Perry
I had to stop before I had finished the original post so be sure and read the part about the Elephant Bull. Check Ians site for some Photos

fredj338
My 450 No2 is a British double built in the 1920's.
I have used 81gr.IMR 3031, 100gr.IMR 4831 and 88gr of RL-15 with 480 and 500gr bullets. My favorite loads use RL-15.
I still use 81 grains of IMR 3031 with the 350grain Hornady RN for deer and pig here in the states. I use Bertram brass, Federal 215 primers and my Dies are RCBS. I also us e the RCBS file and trim Die. You will need to get the Big RCBS press because the 450 No2 cases and loaded rounds are so long. YOU MUST USE A FILLER OF SOME TYPE WITH ALL LOADS. I have used 5 grains of poly with the full power loads and I know use foam cut out with a 50BMG case that I sharpen every so often with a champher tool.

The PH and the PV [professional videographer] were impressed with how the 450 No2 performed. It recieved the nick name THE HAMMER OF THOR. I too was well pleased with its performance. Wayne said he has never seen an Elephant react like that to a body shot. In his words "It hit that Elephant like a frieght train". I spoke of my desire for a 577 Nitro or a 600 Nitro double, they both said as long as I have the 450 No2 I would be wasting my money, better to spend it on more Elephant hunts.

NE 450 No2,

I'm glad to see you had such an incredable adventure! A lifetime experiance without doubt, that will be with you forever! I look forward to seeing the pictures.


Erik D.

How about a pic of the rifle as well & maybe some load info.? I have a friend building one that I get to test fire. If you are reloading, who's dies, brass, etc.
thanks

450NE,



After watching you shoot your doubles and all the others eveyone else brought to the pig hunt I knew you would have no trouble hitting your targets. Who says a couple thousand rounds of NE won't teach a guy a thing or two? Great shooting and good bullet performance. What a wonderful hunt!

Now how about some trophy photos!!!

Perry

I took 3 different bullets for the 450 No2. 480 grain Woodleigh Softs and Solids, and 500 grain Swift A Frames.

The first aniimal I took with the 450 No2 was an Elephant Cow, tuskless. We had doen a few previous stalks of Elephant cows but all had calves. We spotted this heard in the thick jess and after a close call we had eased into a spot where we were slightly above the elephants and were having a look. We knwe the Elephants were close when all of a sudden one steps into our view at about 6 yards. Wayne says "shoot her!", and as I raise my rifle for a side brain shot, she must have heard Wayne because it was so thisc I do not think she saw us, she spins her head around to look in our direction giving me a front quartering brain shot. I fire and immediately I see the signs of a brain shot, the trunk going up in the air. I could not see the rear of the elephant go down, too thick. She fell on her right side and I immediately fired the left bbl into her left shoulder. I reloaded and Wayne pulled me over to where he, and thus I, could see her chest and said shoot her in the chest. He was unable to see my second shot because the jess was so thick, and just wanted to be sure we had a good insurance shot.

I cannot describe how exciting this was. To shoot such a big animal at such close range and to hear the other Elephants thundering off, It took a few seconds for us to be sure they were thundering OFF and not TOWARD. It was late in the afternoon, we covered the Elephant with branches and came back the next morning for the recovery.

The recovery process was one of the highlights of my trip. At the scend of each Elephant kill up to a hundred natives would show up to get the meat. Nothing and I mean nothing goes to waste. In fact of all the game meat I ate in Africa I like Elephant the best.

I recovered the 480 Woodleigh Solid. It had gone through the brain, and skull and lodged in the spine. The bullet is split open from the base and looks like it tumbled AFTER [the hole in the back of the brain pan os round] it left the skull. It still weighs 477.8 grains. Its velocity must have still been pretty high after it left the head to cause it to split open.

The second animal with the No2 was a cow buffalo. We were in a heard and wayne said if we do not see a good bull we will shoot a cow for Lion bait. We bumbed the buff several times in the thick jess, many times only 5 or so yards away. Very exciting for sure. I had a 480 Woodleigh soft in the right bbl and a Solid in the left, I shot this cow directly in the shoulder at about 12 yards. I could see her hump up at the shot but did not fire the left bbl because there were otner buff behind her. There was buff pandemonium at the shot as they scattered. She went about 20 or so yards before we found blood. I felt the shot had been good. We tracked her for about 150 to 200 yarfds it si hard to tell in the thick jess. When we saw her hse was one her belly facing mostly away. When she heard us she tried to get up I fired a Solid into her side angling toward the lungs. She dropped and rolled to where her spine was facing me. I fired the left bbl, also a solid, directly into her spine. That did the trick. The first shot was a perfect heart shot, the bullet was recovered against the skin on the off side. It weighs 473.4 grains and looks like a perfect mushroom. I also recovered one of the Solids form the neck behind the head. It is marked only with the rifling.

The third animal was a tusked cow elephant. We stalked into a heard early one morning. The Matriarch walked by very close but I did not want to shoot her. We stalked in to the herd and from about 12 yards I side brained a cow. At the shot the rear end went down and the trunk went up, classic brain shot. I held the second bbl for just a second and then reloaded the right. As I began to move forward for the insurance shots Wayne called me back, he had to call me two or three times as per his prior instructions I was intent on making some insurance shots and I was "HEADED IN".

