General opinion on .416 Taylor?

[Albert GRANT]

Haven't heard much about this caliber. Any thoughts?

 

[Albert GRANT]

Have the opportunity to pic up one for $700. Don't really have the money, but seems like one of those get it when you see it deals. Would like some info on it first, but it basically needs to be done today

 

[bassasdaindia]

I don't know the caliber well at all , but why not go for a Winchester M70 in 416 Rem , great rifles , excellent caliber and a lot of info available .

plus the price is not much more ?

 

[mdwest]

what make/model rifle? and what condition is it in? does it have optics? etc...

Hard to tell if it is a good deal or not at $700 based on information provided..

My personal recommendation would be to decide what caliber/make/model rifle you want.. then be patient, and wait for a good deal to appear... rather than buying something that might not be exactly what you want on short notice just because the price is right.. especially if money is tight or is part of the equation...

I really like Winchester 70's.. and knew I wanted a .375 H&H.. wasn't too hung up on the model (African/classic/Alaskan/etc).. so I started looking.. it took a few months.. but I found one in excellent condition (less than a box of ammo through it.. that had been stored in a safe, basically unused/untouched for years) for $650...

I was really fortunate.. the rifle I bought was from a buddy that had made the original purchase on a whim.. and then never found use for the rifle..

But, before I made the decision to buy his.. I had found several other good options in the $700-$800 range (about the max I wanted to spend on a used big bore bolt gun)..

The deals are out there.. you just have to be patient and look for them.. get the rifle you want.. not the rifle that is currently available (my .02)..

 

[Albert GRANT]

It is a custom brno with aftermarket laminated stock and time trigger. No optics. Not sure the make of the barrel

 

[CAustin]

Good advice so far! Keep looking but enjoy your upcoming safari first.

 

[Albert GRANT]

I will be waiting. I didn't have the money anyway, would have gone on a card. Just seemed like one of those things you should buy when you see it and if need be could sell it later without getting hurt. But as I told charlie I'm just spending too much time waiting for the hunt to get here- gotta cool it!

 

[Clayton]

...I'm just spending too much time waiting for the hunt to get here- gotta cool it!

Well at least you're being more productive than surfing the porn sites!

 

[greyfox]

416 Taylor - I want one, just haven't been able to make it a priority,

Do you handload, I don't believe it's available commercially, I THINK at one time it might have been(??) I'm sure someone will correct me on that.

458 Win Mag necked down to 416, ballistically they are all pretty much similiar until you get to the upper reaches.

John Wooters wrote a few articles about it in the '80s or early '90s, during the 416 revolution.

 

[colorado]

So many good 400 calibers (404 Jeffery, 416 Rigby, 416 Remington) don't see the point ...

 

[Albert GRANT]

416 Taylor - I want one, just haven't been able to make it a priority,

Do you handload, I don't believe it's available commercially, I THINK at one time it might have been(??) I'm sure someone will correct me on that.

458 Win Mag necked down to 416, ballistically they are all pretty much similiar until you get to the upper reaches.

John Wooters wrote a few articles about it in the '80s or early '90s, during the 416 revolution.

Ya I would have been hand loading. It seems to be on the cheaper side for 400 brass and with the availability of the .458 brass that is what drew me to it

 

[Albert GRANT]

So many good 400 calibers (404 Jeffery, 416 Rigby, 416 Remington) don't see the point ...

Good deal on the gun (so it seems anyway) and relatively cheap brass as far as 400s go is my only reason, but as I said don't actually have the money, and it just waiting for the trip getting to me

 

[IronCowboy]

I'm not really sure how they say the .416 Taylor can meet or exceed the 416 Rigby, when it's nothing more than a shortened version of a .416 Rem Mag, which doesn't always keep up with the Rigby even itself.

Of course, does the difference in performance make a real difference? Eh, probably not.

I'm sure it's a fine cartridge for what it's designed, nothing wrong with it, but it's virtually a reload only proposition. Finding 458wm brass (or .375WM, 416RM, etc etc etc) to form .416 Taylor brass is easier than many other ones, but you still have the hassle of matching your headstamps to your rifle for import.

 

[Albert GRANT]

Well I'm passing on it anyway, but for what it's worth you can get actual .416 taylor brass reasonable from Jamison now

 

[BUBBA JIM]

Hi - I am having one built right now - Componets are a Weatherby Vangaurd -Howa action - Bob Jury 22.5" SS barrel #5 taper - B&C Stock - Leupold 1.75-6x32 VX-3 Scope with H-Duplex and mounted in Talley LW one piece rings -base ! Might be a BIT light and for sure will be a BIT of a Kicker with 400 gr-ers at around 2300 fps . Anyone have any 416 Taylor handload info to share ?

