Anyone here load for the heavy rifles?

[canoe on the yukon]

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.

 

[Gun 4 Fun]

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

 

[ImprovedModel56Fan]

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

 

[Big Cholla]

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

 

[sjmjax]

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

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

 

[Snowwolfe]

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

 

[Kirmdog]

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

 

[sixshot]

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

 

[David Sinko]

How about casting and loading your own 12 gauge slugs? Other than loading for an M1A, it's the most aggravating thing I've ever done.

Dave Sinko

 

[Sugar River]

Let's see, 416 Rigby, Ruger and a wildcat.
450-400 3" and # 1/4"
458
470 NE

Pete

 

[DonD]

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

 

[2152hq]

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

 

[patrick james]

405 Winchester in a Ruger #1

 

[Chief Engineer]

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

Chief

 

[perrazi]

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.

 

[Waldo]

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

 

[Reloader Fred]

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

 

[canoe on the yukon]

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.)

 

[primersp]

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

 

[Gun 4 Fun]

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.