Is RWS Dynamit Nobel 404 Rimless ammo any good? Are the dimensions of this ammo of up to spec? I have the opportunity to buy some at, what seems like, a very reasonable price (online), but don't know anything about it.
Matt

Buy you won't go wrong! Good brass to reload!

Great quality.

RWS ammo is good quality ammo with good quality bullets, only that... It's often loaded close to max pressures.

I don't know about the 404 in particular, but in .375 I have had pressure problems in two different rifles (sticky bolt at opening after just a few rounds) and I stopped using RWS ammo, except for the oddball leftover round let loose on some vermin animal.

RWS loaded .404 with different solids...

The silver coloured ones would reliably tear open on buff. They gave quite deep penetration and reasonable expasion (NB these were meant to be solids!!!)...finally RWS gave up with their own bullets and made at least one run using Woodleigh solids. We had both in parks...the stuff loaded with the woodleighs appearing about 1992 (I could be a couple of years out!)

Brass was good. Velocity 2325fps (as advertised) out of the 22" Barrel on my H&H and well above advertised (closer to 2400fps) out of the Cogswell & Harrison.

The stuff loaded with the woodleighs was great ammo and several of my contemporaries in the vet dept finishing off the Buff eradication programme in western zim were Very happy. In my 7lb H&H the recoil was brutal compared to the kynock stuff (loaded to give about 2100fps)-

Why, in heavens name, would you have a 375 that weighs only 7 lbs??

Bryan...404 not .375. Built by H&H sometime in the 50's. Was a delight to carry, pointed insinctively - I was able to hit flying guieneafowl with it...Ghost ring sight on the cocking piece...everything you want in a gun that is carried alot but seldom fired....actually after Zeroing it from the bench with the RWS ammo I couldn't lift my right arm and had a concusion - The old German gun smith running the range told me to keep shooting- everybody was just standing around watching the thing kick the s&%t out of me.

That said, from standing or off sticks the recoil was not unpleasant- It fitted me extremely well.

Sold it because wife wanted a house - not for any shortcomming in the rifle. Got rid of the Cogswell because it had all the finess in handling of a mopane log

We have used a lot of RWS ammo, and found to be great.

Stay away from any ammo made by Hirtenberger of Austria. It is loaded so hot, it is best avoided.

I use RWS cases in my 404, a packet of 20 has lasted me many years and I can't remember how many full power loads and cast bullet loads have been shot from them. Lost a couple from neck splits but now anneal every so often and this has cured that problem. I still have an unused packet of 20 cases which I'm keeping for Africa.

Also use the RWS 400gr solid bullets (the silver ones), they performed well on Aussie buffs although I do keep my loads to around 2200fps in deference to the opened up Mauser. Was interested in Ganyana's comment about the 'silver' ones breaking up like a soft nose on buffalo. The early RWS 'silver' ones may have been nickel jacketed but mine are steel jacketed with a fairly good reinforced nose as the sectioned one below shows.
Pondoro Taylor mentioned one hunter having problems with 404 bullets breaking up and an old fella in NZ here who had a 404 couldn't, or wouldn't, try my bullets because his barrel was only .418" across the grooves. I wonder if a tight bore barrel tends to start to split bullet jackets with deep engraving from the rifling causing breakup on game. Maybe this is an explanation for the odd behaviour of some older 404s with some bullets.