Purchased my first DG Rifle

1. Caliber- I read a lot. Although a lot of people swear by the .375, some people out there say it lacks punch. It lacks punch specifically at certain angles. Some stated you don't want to take a Buf facing you with a 375. Then I considered a .458 Lott. I read about that and read a couple instances where .458s refused to fire or refused to eject and load a 2nd round properly when cycling the bolt. Plus, the kick is downright painful. Next I researched the .416 Rigby. Maybe because I am in the middle of Reading Ruark's Horn of the Hunter - I felt something "romantic" about taking a Cape Buf with a .416 Rigby. It even sounds royal, right? So, I read about it, and it was all good. Everybody, universally, was praising the .416 Rigby. The bottom line was "dependable".
2. Which Rifle- Of course I would love an actual Rigby Company Rigby, but we are talking 30-50K and up, so that was out for this Retired Army guy. Then I learned that there are basically 2 types of .416 Rigby Rifles. Modifieds (Customs) and Originals. As far as the modifieds go the 2 main platforms are Winchester Model 70s and CZ-550s. This is where a Gunmaker takes an existing rifle and "modifies" it to shoot the .416 Rigby. They dig out the magazine well larger, they beef up the stock so it can handle the recoil, they replace the extractor, etc. These guns are usually beautiful as these custom gunmakers will use fancy stocks, engrave it, and use gold accents, etc. The pro with these guns is that they are super pretty to look at. But I read that so much depends on who customized that particular rifle. They stressed going with a gunsmith that you know and trust. Or buying one that was done by someone who is renown. Apparently, the biggest problem is the .416 Rigby requires a HUGE extractor to grab and eject the spent cartridge effectively so that the next one loads properly. So, all these custom modifications involve upsizing that extractor. The con with these rifles is that you have to really hope the guy who did it did a good job and when you pull the trigger it goes bang and nothing breaks because, after all, the original platform was not intended for the .416 Rigby.
   Then you have your originals. These are guns that were made to shoot the .416 Rigby from the beginning. No modifications from the factory. The Pro on these is dependability. Probably won't fail because they were intended to shoot this round. The con is that they are not quite as beautiful. They look much more "utilitarian". No scrolling, no fancy custom select wood in superior grade, no gold accents etc.

migrabill said:

I have a Cape Buffalo hunt in 2028. The original plan was to rent a gun from my PH but after some thought, and the necessary encouragement from you guys (Thanks!?), I decided it would be cool to own the rifle I took my first Buf with. So then I had 2 decisions to make - 1) What Caliber and 2) What Rifle.

Please keep in mind this is just MY opinion. I know there are varying opinions; this is just my 2 cents.

1. Caliber- I read a lot. Although a lot of people swear by the .375, some people out there say it lacks punch. It lacks punch specifically at certain angles. Some stated you don't want to take a Buf facing you with a 375. Then I considered a .458 Lott. I read about that and read a couple instances where .458s refused to fire or refused to eject and load a 2nd round properly when cycling the bolt. Plus, the kick is downright painful. Next I researched the .416 Rigby. Maybe because I am in the middle of Reading Ruark's Horn of the Hunter - I felt something "romantic" about taking a Cape Buf with a .416 Rigby. It even sounds royal, right? So, I read about it, and it was all good. Everybody, universally, was praising the .416 Rigby. The bottom line was "dependable".
2. Which Rifle- Of course I would love an actual Rigby Company Rigby, but we are talking 30-50K and up, so that was out for this Retired Army guy. Then I learned that there are basically 2 types of .416 Rigby Rifles. Modifieds (Customs) and Originals. As far as the modifieds go the 2 main platforms are Winchester Model 70s and CZ-550s. This is where a Gunmaker takes an existing rifle and "modifies" it to shoot the .416 Rigby. They dig out the magazine well larger, they beef up the stock so it can handle the recoil, they replace the extractor, etc. These guns are usually beautiful as these custom gunmakers will use fancy stocks, engrave it, and use gold accents, etc. The pro with these guns is that they are super pretty to look at. But I read that so much depends on who customized that particular rifle. They stressed going with a gunsmith that you know and trust. Or buying one that was done by someone who is renown. Apparently, the biggest problem is the .416 Rigby requires a HUGE extractor to grab and eject the spent cartridge effectively so that the next one loads properly. So, all these custom modifications involve upsizing that extractor. The con with these rifles is that you have to really hope the guy who did it did a good job and when you pull the trigger it goes bang and nothing breaks because, after all, the original platform was not intended for the .416 Rigby.
   Then you have your originals. These are guns that were made to shoot the .416 Rigby from the beginning. No modifications from the factory. The Pro on these is dependability. Probably won't fail because they were intended to shoot this round. The con is that they are not quite as beautiful. They look much more "utilitarian". No scrolling, no fancy custom select wood in superior grade, no gold accents etc.

Then I went and looked at guns that were actually for sale. I found a Pre 64 Winchester Model 70 that was customized by Sterling Davenport (who apparently IS world renown). It is gorgeous.
Then I found a Dakota Arms 76 African in .416 Rigby. It was sold new by Hendershots in Hancock Maryland in 2005. It was purchased for a Cape Buffalo hunt in South Africa. It made the trip across the pond; it was successful, and then it was stored away for years until recently when the owner sold it back to Hendershots in Hancock, Maryland!

