416 vs 458 Indecision

[John Telford]

don’t have any left! I pulled them all after only getting 2100 on the chronograph! I wasn’t comfortable letting my assistant PH shoot with this as we were hunting elephant.
Believe me it was a great shock to discover clumped powder. I then took it up with Pierre van der Walt who smiled wryly and says it’s the reason he developed the .450 African in the 90’s. You need to really press the juice into a Lott case to send a 500gr solid. Remember a mono metal solid takes more space. It’s also the reason I promptly bought a .450 Rigby….

Really? OK, can you show us this clumped up loads in 458 Lott! As they would be the first ever shown in the history of the

 

[intj]

Sounds like you have made up your mind regardless what any input is given which is fine, so just get that 416!

Exactly, we’ve all seen the videos and read the stories were a 500NE and a 416 pump 8 rounds into a Buff charge and he still gores a PH or Client!

The only decisions I had made already are that I am going to optimize my M-70 in 416 Rem and that I am going to build a 458 Lott on my CZ 550 Magnum action.

My indecision is which is really a better elephant rifle. Conventional wisdom says the Lott, but actual evidence may show otherwise.

 

[intj]

I know it’s an example of one, but a good friend killed his bull elephant with a frontal brain shot with his 416 Remington using a 400 grain solid.

This was on video, and it looked like the ground was jerked underneath the bull.

Then I shot a large buffalo bull in the chest with a single 400 grain A frame, he ran a few yards and fell over stone dead. No finisher necessary. Then a buddy did the same thing on 2 bulls with his 416 Remington using 400 grain Bearclaws.

Meanwhile we killed an assortment of plains game out to 300 yards with the same rifles.

Our PH friend in Zimbabwe seeing these kind of results with Model 70s in 416 bought one, and said it kills as well his 470.

He ordered a 500 nitro Heym because he thinks you have to go to a 500 to get better performance on game than a 416. He said he only did this because he does a lot of elephant hunts.

Clearly today, there are more PHs armed with 458s, but there are some who still rely on 416s with total confidence.

My one buffalo kill makes me think the same thing. I'll see if I can't find a way to post the video of the bullet impact. The 400 SAF hit him hard and he hunched up and bucked like a hard hit deer or elk. The only reason I put more rounds into him is because I could. They were not needed.

 

[intj]

Part of the fun of prepping for Safari is fitting out the rifles for the trip. Build and shoot both and take the one you shoot the best. You already know that either will do the job. When I first began, I wanted a 416 Rigby. I ended up finding a nice FN Browning Safari Grade in 375HH that matched my 308 and made a great pair. Later, I bought a 458WM but have had to wait until ATF approves its import into the USA. Still waiting. This year, I found a lovely custom ER Shaw Pattern 14 Enfield. It is beautiful and shoots better than my FN and will be my go-to on the next trip. This is part of the fun. I will spend weeks/months testing, fitting scopes and re-testing. Trying loads at various distances to verify my dope for longer shots (mostly with the smaller guns), etc. It is a blast.

That is the exact reason I made this thread. A big part of the trip is planning, discussion, building the rifle, working up the load, and honing shooting skills.