New member from Kentucky

Welcome to AH KentuckyWindage!
 
Welcome to AH from a fellow Kentuckian. Lots of great information available from very knowledgeable hunters on the site.
 
Hey guys, I’m new to AH and am planning a trip to South Africa in the next few years. I’m currently building a rifle on an old Mauser action for dangerous and plains game in .416 Taylor. If anyone has experience with shooting and reloading this round let me know!

Hi @KentuckyWindage ...

I embarked on a similar project a few years back and built a 416 Taylor on a Brazilian Mauser action. It was a fun project and the end result was a very nice DG rifle that I really enjoy shooting.

I toyed around with a couple of different powders and projectiles.. but ultimately settled on IMR 4064 pushing a 400gr Barnes TSX at about 2325 fps (similar velocity to many common 416 Rigby loads)..

Ive got 50 pieces of norma 416 Taylor head stamped brass that I'll use when I take the rifle to Africa (considering taking it this july for cape buff cow..).. and another 200+ pieces of different 458 Win Mag head stamped brass that I have resized to 416 Taylor....

I screwed up a few pieces of the 458 WM brass when resizing.. I should have lubed better and just taken more time.. but overall the task of resizing wasn't difficult or a big deal... and at the time I had a guy at a range in Virginia that was selling me once fired 458 WM brass for a really good price.. So I bought all he had both times he contacted me to let me know he had some on hand..

My rifle shoots norma factory ammo well.. and shoots the barnes handloads mentioned above exceptionally well (1" or smaller groups at 50 yards all day long from sticks)...

I'd recommend watching the norma site pretty closely.. a couple of times a year they will put several big bore calibers of their "African PH" ammo on a pretty good sale.. To my knowledge they are the only large(er) scale manufacturer that loads for the 416 Taylor anymore.. and I think they are now only loading their 375 gr solids for it... BUT.. when they go on sale I've been able to pick them up for about $50 for a box of 10.. that's where Ive gotten my head stamped brass from (and Im still sitting on another 5 boxes of loaded solids as well that will produce additional head stamped brass)..
 

just checked ammoseek... they have the 10 count boxes on clearance right now for $48...

I'm half tempted to pick up 3 or 4 more boxes at that price.. just so I have it for future use.. most places you'll pay anywhere from $2-$5 per piece of head stamped 416 Taylor brass.. if I can get loaded ammo for the same money from Norma... Im all in...
 

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Welcome to AH from down the road
 
Welcome to AH and the posting side! This forum has a wealth of information from some highly knowledgeable folks, enjoy!
 
Hello KentuckyWindage,

Khomas Highland Safaris of Namibia, welcomes you to the greatest forum on earth.

Have a look at our web site when you get a spare minute.
No matter if you book with us at Khomas Safaris or someone else, myself and plenty of other forum members here will be glad to answer any Safari related questions that you might ask.

Alas, I have zero experience with the .416 Taylor cartridge.
However, I have read about it and of course, it reportedly performs similar to the Rigby and the Remington .416’s do.
With that, it should be a very fine buffalo getter for you.

Best Regards,
Velo Dog.
 
Welcome Kentuckywindage, sounds like a great plan. Building a rifle especially for the trip adds to the sniff.
 
Welcome to the best forum in the world!
 
Hey guys, I’m new to AH and am planning a trip to South Africa in the next few years. I’m currently building a rifle on an old Mauser action for dangerous and plains game in .416 Taylor. If anyone has experience with shooting and reloading this round let me know!
welcome welcome welcome

no experience building rifles, but lots on hunting in SA
any questions feel free to ask
 

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