Meet Rusty Newton 416 HellFire ELR shooter from Texas
416 Hellfire – My ELR Story this month brings you Rusty Newton from Wichita Falls, Texas. This series is meant to bring you some of the most interesting and also accomplished ELR shooters we have had to pleasure to come across in this awesome international community that rifletalks.com has the mission to bring together. We aim to bring you first hand knowledge from those that have managed to crack the nuts a few times to seek to understand how they do it.
I had the pleasure to speak to Rusty a few times when I was building my BAT EXS 416Barrett as I came across him loading on a in line bullet seater on the mega sized, 21st Century Arbor Press and I reached out.
The inline seating die has the advantage of being used anywhere, you can easily take it to the range without lugging the huge prazipress.The arbor press is indeed larger than your usual 6mmbr one but besides that,
it’s super convenient to load for and feel your bullet seating as it happens.
Eventually ARC ballistics in the UK made me a custom inline seating die so I could do load development on the range. Rusty came across very helpful and a straight up Texan. He is a family man and an outdoors man with strong roots in the precision shooting world and also with a love for hunting, fishing and the outdoors. He has some great plans coming up and we’re looking closely at his next steps. Let’s meet Rusty.
I then had the pleasure to see Rusty NEWTON shoot at ESI 2025 (the original version ran by me and my Malta team). I saw him engage the 2300m target during the finals with such rapid shooting form and perfection, it struck a note in my mind. He was decisive and instinctive in his working of that big bolt while under the watchful eyes of his spotter Ryan Cheney. They landed 4/5 on target in a beautiful expose of ELR perfection ringing that Morgan Target Steel plate time after time to the awe of the onlookers and hundreds of thousands watching from home.
Can you give us a breakdown of your 416 HF ELR custom competition rifle? (Parts and specs)
Gunsmith: Alamo Precision
Cartridge: .416 Hellfire
Chassis: Accurate Rifle Systems
Action: Pierce 10X
Barrel: Bartlein 36” 1-9 twist
Trigger: Bix’n Andy Competition 2 stage
Optic: Nightforce ATACR 7x-35x
Bipod: AccuTac and Accuracy Solutions EXT
Rear bag: Ryan Cheney ELR Endgame
Electronics: Kestrel 5700X and Kestrel HUD
Rings: Spuhr QDP 4602
How heavy is your rifle in 416 HF as it currently stands? Are you set for a specific weight limit?
My weapon system is currently weighing in at 39 lbs 14 oz or 18.0869 kilograms. I set it up that way due to the Ko2M weight restrictions but they went up to a max weight of 50 lbs now so I may add some weight and see if it helps anything.
Do you use a Bipod EXT? If yes how does it help you achieve the consistency you are after?
Yes I do run a Bipod EXT and was one of the first shooters to start using it in 2019. I feel it helps decrease angular movement upon recoil, helping to maintain target acquisition between shots.
416 Hellfire cartridge of choice
Why did you choose this rifle chambered in 416 HF for ELR competition? Rather than 416Barrett, 41xc, 416cheytac, 416stroker etc.
I had previously run a 416 Barrett In 2019 before switching to a 375 Cheytac. I got away from the 416 Barrett due to the inconsistency in brass and how much work it took to make it as consistent as possible. Even then that brass did not compare to the consistency of Peterson 375 Cheytac brass. After seeing the consistency from Justin Wolf and a number of guys on the Alamo Precision team, I switched over to the 416 hellfire.
416Hellfire twist rate
What’s your barrel twist on this 416 HF setup and who did the machining and chamber work on yours?
Alamo Precision chambered and put the rifle together for me. It has a 1in 9” twist. There are a lot of good gunsmiths all over the United States, but it is very hard to beat an Alamo Precision rifle in competition.
Any special muzzle break you prefer to help that rifle recoil like a rail gun?
I have tested a lot of the top muzzle brakes from around the United States and the one I continue to stay with is made by a little known company called Heritage Arms. They call it the Victory Turbine brake and it performs so well that I am really close to free recoiling my .416 Hellfire. In videos, it looks like the rifle has a ton of recoil but it’s only because I have very little shoulder pressure against it.
