CZ 550 .416Rigby

Status
Not open for further replies.
CraigC

CraigC

Sixgun Nut
Joined
Jan 27, 2006
Messages
23,916
Location
West Tennessee
Picked this one up a couple weeks ago. I've long had a hankering for the big Rigby and have recently gotten the bug for the .500Jeffery. The thought here is to use the .416 as an "all-around" for plains game and later Cape buffalo. With a foray into South America or Australia somewhere in-between. At some point I'll decide if I want to keep the .416 and build a .500 on a new CZ action or convert the .416. With the hopeful result being an elephant hunt. I've already discussed the possibility with Huntington and even with a custom stock of English walnut, the project will be comparable in cost to a custom shop CZ. Here it is topped with a Leupold VX3 1.5-5x in Talley QD rings. The Bavarian style stock has some good figure in it. Hopefully it doesn't crack!

IMG_0106c.jpg

IMG_0107b.jpg

The .416 and .500Jeffery shown with the .250Savage, .270WCF and .405WCF for scale.
IMG_6375b.jpg

So far my handloads consist of a 400gr Hornady DGS over a huge dose of Hodgdon 4831 in Norma cases. I've also got some 350gr Speers to try and some 400gr cast bullets are on the way from Montana Bullet Works. Recoil is significant but not at all unmanageable. Load testing will begin shortly. (for what it's worth, the .250 and .270 are Remington factory, the .405 is a Woodleigh 300gr in a Hornady case and the .500 is a factory Kynoch 535gr)
 
Last edited:
You lucky devil, I snagged a .375 a few years ago and was saving for a 416 just 'because' and now they don't import them in Aus :(

Try some Trailboss in her, but don't lend it to anyone at the range or you won't get it back! Trailboss and cast is the cats meow for fun in a DGR.
 
No worries!

I have also found that with Trailboss cast boolits fly best with min loads and jacketed Max. YMMV but its been consistent over a few calibres for me.
 
Wow, looking at the cartridges, they must really pack a wallop.

Hand loading for these big boys is the only affordable option. Looks like fun. Finding brass must be tough.
 
I have the Rigby in the American model. Topped it off with a Swarovski 1.5x6 Professional Hunter in Warne QD rings.
Click to expand...
Beautiful setup!


Hand loading for these big boys is the only affordable option. Looks like fun. Finding brass must be tough.
Click to expand...
It is the only "affordable" option. I had no trouble getting components or dies. Norma brass is $2.80 each. The Hornady bullets are the cheapest jacketed 400gr bullets I could find at $1 each. The Speer 350's are still $0.71 apiece. The cast bullets are a relative bargain at $0.35 each. The .500 is where things really get out of control. Brass is $5.50 apiece and the cheapest bullets are $1.40 a pop. Still readily available though. Powder goes quickly at 100gr a shot.

By contrast, Hornady ammo is the cheapest at $5.00 a shot, with most of it double that. The Kynoch .500 pictured above was nearly $20 each!
 
And I thought buying, setting up and reloading for my 45-110 Sharps rifle was expensive. It's still not cheap but I cast my own bullets and sparingly use some 405grn jsp for brush hunting.
 
What is that??? * * *
Click to expand...

A .404 Jeffery built by Wayne at AHR.

See: http://108.174.112.211

It started with an in-the-white CZ safari magnum receiver, which was then blueprinted, trued, and honed.
Everything after that was a custom addition - i.e., barrel, bolt handle, sights, stock, etc.

Jeff-11.jpg
 
Last edited:
Some really really beautiful and powerful rifles in the this thread. :)]

Thanks for sharing.

I have no need for such a rifle. But I still want a 375 or a 416. I really like the CZ rifles but I have considered that one of the Ruger offerings in 375 Ruger may fit the bill at a lower cost. I handload so ammo cost between a H&H and a 375 Ruger doesn't really matter.

Express sights are a must though. :)
 
A good friend of mine has a CZ .416. He said you have to make
sure you have your hat on tight when you shoot it. If you don't
it will fly 4 or 5 feet straight in the air.

Zeke
 
That's a gorgeous rifle! I've been on the AHR site a time or two. ;)


A good friend of mine has a CZ .416. He said you have to make
sure you have your hat on tight when you shoot it. If you don't
it will fly 4 or 5 feet straight in the air.
Click to expand...
It's not quite that bad but it'll slap you pretty good if you're not paying attention.
 
Young gun was used to shooting his AR 223

One of the petroleum engineers my son works with wanted to shoot my 416 Rigby CZ hog back. He sat down at a bench and shot it like it was a 223. I was relieved he did not get a scope eye. I should have asked him if he had ever shot a larger cal. gun. I believe he rested the fore arm on his left hand when he touched it off and I don't think he had snugged the stock home. He was surprised and I am sure he suffered some. My bad for not walking him through the process before he shot. I assumed he knew what he was doing.
Live and learn, Kaprota
 
I would be reluctant to re chamber a bolt gun to .500 Jeffery. The rebated rim may cause feeding problems.
Click to expand...

Well, whether it's for taking dangerous game in Africa or Alaska, and regardless of the caliber, you shouldn't even think about going into the field with a DGR that hasn't been properly vetted for feed-reliability.

Out-of-the-box DGRs chambered for those classic-but-ancient Nitro cartridges are notorious for exhibiting feed issues - unless its a custom piece or a riflesmith familiar with the quirks of these cartridges has at least polished and honed the factory action.

There have been some happy factory exceptions, of course. The old BRNO 602s, while having rough metal work and housed in a Euro-style hogback stock, did feed .375H&H and 458WM rounds reliably. Early model DG Winchesters supposedly fed fine, even though they held only 3 rounds.

Reports on the more recent CZ 550 magnums indicate many have needed work to make them run bobble-free - again, either the touches of a custom 'smith or a return to CZ-USA under warranty.
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

D
  • Locked
CZ 550 Lux or 550 Standard in .308 - How Does A Guy Get One in the U.S.?
Replies
19
Views
4K
DougD
D
Back
Top