400 Holland & Holland??

12 April 2008, 00:23

Dave Bush

Rey is right. You can load the .404 up considerably. However, why do it Ray?

I am using RL15 in my .404 and it is running around 2260 fps with a 400 grain Woodleigh. However, I am going back to IMR4831 and am going to slow it down to about 2150 fps. As Jeffe said, that keeps a .404 as a .404 and that magic recipe has taken an untold amount of game the world over. If I want more bang, I can always use my Rigby.

Dave

Dave
DRSS
Chapuis 9.3X74
Chapuis "Jungle" .375 FL
Krieghoff 500/.416 NE
Krieghoff 500 NE

"Git as close as y can laddie an then git ten yards closer"

"If the biggest, baddest animals on the planet are on the menu, and you'd rather pay a taxidermist than a mortician, consider the 500 NE as the last word in life insurance." Hornady Handbook of Cartridge Reloading (8th Edition).

14 April 2008, 05:57

Bill Cooley

quote:
Originally posted by Atkinson:
As much as I love the .404 Jefferys, I realize its mostly nostalgia...The smart thing for you to do is rebarrel it to a .416 Remington, it's cheap to load by big bore standards, its a factory round, it's perfectly capable of killing anything on the planet, ammo is readily available world wide for the most part.

Bill Cooley,
Granted you are correct, BUT that implication no longer exist with todays powders..The 404 can send a 400 gr. bullet downrange at as much as 2653 FPS in my 27" barrel and 2585 FPS in a 24 inch barrel according to tests done by Northfork Industries with 95 grs. of IMR-4831 and be within safe but max or near max specs..The 450-400 is stil stuck at a max of 2200 FPS..

Mr.Ray Atkinson,
You are absolutely correct with modern powders you can improve the performance of the 404 greatly. I believe the reason the 450/400 is stuck at the older loading is it was primarily a double rifle round. The problem being most of the doubles are regulated for the older loading of 2200 FPS. I think it might be interesting to have a modern double regulated with your loads.
Bill