Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Express Rifles and Big Bores Only The great 458 Winchester. Everyone should own one at least once

John Rigby's invention of the .450 x 3-1/4" Nitro Express occurred during the period from 1889 to final success in November 1897.
That was a quantum leap beyond the .450 x 3-1/4" Black Powder Express rifle that it was based upon.

His Majesty's government made John Rigby the Superintendent of the Small Arms Factory at Enfield Lock in 1887 at about age 56.
He shepherded the .303 Lee-Enfield out of the BPCR Martini-Henry role into the smokeless bolt-action repeater.
His baby became the primary battle rifle and cartridge for the UK through 2 World Wars, its service lasting until 1957.
John Rigby died at age 87 on 1 November 1916, during WWI, early Downton Abbey period.
Sorry, I could not resist whistling past the graveyard.
R.I.P. John Rigby, 1829-1916 A.D.

Before John Rigby, the .450 x 3-1/4" BPE was the favored deer rifle.
He beefed up the brass and bullets, used Cordite instead of BP, and a new and stronger crucible steel for the barrels.
Voila ! The favored dangerous game rifle had arrived.
All others would be compared to it thereafter.
There is still nothing better. A bigger bore is useful only as a placebo treatment of the neurotic condition of bore envy.

Here is the deer rifle that became an elephant rifle, in book review format using the work of Graeme Wright,
his pressure tested data for the BPE:









That is an excellent book. The general chapters cover many aspects of the care and feeding of double rifles and single shots firing same ammo.

Very interesting how 20 grains of SR4759 plus 60 grains of BP is equivalent to 120 grains of BP with similar pressures for both loads.
Very low pressure with .458-caliber cast bullets of 320 to 358 grains and a 350-gr jacketed soft nose.
Only 6.7 to 8.1 tpsi, whereas the historical pressures for similar bullets, BP charges, barrel lengths, and velocities were 11.0 to 12.0 tpsi.
The imperial tonne or "long ton" is 2240 lbs. 12.0 tpsi = 26,880 psi.
The duplexed 358-gr cast bullet at 1700 fps has a pressure of 7.2 tpsi = 16,128 psi.

1 grain of the smokeless "pistol powder" substitutes for 3 grains of BP.
Cork wads 3/8" thick sit between bullet and powder.
Must be no or very little compression of powder.
By total weight of propellants, the duplexed BP load is 25% smokeless.
Seems like a high percentage of smokeless by weight might be helpful with light bullets ?
Kirton recommended a load of 5 grains SR4759 plus 85 grains of GOEX FFg in the .461 Gibbs with 540-gr bullet.
That is a bit over 5% smokeless by weight, worked well with the heavier bullet, for about 100-gr equivalency to BP.

The old Curtis & Harvey No. 6 BP must have given higher pressures (and velocities ? ) than GOEX.
GOEX is apparently easily and safely spiffed up with SR4759, eliminates most of the BP fouling,
and gives lower pressure than the old BP loads !