My last name is Rigby, so I've always wanted a .416. A few years ago while still living in Alaska, I walked into Cabelas where there was a CZ550 waiting for me (the only 416 I'd ever be able to afford). With no objection from the Mrs, I took it home with me. I grabbed some reloading supplies on the way back to my village and spent the next several weeks loading and shooting. I took it with me on a few unsuccessful subsistence bear hunts, but we moved out of Alaska the following year before I could take one.
Now living in PA, I knew I wasn't ever going to have a practical use for the caliber, so it was time to have some fun. Last year I added Form 1 suppressor building to my growing list of DIY firearm related hobbies. After building my first few suppressors, I thought, why not suppress my 416? Research quickly came up empty, I couldn't even find a threaded 416, let alone a suppressed one (not surprised).
I contacted my gunsmith about threading my CZ and discussed a few challenges. We were both shooting in the dark considering the barrel taper, soldered on front sight band, and the barrel profile being too narrow for a good shoulder without a collard. Thankfully my gunsmith was willing to give it a shot.
I was able to source a new sight band from CZ in case the original was damaged during removal (which it was). The next issue was getting the sight band fitted further back on the barrel given the taper. He was able to heat the band up enough to stretch it further back on the barrel. After that he had no issues concentrically threading the barrel (5/8-24), turning a collard, and installing it between the threads and sight band.
