveer 2300vt/ps kry?

[GameFarmer]

Wiese, to get some more data, speak to Mauritz Coetzee. He is a walking reloading databank. Last I heard he might be working at Safari and Outdoor in Pretoria.

[wiese]

Gamefarmer... yes I did speak to him, if I can recall he got a .416Rigby in a Ruger, but he load 84gr maks of S365, as on 87gr S365 he got to high chamber presure... then I spoke to Kobus at Rhino and he said 82gr S365. Then I read an article of .416 load BY Mauritz Coetzee and he load up to 90gr of S365. Somchem reloading manual give 85.5 to 90-0 gr of S365 for a 410gr bullet. I know each rifle differ, but I got here info from a lot of reloaders and manuals and they differ with 8gr... Should I rather start at 83gr S365 and work it up until I find the right speed and signs of chamber pressure... I just thought if any body could give me closer margins to work in...

---------- Post added at 08:17 ---------- Previous post was at 08:12 ----------

It seem that there is not much info available about .416 Rigby reloading data, specially with Somchem powders.

[Alvar]

Hi

I see this is a old threat so you probably cane right, but here goes anyway.

I use Hornady Cases with 87gr of S365 behind 400gr Barnes X bullets. Muzzle Velocity in the region of 2750fps.

The other loads I used was 85gr of S365 behind 400gr Rhinos coming to 2450 fps.

Hope it helps

[Christo Els]

2750fps on a 400gr from a 416Rigby?

This seems more like Weatherby specs - are you not pushing your rifle a bit too far on this one?

With 87gr S365 I get max 2350fps (but with Woodleigh and Hornady 400gr though)

Regards
Christo

[marshy]

Hi Christo, please can you post an intro in the introduction section

[philipwal]

Hi guys, i am new here, but here is my two cents worth of what i learned on the Rigby. First i loaded an unknown batch of 410gr Frontiers Game Rangers. No way to chamber in the Ruger No 1. Measured the actual diameter at .4185 and that bulged the case mouth slightly out. Then i loaded some 400gr hornady softs but wanted to start on the wimpy shoulder side with 85gr rec min load of S365. Hmm, very soft to shoot but erratic burning, one split case and i can hear the hammer fall in the shot. So i believe this is due to me not using a wad to fill up the case over this light charge. Any way, now i am of with S385 as a slower burning prop. to use the full volume capacity of the big Rigby case with 94gr on the 400gr hornady soft and 93gr with the 400gr hornady solids (as they have more bearing and are harder) and cci 250 primers. This is good for a touch over 2200 fps and very comfortable to shoot. There is space to safely add a couple of more grains to easily reach your 2300 2350 2400 fps mark. But i think that bullet placement without undiagnosed flinching is better than 150 fps more velocity. Make sure after resizing you chamfer the case mouth well before seating.
regards
philip