Anyone else use their 416 on Plains Game?

[SFRanger7GP]

Any photos of your 275 and 416 Rigby? What a nice combination.

Will do when I get back to Texas in a couple weeks

 

[BourbonTrail]

..you been out here poaching again when I was in town?....

All I hear is “Save up for that sable, and when Mike’s on a gin run, tip Pete really well”

 

[Robmill70]

6.5 man bun

I assume you mean the 6.5 Creedmoor hunters? Or are you lumping all 6.5mm in there? lol

 

[CD24]

I use a 416Ruger on small southern whitetails and it works quite well. It makes much less of a mess than the standard deer rounds. I think you'll be just fine.

 

[Berettaco]

If that’s the rifle you want to use - take it. Last trip I took a 270 and 404J. None of the PG knew the difference - I was shooting 400 gr Aframes in the 404J and On smaller PG there didn’t seem to be enough resistance to open the bullet - about the same size entry and exit. I was hunting buff and a few things popped out and the 404 is what I had in my hands. My PH actually encouraged me to shoot everything with the 404… guess he’s also of the “use enough gun” mindset.
The 270 performed great with 150gr Aframes - I preferred to hunt with that because of the same reasons others have listed - mainly weight of the rifle. We were on foot most of the day and in the hills/mountains a 11lb rifle gets old quick

 

[Robmill70]

If that’s the rifle you want to use - take it. Last trip I took a 270 and 404J. None of the PG knew the difference - I was shooting 400 gr Aframes in the 404J and On smaller PG there didn’t seem to be enough resistance to open the bullet - about the same size entry and exit. I was hunting buff and a few things popped out and the 404 is what I had in my hands. My PH actually encouraged me to shoot everything with the 404… guess he’s also of the “use enough gun” mindset.
The 270 performed great with 150gr Aframes - I preferred to hunt with that because of the same reasons others have listed - mainly weight of the rifle. We were on foot most of the day and in the hills/mountains a 11lb rifle gets old quick

When I lived in Germany the Forestmeister always wanted me to use the biggest rifle I had, even on Roebuck! "I have my 308 and 300 magnum, which one you want me to use?" without hesitation, "300 magnum!"

 

[chashardy]

For my hunt in July last year I took my new 416 Rigby Big Game and my Chapuis 375H&H double. I used the Rigby on cape buffalo, roan and golden wildebeest and the Chapuis on a huge nyala, a white blesbok and a warthog. Both rifles are pretty flexible depending on how thick the bush is and how far the shot is. The 416 is fine for plains game with the Leupold VX6HD 1-6 red dot scope. One shot on both the roan and the golden wildebeest at less than 100 yards.
I'm taking the same two rifles back in July this year to hunt in Limpopo for another buffalo and some plains game.

 

[PeteG]

..you been out here poaching again when I was in town?....

Patsy said i could...

 

[spike.t]

Patsy said i could...

Who.....OH
HA FKN HA!!!....

 

[mneilh]

I don’t have a .416, but I have found my Winchester M70 458 Win Mag @ 2,140 FPS (chronographed) with 500gr soft points, to flatten deer. Never seen them drop so quickly. Much better than those little mouse calibres like .30-06

 

[Bert the Turtle]

I’m not much for carrying a “battery” of rifles. With a proper sling, I’ve never found it tiresome to carry a dangerous game rifle in the field. I do find it tiresome to carry more than I have to through an airport.

I was perfectly happy to shoot plains game with my ‘06 until I shot a few zebras with my 404 while on a buffalo hunt. It doesn’t make them any more dead, but it kills them faster and it is overall more fun for me. Moods change and I imagine I’ll hunt with my ‘06 again, but there is a satisfaction in practicing enough that you can shoot a heavy rifle as well as a light rifle.

bottom line being take the 416 if you want, take only the 416, know what shots you are capable of and limit your shooting to those ranges. Otherwise, it is carrying a lot of extra weight through airports to perform what is basically a stunt that is disrespectful to the animals.

 

[Safari Dave]

My .416 works very well on plains game, as well as the big stuff.


I think a scoped .416 (with good detachable mounts, if you have to get into the very thick stuff), might be among the best for a one-rifle safari that includes DG.

 

[Warren Knudsen]

I'll be using my 416 Rigby scoped with a z61-6×24 ee in the zambizi delta for buffalo and some smaller species come August, at the moment its loaded with 410g woodleigh softs for the trip.

 

[MMAL]

Last safari I used my 500/416 double on pg and had a blast. Yes maybe you don’t take the shot at 150 but what you do is make a plan to get to within 100 yards. Now that I have been a couple of times it is more about the stalk and getting close that the kill and trophy. My 2 cents

 

[Dakota Hunter]

I have used a 416 Rigby to take Lioness,Eland,Gemsbok,Wildebeest and Wart Hogs. It will do the job and hits hard on the larger antelope like Eland and Gemsbok !

 

[CAustin]

Anyone else use their 416 on PG? (non-DG animals). Only doing PG on my next trip, but thought about bringing my 416 RM along.....

In a word Yes

 

[Green Chile]

I have used a 416 Rigby to take Lioness,Eland,Gemsbok,Wildebeest and Wart Hogs. It will do the job and hits hard on the larger antelope like Eland and Gemsbok !

I'm curious about your lioness experience with the 416...or said the other way, your PG experience while hunting with the 416. Did you happen to have it in your hands and make it work for PG or did you specifically take the 416 for everything. I've thought about taking my 416 Rigby (or even a 375 H&H) next time and letting it roll on everything for a 1 gun safari. I've also thought about taking 2 of the same rifle caliber and having one as a backup. I've never broken a rifle on a hunt but it can happen.

 

[Dakota Hunter]

I planned on using the 416 for a one gun battery in advance. It worked fine with the 400 grain DGX bullets I used but I recently picked up some 350 grain Barnes TSX that should shoot a little flatter and be more versatile .

 

[meigsbucks]

On my first safari to Zimbabwe, I took,a .375 H&H and a .416 Ruger as I wanted whatever rifle I had to be buffalo capable. I shot eight animals with the .416 and only three with the .375. A bushbuck at ~160 yds and an impala at ~180 yds, both taken with the .375, were the only “long” shots and the .416 would have been fine for those with a little holdover.

 

[Green Chile]

On my first safari to Zimbabwe, I took,a .375 H&H and a .416 Ruger as I wanted whatever rifle I had to be buffalo capable. I shot eight animals with the .416 and only three with the .375. A bushbuck at ~160 yds and an impala at ~180 yds, both taken with the .375, were the only “long” shots and the .416 would have been fine for those with a little holdover.

I feel the same if DG is on the menu. Take one or two guns suitable for anything. I'm not sure if you can take two of the same caliber...I was recently told that wasn't legal but I've never heard that before?