Sporting Usage
The intent and purpose behind the .416 Remington Magnum cartridge was to provide a dangerous game rifle cartridge which could emulate the performance of the vaunted .416 Rigby cartridge. While the .375 H&H Magnum is considered marginal on heavy, dangerous game, the .416 Rigby was recognized as a big bore with definitive stopping power to put down elephant, African Cape buffalo and rhinoceros. The cartridge has been successfully used against these game species in Africa and is a popular cartridge among professional hunters and has been slowly replacing the .458 Winchester Magnum.
Although dangerous game hunting is conducted at fairly close ranges rarely exceeding 60 yd (55 m) the .416 Remington Magnum has the required energy and penetration to kill heavy dangerous game at ranges over 100 yd (91 m). The cartridge has an effective range against lion and leopard out to over 250 yd (230 m). However, due to terrain and habitat such shooting instances rarely ever occur.
Unlike the many of the .458 caliber (11.43 mm) cartridges, the .416 Remington is more flexible, multipurpose cartridge. Since the cartridge can shoot almost as flat as the .375 H&H Magnum, it can be used effectively for heavier plains game with lighter bullets. The 300–350 gr (19–23 g) bullets similar to the Swift A-Frame or Barnes TSX bullets are appropriate for heavier non-dangerous game. Lighter dangerous game such as leopard and lion are best served with lighter bullets which open up rapidly or bullets which fragment upon impact such as the A-Square 400 gr (26 g) Lion Load. African countries require a minimum caliber of either .375 in (9.5 mm) or .400 in (10.2 mm) for the hunting of dangerous game.As this is the case the 41 caliber (10.36 mm) is the first acceptable common caliber for the hunting of dangerous game such as the big five.
The cartridge has found use in North America among guides in Alaska as insurance against large brown bears found in the state. Apart from the big bears such as the Alaskan brown bear, polar bear and perhaps large bovines such as plains and wood bison, no North American game species requires the power and the energy of the .416 Remington Magnum in North America. The cartridge can also be employed as an elk or moose cartridge, however, there are far more appropriate cartridges for these larger deer species.
Outside sports hunting the .416 Remington Magnum has found little to no use. While the bullet of high sectional density are commonly available none have the high balletic coefficients for target shooting. Furthermore, the heavy recoil of the cartridge can have an adverse effect as one would have to shoot long string shots depending on the discipline. An exception to this is the Big Bore shoots sponsored by the Big Bore Shooting Association and its affiliates.
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