I passed on a 9.3 Ruger.
Kinda kicking myself now.

While I'll never go to Africa, my big game rifle is a Ruger No. 1 chambered in 416 Remington Magnum.  I'll likely take it out west for elk or moose one day, but that's as far as it'll go.  Prior to that I've had a Winchester M70 Safari Express in 416 Rem (I sold this to get the Ruger), a Ruger M77 Alaskan in 416 Ruger, and a CZ 550 American Safari Magnum in .458 Lott.  The Lott was just way too much, and I am not recoil shy at all.  But the cost of the rounds for it and the recoil was just more than what I could deal with.  I loved my Winchester M70 in 416 Rem and I've always loved the Ruger No. 1 as well.

I was lucky enough to find what I think is an unfired No. 1 in 416 Rem Mag just recently, which was one of my grail guns.  From what I can tell Ruger only made the 416 Rem Mag No.1s in 2004, so it isn't like the other Tropical calibers where they're pretty available.  The seller had mentioned the gun looked unfired but they listed it as used anyways.  When I got to my FFL to pick it up the bore was pristine and there were no signs of any brass casing marks on the ejection ramp, so it was either unfired or only fired a couple times at all.

Big bores make reloading VERY economical!

When I bought my first big bore rifle, Ruger RSM in 416 Rigby, Federal was the only game in town for ammo.  $180+ for a box of 20.
You pay for your reloading gear with the first 30 or so reloads!

Congrats on finding your grail gun.  Nice getting the one you have been wanting for awhile.


@Zeebz

Thank you!  Yeah I had been watching them for a while on Gunbroker but was very picky about what one I got, so it was probably a year's worth of watching before I jumped on the "right one."  I especially don't like buying used guns so I feel I was very fortunate in finding one that was very likely unfired.  And yeah if I had the Rigby I'd definitely reload.  Thankfully for me the 416 Rem Mag ammo ain't too bad and I usually just watch for deals on it.  Most of the time I can get the Hornady DGS rounds for like $60 for a box of 20.

I'd still reload at $3 a pop for factory.

Hornady makes some fine bullets, but their DGS bullets have a poor reputation.
Swift A frames and Barnes TSX have stellar reputations.

Yeah I use the Hornady rounds mainly for paper punching and general target shooting.  If I hunt I use the Swift A-Frames.  I also have some Federal Fusion Safari rounds that I just got for $50 a box.  How are those for hunting?  From the looks of it Federal doesn't make the Fusion Safari series anymore.

@zeebz
Sorry I never got back to you.
I don’t know. The only thing I have fired at live targets are cutting edge brass solids and Barnes Ttsx with my .375
Both did stellar, with the .375 Ruger, the solids will pass through at almost any angle on a Cape buffalo.

@cpl_fisher

Thanks!  Unfortunately I put my Ruger No. 1 up for sale.  It was an awesome gun, but one day I do want to go out west and hunt larger game like elk, moose, and possibly even bear.  Because of that I decided to let go of the Ruger, despite loving the gun, due to the lack of utility of a single shot.  Especially because if I ever go hunting in bear country I'd want something capable of fast follow-up shots.  So I am selling the Rem Mag and my CZ 550 in 375 H&H and getting a CZ 550 Safari Magnum in .416 Rigby.  I absolutely love the .416 caliber rifles.  The .375 is cool, but the Rigby (and Rem Mag) aren't too far behind in regard to ballistics, in addition to having almost 1,000 more ft-lb of energy at the muzzle.

I thought about getting another Winchester Safari Express in .416 Rem Mag, but I like that the CZ 550 is a true Magnum action, and that the Rigby is the equal to the Remington while operating at less pressure.  It was tough because I prefer the Model 70 to the 550 in most cases, but I wanted the Rigby and it can only be had in the CZ.  One big plus I will give to the CZ is the single set trigger.  One of my favorite triggers in any rifle, ever.

Ruger No.1 .416 Rigby, 400 gr Nosler Partition @ 2525 fps with a South Texas Asiatic Water Buff

Closest I have is a 98 mauser I built in .35 whelen

I have a Yugo M48 Mauser with a Boyd's hunting stock on it. Those actions take any high pressure ammo you can feed it and mine is accurate. Friend and I plan on going on safari in a couple years after retirement. Will also pick up a heavier bore before that though.

Beautiful rifles here folks 🍻

Ruger No. 1 in .375 H&H I bought ages ago for an anticipated trip. Never took the trip and consider selling every once in a while. My South African friend swear by their 300 Win Mags and hunt everything with them.

Reload with Speer 235gr and hunt here with it!