I considered both. In the end, dependability won out over beauty. If I chose the .416 Rigby because of its dependability, I wanted to keep that thought alive with an equally dependable platform. If I fire that first round and that Buf charges, I need to know that I will be able to eject that cartridge, load another, and fire at breakneck speed. If your rifle doesn't load properly for a second shot on a kudu or zebra, nobody dies. DG is another matter. I also had to research Dakota firearms as I was not super familiar with them. And I will tell you it is hard to find anything out there negative about those guys. Everybody that has one loves them.

So.. Hendershots has sold the gun for a second time. This time to me! It will be topped with a Zeiss Conquest V6 1-6x24 with the illuminated reticle.

Click to expand...

migrabill said:

I have a Cape Buffalo hunt in 2028. The original plan was to rent a gun from my PH but after some thought, and the necessary encouragement from you guys (Thanks!?), I decided it would be cool to own the rifle I took my first Buf with. So then I had 2 decisions to make - 1) What Caliber and 2) What Rifle.

Please keep in mind this is just MY opinion. I know there are varying opinions; this is just my 2 cents.

1. Caliber- I read a lot. Although a lot of people swear by the .375, some people out there say it lacks punch. It lacks punch specifically at certain angles. Some stated you don't want to take a Buf facing you with a 375. Then I considered a .458 Lott. I read about that and read a couple instances where .458s refused to fire or refused to eject and load a 2nd round properly when cycling the bolt. Plus, the kick is downright painful. Next I researched the .416 Rigby. Maybe because I am in the middle of Reading Ruark's Horn of the Hunter - I felt something "romantic" about taking a Cape Buf with a .416 Rigby. It even sounds royal, right? So, I read about it, and it was all good. Everybody, universally, was praising the .416 Rigby. The bottom line was "dependable".
2. Which Rifle- Of course I would love an actual Rigby Company Rigby, but we are talking 30-50K and up, so that was out for this Retired Army guy. Then I learned that there are basically 2 types of .416 Rigby Rifles. Modifieds (Customs) and Originals. As far as the modifieds go the 2 main platforms are Winchester Model 70s and CZ-550s. This is where a Gunmaker takes an existing rifle and "modifies" it to shoot the .416 Rigby. They dig out the magazine well larger, they beef up the stock so it can handle the recoil, they replace the extractor, etc. These guns are usually beautiful as these custom gunmakers will use fancy stocks, engrave it, and use gold accents, etc. The pro with these guns is that they are super pretty to look at. But I read that so much depends on who customized that particular rifle. They stressed going with a gunsmith that you know and trust. Or buying one that was done by someone who is renown. Apparently, the biggest problem is the .416 Rigby requires a HUGE extractor to grab and eject the spent cartridge effectively so that the next one loads properly. So, all these custom modifications involve upsizing that extractor. The con with these rifles is that you have to really hope the guy who did it did a good job and when you pull the trigger it goes bang and nothing breaks because, after all, the original platform was not intended for the .416 Rigby.
   Then you have your originals. These are guns that were made to shoot the .416 Rigby from the beginning. No modifications from the factory. The Pro on these is dependability. Probably won't fail because they were intended to shoot this round. The con is that they are not quite as beautiful. They look much more "utilitarian". No scrolling, no fancy custom select wood in superior grade, no gold accents etc.

Then I went and looked at guns that were actually for sale. I found a Pre 64 Winchester Model 70 that was customized by Sterling Davenport (who apparently IS world renown). It is gorgeous.
Then I found a Dakota Arms 76 African in .416 Rigby. It was sold new by Hendershots in Hancock Maryland in 2005. It was purchased for a Cape Buffalo hunt in South Africa. It made the trip across the pond; it was successful, and then it was stored away for years until recently when the owner sold it back to Hendershots in Hancock, Maryland!

I considered both. In the end, dependability won out over beauty. If I chose the .416 Rigby because of its dependability, I wanted to keep that thought alive with an equally dependable platform. If I fire that first round and that Buf charges, I need to know that I will be able to eject that cartridge, load another, and fire at breakneck speed. If your rifle doesn't load properly for a second shot on a kudu or zebra, nobody dies. DG is another matter. I also had to research Dakota firearms as I was not super familiar with them. And I will tell you it is hard to find anything out there negative about those guys. Everybody that has one loves them.

So.. Hendershots has sold the gun for a second time. This time to me! It will be topped with a Zeiss Conquest V6 1-6x24 with the illuminated reticle.

Click to expand...

Ontario Hunter said:

I'm not sure what you mean by a special heavy duty extractor needed for 416 Rigby. The receiver channel for magnum rifle is the same thickness and width as channel for standard action and the bolt diameters are the same. The extractors are the same except magnum are longer ... which does not make them necessarily stronger. The extractor claw needs to be reshaped to accept the wider rim of 416 Rigby. I built a 404 Jeffery on an 8mm military Czech Mauser. I modified that military extractor and bolt face to accept the much larger 404 rim. Same standard action can be modified to handle 375 H&H and 416 Rigby (though latter is pushing the limit in my opinion). Not entirely sure but I believe Dakota built their 416 Rigby rifles on magnum length actions which are longer than standard actions but not necessarily beefier.

At any rate, you found a dandy DGR. Did you try shooting 416 Rigby before settling on that cartridge? I chose 404 because it is supposed to deliver substantial punch with reasonable recoil. Frankly, it dishes out as much kick as I can tolerate. I killed both of my buffalo with rented 375 H&H and surprisingly light bullets. Much more pleasant to shoot and really did a number on the buff. The only reason I didn't build one of my own is it requires more modification of receiver for longer cartridge. 404 fits in a standard action without cutting into locking ring or changing the ejector.

Click to expand...