Quote:

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The .458Lott has ballistics on par with a .470NE. It qualifies as a stopping rifle. The .416Rigby does not.

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This thread isn't asking about which is a stopping rifle. That said, a stopping rifle is any rifle that effectively stops dangerous game intent on it's survival vs. yours, dead in it's tracks. Stopping rifles are not classified based on caliber but, rather, classified based on cartridge. A .45-70, for example, is not a stopping rifle, but it is a big bore cartridge. Definitions have blurred over the years to mean that a .45 caliber is the threshold to the stopping rifle category when the term really means a cartridge capable of propelling a 500 grain bullet at ~2200fps and generating over 5100ft.lbs......or some similar definition. Granted, a .416 is not classified as a big bore cartridge, a class traditionally reserved for .45 caliber and larger, but in it's own class as a big medium, it's highly effective for all of the reasons stated by Ripp's comments above and easily qualifies based on energy. It can indeed serve gallantly as a stopping rifle. Take advantage of the Rigby's larger case, or use the Weatherby version, and you have a totally different gun in your hands. For all around use and an occassional elephant, I'll take a .416 in either Remington, Rigby or Weatherby. For primary elephant work, I'll take a .500NE.

I had a .460 Weatherby for years with open sights and a detachable scope that I loved owning and shooting. Heck, even my biases are based on biases!

Anyway, enough of that! I voted for the .416 Rigby in this poll.

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Edited by Der_Jaeger (27/12/08 11:55 PM)

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