Does anyone know what diameter the 450 No 2 Nitro Express fires? Always thought it was .458" bullets but have heard of .455" (Wikipedia) bullets being used. The rifle in question is a vintage Army & Navy. I imagine the latter being hard to come by. Any feedback will be much appreciated. Thank you.

The 450 No2 would be a .458 as would the other various 450s. I've never heard of variation in British 450s unlike the 400s. It would be wise to slug the bore to be sure.

Yes, .458" bullets.
Somebody adding to Wiki must have been thinking of the 475 No.2 which had two different bullet diameters, one for Jeffery rifles and the Eley bullet.
IIRC, the Jeffery is .483" and the Eley is 488".

I've been shooting my .450 no2 Lang for nearly 20 years. It's great that I use Hornady 500-grain .458 bullets that are easy to find and inexpensive. When I bought my rifle, it came with a dozen boxes of BELL brass--the best there ever was.
Cal

quote:

Originally posted by cal pappas:
I've been shooting my .450 no2 Lang for nearly 20 years. It's great that I use Hornady 500-grain .458 bullets that are easy to find and inexpensive. When I bought my rifle, it came with a dozen boxes of BELL brass--the best there ever was.
Cal

Cal,
what speed does your rifle regulate at with the 500's?

quote:

Originally posted by Bill73:

quote:

Originally posted by cal pappas:
I've been shooting my .450 no2 Lang for nearly 20 years. It's great that I use Hornady 500-grain .458 bullets that are easy to find and inexpensive. When I bought my rifle, it came with a dozen boxes of BELL brass--the best there ever was.
Cal

Cal,
what speed does your rifle regulate at with the 500's?

2100 fps as my rifle has 24-inch barrels. 2" at 50 yards all day long for nearly 20 years with 105 grains of IMR 4831 and a 500-grain Hornady soft or 102 grains with a Hornady solid. Have taken cape buff, grizzly and giraffe.
Cal

Jeffrey is .488 and Eley is .483.

There is one very reasonably priced at griffin and Howe.

quote:

Jeffrey is .488 and Eley is .483.

Those are .475 #2's, NOT .450's. The .450 # 2, as Cal states, uses a .458 bullet. For many years,I have shot the old, original Hornady Interlock softs, and the solids, in mine with great success on everything from klipspringer up to Cape buffalo! And purely by the grace of God,mine shoots the Hornady 350 grain RNSP to the same point of aim as the 500 grainers, at 100 yards.

Thanks for your feedback. Always thought it was .458" 480gr bullets. Cheers

In fact, the original Kynoch loads WERE 480 grain. However, on this side of the pond, the 500 grain bullet is much more common and shoots perfectly in the .450 #2 Nitro Express.

480 or 500 grains. 20 grains won't make a difference on the target.
Cal

quote:

Originally posted by ron vella:
In fact, the original Kynoch loads WERE 480 grain. However, on this side of the pond, the 500 grain bullet is much more common and shoots perfectly in the .450 #2 Nitro Express.

Ron;
It is good to read comments from you. I had not seen your activity on the two double rifle BBS in a long time and was concerned about you.

As a comment to those of you who do not know of Ron Vella, to my mind he knows more about the workings of the .450 #2 cartridge and the regulating of it as well as double rifles in general, than anyone else in North America.

Steve Howell

I have a H&H Royal in .450no2

Regulates with 500gr .458 diameter Woodleigh Soft, 105grs of IMR-4831, plus filler.

I think some confusion exist in that the 450-400s differ in bore size..Ive slugged 450-400 3 " and 3-1/4, and they vary from .408 to as much as .412, some have claimed more...but most I slugged were .410 or .411..I even slugged one rifle that had one bore .411 and the other .408. that was unacceptable IMO, but the previous owner shot it for years with the more common .410 bullets with no problem and it was a very accurate double rifle..

I believe this to be a fact only in that particular caliber, but I may be wrong on that..Its apparently not a problem but I do suggest slugging the bore in that caliber..

There seems to be more variation in the 3 1/4" than the 3".
My Harrison and Hussey 3" shoots.411 very well and the group opens up when I try .410.
Due to the black powder day's lack of standards, the old 3 1/4 varies a lot, but probably less if looking just at 3 1/4" nitro proofed rifles.
Cal