I realize that this forum leans strongly towards handguns with a fair degree of enthusiasm for 45/70 class rifles,etc but I'm curious to know if anyone else here has a passion for the heavies and semi-heavies.The 375 H&H does not count as it's a medium rifle.Neither do reduced loads with anything.The minimum would be the 458 Win Mag and 416 Rigby class.

Just curious.

This thread is not out of place in the Reloading sub forum because it's within the context of handloading in which I ask.

I do!
I load for the .404 Jeffery, and the .458 Lott/Win. both.
I have loaded a ton for the .416 Rem too.

Haven't done it in a while, but I have loaded for .416 Rigby. Still have dies and components.

Canoe: I load for my .416 Taylor (.458 mag necked down). I use my hard cast bullets. My rifle is a post '64 Win. Model 70 with a ss Schneider barrel. I built the rifle just for grins and giggles. So far haven't shot anything but 5 gallon buckets of water......spectacular! ..... Big Cholla

Does .50 BMG & 20mm x 138B count?

They're heavy... the .50 around 35 pounds and the Lahti closer to 100.

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I load for my .458 Lott and am laying in supplies for a being built .450 Nitro Express 3 1/4 inch.

.416 Remington Mag that I reload for. I'm to cheap to buy factory loads for it.

My gunsmith son has a custom 416, he took a 51" Idaho moose with it, my youngest son recently built a 375 Chey-Tac, last week, after shooting the rifle all summer & fall took a buck at a lasered 807 yds, one shot using a 300 gr Sierra & I believe 134 grs of Rutumbo.

Dick

I load for the .458 Win. It's a very versatile caliber, you can do anything from pipsqueaks to elephant (none in my neighborhood lately) busters. Mine is a Ruger No. 1 with pretty wood that I would never get rid of, I've had it for 32 yrs. Don

.500 x 3" Express. ,, John Rigby & Co. D/R
Pachyderm population pretty scant here too..so it's just a fun plinker.

405 Winchester in a Ruger #1

Yes. Sako Mannlicher Carbine 375 H&H, Ruger #1 416 Rigby

Chief

375 h&h,404 jeffery, 416 rigby, 425 express, 458winchester. 458 lott, 460 weatherby, used to load for 470 nitro and 500 nitro but no longer. used to shoot them a bunch. best loading manual for big cartridges is the one from a-square.

Have and load for a 460 Weatherby. Have not shot it in years. Need to get it out and play around with it some.

I load for my .45-120 Sharps. Took first place in the Oregon State SASS side match for long range single shot rifle with it this past June.

Fred

This is gratifying.I thought I might be the only lunatic here.I'm a bit surprised at the response.It's greater than I expected.This is a reloading forum and as far as I know,there's no rule excluding heavy rifle load data.The most I've seen here is for light and medium rifles.

Just as a reminder,medium rifle loads (375 H&H included)don't qualify.Neither do reduced loads in any caliber.Minimum power is full throttle 458 Win Mag and 416 Rigby class of cartridges.These are not true heavies but they get near enough.The 404 Jeffery is a bit light but it's considered sort of a heavy medium.(which I suppose brings it close enough.)

Canoe-

I know the original factory loads are fairly mild compared to a lot of other big bore cartridges, but the newer loads for the 404 are substantially more powerful. Lets notforget that it is the most popular elephant round in Africa either. It just hasn't got all the attention here like the .416 Rigby, mostly because of Robert Ruark's writings about Harry Selby and his .416 rigby.

If you handload for it as I do, you can easily surpass anything that can be done in the .416 Rem., in a modern made rifle. The .404 has (if I recall correctly from when I weighed their capcaities with water) about 8-10% greater case capacity then the .416, and works equally well with the exact same powders. RL-15 is the one to beat in both of these rounds for velocity, and accuracy. It's no trick to get well over 2500 FPS from my Jeffery with 400 grain bullets. That's about 5700 ft.lbs.

I had mine built several years ago on a Winchester M-70 CRF action that started life as a .416 Remington. It is very accurate!


I had my .458 Lott built almost 0 years ago by the late Dick Nickels out in Washington state. Some may know who he is, some won't, but he was one of the top re-bore experts in the country back before he passed, and built a lot of rifles for some very well known people. I had it built on an old pusf feed M-70 that started life as a .375 H&H.

If anyone else here has had a .458 Lott built at Ridgetop Sporting Goods in Washington State, I would really like to here from you. Your rifle was reamed with the chamber reamer that I bought from Clymer manufacturing here in MI, back when Dave Manson was still there, and gave it to Dick for doing the work. He hadn't ever done the Lott and was very happy to do it, but needed the reamer, so I gave it to him.

One can follow this argument at length by visiting ACCURATERELOADING.COM and going back a few years. Although the .416 Rigby is factory-loaded to very reasonable pressure levels, and can be mistakenly hot-rodded to much higher levels in most rifles, it is clear that the Jeffery is in the same league, at least in factory loads, which are about as fast as a sane man needs. The main advantage of the Rigby, aside from the name and the low pressure, is that .416 bullets are a little easier to come by in this country.

There is nothing wrong with a .404 Jeffery.

Now that Hornady is making brass, bullets, and ammo, and a few gun companies have tooled up to make the .404, it'll grow in popularity, and availability here too. The rounds feed through an action just like two pieces of wet glass rubbing together.....smoooooth.

reload and cast my own for a 458 winch mag BRNO ZKK 602

Heavy rifle depends on which side of the pond you are on. Here, anything over a 375h&h is a heavy rifle. In Africa, heavy rifles start @ 458winmag & go up. I used to load for the 458lott, sold it, too much gun for me. I have been loading & hunting w/ a 404jeffery now for about 3yrs, love it. Full power 45-70 too.

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I reload .416 Rigby, .458 Lott and just started loading .460 S&W Mag. Big bores should come with a warning about being very addictive.

I handload for a Ruger #1 in 600 Nitro Express.

c/0 post #8
375 with 134 Grs of powder...............

A pound of powder will give 52 loads if you don't spill any !!

A far cry from my 22-250 at ............ 225 loads, with spills.

Havent loaded for it yet but definitely intend to, 500 Nitro Express. I dont have powders or enough brass.

I would mention my 375 h&h Winchester, but I won't because it's such a light weight caliber.

And here I thought I was all set if we have an elephant problem here in California.

I currently load for my WR double in 450 3 1/4 NE, and a couple of heavy mediums.
In 1982 I bought my WR, the next show that dealer had an H&H 4 bore double (paper cartridge/hull, not brass) cased and complete with loading accessories; IN LIKE NEW CONDITION, only $60,000.00! I bought my farm the next year for $33,000.00 (BTW: 4 bore ammo was only $60 a round back then!) 450 3 1/4 NE Kynok was $25/5 for SP; $28/5 for FMJ.

Ivan

No longer load but have all records, 416 Rem Mag, 470 NE.

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Jim

I dont qualify for large rifle, however I did load .375 H&H on my Dillon 550 while living in Alaska.Have the grizzly bear to prove it...LOL

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