G'day,

I have been hunting with my CZ550 in .416 Rigby for only four years, but have had a lot of fun in that time. Between my mates and I, my rifle has accounted for seven buffalo, three scrub bulls, ten camels, four donkeys, one brumby, and about seven pigs of various sizes.

I haven't fiddled with loads much, choosing a medium load of 94 grains of 2209 to push the 410 soft point Woodleigh. It works, so I stick to it. It's not the bottom load (93 grains), but it's not the maximum load (98 grains).

I do believe that my rifle is user friendly, and to me the jolt it gives is part of the thrill of such a calibre. It's only the first couple of times that you let off seven or eight rounds that you can feel it for a day or so. After that, you seem to toughen up. So, in my opinion, it is pleasant to shoot.

I bought my brass from Horsley Park. The brass is made by Norma, and I'm very happy with it. I think they cost about six dollars each. Or was it three dollars? It was awhile ago. Somehow, six dollars rings a bell for first load, and three dollars for each one after that.

The press I use is not fancy. It is a Lee Anniversary kit, and at first glance seems too small. However, I just insert the projectile up into the die and hold it there before bringing the brass up to it to seat it. Hopefully you can follow that. The point is that I have a lot of success with a not-very-fancy press.

The only issue I am having now with my rifle is that the magazine spring seems a little weak, and one has to be aware of this in hunting / back-up situations. I stretch it out a bit to fix this.

I've never shot a .458 so I can't compare the recoil.

I hope this helps, and I believe you'll have a lot of fun!

Cheers,

Ben