DANGEROUS-GAM arl Moore, whose lifetime dream had been to own a rifle chambered in .416 Rigby was thrilled to get one in the Ruger 77 Magnum. This is essentially a modern equivalent of Rigby’s original rifle. As the last rifle design upon which Bill Ruger had direct oversight, Moore figured this particular combination was a fine tribute to two great gun makers— Rigby and Ruger. Then an acquaintance of Moore’s went to Africa, and, on the day he was to begin his hunt, discovered his carefully prepared .416 Rigby ammunition had vanished. To continue his hunt, he had to waste an entire day having his guide take him 200 miles to the nearest business with .416 ammo in stock. Forty rounds, $800! Moore dreams of his own African safari. Therefore, he wondered how the zero of his .416 would vary with different factory loads. If he went to Africa and had to substitute ammunition, would it be necessary to waste valuable time rezeroing his gun, while absorbing the punishment of heavy recoil at the bench, messing up his schedule and perhaps the schedules of his guide and other hunters? Or, could he just go hunting and count on the replacement load to shoot close enough to his tested load so he could make well-centered hits on likely targets at reasonable distances? He asked if I thought a comparison of zeros with various factory loads and factory-equivalent handloads was worthwhile. Having long realized Murphy’s Law was unreasonably E M. L. McPHERSON THE .416 RIGBY IN RUGER’S 77 MAGNUM PROVES REMARKABLY CONSISTENT AND SHOOTS TO POINTOF-AIM WITH MANY DIFFERENT LOADS. optimistic, I agreed this was a worthwhile study. So, we set out to obtain factory loads and components for testing. Hornady, Federal, and Norma were kind enough to provide factory ammunition. Alliant provided propellant. Federal provided primers. Hornady provided cases. Various bullet makers provided premium .416 Rigby bullets. Many who have not priced .416 Rigby ammunition ($7 per round) and components ($4 to 5 for a case, primer, propellant, and bullet) would be dumbfounded to discover just how expensive it is to shoot jacketed bullets from a Rigby. Moore figured out Alliant Reloder 22 was an ideal propellant choice and we knew the Federal 215 was the best primer available for such loads, so we did not have to do much load development work. Still, in this limited testing, we used up the better part of $1,000 worth of factory loads and components. The rest set-up for days two and three allowed Mic to concentrate on what matters—holding the gun the same way each time and squeezing the trigger only when things were stable. Elevating the rests allowed Mic to sit up more squarely behind the gun, which reduced the discomfort of recoil. Consistent bag technique is key to shooting good groups. 36 APRIL 2016
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