.416 Remington Magnum - Design & Specifications

Design & Specifications

In designing the .416 Remington Magnum, Remington intended to emulate the performance of the .416 Rigby using the smaller case of the .375 H&H Magnum. To be able to reach this performance level, the smaller case would have to work at much higher pressures than the Rigby cartridge. However, the volume of the resulting case allowed for Remington to achieve the anticipated performance level rather easily without reaching its maximum pressure limit.

Remington chose to use the 8 mm Remington Magnum as a starting point when developing the new cartridge. The 8 mm Remington Magnum used a highly improved and strengthened case in comparison to the .375 H&H Magnum and it offered an increase in volume over the latter cartridge. Furthermore, the SAAMI working pressure of the 8 mm Remington Magnum’s case was 65,000 psi (4,500 bar) which was higher than that of the .375 H&H Magnum. In the end .416 Remington Magnum was created by simply necking up the 8 mm Remington Magnum case with no other changes made to the case. Dimensionally, below the neck, the cases of both the 8 mm Remington Magnum and the .416 Remington Magnum are identical.

S.A.A.M.I. compliant .416 Remington Magnum cartridge schematic: All dimensions in inches .

The .416 Remington Magnum was standardized in May 1989 by S.A.A.M.I. in North America. SAAMI recommends a 6 groove barrel with each groove having a width of .128 in (3.3 mm) and twist rate of one revolution in 14 in (360 mm). Recommended bore diameter is .408 in (10.4 mm) while the groove diameter is given as .416 in (10.6 mm). The case has a capacity of 107 gr. of water (6.95 cm3). Maximum pressure given by SAAMI is 65,000 psi (4,500 bar) or 54,000 C.U.P.

The C.I.P. regulates the .416 Remington Magnum cartridge. No discrepancies exist between C.I.P. and S.A.A.M.I. published values regarding case dimensions; any discrepancies that may exist are due to rounding off when converting from inches to millimeters. However, the CIP provides a pressure rating of 4,300 bar (62,000 psi) for the cartridge. The C.U.P. pressure rating is the same as the S.A.A.M.I. pressure rating of 54,000 C.U.P.