I find that my new Krieghoff 470 NE was regulated with Bell ammo.I was initially unable to find a supply and I was told that Bell no longer exsists. I have now managed to locate 100 rounds of solids which I am going to try. Can anyone help me with background and especially details of the bullet make up.
As soon as I have chance I will recover a bullet and disect to compare with a Woodleigh.
Has anyone any experience of Bell ammo on Bull Eles ?

That ammo must be at least 10 yrs old! I'd do a little handloading and find my sweet load before walking up to a big bull elephant!

R.Jolly,

Another alternative if you are not a reloader or even if you are is to send your rifle to Larry at Superior Ammunition and let him work up a load for you that will regualte with known bullets. You than can roll your own from his info or just call him when you need a new supply.

Mark

Before doing anything else, I'd pick up some fresh Kynoch ammo and see how it shoots these. I assume that Westley Richards ammo would also be locally available to you. I would also assume that Norma, Federal, and Hornady would be available.

Should you find that commercially available ammo works well, you can use it or reload to match.

quote:

That ammo must be at least 10 yrs old!

Almost certainly older than that. BELL offered loaded Nitro Express ammunition in the first iteration of the company, but I'm not aware that Mast Technologies ever did.

"Old" BELL was Brass Extrusion Labs Ltd (headstamped "BELL"). Jim Bell sold this company to PMC/Eldorado in 1988. PMC changed it's mind about manufacture of any of the BELL products (never made any at all), and Bell left the company. Mast Technoloties was founded in 1990. They eventually resumed production of Nitro Express brass (Mast Tech is headstamped "BeLL"), but I'm not aware that they ever offered loaded ammunition.

The headstamp will tell you which company made the ammunition. It's almost certainly 20+ years old. The .470 BELL ammunition I fired 20 years ago was loaded with Barnes bullets (pre-mono), but BELL did begin to use Woodleigh bullets late in the game. Since they're solids, if they're magnetic, they're steel jacketed and will probably be Woodleigh. The BELL solids I shot up in a 1910 Rigby .470 were also extremely accurate.
------------------------------------
"Serious rifles have two barrels, everything else just burns gunpowder."

I would try to get some of the new Hornady ammo or even Federal ammo and see how it shoots that and also try some Handloads. If both barrels won't shoot the same POI then I would send it in to be regulated for the available ammo. Also watch the outside temperature as you want it to shoot well werever you will be hunting with it. In other words don't set it up at 30 degrees and then expect the same results in 95 Degree weather. Just my .02 cents worth.

Thanks for all the imput. Looks like I will use the Bell for practice only. As a matter of interest, how long would you expect ammo to remain in good condition if stored correctly and what would you look for as an indication that it had deteriorated ?

How long?
I took some 30-06 handloaded ammo from the mid 1950s to the range last year and from a rifle I haven't shot since I was in Jr. High School (that reads, a long time ago and in a galaxy far, far way. . .) my son-in-law fired one ragged hole at 50 yards with 9 rounds.

Ammo, if stored properly has an exteneded shelf life.

But, unless you were the one storing it, don't count on it having been stored correctly. Especially dangerous game ammo!

JPK