416 Rem Mag. Cast Bullet Info Wanted

[dkwelder]

Hello ! I am new to this site,and i was hoping to find people who might be able to get me started in the right direction.What I have is a custom built 416 rem mag. There is a very interesting story behind this rifle as to why it was built and why i have it.This is a very beautiful rifle and lots of fun to shoot.I have yet to slug the barrel to give me a starting point.I would also like to use the Greenhill Formula to help me find the perfect cast bullet for my rifle.I knowing that no two rifles of the same cal. shoot the same with the same load.I was wondering if anyone on this forum has done what i would like to do? this way i would have a very good head start with this 416 cal. I have found that RCBS makes a 350gr.fn,gc mold. I would like to be able to shoot a 500gr. or close to that with accuracy.Thanks for your help. darin

[smoked turkey]

Darin:
Welcome to the forum. You have come to the right place to learn what you need to know in order to cast for and shoot your 416 Rem Mag. From your comments I can see that you already have some knowledge of what makes a good cast boolit for your particular rifle. They usually recommend that you size your boolit to 0.001 over your bore size for good accuracy. There is information here on just how to go about slugging the bore if you need to know. The 416 is a wonderful cartridge. I can't help you with it as I don't have one. I just wanted to welcome you and let you know that someone will be getting to your question soon.

[dkwelder]

thanks for your nice welcome to the forum.yes i am sure i will run into others who have done what i am trying to do as well. i have been enjoying myself on this forum, reading about all the input as to what different things people have done,and have tried. safety is most important when it comes to working up a load. so i am very glad i was able to run onto this forum. thanks again, darin

[obssd1958]

Hey Darin!
I cast for a friend that shoots a .416 - but at the moment it escapes me whether it is a Rem mag, or a Rigby! Dang CRS!!
He is getting pretty good results using an NEI boolit I cast, 418 330 GC RN, that actually comes out at @360 grains when it's done. I water drop wheel weight alloy, and size to .418 for him.
I have 3 NEI moulds - 418 290 GC FN, 418 330 GC RN, and a 418 375 GC RN. All 3 cast boolits about 10% heavier than they are spec'd at out of wheel weight.
The moulds aren't for sale, but I could cast some samples up for you to try out - just cost 'ya shipping!
I'll also ask my buddy what he is using for his loads.

Welcome to the funny farm!


Don

[Bullshop]

I have a couple customers that have me load 416 Rem for them. I use boolits from an NEI mold in Walt's DD style. Using quenched WW they run about 400gn weight.
Without going to my records I think we are getting right at 2400 fps with excellent accuracy. I could check my records for load data if you wish.

[Hardcast416taylor]

Check out BRP bullet molds on the sponsor/vendor section of this site. Bruce, at BRP, has a very nice 400 gr. mold meant for the .416 Rem. mag. as well as for the Rigby and for my .416 Taylor with a slightly different crimping groove. Contact Bruce at www.BRPcastpics.net. I sent my RCBS 350 gr. mold to "Buckshot" on this site to have him do a hollow point job to it, very nice result.Robert

[BruceB]

I'm a long-term user of the RCBS 416-350 bullet. It works extremely well in my Ruger #1 (.416 Rigby). Cast in wheelweight alloy, my bullets weigh 365 grains. I wish it cast just a thousandth or so larger, but it's hard to argue with the way it shoots for me (ten rounds in one inch at 100 yards, with a 1.5-4.5X scope, velocity 2050 fps).

I have some reservations about using 500-grain bullets in a standard .416 barrel. 500 grains will make a VERY long bullet, and as such it may not stabilize properly in the standard twist. Rifle cartridges tend to be loaded with the most-effective all-round projectile weight over decades of experience (.30 165-180 grains, 6mm 85-100 grains, .45 400-500 grains and so on.) Iin the .416 bore, a hundred years' field use has seen the 400+/- weight become standardized because it WORKS

Why do you think the500-grain bullet is necessary? The velocity will be down and trajectory height increased over standard-weight bullets (not that "factory velocity" will be used much with CAST bullets....I have fired the RCBS design at 2600 fps, but it's a lot nicer at 2000!)

There's literally NOTHING in North America that can't be killed very efficiently with the .416's normal-weight bullets, jacketed or cast. I'm very intrigued by the desire for a 500-grain .416.

