416 Rigby bullet recommendations

[machinistbutler]

Have a CZ 416 Rigby on its way. Bullet selection seems to be a bit more scarce than bullets for my 458.

I ordered some Barnes 400 grain TSX. I can also order 410 grain woodleigh sp . I found one place that has a couple boxes of the swift aframe that I know are highly recommended.

For solids in it I can order nosler solids, woodleigh fmj , and one place has twenty, and only twenty of the hydros.

Factory ammo available is Norma for approx $300 for 20. Hornady dgx available for approx 140 a box. I may get some Hornady just to have some extra brass.

I will be using the rifle for practice and maybe a moose, bear, deer hunt . I haven't decided yet if I will use this one or my CZ in 458 Lott if I am ever fortunate enough to do a buffalo hunt. I have used a cz 375 for many years, so I am very familiar with the rifle ,I will just have to get used to the heavier recoil in the Rigby and the Lott.

I just noticed another Rigby thread just below this one, apologies. I should read a bit more before I post first thing in the morning.

Any info on the woodleigh sorts ,solids or the nosler solids would still be appreciated!

Thanks for any input

Craig in Canada

 

[AES]

I shoot:
Softs - Federal, Swift A-frame
Solids - Federal, Woodleigh Hydro

They can both be scarce at time (particularly the solids) but are generally available directly from the Federal website.

 

[chashardy]

416 Rigby ammo is sometimes hard to find and usually pretty expensive. I've posted before that I get the best groupings in both my Rigby and my 375 H&H double using Federal Premium Swift A-Frame or Trophy Bonded Bear Claw, but they are expensive.

 

[BB416]

I have also shot Hornady DGX and DGS factory loads for practice and brass. I have some of the norma 450 g loads that were on sale a year ago, but haven't shot them.
Most of my experience has been with hand loads. My load of choice is 400 g A frames. I also get good groups from 400 and 300 g TSX.
On the solid side, I have shot woodleigh and barnes banded. the Barnes bullets grouped much better for me.

 

[machinistbutler]

Looks like quite different powders than the 458 Lott as well. Of course my manuals do not have anything on the Lott or Rigby.

I have a bit of rl 17 RL15 Imr4350 Imr4831 looks like 4064 & 3031 are too fast for it.

I think 400 or 410 grain is what I will be using , so will see what works good in this rifle.

 

[matt85]

Best bullet ive ever used in a 416 is the 300gr TSX. Over 81.5gr of H4895 in a 416 RM i get an average of 2700fps and 1 MOA accuracy from my Win M70. I would use this load for anything that called for an expanding bullet.

As mentioned above, if your going 400gr lead bullets then Swift A-frame is your best choice.

-matt

 

[Nhoro]

My brother uses Hornady DGS ammo in his 416 Rigby. He is happy with them. 12 elephant to his name so I reckon they work although some will tell you different !

I use Peregrine VRG2 in my Lott. Solid copper with flat nose.Also good bullets although you may struggle to find them (they are made in SA.) But I would recommend North Fork and GS customs if you can get them and they will feed in your rifle. If those flat noses don't feed then Woodleigh solids are great.

Softs- I don't really have much experience but I would use Swift A-Frame happily. Currently trialing some Peregrine expanding copper bullets with a plunger expansion thingy. But again, I doubt you could get them.

 

[Spooksar]

Your in Canada check out Tradex for Woodliegh. Most of the other brands are hard to find in Northern Alberta so I’ve been using Woodlieghs for awhile. Worked good on Buffalo and Elephant plus a lot of smaller game.

 

[Rum Runner]

I own a CZ 550 in a .416 Rigby too. A fantastic gun, fantastic cartridge, and a fantastic safari last year.

Here's a link to the process I went through to work up a (deadly!) load: https://www.africahunting.com/threads/velocity-issue.47020/

 

[machinistbutler]

Nice thread rum runner ! I have a bunch of imr 4831, imr 4350 and some RL17 i will try.


@Spooksar i have a few boxes of the woodleigh coming from tradex. The rifle and Barnes 400 grain arrived yesterday. I am looking forward to putting some loads together.

I took a beauty Belgium Browning 375 to work this trip , it works very well. A bit more recoil than my .cz375, but noticably less than the 458 win and Lott.

Nhoro I haven't seen any of the peregrine bullets for sale here in canada yet. They look very nice though.

