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Today's update summarizes loads with RL-15 and adds firing the Woodleigh 400 grain SP Weldcore. All loads COAL = 3.420", Fed 215M primers, Hornady 416 Ruger cases, MV @ 15'. Range temp = 80 degrees F.
Hornady 400 grain DGX, 73-76 grains RL-15 = 2222-2314 fps, KE = 4387-4754ft-lbs Barnes Banded Solid 400 gn, 73-76 grains RL-15 = 2237-2306 fps, KE = 4445-4724 ft-lbs Woodleigh 400 grain SP Weldcore, 73-76 grains RL-15 = 2233-2329 fps, KE = 4428-4817ft-lbs
Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it Almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty of give me death! P. Henry
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Final bullet tried yesterday was the Swift 400 grain AFs loaded with RL-15. All loads COAL = 3.420", Fed 215M primers, Hornady 416 Ruger cases, MV @ 15'. Range temp = 88 degrees F.
Swift 400 grain AFs, 73-76 grains RL-15 = 2229-2302 fps, KE = 4412-4703 ft-lbs
These are the last firing test reports before hunting with the 404 Ruger in August. Based on feeding tests during the firing, I've decided to use the Swift 400 grain AFs for Cape buffalo and the Barnes 400 grain Banded Solids for elephant. They shoot into the same group and feed flawlessly, as do the Woodleighs. The Hornady DGXs have caused several jams as they chamber, with the flat nose catching on the chamber wall, probably at the shoulder-neck junction.
Case extraction is easy with all RL-15 loads and there have been no apparent pressure problems as the ambient temperatures have increased.
Unexpected events during the testing included the splitting of the Ruger African stock longitudinally in the upper surface of the pistol grip behind the tang and of the wood between the magazine box and trigger guard recess. This factory stock had been glass bedded (obviously poorly), had been shot with the rifle as a 375, but withstood just sixteen 404 rounds before cracking. The Rimrock stock that replaced the cracked wood has withstood over 150 shots, but the rifle scoped in it weighs only 8 lbs. 4 oz. The recoil speed was extremely fast and poorly conducive to follow up shots. Therefore, the African barreled action is now in a Hogue Alaskan stock, total scoped rifle weight with sling 9 lbs 14 oz., making firing follow ups much easier and the recoil much more manageable. The sticky surface and large cross section of the Alaskan stock fore-end �not a particular advantage in the 375 configuration- make the 404 much more controllable. The Hogue stock, at least the added weight, makes a worthwhile modification. These findings may explain why the 416 Ruger is only available in the Alaskan configuration.
Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it Almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty of give me death! P. Henry
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Seeing all this happen has just pleased me immensely. It is so cool to see how it is working out and how you are doing it. Now it will be grand to see your adventures in Africa!
Thanks for the updates...
DEnnis
"The more you run over a dead cat, the flatter it gets."
"If you're asking me something technical, you may be looking for My Other Brother Darrell."
"It ain't foot-pounds that kills stuff -- it's broken body parts."
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Good on you Wildcatter 264. Really pleased to see no pressure signs at the +P loads. How are the fillings in your teeth holding up? I cannot wait to hear animal impact stories. I have followed this project closely and am so very pleased for you. And guess what? Still no setatched retinas or other such predicted outcomes.
Randy
Praise the Lord for full Salvation Christ Still lives upon the throne And I know the blood still cleansess Deeper than the sin has gone Lester Roloff
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I used the 350 gr. Barnes Xs in my 404 but they discontinued them for some reason known only to Barnes..It would have been about a perfect bullet in the 404 Ruger. It works great in the 416 Ruger..and a 350 gr. 40 caliber will penetrate with the best of them..
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Medicman, although my fillings are hanging on, my shoulder took a real beating until I figured out that there are sound historical reasons for 10 lb large medium bore rifles. Ultralight is good in a 6.5-284 but not at all a good idea in a full house 404!
I just finished placing the final pound - a lead ingot - in the hollow butt of the Alaskan stock. That'll be followed by spray foam tomorrow, and a 10 lb 404 Ruger will be finished for its African debut.
Daily routine of 10 rounds per day at Kevin Robertson's 1/4-scale 'Perfect Shot' buffalo target, -off sticks at 50 yds and off-hand at 25 - with Woodleigh 400s at a 'sedate' 2000 fps still keeps my undivided attention. Concentration on follow ups next.
Ray, I see that Woodleigh has a 350 grain 0.423" RN designed for 1800-2300 fps impact velocity. It'll be interesting to round up a few and try them. With a length of 1.128" they should be perfect in the Ruger case. BTW, the functional capacity difference between the 404 Ruger and 404 NE is only 4 grains, ~5%. Pushing the Ruger a bit more should equal the best modern 404NE MV.
Dennis, it is very gratifying to see you back on the Forum - I'll post the pictures. Thanks again for a great idea.
Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it Almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty of give me death! P. Henry
Deus vult!
