.416 Remington Magnum

The .416 Remington Magnum is a .416 caliber (10.6 mm) of a belted bottle-necked design. The cartridge was intended as a dangerous game hunting cartridge and released to the public in 1989. The cartridge uses the case of the 8 mm Remington Magnum as a parent cartridge. When the cartridge was released in 1988, author Frank C. Barnes considered the .416 Remington Magnum to be the "most outstanding factory cartridge introduced in decades".

The cartridge was conceived as a less costly alternative to the .416 Rigby cartridge and was intended to replace the latter. While today the .416 Remington Magnum is considered in the field the most popular of the .416 cartridges, the .416 Remington did not replace the .416 Rigby as had been anticipated. Rather, it sparked a renewed interest in the .416 caliber (10.36 mm) cartridges which led to the revival of the .416 Rigby and the introduction of other .416 cartridges such as the .416 Weatherby Magnum and the .416 Ruger.

The .416 Remington Magum is one of the more popular dangerous game cartridges used for the hunting of dangerous game in Africa. It also has been increasingly used in North America, in Alaska in particular for the hunting of and as a defense against large bears.

As former European colonies in Africa gained independence, safari hunting on the continent began a slow decline due to resource mismanagement and political factors. This, in turn, led to a decline in interest in big bore rifles and cartridges used to hunt dangerous African game species. However, by the 1980s African nations recognizing the potential benefits, began developing areas as hunting and safari destinations. As interest in safari hunting in Africa increased so did interest in dangerous game rifles.

Early on .416 Rigby had been one of the most celebrated medium bore magazine rifle cartridges during the heyday of African hunting. Today, loaded with modern smokeless powders, the .416 Rigby is considered a big bore cartridge. The Rigby was a large, voluminous cartridge in comparison to most magazine rifle cartridges of its time which had used cordite as a propellant and operated at a medium pressure. Rifles chambered for the cartridge required not only a longer action but also an oversized bolt face, all of which increased the cost of the rifle chambered for the cartridge. Cartridges such as the .416 Rigby – which was considered an entry level cartridge in countries which mandated 40 caliber (10 mm) cartridges – lost out to cartridges such as the .458 Winchester Magnum and the .375 H&H Magnum which could be chambered in much less costly bolt action rifles. As ammunition for the cartridge dried out, professional hunters such as Selby put away their .416 Rigby rifles for the lack of available ammunition.