The 425 Express - an overlooked caliber - 3 3ifles added

I just acquired 2 rifles in 425 Express caliber. A custom Winchester Model 70, and an Original A-Square Hannibal.

The .425 Express cartridge was designed in 1987 by Cameron Hopkins and Whit Collins, for African hunts. Ballistically it is equally efficient as the 404 Jeffery with a shorter length. Although the cartridge was originally based on a slightly shortened .300 Winchester Magnum case, A-Square standardized the case length as the same as the 458 Win Mag. (The A-Square Company was the only Company that offered Factory ammo.) As such, making brass is an easy task. One pass in a 425 full length sizing die is all that's required.

This cartridge fits standard-length bolt actions such as the Winchester Model 70, (my new rifle) the 1917 Enfield, (my other new rifle) and Mauser 98 or other similar-length actions.

Both rifles were field tested with a moderate load, although A-Square Factory ammo was loaded to 2400 fps with a 400g bullet.

The Custom Winchester Model 70 is shown first, the A-Square second. The description above the pictures tells most of the features. However, what is most interesting is the Leupold Scope that came mounted on the Winchester. It has crosshairs that taper to the center, with a DOT at the intersection. This really offers quick target acquisition and fine shot placement.

and as always, comments are most welcome.

http://www.buckstix.com/buckpics/WIN-70-425-000.jpg



http://www.buckstix.com/buckpics/425-TARG-2-SM.jpg





http://www.buckstix.com/buckpics/A-SQUARE-425-000.jpg



http://www.buckstix.com/buckpics/425-TARG-SM.jpg

Is there any advantage over a 416 Taylor, other than coolness of rarity? That is one great group with the Winchester!

quote:

Originally posted by whelenite:
Is there any advantage over a 416 Taylor, other than coolness of rarity? That is one great group with the Winchester!

I also have 416 Taylor rifles. I guess the only advantage is a .423 bullet vs a .416 bullet. But yes, the 425 has "coolness" and the A-Square in this caliber is very rare.

quote:

Originally posted by whelenite:
Is there any advantage over a 416 Taylor, other than coolness of rarity? That is one great group with the Winchester!

No advantage over the .416 cartridges. The .423" bullet came about when Jeffery was designing a cartridge for the standard length Mauser bolt action that would be a rimless version of his famous 450/400 3" rimmed cartridge. Due to the need to open up and possibly weaken the standard length action Jeffery came up with the 404 sized case and increased diameter bullet which enable loads duplicating the 450/400 3" cartridge while keeping pressures reasonable. At the time only Rigby had access to the magnum Mauser action so Jeffery and others could only use the standard M98 action when developing big rimless bore cartridges in the early 1900 era.

Other than the fact that .423" bullets existed from the development of the 404 Jeffery, there was no real need for developing any other rimless or belted case in .423" calibre. However one could argue that the 404 Jeffery did enjoy huge success as a dangerous game cartridge in India and Africa, more so than the 416 Rigby that came about around the same time as the Jeffery, so duplicating that success with a modern belted .423" cartridge had some merit.

Very nice rifles Buckstix, the Hannibal an especially nice one to add to your collection.

quote:

Originally posted by whelenite:
Is there any advantage over a 416 Taylor, other than coolness of rarity? That is one great group with the Winchester!

FYI, The 404 Jeffery cartridge is 3/8" longer than the 425 Express. The 404 Jeffery cannot fit a standard length action without modifying the action and mag box. The 425 Express easily fits a standard action with no modification required.

i could be way off, but i think Savage produced a model of rifle in this cart, 116se? -- late 90s, early 2000s?

quote:

Originally posted by jeffeosso:
i could be way off, but i think Savage produced a model of rifle in this cart, 116se? -- late 90s, early 2000s?

Yes they did. They made less than a hundred of them. So, Savage and A-Square were the only ones that made a factory rifle in this caliber. However, I think the Savage chamber was of the longer neck of the wildcat, and the A-Square had the shorter neck length of the 458 Win Mag

while i am NO A^2 fan, old art was a saami member - i had no clue that there were 2 variants of this -

quote:

Originally posted by jeffeosso:i had no clue that there were 2 variants of this -

I'm not sure there was "officially" 2 variations of the cartridge. I know originally it was referred to as a wildcat but using 300 WM brass that was slightly shortened. That case length was a bit longer than a 458 WM case. A-Square factory ammo is the same length as the 458 WM case.

