“It does sometimes seem that the .375 is good for everything. Or taking a different tack with the same logic, it often seems that the .375 is good for nothing. It is too big for small antelope, and it is too small for dangerous African game. Although I own a half dozen .375’s which I never want to be without, I wholeheartedly subscribe to this latter logic. From my viewpoint, the .375 is an idea whose time should never have arrived in Africa. In my wanderings I am continually besieged by breathless hunters just back from Africa who paw my lapels and describe, wide-eyed, how many shots their buffalo soaked up before finally going down. ‘Don’t tell me,’ I always reply, ‘you were using a .375, right?’ ‘How did you know?’ they ask. Hair-raising escapades with charging buffalo and rampaging elephants seem to go hand in hand with the .375. The only conclusion I can draw from this is that it doesn’t get the job done. Several professional hunters have told me that they share this view. Experience tells us that the .375 isn’t what we want for buffalo and elephant.” - Jim Carmichael
The .416s [400 grain solids] will penetrate an elephant’s skull from any angle and usually exit. As velocity drops and frontal area (resistance) increases, penetration diminishes, and it diminishes faster with bullets of lower sectional density. At a velocity level below something like 2,100 fps, depending on caliber and bullet weight, you must rule out frontal brain shots on elephant altogether. “The .416 is significantly/dramatically more effective on buffalo than the .375 and immeasurably/a great deal better on elephant. Which .416 you choose doesn’t matter much. The .416 Rigby and .416 Remington are ballistically identical and identical in their effects on game. You can throw in the .416 Taylor, .416 Hoffman, .411 KDF, .404 Jeffery and .425 Westley Richards as well. Faster and more powerful are the .416 Weatherby and .416 Dakota and Lazzeroni’s 10.57 Meteor. These are harder-kicking cartridges that offer a good deal more versatility for longer shots at plains game, but on dangerous game at close range offer little practical advantage over the .416 Remington/Rigby ballistics.” - Craig Boddington
“We know a good modern softpoint from a .375 at 2,550 fps can penetrate to a buffalo’s vitals from any reasonable angle, and we know a 300 grain solid at the same velocity can penetrate an elephant’s skull from almost any angle, as can a 400 grain .416 at 2,400 fps. Make no mistake: With equally good shot placement, a 400 grain .416 will put down a Cape buffalo more quickly and more dramatically than a 300 grain .375. That said, a 500 grain, 458 caliber bullet will be even more dramatic and effective.” - Craig Boddington
“Only extremely experienced hands should use it (.375 H&H) for elephant. The .375 is marginal for elephant, but it’s on the right side of the margin.” - Craig Boddington
“If you drive a high-quality, [.416] 400-grain bullet at 2350 fps, it is very deadly. We do not need to argue about the critter involved. It stops charging bull elephants, knocks the lights out of lions, swats bears and big bull elk and can do a remarkably fine job on deer-sized game. Is one case better than the other? Ballistically no, but practically, yes - the Remington. Remington’s .416 is probably the most practical and perhaps the best medium-heavy rifle made. In the end, you cannot go wrong, unless you get confused and buy a 45 caliber rifle instead.” - Ross Seyfried
“I knew the .416 Rigby rifle and cartridge by reputation, but nothing prepared me for the performance which became apparent as soon as I began using it. The striking ‘knock-down’ power, the incredible penetration with Rigby’s excellent solids and the flat trajectory all combined to make this, in my opinion, the perfect professional hunter’s rifle.” - Harry Selby
“There is no need to beat around the bush: Everything considered, Remington’s new .416 Mag. Is the finest standard-production cartridge ever developed in this country, and, quite arguably, in the world for all-around use on dangerous game and the largest beasts.” - Finn Aagaard, 1989
I have also just read information indicating that the very large bore Nitro Express type cartridges offer reduced penetration compared to more conventional .400-.458 class dangerous game guns. Calibers from around .577 to .700 NE apparently simply do not penetrate elephant skulls as well as the .416's and .458's. Probably a combination of low SD and low velocity.