Can any of you provide me with any details on this caliber? I belive it is comparable to a .404, but just wanted to get some more info...I am thinking of a rebarrel...
Thanks,
Brian

Positives:

Lots of brass that can be made into .425
Woodleigh, NorthFork, Swift, etc. bullets
Traditional .404 velocities at very low pressure
2400 fps with 400 grain bullets are possible
Very little action work if already set up for
Win mag calibers

Minus:
Loaded ammo is rare if not nonexsistant
No headstamped brass?
What do you get more than a .416 Remington or
the proposed .416 Ruger?

The A-Square reloading manual has a 400 grain 2350 fps load at Piezo transducer 51,900 from a 26" barrel (there are higher velocities, too, but at greater pressures). Even in a 22" barrel, I reckon that you could whomp an elephant side-the-head in a deadly fashion!

basically, a 416 taylor, with .423 bullets, and it is a savage only deal on commerical guns

We used a local PHs rifle for a while and developed softs and solids for it. He has taken all of the big 5 with it.

Its creation is attributed to Cam Hopkins, a writer for gun rags. It is the .300 Win. Mag. necked up to .423", and as Jeff mentioned was commercially chambered (briefly) by Savage starting 1995.

George

http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?s...id=548796&t=11082005

here is the brass

.....I know a Brown bear guide in Illiamna who REALLY likes his ..!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Perhaps a stupid Question on a Big Bore Forum, but what is it like recoil wise?

I have a Ruger M77 stainless / laminate stock in 338 Winmag, wich might see a barrel change in the future.
I have been thinking about the 416 Taylor, 375 Ruger, and now the 425 Express pops up

I´m a seasoned 375 H&H shooter, but that´s the biggest I have tried so far...

Hey guys, thanks for the replies.
I was under the impression that the .425 could be built on a standard length action. Do you need a magnum action to carry the project off? I have an old 8mm Husqvarna that I need to do something with. It is a great gun as is, but...I got the itch...Maybe I should just go with the 416 Taylor? Thoughts, suggestions, rants, flames?
Thanks again,
Brian

I have two; one on a Ruger 77 action and one on a Sako AV action. The .425 Express is the .300 Win Mag shortened to 2.55 inches and necked up to use .423 bullets (.404 Jeffery). This will fit in a standard length action. Brass can be made from the .300 Win Mag, but I bought some headstamped brass from Quality Cartridge. This round is a thumper. I don't reload, but my cousin is an avid .425 Express believer. He has one in the Savage 116SE. He has loaded my brass for me with 350 gr. Swift A-frames. I have only shot one whitetail deer with it. Very humane but ruins a lot of meat. It was a pass through shot, so I didn't recover the bullet, but it ruined both shoulders and ruined the front part of both tenderloins.

Recoilpad's 425 is the only one i have seen in the flesh

the 416 ar is a far larger capacity and easily goes through 2400/400g

jeffe

Jeffe's right. There are far better choices these days. But back in the day the .425 Express was all that was out there for this kind of performance in a standard length action. I believe my reloads for the 350 gr. were somewhere around 2500 FPS. This is all I can stand in this rifle. It needs a better stock.

I have a Clymer 425 exp finish reamer If anyone wants it. It has cut one chamber. $60.00 shipped in the CONUS.

There is no difference in the length of the cartridge between the 416 Taylor and the 425 Express. They are virtual twins.

I recently sold my 425 Express to a member here, but used it as my back up rifle for elephant in 2005. It will do everything a 404 Jeff will do, and it will fit in a standard Mauser action. I would not build this or any other 375HH based cartridge on other than a Mauser 98 action.

I really liked my 425 Express and would recommend it or the 416 Taylor as an alternative to the 416 Rem or 404 Jeff. You can throw a 400 grain bullet right at 2400fps. Kudude

........Personally I don,t think there are better choices now ,,, Just alot more of them ...

The real beauty of the 425 is the 300 WSM and the 300 Ultra. The racks at the gunstores are full of obsolete 300 winnys and with nothing more than a fresh barrel you have an absolute powerhouse. Brass can be made from 300 win or 375 H&H and it'll shoot through and through anything in the US. (except whales-458's test medium)

I am the member who bought kudude's Savage 116SE in .425 Express as a backup for my .404 Jeffery. I have topped it with a Zeiss Conquest 1.8-5.5X38 scope in Talley QD rings and bases. I haven't had time it shoot it much (20 rounds), but my initial impressions are very favorable as to accuracy and handling.

I met an Alaskan bear guide named Joe Palanco who was blind in one eye and still had a commercial pilot's license that allowed him to do the taxi service along the Aleutian chain. He flew me from Dutch Harbor to Cold Bay, AK, and back in some tricky weather. He regaled me with tales of the .425 Express, his favorite rifle. I hope he is still flying and guiding for brown bear with his .425.

Joe flies for Pen-Air out in Cold Bay and has a BB concession in southeast that he bases out of a boat. We met at Andrews Air in Kodiak this spring and I asked about his 425 express. He said he had a 411 on the H&H case. He called it the Express.
.

Heh, heh, that was quick. I could have sworn Joe was using a .425 Express, from the conversation. It was a medevac flight.
I put him up in a bed&breakfast for the night rather than see him sleep in the hangar.
He paid me back with tales of brown bear guiding. Yes, we had separate bedrooms.
.411 Express.

I've read elsewhere that Joe used a 425 as well and was a little surprised myself. He's a nice fellow and I would have liked to yak a little more with him.