Cheers Bubba

 

[Sofa hunter]

The "point" with the Taylor is to be able to have a shorter action (the old faithful 30-06 OAL is 3.34" 85 mm) OAL 3.34" 85 mm (the old faithful 30-06 OAL is 3.34" 85 mm) and you can use a 23" 580mm long barrel and still get reasonable V0. According to Ken Waters an absolute maximum load of certain listed powders would push a 400-grain (26 g) bullet to 2,400 ft/s (730 m/s), thereby equaling (and perhaps exceeding) the performance of the .416 Rigby (presuming moderate temperatures and barometric pressures). Waters also reported that 400-grain (26 g) bullets could exceed 2,600 ft/s (790 m/s) when propelled by certain listed powders. Under normal hunting conditions, the Taylor cartridge is therefore capable of taking any of the largest and most dangerous game animals in the world.

I was looking into this calibre but ended up instead with the .375 H&H because of the hard to get ammo in .416 Taylor. Hand loads is the easiest way to go IMO.

Norma is loading 375gr solids.
https://www.norma.cc/us/Products/Hunting/416-Taylor/Norma-Solid-375-gr/
Doubletap ammo is loading 300gr and 350gr Barnes TSX, 400gr Swift A-frames, 450gr fmj and sp Woodleigh Weldcore.
http://www.doubletapammo.net/index.php?route=product/category&path=128_277

 

[BUBBA JIM]

Sofa Hunter - i could care less about less then 3/4" action lenght as i shoot a LOT of LA Rem M700 's now in 7 - 300 Wbee - 300 Wbee - 375 H&H ! I have Handloaded for the last 50 Years so i will only handload for the Taylor - I have New Factory headstamped Jamison brass and a bunch of new Norma brass as well . I have Horn 400 gr DGX - Barnes 400 gr XLC bullets and a bunch of Speer 350 gr Hot Cores .

Cheers Bubba

 

[dfm]

I've owned a Taylor since the early 80s. It's an old tang safety Ruger 77 RS that had been rebored/rechambered. I'm guessing it started life as a .338 but am not sure.

I'd always wanted a rigby but in those days it was a dying caliber and what 21 year old had the money to buy a used gun or have one built. The Taylor was a cheap way out.

I was hunting elk in dark, heavy timber at the time. Shots ranged from 10-25 yards. Loading the speer 350gr mag tip to 2500fps you had to see the caliber in action to believe it. At that velocity the bullet held together well and plowed through meat/bone like the proverbial hot knife through butter. I hunted that country for about five years until the local hunting population caught on to where my buddies and I were picking up our nice bulls. Oh well.

As to loading the caliber I could get 2400+fps w/400gr bullet. But come summertime the pressures soared. Dropped to 2300fps no problems whatsoever. Almost 100% of my shooting was with the aforementioned 350gr speer. That one bullet covered all of my field needs from antelope to moose. BTW, I made my cases by necking down .458 empties.

A great, unheralded caliber.

 

[sestoppelman]

Sofa Hunter - i could care less about less then 3/4" action lenght as i shoot a LOT of LA Rem M700 's now in 7 - 300 Wbee - 300 Wbee - 375 H&H ! I have Handloaded for the last 50 Years so i will only handload for the Taylor - I have New Factory headstamped Jamison brass and a bunch of new Norma brass as well . I have Horn 400 gr DGX - Barnes 400 gr XLC bullets and a bunch of Speer 350 gr Hot Cores .

Cheers Bubba

Well if you "could care less", then you are saying you could actually care less right? Or perhaps you meant to say you "couldn't care less", indicating complete indifference.

 

[sestoppelman]

To say that the Taylor is as powerful as the Rigby is not accurate. The Rigby case holds about 132 or so grains of water and the Taylor about 93, a difference of 39 grs. Loaded to equal pressures there is no way the Taylor can "equal" the Rigby. It may be more efficient as the smaller case usually is over the larger, but powder room is powder room and the two are not equal in velocity potential. No different than comparing the .308 to the '06. The .308 is more efficient and does more with less powder, but the larger '06 case will surpass the best efforts of the .308 when loaded to max pressures. Its all about case capacity.