I shot some loads in the 450/400 3 1/4" over the chrono today.

With 71.5 of RL 15
300 gr Hawk .025jkt 2361.5 fps
400 gr Hawk .035jkt 2154.5 fps
400 gr Woodleigh Soft 2150.5 fps

With 72 gr of Rl 15:
300 gr Hawk .025jkt 2337fps
400 gr Hawk .035jkt 2156.5 fps

All very interesting, but tell us about the composite (both barrels) group you shot...
Regards

Tim,
I was shooting on a 6 inch bull. All the shots from all loads were on the bull from 50 yards.
With the exception of the 400 grain Hawk all the other loads have killed game. The 400 Woodleigh's have taken Caribou at 85 and 150 yards.

Just a note, I found the 400gr/.404 Hawk to be very soft compared to the Woodleigh. Definetly not a buffalo bullet. Hawk is on the right after wetpack hit @ appr. 2100fps.

Fred,
I have used the 400 gr Woodleigh Softs on caribou and black bear.
I use the 300 gr Hawk with the .025 jkt on deer and wild pigs with excellent results.
I got the 400 gr Hawks with the .035 jkt to use on Black Bear over bait.
9,3 286 gr Hawks with the .035jkt have done very good in my Chapuis double on deer pigs and impala.

The pic is of a .050 jacket 400gr. I think they would be great for deer size game, but I don't trust it to stay together on heavy muscle & bone. I'll stick to NFs & Woodleigh for the big boy stuff.

Fred
You are exactly correct.
I use the Hawks because of their tremendous expansion at the velocities of Nitro Expresses.
I shot one hog with my 450 No2 and a 480 Woodleigh Soft. I hit him behind the shoulder [so as not to mess up the shoulder roast ],
he ran 90 yards of so. Similar hits with the 350 gr Hornady, or the 300gr Hawk in the 450/400 result in drop to the shot kills.
If I am stalking pigs I will usually carry a soft soft in the right bbl and a hard soft in the left, just in case I need to make a raking shot. It is practice for the Soft/Solid use in Africa.

Another good thing about the Hawks is I have found if you get a bullet @75% of the weight your double was regulated for and load it with the same powder charge it will regulate the same as you heavy bullet load. You might have to go up or down a grain or two.
This formula has worked in several British doublas as well as several new made ones.
The velocity of the 75% bullets is around 2350 to 2400 fps. Recoil is less than the full weight loads.

quote:

Originally posted by N E 450 No2:

Another good thing about the Hawks is I have found if you get a bullet @75% of the weight your double was regulated for and load it with the same powder charge it will regulate the same as you heavy bullet load. You might have to go up or down a grain or two.
This formula has worked in several British doublas as well as several new made ones.
The velocity of the 75% bullets is around 2350 to 2400 fps. Recoil is less than the full weight loads.

Thank you for this useful guideline. In the past I have used a charge of XMP5744 that equals 35-40% the weight of my full power regulating load for a lighter bullet. This technique achieves regulation, but puts velocity down in the 1400 to 1500 fps range.

500grains
I have also used Nitro for Black type loads with IMR4198 [with filler] in my 450 No2 and the 450/400 3 1/4".
Velocities are around 1800fps with 300 to 400 grain bullets. Recoil is very much reduced.

NE 450 No2
Thanks for the composite group readout.

My 500/450 Nitro came with a set of Gunbook Notes that indicated it also regulated the 360 gr. head. As I recall, that was the original, pre-NitroExpress weight of bullet. I tried it with about the 95 or so grains of IMR4831 that I use for 480 grain Woodleighs (full agreement on the Woodleigh as the head of choice!) Got a very fine composite group at 50, if just under two inches high. Ran out of time and heads (was using 350 gr. Barnes) so couldn't try at 100. As I recall velocity was somewhat over 1,800 ft/sec. Regards, Tim