 

[Professor Mawla]

Expanding bullet for reloading
400 grain Rhino solid shank
One piece construction bullet for reloading
400 grain Northfork meplat solid
Full metal jacket bullet for reloading
410 grain Woodleigh steel jacketed solid
Expanding factory loaded bullet
400 grain Nosler Partition
One piece construction factory loaded bullet
400 grain Nosler Safari solid
Full metal jacket factory loaded bullet
410 grain Hornady DGS

 

[Rum Runner]

Here is a pic of two bullets retrieved from my second buffalo. The buffalo was running, and the PH and I both shot. As it turned out, my first bullet went through two small trees, then hit the buffalo sideways

in the neck ...killing him instantly. That's the swift A-Frame (400 gr) bullet on the right. The bullet on the left is a Barnes solid (400 gr., a follow up shot). The PH got him in nearly the exact same spot. Amazing how much power the .416 has...

 

[ldmay375]

I don’t have a 416 Rigby. But, do have 416 Ruger and Remington. The 350 grain Barnes TSX is my choice for moose and likely anything in North America. I do want try the Tipped versions also.

Have a CZ 416 Rigby on its way. Bullet selection seems to be a bit more scarce than bullets for my 458.

I ordered some Barnes 400 grain TSX. I can also order 410 grain woodleigh sp . I found one place that has a couple boxes of the swift aframe that I know are highly recommended.

For solids in it I can order nosler solids, woodleigh fmj , and one place has twenty, and only twenty of the hydros.

Factory ammo available is Norma for approx $300 for 20. Hornady dgx available for approx 140 a box. I may get some Hornady just to have some extra brass.

I will be using the rifle for practice and maybe a moose, bear, deer hunt . I haven't decided yet if I will use this one or my CZ in 458 Lott if I am ever fortunate enough to do a buffalo hunt. I have used a cz 375 for many years, so I am very familiar with the rifle ,I will just have to get used to the heavier recoil in the Rigby and the Lott.

I just noticed another Rigby thread just below this one, apologies. I should read a bit more before I post first thing in the morning.

Any info on the woodleigh sorts ,solids or the nosler solids would still be appreciated!

Thanks for any input

Craig in Canada

 

[machinistbutler]

Fired some of the Hornady factory 400 gr Dgx. More brass came in , so I can start making up some loads. Have a couple hundred of the woodleigh 400 gr, and a bunch of the Barnes 400 gr so far.

Seems like loads will work with imr 4831 or imr 4350. Have a fair bit of each on hand so will try those.powders first.

Rifle was good fun to shoot. Kicks a bit more than my 375 H&H, and less than 500 grain factory loads in the Lott. Similar recoil to some 400 grain loads in the Lott .

Thanks for the replies so far!

Craig

 

[PeteG]

My brother uses Hornady DGS ammo in his 416 Rigby. He is happy with them. 12 elephant to his name so I reckon they work although some will tell you different !

I use Peregrine VRG2 in my Lott. Solid copper with flat nose.Also good bullets although you may struggle to find them (they are made in SA.) But I would recommend North Fork and GS customs if you can get them and they will feed in your rifle. If those flat noses don't feed then Woodleigh solids are great.

Softs- I don't really have much experience but I would use Swift A-Frame happily. Currently trialing some Peregrine expanding copper bullets with a plunger expansion thingy. But again, I doubt you could get them.

+1 on the peregrines.
I use them in my 416rigby
The vrg1 solid brass and the vrg3 expanding copper.
they are very good, I have no need to look for any alternative.

 

[Nhoro]

+1 on the peregrines.
I use them in my 416rigby
The vrg1 solid brass and the vrg3 expanding copper.
they are very good, I have no need to look for any alternative.

My two boys insisted we dig in the bank at the range to find some bullets after I had been shooting at a target. So they got a stick and dug. Then they got tired and made me dig. So we went about 10-12" into a loose shale rock/gravel bank until we found three bullets.Front all mashed up but 100 % weight retention on the VRG-2 copper solids.

 

[Neil Molendyk]

I am curious, Did you find your bullets? I know that in Alberta it can be a challenge.

 

[Luvthunt]

I am using IMR 4350 and Swift Aframes with North Fork FNS in my 416 Rigby.

 

[jwp475]

I like 350 grain TSX or TTSX in mine, 350 grain flat point mono solids will get the job done.

 

[machinistbutler]

I worked up some loads with the Woodleigh 410 grain and the swift 400 grain. They both shot very well!

I wound up with a disease called the Double Rifle bug, 2021 variant. It caused me to neglect some rifles and work on 470 loads for a while, then I stumbled into a beautiful 308 Norma Magnum so I worked getting it set up .

Hopefully can get back to the Rigby and the Lott this winter!

These forums are hard on ones wallet.