I've seen it listed on the Ruger website for the #1 but what is the ammo called? 450 Express? 400 express? How does it compare to a 416 rigby or a 458 lott?

It is a 450 NE necked down to 0.411 diameter. It is commonly called the 450/400 3" NE. It is also known as the 400 Jeffery. If you go to Hornady's website you will see it simply called the 450/400, I believe. It's historic ballistics are a 400gr bullet at 2150 fps from a 31" barrel. It can easily be stoked up from there, but since it has primarily been a double rifle cartridge that would be stupid.

Having said that, shooting it in a Ruger #1 I would suspect you could get 2450 to perhaps 2500 fps out of it if you wanted to load it to 64 ksi.

the round is a 450/400 NE, 3 or 3.25" case. Loads are ACTUALLY 2250 from a 28" barrel, somewhat less from a 24" barrel. It is a slayer, for certain. Hornady will be selling ammo and brass and bullets, ruger will be making (is) single shot rifles, and all the low/medium bigbore owners are rejoicing.

Your post would be better in the double rifles, btw, where you would get replies from more people that have actually dealt with this round.

it is mild and plesant to shoot

thanks for the info, I'd never heard of it before

None of the above is correct.

There are a host of .450/.400s of various lengths and loadings, including two full nitro versions, which are what you're asking about.

The .450/.400 that you saw on the Ruger site is the .450/.400 3", also known as .400 Jeffery. It is a thick rim (.065") .450 Basic case (not standard .450 Nitro) necked down to .410", not .411". Hornady is loading this cartrige and is just now releasing it. Standard ballistics are for a 400 grain bullet at 2,125 fps in a 30"
barrel, or around 2,050 fps in a 24". That's the velocity that Hornady says they load to. No .450/.400 has ever had a standard velocity of 2,250 fps for a 400 grain bullet in a 28" barrel. Hornady ammo and the Ruger rifles are CIP standard .410".

The other common .400 is the .450/.400 3 1/4" Nitro Express. This cartridge is formed from the standard thin rim (.042") .450 3 1/4" Nitro Express case, and used the same 60 Cordite charge with the same weight bullet as the 3". CIP standard bullet diameter is also .410". Despite being longer, the 3 1/4" case is actually smaller than the 3", so pressure and velocity are slightly higher - 2,150 fps in a 26" barrel.

The Hornady .450/.400 NE ammo is the cheapest factory flanged nitro ammo I've ever even heard of.
----------------------------------------------
"Serious rifles have two barrels, everything else just burns gunpowder."

400 Nitro Express,

That is what I get for posting from memory. Thank you for setting the record straight. I figured since he was speaking of the Ruger No1 factory chambering he was referring to the 400 Jeffery.

This is why I spared myself the pain of screwing up the 450/300 3.25" NE too!

quote:

Originally posted by ScottS:
400 Nitro Express,

That is what I get for posting from memory. Thank you for setting the record straight. I figured since he was speaking of the Ruger No1 factory chambering he was referring to the 400 Jeffery.

This is why I spared myself the pain of screwing up the 450/300 3.25" NE too!

Not hard to understand at all. The .400s are so confusing that even the gunmakers got 'em all mixed up.

Believe it or not, after 94 years of the same standards, CIP decided that the shoulder dimensions of the 3" were wrong. They changed 'em last month. No bullshit, I have the drawings.

The current Ruger rifles and Hornady ammo are the old CIP standard (as of last month). Yes, ammo made to the new CIP standard is supposed to work in the old chambers. But somehow, I think there's gonna be a fly in the ointment somewhere...
----------------------------------------------
"Serious rifles have two barrels, everything else just burns gunpowder."

quote:

I've seen it listed on the Ruger website for the #1 but what is the ammo called?

Darn I must be blind. Where are you seeing it on the Ruger site?

quote:

Originally posted by 400 Nitro Express:
None of the above is correct.

..

Well, dang, I thought i lurnt that from you Markm when we were sitting in my other driveway driveway 2 years ago

Bugle, go buy a copy of "Cartridges of the World", it is a good basic reference book on ammunition.

Keith

quote:

Originally posted by ramrod340:

quote:

I've seen it listed on the Ruger website for the #1 but what is the ammo called?

Darn I must be blind. Where are you seeing it on the Ruger site?

Dont see it anymore

Please don't forget there is also the 450/400 in .408. It is not as Mark has described above for the Ruger info but rather another of the variety of variations.
Frank

I know where some Kynoch ammunition is for sale.

Rich
DRSS