416Hellfire brass
How difficult is finding good brass for it today what are the options available to competition shooters and can you make brass from another parent case for those so oriented with the patience and means to do so? (I had my 416B brass done from.50bmg lapua brass in holland by the guy who won the heavy class at esi) 🙂
I have some of the Bertram brass that was first made available to the USA and it has been really consistent for me. At this time, Bertram is the only manufacturer of 416 Hellfire brass at this time, although I have heard rumors that at least one other company has been approached about making it for the public.
416 Hellfire MATCH AMMO
Tell us abit more about your ammo choice, whats in your ammo, bullets brass powder primers?
Brass: Bertram
Bullet: Cutting Edge 550 gr Lazer
Primer: Federal 215M (editor’s note: this is a major selling point, you don’t need to find RWS 50cal primers which can be a pain to source!)
Powder: Vihtavuori N568
416Hellfire Ammo load development
– WHAT’S YOUR SECRET to loading ammo that can bang those targets past 2300m with such consistency?
I feel one of the biggest secrets to hitting extreme long distance distance targets with consistency is brass preparation!
I do a few special things to each new set of brass when they arrive and while loading ammunition. Very few people know the actual secret sauce. 😉
Stefan Van Der Heide that ran an amazing string at the ESI finals Heavy Class at 2600meters told me the same exact thing, his brass prep is the most important step and he eventually also made my 416Barrett brass. What a gentlemen!
Can you describe the reloading process and tools used by an expert like you?
I use a Turban Prazipress Heavy 140mm to resize and a couple of other things (secret sauce). The powder is weighed on a A&D FX 120i with an Auto Trickler V4.
For seating bullets I use the 21st Century Hydro press and Warner Tool Company micrometer inline seating dies.
The prazipress can be seen here below loading ammo for the 416Barrett, it is an amazing tool that makes short work out of loading for the Big ELR cartridges, it is amazing.
At what distance do you conduct your 416 HellFire ELR match loads?
I have shot my Hellfire out to about 2.5 miles in practice due to a few matches in the USA having targets around that distance.
How important is neck tension in your view, do you use any mandrel to control nk tension and is it worth pursuing?
I feel neck tension is important and control it in a few different ways. Depending on the brass I am running, I will neck turn the brass, anneal it and or mandrel it to get the consistency I am looking for.
Neck tension consistency and tightness is definitely worth pursuing.
Do you chase the lands when bullet seating and how do you find the best seating depth for your cutting edge pills?
I have a set distance away from the lands that I feel my Cutting Edge 550 grain Lazers like to run. I try to maintain that distance away from the lands as the barrel wears.
Tell us more how you prepare yourself for competition, how important is your spotter to you and do you also spot for others?
As with most all sports, there are a lot of really good competitors in ELR. My physical preparation is probably about like most others. Being in decent physical shape and able to carry around an 40 to 50 pound rifle, plus all of your gear to the line without getting winded, I feel helps putting rounds on target. Also like most other sports I feel like the mental preparation is what usually sets apart the top 5%. In my opinion the spotter can make a huge impact on how well the shooter ends up scoring.
Below Rusty on one of his hunting trips ensuring he keeps his physical shape as good as his ammo.
A well trained spotter will give highly accurate and to the point corrections with very little excess talk. A good set of eyes beside the shooter is invaluable!
What is the future of ELR in your view, where do you see it going in the US and also international?
I would really like to see a governing body over all of ELR. That would include shooters, sponsors, and match directors from the US and internationally.
Rusty thank you for being with us and sharing your experiences in the ELR world!
Thank you for the opportunity to be a part of the RifleTalks.com publication.
Do you have any sponsors at the moment?
Yes he indeed does check them out!
- Accurate Rifle Systems
- Alamo Precision
- Accuracy Solutions
- AccuTac
- Applied Ballistics
- Applied Ballistics Brand Ambassador
- Bartlein Barrels
- Cutting Edge Bullets
- Heritage Arms
- DNA Customs
- X Ring CNC
