.416 Remington Magnum Recoil

[CBH Australia]

So I’m just reading this old thread. Did you purchase something? What was it and did you get your Buff?
I have a .375 and awaiting the chance to travel North and hunt Buff.
Somehow I got sidetracked here and I am travelling to Africa in January, that’s OK that was on my wish list too.

 

[J.Ogilvie]

So I’m just reading this old thread. Did you purchase something? What was it and did you get your Buff?
I have a .375 and awaiting the chance to travel North and hunt Buff.
Somehow I got sidetracked here and I am travelling to Africa in January, that’s OK that was on my wish list too.

Thanks for the reply. I have decided to go with a Winchester Model 70 in .416 Rem Mag. I've just started saving money for it, as well as a future trip to Africa.

 

[Dr Ray]

Recoil is a factor but you have to have the confidence in yourself to handle such. It’s “up there” but concentrate on shot placement.

 

[bebo]

I have owned a Winch 70 Safari .416 Rem .... fabulous ! Scoped with a Leupold low magnification : accurate to 150 yds and more.
if you pull up the recoil is not violent, dry as the .338wm, it is similar in nature to the 375hh, more flexible, slower.

 

[BeeMaa]

I'm not sure of the availability of Blaser rifles in Oz, but it could be something to consider.

The 416RM barrel with the steel receiver and kickstop come in around 4 Kg (almost 9#).
Add a scope & mount with ammo and you are around 4.5-5 Kg total.
It would make shooting the big bore much easier although heavier to carry all day.

 

[njc110381]

I've got no experience of the .416 Rem but have a Rigby. Also had a .375H&H in the past. What I will say is that having shot both, I found the .375 a step up but nothing to worry about. I shot that rifle prone, over a ox of ammo at a time with no problems at all. When I got the Rigby I fired it for the first time and wondered what the hell I'd done. I honestly thought I'd ever shoot it accurately but it turns out I was wrong. I'm getting there now but I've put a lot of rounds down it. Cost is a factor between .416 and .375 here, not sure about where you are? You need to be able to take it to the range and get a few rounds down it regularly to get good with it.

The .375 will do all you need. The .416 will do it better as long as you can shoot the thing. Have you found one to have a few shots with yet?

 

[bruce moulds]

you are an honest man.
most importantly honest with yourself.
that is the road to success.
bruce.

 

[Wyatt Smith]

@bruce moulds recommended dry firing to practice shooting and getting used to recoil. It was the best thing I have ever done to improve my shooting. I “shoot” 15-20 rounds in my house 3-4 times a week and it really helps.

 

[fourfive8]

Either caliber will work of course. While there is difference in recoil between the two, the 416 Rem is some heavier but not by a huge amount. You won't notice a large increment in recoil going from 375 to 416, but you will when getting into the 458 Lott category. Use a sissy pad when shooting off the bench, don't tighten up too much- that IS the secret to shooting the big recoilers- knowing how much to flex with the shot. Use a low power scope with liberal eye relief- the closer to 5" the better and don't crawl the stock. Practice on the sticks or sitting or some kind of field rest along with regular target time off the bench.

I have shot all manner of rifles from small to large and both the 375 and the 416 are in a league that really can't be compared to a 308. All I can say is it's a lot more. Sit more upright at the bench, use good hearing protection, use a sissy pad and don't overdo the number of shots at any one range session until you get used to the thump. Once you get used to what to expect, not so much an issue. A really thick, soft sissy pad will only make felt recoil worse. Use a fairly thin stiff and large pad that covers more area. It you need more, the ultimate is a thin sandbag.

Once you get used to it, you will like the 416 if you end up with one. A good tough 370 or 400 grain bullet is plenty horsepower and provides measurably more poop than the 300 grain standard in a 375. And when you're squeezing the trigger on big buff, no matter the variety, adrenaline and absolute focus should take over and you won't feel the recoil. Practice rapid, cycling the bolt with ammo in the magazine while at the range to get used that. Most big animals like buffalo most times require more than one shot for insurance.

 

[njc110381]

you are an honest man.
most importantly honest with yourself.
that is the road to success.
bruce.

I think when striving to achieve anything in life, that's the best way to be. Take it on the chin when you fail but realise it doesn't have to be that way. If you're honest with yourself and your peers you can make a team effort to make changes and improve. Your posts have helped me a great deal in the past and there are a few other names on here who really stand out as putting the effort in when a question is asked too. Now I'm reaching a point where I can offer a little advice on the basics.

We never stop learning from the day we're born to the day we die. Learning on your own is much harder than swallowing one's pride and opening up to those who can help you!