[Understand the "headed in" part is ME, Wayne is not encourageing that, when I can see the animal and it is down I want to close in. That is just me ]

We had to back out for a few minutes because the rest of the heard was comming to the sound of the shot. After a few minutes they moved a couple of hundred yards off. We made the recovery that day. The bullet was recovered. She was shot at a slight angle the bullet taking the brain at a slight quartering angle exited the skull, struck one lobe of the atlas and the axis, penetrating a few inches of spine and comming to rest at the junction of the neck and shoulder. The bullet is unmarked except for the rifleing. No insurance shots were fired. This elephant fell straight down on her brisket.

Next was a buffalo bull. We actually spotted these buff from camp in the river below. We drove for about 1 hour to get to the river then walked across and went looking for the buff in the thick jess. We bumped the buff several times. Sometimes we were walking as quitely and as slowly as we could, other times running like crazy trying to keep up with them. Suddenly we were in a little clearing with several buff about 30 to 40 yards away. They began to run. Wayne said "the one in the back", "I said the one in the back?" Wayne said "Yes". He was just about to go out of sight so I raised the 450 No2 and fired the right bbl, a 500grain Swift A Frame at him about mid body due to the angle as he went out of sight.We later learned that the 500gr bullet went through his heart and lodged gainst the shoulder bone on the opposite side.

I reloaded and ran after him. [Wayne later said he actually did not expect me to fire as they were running to fast and the angle was bad]. I ran just qa few yards and could see the buff was down, he had gone less than 40 yards. Wayne was right with me and said "shoot him again" I began running toward the buff, my plan to close to about 20 yards and give him another. Because there was still buff in the jess all around us Wayne hollers "No from HERE". So I stop and fire 2 solids into the buff, he was on his side with his spine facing me. I reloaded walked toward him. He scrabbled around saw me and tried to get up on his feet. Wayne said "shoot him in his chest". As I raised the No2 he dropped his hesd. He was at a slight angle to me so I put a shot at the back of his jaw hoping it would hit the spine. It had a good effect because he fell over on his right side and exposed his chest. I reloaded the right bbl with a 500 gr Swift A frame and hit him in the center of the front of the chest. The death bellow followed shortly. The Solids were through and through. Both Swift A Frames were recovered. The first weighs 490.8 grains and expanded to .845"x.865". The second also went through the heart. I have a picture of the heart with 2 entrance and 2 exit holes. It was found at the rear if the chest cavity against the liver. It weighs 499.0grains and expanded .788"x.855".

Perfect performance in both cases.

This Buff has great bosses it is almost grown totally together. We never did measure the width but I think my pictures will be on Ian Lewis web site www.safarivideos.com son and I will post them as soon as I figure out how.

I killed Elephant Cow number 2 and this buff on the same day.

The last animal taken was my Elephant Bull. I did not have a bull on quota at first. But after taking the first elephant and seeiong a good bull Wayne made a radio call and a Bull "Tag" was found. We stalked, hunted and saw several bulls. One we would have shot but did not get a chance. We spotted a bull from about 2 miles away and knew he looked good. He was moving toward us so off we went.

Once again we were in the thick jess. We saw him twice, once as I raised my No2 for a side quarting brain shot he turned just enough that I thought it better not to fire. The took ONE step and dissappered. We looked for him for quite a while in the thick jess, but did not see him. Finally one of the trackers heard a faint noise and we walked toward it. Then all of us could hear something. As Wayne and I entered a little clearing Wayne got a climpse of the elephant. He turned to me and said "he's huge!". We ran foward a few feet and I could see him, he was rapidly walking away not quite broadside [at what later turned out to be 120 yards]. Wayne said "Can you hit him?" I replied "Yes". I moved a few feet to our right and from a kneeling position fired the right bbl, less than a second and a half later [It is on video] I fire the left bbl.

Both shots hit the Elephant, the first low in the left shoulder [it entered the rib cage and might have hit the bottom of the heart, in the recovery melee I did not get to see the heart] I say this because on the video you can see the Elephant is seriously rocked by the first bullet. The second bullet hits the left leg from the back and breaks the leg bone exits the leg and goes through the trunk. I am trying to hit behind the leg into the chest but he spins around a lot faster than I thought he could. He spins all the way around. I reload and start running toward the Elephant. He sees me and starts running toward me. Wayne says "HE COMES". The Elephant and I continue toward each other. Wayne then says "HE'S COMMING!!" At this time the Elephant stumbles sticks both tusks into the ground and falls down behind a bush. As he gets back up Wayne says "BRAIN HIM". So from about 50 yards or so I fire a Solid into his head trying for a frontal brain shot. I do not get the "classic" response but the shot knocks him out and down he goes. I reload and run up to the back of his hesd, and at Waynes direction fire a shot into him. I do not get the classic response, Wayne says "Lower" I reload and fire a second shot into the back of his head and get the classic response. Since he is already on his right side you can see his tail curl and his back leg pull in against hes abdomen. It takes a lot longer to tell this than it took to do it. The video Ian Lewis got is fantastic.

The ivory looks very good . Check out www.safarivideos.com for pictures.