.416 Rigby Bullet Questions

S

Shooter2675

New member
Hello,

Some of you might have seen another one of my recent threads regarding a large caliber rifle. I was originally going to base it off of a Remington 700 action, but after research I think a CZ-550 action will be better. I hope to hunt some large game soon, but my immediate use is just target shooting (and maybe the occasional whitetail). Anyways, the .416 Rigby seems like a better choice in the CZ compared to the .458 Lott just for practicality and being a non-belted cartridge (I reload and despite what some say, non-belted cartridges are just easier).

Anyways, I was thinking of what bullets to use in the .416 when hunting. I was hoping to use it on some whitetails at some longer ranges, maybe up to 300 yards. I was looking at some bullets with a high ballistic coefficient, and I found some spitzer bullets probably designed for a .416 Barrett. They have a BC of .900, but I am thinking they won't fit in a CZ-550 magnum action. does anyone know the specs of a CZ-550 magnum maximum case length? Also, would my idea work or is the .416 not good for this purpose. I would only use these in a hunting situation (and not while hunting dangerous game) and would use standard bullets at the range.

Thanks,

John
 
BC doesn't really become much of a factor with trajectory until you are well past 300 yards, think at least double that. The added speed at 300 yards may show a noticeable difference in energy, but very little difference in trajectory. You'll not need the added energy with a 416 Rigby so I'd not worry a lot about high BC bullets for your uses.
 
jmr40,

Thank you for your response. I definitely understand what your saying, but just for fun, do you think the bullets would fit? I don't plan on shooting it much further than 300 but you never know at the range.

John
 
I wouldn't think bullets built for military anti-material/sniping use would perform like a typical game bullet, but I'm not very familiar with .416s.

As to being able load a bullet, of any length, in any action, its mostly just a matter of how deeply you are willing to have the bullet seated in the case, and using the appropriate powder charge for that.

It is quite common that a long bodied bullet would have to be seated too deeply to give the desired performance AND work through the action.

Take a look at the COAL of the longest round chambered in the desired action. If you stay within that, it WILL work. Longer MIGHT work, but you will need the rifle and ammo in your hands to be sure.
 
44 AMP,

Thank you. Do you know what the largest round chambered in the CZ-550 safely is? If I know that that could help with determining COAL.

Thanks,

John
 
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