Why the .416 Taylor wildcat is the best big 40-cal

Q: I seem to remember that you once owned a rifle for the wildcat .416 Taylor, which is simply the .458 Win Mag case necked down to take bullets of .416 calibre. However, I don’t think you ever did any hunting with it?

 I’m interested in having a .416 Taylor built for a trip to Namibia. Anything you can tell me about it would be a big help. 

Also, could you suggest a couple of good loads for it?

Rodney Holland   

A: The .458 Winchester case is much smaller than the enormous .416 Rigby case from which the .378, .416 and .460 Weatherby are derived. The Weatherbys, however, are belted. The .416 Rigby case is rimless and headspaces on the shoulder.

Just as the .458 Win Mag achieves the ballistics of the big .470 Nitro Express (a 500gn bullet at 2130fps) with a much smaller case, the smaller .416 Taylor gets .416 Rigby ballistics — a 410gn bullet at 2350fps. So the smaller Taylor equals the advertised ballistics of the .416 Rigby.

Back in 2006 I had a .416 Taylor built on a Zastava Mauser action with a 24” barrel. It was fitted with a muzzle brake which made it recoil like a .30-06. 

I found that W-748 worked very well in it with bullets weighing 300, 340, 325 and 400gn.

However, I also got some good results using ADI powders. 

The 300gn Hawk bullet and 73gn of AR2206H got 2695fps. The 340gn Woodleigh and 74gn of AR2208 at 2520fps was a mild load in my rifle. 

I didn’t work up a load for the 400gn bullet, but the Woodleigh manual lists a 400gn RN SN at 2360fps over a maximum charge of 70gn of AR2206H, almost exactly duplicating the advertised ballistics of the .416 Rigby.

The late John Wooters took a .416 Taylor on an FFV-Carl Gustav action to Africa. It accounted for six Cape buffaloes and a record-class lion in his hands and others. 

He gained the highest velocities with IMR-4320, 74gn giving the 400gn bullet 2440fps for 5470ft-lb of energy at safe pressures.

I think Winchester missed a good bet when it didn’t chamber the Model 70 for the .416 Taylor. The wildcat recoils less and has a flatter trajectory than the .458, has more striking power than a .375 with about the same amount of recoil, and adapts to standard-length actions. 

Accordingly, I’d have to rate it as the best “big 40s” to date.