416 Rigby Reloads

[Graham Hunter]

So my buddy and "I were shooting his new 416 Rigby in a CZ 550. We started with Hornady DGX & DGS. Both shot about 1.5" @ 100yds. Then we went to his reloads. Nosler 400gr with RL22 and "IMR 4350. 2 powder weights of each. Loads were well within spec and popular loads. Had a hard time keeping them to 3". Then the last was Federal with the 400 gr. A frame. 3 shots over lapping. Any suggestions other than shoot factory A frames at a criminal price. I have a 416 Rem. and it shoots most everything very well!

 

[John J]

I would start load work up from scratch and see what the rifle likes. I'm my experience there is a sweet spot where the groups will shrink then open up with powder charge. Find the sweet spot and go hunting.

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

So my buddy and "I were shooting his new 416 Rigby in a CZ 550. We started with Hornady DGX & DGS. Both shot about 1.5" @ 100yds. Then we went to his reloads. Nosler 400gr with RL22 and "IMR 4350. 2 powder weights of each. Loads were well within spec and popular loads. Had a hard time keeping them to 3". Then the last was Federal with the 400 gr. A frame. 3 shots over lapping. Any suggestions other than shoot factory A frames at a criminal price. I have a 416 Rem. and it shoots most everything very well!

H4831 and the CZ I had went together like melted butter and popcorn. One of the easiest load developments I’ve had.

 

[Graham Hunter]

Could you give me your load with overall length

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

Could you give me your load with overall length

SAAMI length and somewhere around 105-106gr of powder. Stupidly accurate, but a whopper in recoil too. As always, start low and work up to that.

 

[Graham Hunter]

So 3.75 and H4831 or H4831SC

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

So 3.75 and H4831 or H4831SC

I used SC, but don’t think it makes a difference. On the length if that’s SAAMI then yes, don’t have a manual in front of me.

 

[Neil Molendyk]

I used the same setup last June on a buff and plains game hunt, CZ 550 Safari, worked up loads using Hornady DGX and DGS to zero the rifle and practice, probably 75 rounds. Off the bench was a proper bitch with recoil until I got smarter and used the LeadSled. I switched to Swift A Frame and Swift Breakaway solids, both 400gr, for the hunt. I think that the muzzle velocity was in the neighborhood of 2350 fps. One thing became immediately apparent between the Hornady and Swift bullets, when loaded to the exact same cartridge length, when trying to put 4 cartridges in the magazine, the Hornadys would not feed up the ramp into the breech (both DGS and DGX) whereas the Swifts (A Frame and Breakaway Solids) fed without a hitch. I suspect it was to do with the profile of the bullets themselves. The Swifts were accurate enough for hunting and worked flawlessly, no pressure issues and when hunting the recoil was unnoticeable, offhand and on the sticks. Adrenalin works wonders. The load in grains for the Swifts was considerably less than the Hornadys but the point of impact was almost identical. I managed to get the Swift softs and solids to shoot to the identical spot and I was very impressed in their performance on the animals I harvested. Bill Hober, President of Swift bullets suggested to me at SCI that the load for the Breakaway solids should be 2 grains less than the A Frames to have the same point of impact, he was right on. I can get the load I used to you tomorrow when I get back to my gun room.

 

[Graham Hunter]

Great that would be appreciated

 

[Rule 303]

I use 96 or 98 grains of AR2209 (H414/H4350) 410 grain Woodleight Soft Point and 400grain Hydrostatics. Both shoot to same point of impact out to 100mts. I have not grouped past this distance. Groups under an inch. Crimp on crimping grove.

96 grains gives me 2400 fps for the Softs and 2500 for the Hydros, 98 grains 2209 gives me 2450 fps for the soft and 2550 for the hydros and a slightly tighter group than the 96 grain load.

I'd steer clear of H4831 or H4831SC unless you like recoil. These kick as hard as the the Hornady factory loads ( these are 100fps slower than my home loads) which is noticeably harder than the AR2209.

This is in a CZ550 416 Rigby

 

[Neil Molendyk]

Here is the load data I used on my CZ 550 416 Rigby in Africa June 2018

Norma Brass (new for the hunt, up to 3 reloads per case developing the load and practice loads)

CCI 250 primers

400 grain Swift A Frame with 87 gr IMR 435o

400 gr Swift Breakaway Solid with 85 gr IMR 4350

3.625 cartridge overall length

No crimp on case

Note: Swift Reloading manual indicates 87 gr of IMR 4350 as their maximum load

400gr A Frame recovered weight 398.4gr
400gr Breakaway solid recovered weight 395.6 to 398 gr

 

[MikeDeltaFoxtrot]

I am surprised you didn’t need to crimp. Have you had any problems with your bullets slipping forward in the case under recoil for the rounds in the magazine?

 

[Neil Molendyk]

no,nothing noticeable on the movement under recoil. I didn't see any movement when building up my loads either so I thought the crimp wouldn't be necessary. Maybe I to lucky or maybe its a tight die.