I'm sure this has been covered some where on here, but I can't find what I am looking for. In NE designatiions like, 500/465, and 450/400, what do the individual numbers represent. I am familiar with the old BP designations like 45/70, 50/90, etc. but not with the nitro express stuff. Thanks in advance.

DGK

The .500/.465 NE is the .500 3 1/4" case necked to .465 bore. The .450/.400 3" NE is the thick rim .450 basic case necked to .400 bore. The British typically use bore diameter (land) as opposed to groove. The .465 is not a good example of this, as groove diameter is nominally .468". The usual groove diameter of the .400 bore is .410".
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"Serious rifles have two barrels, everything else just burns gunpowder."

quote:

Originally posted by 375hnh:
I'm sure this has been covered some where on here, but I can't find what I am looking for. In NE designatiions like, 500/465, and 450/400, what do the individual numbers represent. I am familiar with the old BP designations like 45/70, 50/90, etc. but not with the nitro express stuff. Thanks in advance.

DGK

375HnH, 500/465NE is a 500 case, necked down to 465 cal, and is NITRO powdered, rather than black powder. Same with the 450/400, but here as in most other NE rounds, you have the added 3 Inch, and the 3 1/4 ince case The 450/400NE 3" and the 450/400 3 1/4 inch

In these British cartridges the parent case is always the first number, and the second number being the caliber the case is necked down to.

Then you get the Europien cartridges like the 9.3X74R These are more like American cartridges, in that they use the first number as the caliber,in milameters and the second number is the length of the case, and the "R" means RIMMED.

Both these systems are much more standardized that the very coufusing so-Called AMERICAN system, which has no standard system at all.

Take the 45-70 Gov, also called the 45-70-500 gov, and that is a 45 cal, loaded by 70 grs of black powder, and with a 500 gr bullet, and made for the Government use as a military round. then you have the 30-06 gov which is a 30 cal, actually a .308 cal, that was adopted in the year 1906, then we have the 30-30 which is a 30 cal cartridge that used 30 grs. of the new SMOKELESS powder, then you have the 45 cal pistol, which is actually in a .452, a 44 cal which is actually is a .429, just short of 43 caliber. then you have the .458 Win Mag, a 460 WBY Mag, which are both .458 caliber, a 375 H&H, and 375 Wby Mag, and a 378 Wby mag, which are all .375 caliber! a .22 cal which can be .223, or .224 caliber. then the 338 Win mag, the 340 WBY mag which are both .338 caliber.........And on and on!

Hope that is at least as clear as mud! Sorry but that is the way it is, and the Britt, and euro systems are far easier to understand that the so-called American goble-de-goop!

My father shot a 30-06 rifle all his life, and refused to fire army ammo in his rifle, because it was labled "30 cal US gov" and no amount of talking would convence him that the 30 US govand the 30-06 were the same round. He thought the "06" on the end of the 30-06 was a measurement, and thet the bullets were larger than the 30 US Gov! So you see you are not alone in the confusion!

While it may look like the old US BP listings they don’t have the same meaning. 45/70 broke down to 45 cal. With a load of 70 gr black powder. The European markings would brake down to 500/465 would be a 500 case necked down to 465. Most of the old cases were made off a basic case that was strait walled. The 500,577,600, 700 are all still a strait walled case. The load was marked on the gun as to what it was regulated for usually on the water table. I don’t have a listing for the 500/465 but a 500/450 nitro express load would be 75.0gr of Cordite 480 gr metal patch bullet out of a 28 in bbl should generate 2175 fps. and 5050ft lbs energy.
I am just to slow of a poster lol
Bill

For more information, go to www.nitroexpress.com but not to www.nitroexpresssafaris.com.