.416 Rigby

Shooting a Classic Cartridge

- Layne Simpson

London-based John Rigby & Company introduced the .416 Rigby on a lengthened version of the Mauser Model 98 action in 1911. The No. 5 Magnum action, as it would be called, was a perfect fit for the new cartridge. As stated in Rigby’s introductory advertisement, “Unlike other large-bore magazine rifles which are made from military actions originally designed for smaller cartridges and converted in various ways, the magazine and action of this rifle have been specially designed and manufactured for our new cartridge.”

Officially described as “Model No. 5 416 Bore Big Game Rifle,” it had a 26-inch barrel and weighed 10 pounds, which to this day is the proper weight for a magazine rifle in .416 Rigby. Its magazine held four rounds and the three-leaf rear sight was said to be regulated for 100, 200 and 300 yards.

Along with the rifle, Rigby introduced ammunition with 410-grain softnose, hollow nose and steel-covered, solid bullets. The cartridge was loaded with cordite, a smokeless propellant introduced by the British in 1889. Muzzle velocity was said to be 2,371 feet per second (fps) for 5,119 foot-pounds of energy. Due to its high nitroglycerine content, cordite was quite erosive on barrels and is why the barrels of some well-used British rifles found today have seen much better days. It was also extremely temperature-sensitive, and since the .416 Rigby would surely be subjected to the tropical climates of Africa and India, it was loaded to a chamber pressure of 17 tons, roughly 38,100 psi. Modest chamber pressure combined with very little taper in the body of the case avoided sticky case extraction during extremely high ambient temperatures.