Question for .416 Hoffman Owners

[Kynadog]

I have a couple of questions for the .416 Hoffman owners out there. Do you notice reduced velocity or accuracy issues when you shoot .416 Rem Mag ammo through your gun? Anyone had reliability issues when doing so? Also, given the rarity of brass headstamped .416 Hoffman, would you be worried about traveling with ammo that is not head stamped the same as the gun?

Thanks in advance.

 

[DLSJR]

I’m not much help as I’ve never shot .416 Remington ammo in my Hoffman, even though I know I can. Fortunately, I’ve always had a decent stock of .416 Hoffman brass. You can usually get 416 Hoffman headstamped brass by calling Pete at Quality Cartridge. I’ve found it to be good brass. He’s a good guy and service has been reliable. qual-cart.com

How’re you set for load data?

 

[Kynadog]

I could use some load data if you have it handy. I’ll be shooting 400gr. A-frames and 430 gr Northfork SS and CupPoints, but whatever you have would be helpful.

 

[DLSJR]

The load I currently shoot (and which I like a lot) is 79.0 grains of Reloader 15, Federal 215 primer, Quality Cartridge brass and a 400 grain bullet. I’ve loaded Barnes TSX, Trophy Bonded Bearclaw, Swift A Frame and Cutting Edge solids. I get 2,400+ (2,400-2,410) in my rifle and all those group together, so hopefully you’d see similar results. With just TSX, I get groups at 0.80” with that load.

I also got a load directly from Jack Carter (founder of Trophy Bonded Bullets) back in 1988 that he really liked in his Hoffman. Jack suggested 81.0 grains of Reloader 15, Federal 215 primer and a 400 grain Bearclaw. That load gives me 2,510. I can still remember Jack telling me “It’s a hell of a good buffalo killing load.” He was right, it IS a great buffalo killing load. But so is my current load at 2,400 and it’s more pleasant to shoot.

I haven’t experimented with any other loads as both of those work very well.

 

[Kynadog]

Thank you. This is very helpful. It's interesting that those loads are very close (almost identical) the loads I use in my .416 Rem Mag.

 

[DLSJR]

Thank you. This is very helpful. It's interesting that those loads are very close (almost identical) the loads I use in my .416 Rem Mag.

The cartridge dimensions of the Hoffman and Remington are very close. The only difference I’m aware of is that the shoulder on the Hoffman is very slightly forward of the Remington. Like 1/16th of an inch or something close to that.

That’s why you can shoot Remington ammo in a Hoffman chamber but cannot shoot Hoffman ammo in a Remington chamber.