The .416 Remington Magnum’s popularity is a long, slow burn.
Officially announced in November 1988, the .416 Remington Magnum was the first American cartridge designed for use on African game to be introduced since the .458 Winchester Magnum in 1956, and the .460 Weatherby Magnum back in 1958. The .416 is based on the 8mm Remington Magnum necked up to .416-caliber. It was initially available with either a 400-grain pointed soft-point or a 400-grain solid bullet loaded to a muzzle velocity of 2,400 fps and a muzzle energy of 5,115 ft-lb. The company says that the 400-grain solid is exactly that, turned from solid brass and not a lead core with a heavy jacket.
The cartridge has been available in the Remington Model 700 Safari bolt-action rifle, but retail listings of the model show it to be out of stock. Other rifle manufacturers, such as Ruger, once picked up the .416 Remington, but we could find only Winchester having a current chambering in its Model 70 Safari Express line.
There has been a persistent call, by those who hunt dangerous game, for a cartridge to fill the gap between the .375 Holland & Holland Magnum and the .458 Winchester Magnum. The .416 Rigby accomplished this rather well, but both rifles and ammunition became increasingly difficult to obtain, until Federal began offering that cartridge in the late 1980s. This problem was then solved, to some extent, by a number of wildcat cartridges such as the .416 Taylor, .416 Hoffman and the .425 Express. These cartridges all, more or less, duplicated the performance of the .416 Rigby, and the .416 Remington does pretty much the same thing.
Although the .416 bullet is 100 grains lighter than that of the .458 Winchester, it starts out with an almost 300-fps higher velocity. That, combined with better sectional density and a superior aerodynamic shape, gives it certain ballistic advantages. It not only has a higher initial velocity, but it also increases its retained velocity over the .458 as the range increases. According to the factory figures, it has an 11 percent advantage in muzzle energy, and this increases to 18 percent at 100 yards and 30 percent at 200 yards.
The .416 Remington is ideal for dangerous game, including Cape buffalo, elephant, lion and brown bear. It also does well on moose and elk. The .416 Remington has a trajectory very similar to the .375 H&H and is a better long-range cartridge than the .458 Winchester for use on thin-skinned game. For the hunter who must travel light, the .416 would be a good one-gun cartridge choice for use in Africa.
Currently, several companies load ammunition in this chambering, including Hornady, Barnes, Federal, Winchester, and Buffalo Bore. Remington doesn’t list the namesake round as an active commercial load.
.416 Remington Magnum Loading Data and Factory Ballistics
| Bullet (grains/type) |
Powder | Grains | Velocity | Energy | Source |
| 300 SP | H4895 | 78 | 2,850 | 5,412 | Barnes |
| 300 SP | H4895 | 80 | 2,700 | 5,667 | Barnes |
| 350 Lehigh Copper Solid | FL | 78 | 2,625 | 5,354 | Buffalo Bore 416 REM DG 350 |
| 400 SP | IMR 4064 | 78 | 2,400 | 5,117 | Hornady |
| 400 SP | IMR 4895 | 76.5 | 2,400 | 5,117 | Hornady |
| 400 DGX Bonded JFN | FL | – | 2,400 | 5,115 | Hornady 82672 |
| 400 Swift A-Frame | FL | – | 2,400 | 5,115 | Federal P416RSA |
| 400 Barnes TSX | FL | – | 2,420 | 5,203 | Barnes 22017 |
| 400 TSX Flat Base | FL | – | 2,420 | 5,203 | Barnes BB416REM1 |
Editor’s Note: This article is an excerpt of Gun Digest’s Cartridge’s Of The World.
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