.416 Taylor

[Sofa hunter]

Hi everyone, I have never owned a "big-bore" rifle myself but is planning to buy one in .416 Taylor. Does anyone have knowledge about this calibre? The wise choice would probably be to purchase a 375 h&h. Is the .416 Taylor a bad choice for hunting in Africa, I will start with plains game and work my way up to DG one day.
My father in law who is a outfitter is using a .416 Rigby so we can buy the same bullets but not the same casings.

My question is if any of you are having any knowledge about this calibre?

 

[BRICKBURN]

What makes you want a Taylor vs the Rigby your father in law has already?

 

[Sofa hunter]

I was looking for a big game rifle for Moose and bear and was offered a cheap .416 Taylor with a Mauser mechanism and it fits me like a shotgun. The Taylor also fits in a shorter action than the legendary .416 Rigby, and I can have a shorter barrel in theory since the smaller casing volume in the Taylor. So that's the reason I was looking in to the Taylor. And since i`m able to get some reasonable prices in Africa I was thinking of getting a "big enough" gun to all the big game on the planet.
The only factory ammo I can Find is Norma Solids in the Taylor but I can by Norma brass stamped ".416 Taylor" so at least I can get it thru customs without problems. I dont know how the Taylors chamber pressure is affected by the heat down in Africa V.S the colder climate in Norway.

BTW. sorry if the spelling or grammar isn't right, English isn't my spoken language

 

[BRICKBURN]

Your english is fine and in fact it is much better than my Norwegian language aptitude.

I wish I could speak from experience with this specific load/caliber.

Coming from another cold weather climate I can tell you that I have not had any issues with pressure on my reloads when hunting in Africa. (Although I have never hunted at the plus 40C temperature range)
Everything from .270 to .375 H&H zero pressure issues when loading within the specs and I am always very near the max load data published.

 

[Sofa hunter]

The hot V.S cold climate is might a problem on paper in real life? as many other gun related "facts" I don't know. Thanks for your reply anyway It does not seem to be the most common caliber used for hunting so I might need to make my one path and learn about it the hard way

 

[Witold Krzyżanowski]

Hi Sofa.
I think that rifle Mauser in 416 Taylor is very good for Africa.
My favorite calibres for Africa are 275Rigby, 9,3 x 62 and 404Jeffery.
Witold

 

[Bert the Turtle]

If the price is right and it fits you well that is great. It should do the job quite well.

The biggest potential problem is that if you are traveling and your ammo gets lost en route, you probably won't find any until you get home. I seem to have bad luck with airlines losing stuff, so I probably overrate common ammo as to how important it is.

 

[enysse]

Fine explanation on why you want to use one. It sounds like great rifle that will serve you well.

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

I was looking for a big game rifle for Moose and bear and was offered a cheap .416 Taylor with a Mauser mechanism and it fits me like a shotgun.

Sorry if this sounds rude, I have no intention of coming across that way. But, just make sure that you aren't settling on this rifle due to the good price. The caliber is fine and will do what you need it to do. But the idea of a "cheap" DG rifle causes me to pause. Just make sure that the rifle isn't being sold at a good price due to it not being able to feed and eject rounds reliably. Cheap will not be so cheap if it doesn't perform under stressful conditions. If it functions fine, then buy and enjoy it!

 

[greyfox]

Three times I have bought actions to build a 416 Taylor, I have yet to complete the build due to other reasons! May I suggest that you have the Taylor reamed to a 416 Ruger. Same case head diameter, no belt, larger (fatter) case. Commercial ammo, slightly faster and an established factory round. Something to think about and a relatively simple re-chambering.

 

[Bullthrower338]

I have found through my life that father in laws have much less longevity than my rifles so I would take that out of the equation. The Taylor is a fine round, but as noted, it is an expensive club when they lose your ammo. Great idea of reaming it to the Ruger as that may be more readily available. I have several rifles in basturd chamberings that I adore, but unless I could have my PH secure an ample supply of ammo to out smart Mr. Murphy I would not consider taking them across the pond.
Good luck in your decision,
Cody

 

[Sofa hunter]

Hi everyone and thanks for all the good answers.
I have to (sadly) agree on the poor ammo availability worldwide when I am traveling to "remote" places and the ammo is still stuck somewhere else. Maybe another calibre would be smarter as some of you recommends.
@PHOENIX PHIL, thanks for the advice, the gun cycles fine with different bullets and ammo lengths and is in a good condition. The gunsmith have "built" it and used it for hunting. Its a CZ 550 (medium) with a Douglas .416 barrel with open sights. I'm planning to get a quick mounting system for a 1-4x24 and a 2,5-10x50 Zeiss scope for different situations/uses.

 

[Rule 303]

I have a 416Rigby so am some what biased. However the Taylor should work ok for you.

Re lost ammo. It would be very problematic for you if your rifle was a Rigby, Remington or Ruger as I suspect in 416 Calibre ammo would be hard to source. Rigby and Rem probably easier than Ruger at this time. Those who live in any iof the African countries hopefully will chime in with what is available there.