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Recognizing that absolutely everyone posting on this thread knows more about the subject than I do, never having owned a forty caliber anything, here's a thought:
When you run out of something to do, try A-Square Dead Toughs (anywhere from 350g to 400g) with whatever load you like. BIG bullet -lots of mass - and excellent SD. Plus, A-Square technology. Often odd to the point of being counterintuitive, but just as often works awfully well in just about any caliber.
GREAT project. Please keep posting.
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wpsuth, thanks for the suggestion. May try the A-Square at some point in the future, but with a trip looming and development time too short, the inconsistent availability of the A-Squares steered me away from depending on them as my primary hunting bullet. Will keep the thought in mind.
Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it Almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty of give me death! P. Henry
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A bit less than 10 hrs from departure. The 404 Ruger is safely stowed in the case and ready to be tested on Cape buffalo with Swift AF 440s in Moz starting Aug 1 and on elephant in Zim starting Aug 11 with Barnes Banded solid 400s. Reports and hopefully pics will follow upon return.
Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it Almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty of give me death! P. Henry
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Good luck and have a good time! If everything works out, it may mean I will have two .404's in my safe, a Jeffery's and then a Ruger....You are evil!
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I think your best results will be with RL-15 as it was with my 416 Ruger on a 98 Mauser wherein I could reach 2400 FPS with ease and I see no reason why the .423 bullet wouldn't be RL-15 prone...
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Just got back yesterday after 3 weeks split between Mozambique - Cape buffalo and a bit of PG - and Zimbabwe for elephant. Was able to use the 404 on 2 buffs, waterbuck, and reedbuck- worked well in each case with the Swift 400 AFs. Saw several hundred elephants, some at very close range, but no bulls we wanted to take. So no reports on the use of the Barnes 400 solids on pachyderms, only on a chance encounter with a kudu at a longer range than I anticipated. The rifle configuration worked well, although a few changes are upcoming. If there's interest in the pics and some details, I'll post on the Africa forum. A magnificent adventure!
Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it Almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty of give me death! P. Henry
Deus vult!
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Congratulations! Great summary -- I am tickled to death to hear that this all worked so well for you. Please do give more and photos...thanks...
Dennis
"The more you run over a dead cat, the flatter it gets."
"If you're asking me something technical, you may be looking for My Other Brother Darrell."
"It ain't foot-pounds that kills stuff -- it's broken body parts."
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Thanks Dennis. Sent you a PM with some pics of the hunt. The 404 worked well, even in unexpected situations.
Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it Almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty of give me death! P. Henry
Deus vult!
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Brief report on the use of the 404/375 Ruger on African game, with a few photos, posted in the 'Africa' forum. The project seems close to completion now, with a few rifle mods and a bit more load development left. Cheers!
Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it Almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty of give me death! P. Henry
Deus vult!
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After a long while of just shooting proven loads in the 404 Ruger African, I finally did a bit more experimenting with other powders. So for anyone interested, a few reduced (practice) loads and also some full-power loads - that now equal 416 Rigby and 416 Remington MVs - from the Ruger case with a 0.423" bullet, are listed below.
All data shot in a re-bored Ruger Hawkeye African, 23" bbl. now back in the re-enforced factory wood stock.
Practice loads: H-4895 -450 gr. Woodleigh SPRN - 60.0 gr = 1869 fps 65.0 gr. = 2032 fps 350 gr lead 60.0 gr H-4895 (gas check) sized to 0.422" = 2048 fps
DGR (pachyderm) loads RL-17 - 400 gr. Barnes Banded Solid - 72.0 g = 1929 fps 76.0 g = 2064 fps 82.0 g = 2318 fps 83.0 g = 2351 fps 84.0 g = 2368 fps 85.0 g = 2416 fps
CCI 250 primers used in all loads
Those following may note that with the previous powder used, H-4350, case capacity ran our before the 2400 fps MV target was reached. Because of the smaller kernel size of RL-17, enough powder can be used with a monolithic bullet to keep COAL at 3.420" (max allowed in the African magazine) and still reach 2400 fps +. A bit more MV may be possible, as there is still some case capacity left without significant powder compression, but 2416 fps = 5184 lb-ft KE. This is equivalent to the golden-standard large medium bore performance of the 416 Rigby. As my intent is to use this rifle as a 2nd rifle for elephant, this seemed a good place to stop.
Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it Almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty of give me death! P. Henry
Deus vult!
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Very cool...I like this a lot!
Great to hear from you about this and other things. I appreciate it.
Dennis
"The more you run over a dead cat, the flatter it gets."
"If you're asking me something technical, you may be looking for My Other Brother Darrell."
"It ain't foot-pounds that kills stuff -- it's broken body parts."
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Wildcatter264 - wish you the best on attaining Mike Fifer's ear on the project. I've sent numerous 'voice of the customer' messages to him just to have Ruger chamber the "African" in .416 Ruger. I've a 9.3X62mm so the .416 (or a .404 )would be a nice set. Regards, Homesteader.
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