Custom Winchester 70 SSK 416 Rem Mag.

[TOBY458]

Some rifles and calibers just seem to work well together. It's always been my opinion that the 416 Rem Mag is the best caliber in the Winchester 70 Safari Express lineup. I've owned this rifle for several years now, and actually took my first Cape Buffalo with it. However, while walking through the thick, tangled scrub, I always longed for a short rifle that would not be so cumbersome to carry.
With that said, I did some research and remembered the B&M line of rifles offered by SSK Firearms in Wintersville OH, and devised by our own @michael458 . To me, those rifles represent the ultimate in lightweight and easy to maneuver firearms for hunting big game.
Now my wheels were really turning, and started turning even faster when I booked a 10 day Elephant, Dry Land Hippo, and Buffalo hunt in Zimbabwe. I needed a large...ish caliber rifle for the long walks that would surely lay ahead. So with that, I shipped my beloved Winchester 416 off to SSK Firearms for a makeover and a haircut.
Enter the customer SSK Winchester 70 416 Remington. The specs are, 21.5" stainless barrel. 9lbs bare rifle weight. Banded front sight with interchangeable sight inserts available. McMillan Express stock. (I already had the stock). I'm using a Leupold VX3 1.5-5×20 scope, in Leupold QRW rings and Warne steel Weaver style bases. Even though it came in a little heavier than I preferred, the balance of the shorter barrel makes it seem lighter when shouldered, compared to the 24" barrel that it once had. The workmanship that SSK put into this rifle is top notch, and I'm very pleased with how it turned out.
To be continued....
Pictures to come...

 

[shotgungibbs]

Sounds like a great hunting rifle! Looking forward to pictures!

 

[Wyatt Smith]

I’m interested to see it. Any reason to replace the barrel rather than shorten it? I’m guessing barrel profile.

 

[Traveler1]

Same here. SSK is great shop. They made all my Contenders. @TOBY458, did you ever think about a pistol, they don't get tangled up in the brush and your hands are free.

 

[TOBY458]

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[TOBY458]

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[TOBY458]

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[TOBY458]

I’m interested to see it. Any reason to replace the barrel rather than shorten it? I’m guessing barrel profile.

The original intent was to go with a smaller contour barrel, and lighten the rifle up a bit. But there was a break in the communication lines somewhere, and they ended up installing a barrel that matched the barrel channel in the stock. So, at the end of the day, I didn't save anything on weight. The stainless does look good to me, and the barrel band sight really sets it off, so I guess I'll forgive them on the weight. Plus most people would probably prefer it at 9lbs anyway, so I'm sure I can get used to it.

 

[Rocco490]

Awesome rifle! Sounds like you were in luck and ended up with an ideal rifle for your use. I would not want it lighter than 9 lbs in 416 remington for sake of follow up shots if needed and more comfortable to practice with. It is probably a tac driver too. Never been a fan of lightweight rifles for larger calibers. Congrats. How's it feed/cycle? And what sort of accuracy you seeing?

 

[TOBY458]

Same here. SSK is great shop. They made all my Contenders. @TOBY458, did you ever think about a pistol, they don't get tangled up in the brush and your hands are free.

Yes they do really good work. I have 3 Contenders myself. Two set up as carbines and one as a pistol. I used to do a lot of handgun hunting, but never for any other than deer and pigs. A 375 JDJ or 45/70 Contender would probably work, but I'd prefer something bigger. Especially on my elephant.

 

[TOBY458]

Awesome rifle! Sounds like you were in luck and ended up with an ideal rifle for your use. I would not want it lighter than 9 lbs in 416 remington for sake of follow up shots if needed and more comfortable to practice with. It is probably a tac driver too. Never been a fan of lightweight rifles for larger calibers. Congrats. How's it feed/cycle? And what sort of accuracy you seeing?

Yes you're probably right about the weight. My plan was to use 404 Jeffery level loads, so the recoil wouldn't have been that bad. Now it definitely won't be. It feeds and functions very smoothly as it did before.

 

[shotgungibbs]

Great looking setup!

 

[michael458]

Ok, you got yours..... Where is my 458? Oh Brian.........??????

Excellent Toby, just excellent...............

 

[Forrest Halley]

Noticed you didn't take any pictures on the sales counter...maybe this one will stick around?

 

[TOBY458]

Ok, you got yours..... Where is my 458? Oh Brian.........??????

Excellent Toby, just excellent...............

He's probably taking the day off from all the grief I gave him for making my rifle too heavy! Lol! But it's all good, I just shot it and sighted in the peep sight, the iron sights and the scope. Only shot at 40 yards, but so far, with factory Remington ammo, it shoots in the same hole at that short range. I'm confident it will shoot well at 100 yards too. Tell Brian I'm not mad at him. Lol!

 

[TOBY458]

Noticed you didn't take any pictures on the sales counter...maybe this one will stick around?

Yes. Most likely. It's already been to Africa twice and shot a buffalo, so it's pretty safe. Well, the action went there anyway. The barrel and stock have no hunting experience yet. Lol!

 

[Traveler1]

Yes they do really good work. I have 3 Contenders myself. Two set up as carbines and one as a pistol. I used to do a lot of handgun hunting, but never for any other than deer and pigs. A 375 JDJ or 45/70 Contender would probably work, but I'd prefer something bigger. Especially on my elephant.

JD made me up an carbine barrel and stock up for my Contenders back in the late 80's when I could not take my pistol hunting in a country not to be named. I just put the pistol grip in a boot. Yeah I have three 375 JDJ barrels, elephant was no problem with it even with a brain shot. In the thick jungle in West Africa, the Contender is king for ease of use and lightness.

 

[Long Ranger]

Great, love that !

 

[BeeMaa]

Good looking rifle @TOBY458. I wasn't sure how it would look with the contrast of the stainless barrel and dark stock, but I really like it. The fact that it's stainless and synthetic is right up my alley (playing into my practical side) and making it the perfect rifle for not just Africa, but Alaskan bear & moose as well.

Best of luck to you on the Elephant hunt. The next picture we see of this rifle should have it in front of a tusker. Cheers.

 

[TOBY458]

I took my 416 out to shoot today. I needed to sight my spare scope in, so I brought along 3 different loads to check POI. To my surprise all three loads printed in a composite group of around 1.25″ at 70 yards. The TSX and CEB solids printed together under 3/4". A ragged hole basically!
These were all 400gr bullets.
Barnes Vortex Factory Load-2380fps.
CEB Handload- 76gr Varget 2384 fps.
Swift AF – 77gr Varget 2350 fps.

Incredibly nice to be able to switch back and forth between those loads and not have to worry about POI being different! I’m now going to load some 350gr TSX at 2550 and see where they land…..If those are in the same group, I’ll truly be set for anything! But something tells me the elevation will be different.