Temperature. Rigby's are wonderful in this regard as unless you are loading them to full potential you should not come close to an overload due to heat. The temperature variation on performance of ammunition is real. In my youth I used IMR powder for my 270 and had a couple of smoke out of action and sticky bolt lift due to the load was developed in winter in Victoria Australia. Summer on the Hay Plains at 40+ degrees caused a few problems. I backed of my load by 2 grains and not a problem. Since I started using AR powders from Aust I have never had this trouble.

What ever you chose, go use it, enjoy it and hunt reports please.

 

[Sofa hunter]

Good news, Norma is now loading the .416 Taylor with a 375gr "Norma Solid" @2350-fps that gives 4600/ft.-lb. at the muzzle and 3403/ft.-lb. at 110 Yards (converted from 100 meters to Yards)
Momentum @Muzzle 17.400

 

[Hunternotshooter]

I happen to own a .416 Taylor. It was a custom build on an engraved Parker Hale receiver, a bit of a heavy barrel, a #3 contour I believe. It has a standard Mauser style trigger and safety, a ramp type peep sight for the rear, and an ivory bead front sight. It's drilled and tapped for a scope, and has a standard Mauser cocking sleeve safety. It's on a OD green Hogue over molded stock, and the whole rifle has been hot salt blued and beautifully polished, I've put 6 rounds through it and it reminds me of shooting a muzzleloader, more of a push than heavy recoil. Really a nice piece of work. I wish I had a use for it, but it sits in my safe. Oh well, maybe I'll just sell it. But, as far as action? Mauser all the way, as far as barrel? Go a bit heavy, then no need for a muzzle brake, it pushes more than kicks. Make sure you get the magnum bolt, and as far as reloading:
You can: neck up a .338 Win Mag OR
You can neck down a .458 Win Mag OR
You can get loaded rounds from Double Tap or get .416 Taylor brass from Jamison. That's the rifle, and the .416 is on the left next to a .300 Wby Mag.

 

[Hunternotshooter]

I happen to own a .416 Taylor. It was a custom build on an engraved Parker Hale receiver, a bit of a heavy barrel, a #3 contour I believe. It has a standard Mauser style trigger and safety, a ramp type peep sight for the rear, and an ivory bead front sight. It's drilled and tapped for a scope, and has a standard Mauser cocking sleeve safety. It's on a OD green Hogue over molded stock, and the whole rifle has been hot salt blued and beautifully polished, I've put 6 rounds through it and it reminds me of shooting a muzzleloader, more of a push than heavy recoil. Really a nice piece of work. I wish I had a use for it, but it sits in my safe. Oh well, maybe I'll just sell it. But, as far as action? Mauser all the way, as far as barrel? Go a bit heavy, then no need for a muzzle brake, it pushes more than kicks. Make sure you get the magnum bolt, and as far as reloading:
You can: neck up a .338 Win Mag OR
You can neck down a .458 Win Mag OR
You can get loaded rounds from Double Tap or get .416 Taylor brass from Jamison. That's the rifle, and the .416 is on the left next to a .300 Wby Mag.

If the price is right and it fits you well that is great. It should do the job quite well.

The biggest potential problem is that if you are traveling and your ammo gets lost en route, you probably won't find any until you get home. I seem to have bad luck with airlines losing stuff, so I probably overrate common ammo as to how important it is.

I have found through my life that father in laws have much less longevity than my rifles so I would take that out of the equation. The Taylor is a fine round, but as noted, it is an expensive club when they lose your ammo. Great idea of reaming it to the Ruger as that may be more readily available. I have several rifles in basturd chamberings that I adore, but unless I could have my PH secure an ample supply of ammo to out smart Mr. Murphy I would not consider taking them across the pond.
Good luck in your decision,
Cody

Yes, ammo is an issue when traveling. If traveling on safari where there is a caliber regulation, and, you have reloaded your .416 Taylor using .338 Win Mag brass, since it is NOT headstamped .416 Taylor, they will not let the ammo in to use, you must have head stamped .416 Taylor brass.

 

[Hunternotshooter]

Good price ( meaning it's a sweet rifle, and performs) and cheap are two different things. When purchasing a weapon I always seem to find the overlooked "jewels" because of price, brand, and what you read in forums. I am a lover of pawn shop guns, these are firearms that folks have purchased, read in a forum that it was junk, a super sniper friend said it was junk, or it's not one of the considered "best brands". With that said, I have taken home pawn shop guns, inspected and cleaned them up, and have had them in use for many years. If you spend money on a firearm, regardless of price, the place to NOT go cheap is on a scope and mounts. I used to sell guns in a shop when I was in college, too many times I'd see someone drop $1000-2000 on a rifle, and put on a $40 scope, but, I can take a "pig" out of a pawn shop, put a good mount and optics on it, and it will perform. If you are able to test the rifle prior to purchase, that's an added bonus