I added another 425 Express to the family ... an Interarms Mark-X Custom .. that makes 3 ... pictures below

Now I need to find a Savage 116SE in 425 Express .... I'm offering a $500 finder's fee and 3 times retail value on the classified forum.

http://www.buckstix.com/buckpics/425inter-000.jpg

quote:

Originally posted by buckstix:

quote:

Originally posted by jeffeosso:i had no clue that there were 2 variants of this -

I'm not sure there was "officially" 2 variations of the cartridge. I know originally it was referred to as a wildcat but using 300 WM brass that was slightly shortened. That case length was a bit longer than a 458 WM case. A-Square factory ammo is the same length as the 458 WM case.

The 425 Express based originally on a shortened 300 WM case is .050" longer in case length than the cartridge based on the .458 Win Mag case (A Square). Presumably the case length difference is only in the neck and cartridges using the 300 WM as the parent case would be accommodated in an A Square chamber?

quote:

Originally posted by eagle27:
Presumably the case length difference is only in the neck and cartridges using the 300 WM as the parent case would be accommodated in an A Square chamber?

Yes, only the neck is a bit longer, and it fits and can be fired in the A-Square chamber, but its best to trim the case to 2.500" length when reloading.

As mentioned above, I'm looking for a 4th rifle in 425 Express caliber .. that being a Savage 116SE in 425 Express .... I'm offering a $500 finder's fee and 3 times retail value for the Savage in the classified section.

425 Fossdal?

no ... 425 express

My spin is that ths catridge was a tribute to Lesley Taylor (designer of the 425)

Maybe he just did not know how to open a bolt face?

That simple procedure, forget the rebate idea and the cartridge wsould still be ecerything it is without all the fuss and feathers.

As the OP opening stated ""Overlooked"..maybe for a good reason(s)

I can envision a possible market for a non rebated version

quote:

Originally posted by Duane Wiebe (CG&R):
My spin is that ths catridge was a tribute to Lesley Taylor (designer of the 425)

Maybe he just did not know how to open a bolt face?

That simple procedure, forget the rebate idea and the cartridge wsould still be ecerything it is without all the fuss and feathers.

As the OP opening stated ""Overlooked"..maybe for a good reason(s)

I can envision a possible market for a non rebated version

Lesley Taylor developed the 425 Westley Richards, a rebated cartridge with a .435" bullet. The 425 Express doesn't have anything in common with the Westley Richards version, if anything it is more a tribute to W. Jeffery being a modernised 404, using the same bullet as the 404 Jeffery in a standard magnum belted case at 2400fps, a velocity the 404 can itself be easily loaded to now.

still looking for a Savage 116SE in 425 Express.

quote:

Originally posted by eagle27:

quote:

Originally posted by Duane Wiebe (CG&R):
My spin is that ths catridge was a tribute to Lesley Taylor (designer of the 425)

Maybe he just did not know how to open a bolt face?

That simple procedure, forget the rebate idea and the cartridge wsould still be ecerything it is without all the fuss and feathers.

As the OP opening stated ""Overlooked"..maybe for a good reason(s)

I can envision a possible market for a non rebated version

Lesley Taylor developed the 425 Westley Richards, a rebated cartridge with a .435" bullet. The 425 Express doesn't have anything in common with the Westley Richards version, if anything it is more a tribute to W. Jeffery being a modernised 404, using the same bullet as the 404 Jeffery in a standard magnum belted case at 2400fps, a velocity the 404 can itself be easily loaded to now.

WELL....THANK YOU FOR THAT

Cartridges with significantly rebated rims make me nervous.

Especially in DG calibers.

Don't mean to get off subject a bit..But...I've built a lot of 500 Jeff's...and of course there's that dreaded rebated rim. Most prevalent glitch is the bullet! The popular ...I call it the "wad cutter "design influences the way they react with ramp differently than RN's

Just had to rework a recently delivered 500 since owner found a new CEB load by Buffalo Bore.. Longer OAL made the round slip out from under the rail prematurely....got her fixed, but there's just no contemplating "what's next".

quote:

still looking for a Savage 116SE in 425 Express.

YES I AM

Those neat little side clips make all the difference in the world!! and they work..