Rip,
A 416 Dakota with a 400 gr. bullet at 2400 FPS, Hell boy, I can get that out of a 404 plus a couple of hundred more fPS, plus a tad more than that... whats the deal here???, that ain't yo pappys rifle!

Regards,
Pappy

Andy,
I believe with a "proper bullet" the 416 Dakota would prove to be a better and definately more effective round than the 404 Jefferys for killing Buffalo, but the old 404 does it job just fine....

I have come to the conclusion that high velocity with the proper bullet will kill faster than the slower rounds that I have used for years... It only makes since that a bullet that gets in the boiler room with more traumatic reaction will kill better as it destroys more tissue...The Monolithics and half monolithics and certain premium bullets have changed the hunting scene and thats for sure. The old 2400 FPS rule has definately been challanged, but it still ain't no bad deal, it still works and with a bit less recoil I might add..
I have stayed true to the old guns, but mostly without justifycation, just nostalgia..and I'm happy with that.

Ray,
That dog can hunt!
I felt the earth move and heard the roll of thunder when I read your post above. I have enjoyed your comments here, all umpteen thousand of them, and have had some fun yanking your chain a time or two. It is good to know that old dogs can learn new tricks. And even though I am not your bastard son, tonight I wish to ask, may I call you "Pappy?"

Ray,

you may go down in history as the man who invented the term "half monolithic."

thats a great description of the original Ackley solid base, a Trophy Bonded, or North Fork!

RIP,

I checked the Dakota web site and they list their factory 416 Dakota ammo at 2450 fps.

I will e mail and ask for some load data to see how much faster they can push it.

That 370 grain North Fork has got me thinking. It has a SD of .305 so it should penetrate as well or better than my 450 gr North fork at 2550 fps.

Mikes web site said the 423 bullet was designed for lower velocity than the 416. One thing that impresses me about the NF is that it is a hard bullet but still expands at lower vel.

thanks for your input.

Andy

Hi Andy,
Yep, Dakota lists their 400 grain Swift load at 2450 fps, and a 350 grain Swift load at only 2500 fps. We all know these can be bettered with a blown out full length .404 Jeffery case.

I might as well have a CZ 550 Magnum action barreled to .416 Dakota and have a 5 shooter to play with while waiting for the newly Nesika-tized Dakota to make chips.

Hi Andy,
That is what we are here for. Please correct me whenever I suffer from cerebral flatulence, as I am prone to it.

The 380gr/.423cal NF soft and solid project down into the slope of the shoulder only about 62/1000". The neck of the .404 Jeffery is 0.638" long, and about 0.700" of the bases of NF's are seated. The solids are a little longer, not much.The loads are not compressed at all with 83 grains of Varget.

Yes, I think the .416 Dakota woud get the 350 grain Swift to do 2700 fps and the 370 grain North Fork might do that too, certainly 2600 fps should be easy, so one could just stick with .416 Remington max ballistics for 2600 fps at lower pressures and sans belt.

330 grain GSC HV or 325 grain Barnes X at 2800 fps or more?

350 grain Barnes Triple Shocks at 2700 fps should be a moderate pressure load.

But maybe Saeed has the best idea for the African Sheep Rifle: .375/404 Saeed, with 300 grainers at 2700+fps. One bullet weight only need apply.

That keeps it really simple for those prone to cerebral flatulence. I suppose if I had a Walterhog nipping at my heels, I would want to keep it simple too.