| JabaliHunter |
| (.400 member) |
| 16/11/07 04:44 AM |
Re: New Double Cartridge needed??
|
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the .450/.400 worked so well and was so successful - more double rifles have been built in .400 than any other over .40 caliber
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A rifle for a straight case .423 with a 450 grain bullet at standard velocity will weigh just as much as a .450/.470 and produce just as much recoil, so why bother?
Don't get me wrong, I think the .450/.400 is great and remains my no.1 choice. I take your point that a .423 firing 450 grains would generate more recoil and should thus be heavier than a .450/.400. Also, if pressure makes it unfeasible, then enough said. Similarly, I agree that if it wouldn’t sell, then there would be little chance of it being developed commercially.
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It set the over .40 flanged nitro velocity standard that the others followed. If something larger were desired, a .450 was the next logical step.
Clearly if one wants a .470, one can go out and buy one. However, as .40s seem to be flavour of the month at the moment, and as the majority of safari clients are likely to invest in just one suitable buffalo/elephant rifle (DR or bolt), I was thinking along the lines of whether any of the current flanged .40s could not be improved upon. I am sure that this partly explains the popularity of the .404 and .416 (although this is clearly mostly due to the availability and cost of Mauser bolt rifles). The .450/.400 is often cited as the perfect buffalo DR, however many writers have stated that the 450/.400 is on the light side for elephant, whereas the .416 and .404 seem to be highly regarded as elephant rifles.
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Seems like everybody is a velocity hound these days. None of the over .40 flanged nitros ever did that in the field, and all were successful and proved more than adequate.
I just feel that, while the .450/.400 is eminently suitable and highly desirable for its original purpose (all-round DR, including buffalo), it might leave some people feeling that they needed more than one DR, for instance if they wanted to hunt elephant. Nothing wrong with that! But a .423 might bridge the gap between the .450/.400 and .470 by approaching the performance of the more modern .404 loads, especially with the heavier bullets now available, and therefore appeal to a lot of potential DR shooters.