 

[bruce moulds]

follow through, the secret of any sport.
tennis, football, golf and so on.
long range target, shotgun, pistol, dangerous game the same.
good follow through must be a habit, and there is only one way to develop a habit to the level of blinking when eye is threatened.
including follow through deliberately in regular dry firing is cheap, practical, and effective, and can be combined with working the action.
only good practice will develop good habits.
strong good habits will overcome such things as recoil violence in the subconscious.
bruce.

 

[Brian d Fletcher]

The >416 .... I used to use the gun in my profile pic.....470 double, but I've come to very much love my model 70 .416 RM. More range than a .458 and more muzzle energy. It's now my #1 for any big dangerous game.

 

[Savage Hunter]

4 years ago I was contemplating a 375 or 416. Someone let me shoot them both.
Actually, in the rifles I shot I thought the 416 was great, slightly stronger but slower, but neither was anything that I would consider bad, at least not bad enough to make me nervous about shooting either.
I wanted the 416, but in rifle shopping I was being a little stupid and wanted a "premium" rifle.

I found a Nosler Custom in 375ruger that I finally decided on. I like shooting it and no real kick. I let a couple 12 year old girls shoot it, after they insisted, in standing position with open sights. they said it was nothing. Standing, of course, the recoil is felt less.

Looking back, though, I spent too much on that rifle for how seldom I would use it. (maybe just one trip)
I wish I had spent less and bought 416 in either a Ruger, Winchester, or Savage.

 

[Rrrgcy]

Had shot mine prone here and there. I don’t know why - the sniper in us I guess. Actually to see how it best prints at 100 yards. But its absolutely brutal. Standing or elbows down on a bench it’s generally fine. Just do it. Kind of like first riding a motorcycle, don’t let it control you and eventually with time you get comfortable with it.

Actually I view it a bit like riding a motorcycle into a tree - you ride off the road, see the tree approaching (depress the trigger slightly) but contemplate how your motorcycle is so beautiful and refined and so you respect it and decide to just look cool to the very end! Boom! Okay, not that bad (!) I think I’ll do it again. And each time your ride you motorcycle into the tree you feel more comfortable doing it and find you actually fly through the tree just fine. And then you stop even thinking about it. It’s comfort. Like Bruce Mould says above, “Follow through.” It works.

My only fear w this rifle (& the 458 Lott) is my using it 15’ high up in a makeshift tree stand with my cheeks pinched on a much too small seat and my back against a fairly thin trunk AND with my body slightly turned. Precarious to shoot I think. Should prey appear I’d need it to fall within a viable sector to safely shoot… I hope. I have taken my A-Square 416 up into a stand and wonder if I’m plain stupid but haven’t had to shoot. Actually my plan is to nearly center the butt to my inner collarbone/chest and best sight. I just haven’t practiced this but will need to.

Not to derail Op, but it has to do w recoil, so has anyone ever shot a 416 or 458 from a tree stand? Sacre bleu but a serious question.

 

[Forrest Halley]

@Rrrgcy you had me at makeshift stand. Yes I know what type of stand you're talking about and no this is not a good idea. Best case scenario gun goes flying. Worst case scenario you go flying. Falling from that height is a serious injury. Hopefully you have some sort of safety harness system. If not, where are you hunting? I heard there's a really good deal on big bores: lightly fired and only dropped once.

 

[Woodcarver]

Had shot mine prone here and there. I don’t know why - the sniper in us I guess. Actually to see how it best prints at 100 yards. But its absolutely brutal. Standing or elbows down on a bench it’s generally fine. Just do it. Kind of like first riding a motorcycle, don’t let it control you and eventually with time you get comfortable with it.

Actually I view it a bit like riding a motorcycle into a tree - you ride off the road, see the tree approaching (depress the trigger slightly) but contemplate how your motorcycle is so beautiful and refined and so you respect it and decide to just look cool to the very end! Boom! Okay, not that bad (!) I think I’ll do it again. And each time your ride you motorcycle into the tree you feel more comfortable doing it and find you actually fly through the tree just fine. And then you stop even thinking about it. It’s comfort. Like Bruce Mould says above, “Follow through.” It works.

My only fear w this rifle (& the 458 Lott) is my using it 15’ high up in a makeshift tree stand with my cheeks pinched on a much too small seat and my back against a fairly thin trunk AND with my body slightly turned. Precarious to shoot I think. Should prey appear I’d need it to fall within a viable sector to safely shoot… I hope. I have taken my A-Square 416 up into a stand and wonder if I’m plain stupid but haven’t had to shoot. Actually my plan is to nearly center the butt to my inner collarbone/chest and best sight. I just haven’t practiced this but will need to.

Not to derail Op, but it has to do w recoil, so has anyone ever shot a 416 or 458 from a tree stand? Sacre bleu but a serious question.