[dkwelder]

I had a very interesting day chatting with people about what i am trying to accomplish with my 416. Has anyone had any dealing with a product called Puff-lon ? Pufflon is an alternative to Kapok or Dacron,only better. Its a lubricating ballistic filler. It is used on top of the powder as a case filler to help protect the base of the cast bullet.Denis from puff-lon told me i wouldnt need a gas check on the base of my cast bullet. Sounds like this is one thing i am going to add into my equation.I then spoke with Steve from LBT moulds in MT about making a custom mold. Steve also helped me with the Greenhill Formula for my rifle. As long as i keep the length of my cast bullet under 2", my bullet should be stabilized in flight.Then Steve was telling me that a 400gr. .416 dia. cast bullet is 1"1/4 long and that every 1/10th longer equals another 35gr.Very helpfull info as well. So i then measured one of my Hornady .416 400gr.FMJ Encapsulated bullets. It was 1.425 in length.Now i am thinking if a 1"1/4 .416 dia cast bullet =400gr. or close to it. then 1"1/2 long would = 480gr. then 1"3/4 long would =560gr.cast bullet. I not yet having slugged my bore to know my dia. I know that depending my lead alloy mix. a cast bullet with a .416 dia. and 1.75 in length should give me a cast boolit about 560gr. I may have an error in my math formula,because the only thing i wanted out of school was myself ! i would like to hear everyones input,as to my configuration on this. thanks darin

[dkwelder]

I would also like to add that back in the day. I had a custom 45-70 built for shooting black powder long range. The action was from an old Martini Henry shot gun,and chambered for 45-70.It wasnt much to look at,but it was a shooter. I worked up a load for that rifle also.I would shoot a 600gr. casted bullet. 1"3/4 long. I could shoot 5 consecutive rounds thru my chroney,all under 8 fps veriance.I cant remember how many grains of Accurate NO 9 i used. I was pushing 1160 fps and very accurate at a 1000 yds. I will try to post a few pics to my album for everyone to veiw.

[dkwelder]

I was successful in downloading some pics to my album for everyone to view.

[Bullshop]

I think maybe the man pushing the puff-lon was not giving the whole picture.
A gas check does more than insulate the boolit base from heat and gas.
The gas check will in effect raise the shear strength of the boolit enabling the boolit to withstand higher pressure/velocity than a PB of the same alloy and still maintain accuracy.
Puff-lon has been available for a long time and has not made a dent in replacing gas checks. It does nothing by way of raising the ability of a PB boolit to be pushed beyond the shear strength of the alloy being used. The only gain from the product beyond a wad/filler is to the seller.

[Four Fingers of Death]

If you go much over 400Gns you are going to be the only guy on the parade ground in step. 350-400Gns kill like the Hammer of Thor! Why sacrifice velocity and trajectory?

[squirrelnuttz]

I bought a gently used custom lathe bored, aluminum block mould from Fleabay.Drops .419 boolits that weigh 532-33 gr. with gas check and lube.Alloy is water dropped WW+ 2% tin.Sized to .417, .0005-.001 over groove dia. Looking for data to use this in .416 Rem. Not having such luck with data, usually use H4895 with Barnes X 400 gr. Probably make up 2 loads, one possibly with SR 4759 for a plinker, and either H4895 or IMR4895, possibly RL22 for full power loads.Any input would be appreciated. Tempted to reduce H4895 400gr. load by 50% to start.Uncomfortable going without data though. Still checking manuals....

[MattOrgan]

I can highly recommend the RCBS 350gr .416 mold. I don't understand the need for a heavier bullet in a. 416 caliber rifle, but until a year ago I saw no need for 280 and 300a grain bullets in my. 45 Long Colt........ now I don't know what I'd do with out them
In my Rigby the 350the grain bullet gas checked loaded at "starting " loads for400 grain jacketed bullets is accurate and pleasant to shoot. No leading either. It would be a relatively inexpensive way to get started too.

If you go with a heavyweight bullet let us know how it goes

Matt

[squirrelnuttz]

I bought the mould almost as a novelty, just something to try out. Looks a lot like a scaled up #311 141 GC Lyman .311'' or a cruise missile.

[Four Fingers of Death]

Shoud punch clean through anything in it's path!

[squirrelnuttz]

Update- function test today....416 Rem 533 gr. .417 GC custom boolit with "Red Dragon" High Velocity lube,Win LR Mag Primer ,IMR 4895


Hornady's Max Load with 400 FMJ is 76.6 gr. IMR 4895.
Reduced 50% to start at 38.0@1293fps and worked up to 46 gr. @1470fps. avg.
All fired and functioned great, no issues. Did not group, just plinked away for function and chrony with irons, gonna scope up and work some groups out.Recoil is reasonable t, but I'm not sure how fast i wanna try pushing this thing till I get some groups to see what's going on.I'm not masochistic, I do not want this thing kicking the snot out of me, as i'd like to plink/ practice a fair bit before hunting it.It's at least minute of cow moose load though!