When you get out of the cast after your collarbone knits back together, let us know what the pain level was. 1 being almost none, 10 being "well, that was stupid"

 

[Rrrgcy]

Well, I’ll never go prone again. Two iterations five rounds a piece when I first got the rifle. Felt like a baseball bat repeatedly cracked my shoulder. Frankly, it’s memorable. I’d put it up there shooting a scandium framed revolver w 357mag - open your hand and someone hits it with a baseball bat. Destructive.

Right after I bought a shirt with the pad to stuff in its shoulder pocket. I admit it - I did buy two pads and got them both inside. I used the shirt for the 458 lott at 100 yds iron, and it was useful for that. But never again prone. For the OP, any other shot position is gentle in comparison. And any other rifle (lower calibered) recoils like a cotton ball.

I‘ve only rifle hunted South Florida and climb empty stands (no harness) for glassing and bearings. I don’t remain long in a stand and normally carry a 300H&H but the trips with the 416 & 458 I’ve considered I’d take that shot if I were stable and centered. No, I don’t use a gps nor compass, it’s still easy for me to navigate from area to area for hours at a time and route myself back to the last buggy tracks I saw or a trail. But I just still and stalk, regularly in up to and above knee deep water so if I can locate a stand it helps rest, too. It’s really tiresome walking in these areas In the heat especially. And I’ve had six foot and longer alligators thrash ten feet away when plodding about (always early in the season). But terrain will vary.

For anyone curious, it’d help to have a buggie, dogs, or partners. I’m hunting here solo 26 years going and I’ve not shot a pig yet. I hear them, I locate them generally within 30 yards, then smell them, but can’t route them out. So I slowly walk back a circle a hundred yards 180 degrees off and they start grunting again from where I left them. And they do so each side of a circle, I make my way opposite they quiet, can’t find them and they start up from where I originated. They play that taunting game with me every year. And where I hunt (68,000 acres), I’ve heard millions of pigs, never seen one, and seen millions of does no bucks (solely shootable). There are raccoons, snipe, rail, dove, pig, and deer here. Snakes and fox. Lord knows how I’ll pull a pig out if it weighs more than 75lbs from these areas. Again, I’m usually out about an hour or more from where I’ve parked. the largest pig was around 165lbs or so, and usually they take around 150 pigs per season In this WMA. My hunting is a self meditative affair.

this is what I regularly hunt in

And no, I don’t want to be “That Guy.”

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Hello everyone, I have been asking around the different forums to get as much advice as possible.

I have been thinking about what caliber to pick for a dangerous game rifle, that I hope to use on a water buffalo hunt in the near future (they are similar to Cape Buffalo). So far I'm torn between a .375 H&H or a .416 Rem Mag, and I'm leaning slightly towards the latter for the added stopping power.

My question to the community is how bad is the recoil on a .416 Rem Mag? To try and create some perspective, the biggest caliber that I currently shoot regularly is a .308. How can the recoil be managed, and would the difference in recoil justify stepping down to a .375.

I would really appreciate any input from the community.

Sincere regards,
John8789

@J.Ogilvie
John I would choose the good old 375H&H. It's been doing the job for years.
I'm going after scrub bulls next year and am going to use my 35 Whelen loaded with either 275gn or 310gn Woodleighs.
Just my 2 cents worth.
Where in Australia are you. There's a heap of us on here
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Hello everyone, I have been asking around the different forums to get as much advice as possible.

I have been thinking about what caliber to pick for a dangerous game rifle, that I hope to use on a water buffalo hunt in the near future (they are similar to Cape Buffalo). So far I'm torn between a .375 H&H or a .416 Rem Mag, and I'm leaning slightly towards the latter for the added stopping power.

My question to the community is how bad is the recoil on a .416 Rem Mag? To try and create some perspective, the biggest caliber that I currently shoot regularly is a .308. How can the recoil be managed, and would the difference in recoil justify stepping down to a .375.

I would really appreciate any input from the community.

Sincere regards,
John8789

@

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Hello, The_Wanderer. Thank you very much for the response. I live in Western Australia, and it seems like a .375 will be the most sensible option. I contacted two local gun stores, and both said that a Model 70 in .416 Rem would be $2.7K, which is a bit out of my price range.

I am planning on contacting a local big-bore rifle club to try out some guns before I make my purchase, likely a .375 Mod 70.

@J.Ogilvie
That's a bloody good idea mate,that way you get first hand experience plus a bucket load of good advice you will have to sort thru. Make sure you speak to someone who has actually shot buffalo tho.
My 14 year old son at the time was at a SSAA and got to play with some big toys. After he shot the 458 win mag I got a text saying he wanted one. He got a 308 instead