.450/.400 Nitro Express 3 1/4" - 10.4 x 82mm R

.450/.400 Nitro Express 3 1/4" - 10.4 x 82mm R

Synonyms:   .450/.400 Express 3 1/4" / .450//.400 Express 3 1/4" FRASER //.400 CERTUS // .450/400 Extra Long // .450/.400 Fraser // .450/.400 Magnum Nitro Express 3.25" // Hunting//.450/400 3¼-inch BPE (Nitro For Black)/Nitro Express/

With English cartridges, the primary thing to remember is the first set of numbers shows the cartridge family that it's based on. The second number indicates the bore size, and the third number group represents the cartridge length. So a .450/400 3¼ -inch is built on the .450 cartridge family (actually, this family ranging of .405 - .411 caliber) and finally, it has a .400 bore and is 3¼-inch long.

The .450/400 Nitro Express is a series of .40 caliber rimmed bottlenecked cases which were initially intended for a black powder single shot and double rifles. Through their evolution, the cartridges have multiple variants of the brass lengths ranging from 3¼ inches to 2⅜ inches (82.55 mm - 60.33 mm).

.450 Nitro Express 3 ¼ Nitro-for-Black

Like most of the Nitro Express bottlenecked cartridges, the .450-400 3 ¼ ” Nitro Express derives from an earlier straight .450 Express black powder cartridge brass necked down to accept a .40 (10.3 mm) caliber bullets with numerous variants.  Designed in England in 1880, from 1899, it has been loaded with Cordite (British type of "cord powder") marketed under the name of NE or Nitro Express the 3¼-inch version became one of the most famous cartridges ever devised.

Nitro versions of these cartridges were available with rims in two thicknesses. The Nitro for Black version was stoked with 45 to 48 grains of cordite and with bullets from 270 to 316 grains. The later, thicker Nitro Express version is .042-inch and exists because of the great length of the case neck. In black powder versions it extracted easily, but, on the Nitro version, any slight bit of corrosion in the chamber caused the case to stick, and the rim would pull off.

Kynoch Ammunition 450-400 3¼-inch Nitro Express

Taking it into account noted London rifle makers W.J. Jeffery & Co eliminated the long neck in his version and designed a similar three-inch .40-caliber  Nitro round, called .450/.400 Jeffery Nitro Express 3", better known as the .400 Jeffery, but it is not interchangeable with .450/400 Nitro Express.

Loaded with 56 - 60 grains of Cordite and a projectile of 400 grains, offered at those times remarkable velocity at the barrel mouth of 2,200 fps (670 m/s) and a massive muzzle power of 4,300 ft-lbs (5,830 Joules). Of course, one can load lighter projectiles, and lighter powder charges, but the point of these heavy calibers was they intended as heavy caliber projectile at maximum velocity. Recoil isn't shoulder killing, seventy-six foot-pounds (103 Joules) by calculation, or about 50% greater than a .375 H&H.

This cartridge is considered unsafe to use for older rifles bored for the black powder version of this round due to the higher pressures generated by this loading. Therefore the cartridges which used cordite (Nitros) had thicker rims to aid in the extraction of stuck cases.

JAMES LONDON 450-400 3 inch NITRO EXPRESS DOUBLE RIFLE

The black powder version was considered appropriate for deer hunting and was usually chambered in a lightweight rifle. Unlike these, the Nitro version is the smallest of the British cartridges that can be considered as an appropriate dangerous game cartridge. It is practical for all-around use on African game. The .450-400 3¼ inch Nitro Express, like all the big caliber nitro express cartridges, was developed for shooting dangerous big game at close range, by intrepid hunters on foot in thick cover, using single-shot or double rifles.

Before the advent of the .375 H&H Magnum, it was one of the most popular cartridges worldwide considered as the minimum cartridge necessary when hunting dangerous game. That is certainly one of the favorite calibers s of famous African and Indian hunters during the Golden Age of the Safari.

The Nitro rifles tend to be quite heavy for the given chambering, probably because gun makers did not know that such weight was not necessary for this chambering. Some of the .450/400 3¼ inch Nitro Express rifles were quite light, but a great many were built on ponderous actions and weighed more than 11 pounds when 9½ would have been adequate. The  .450/400 3¼ inch Nitro Express rifles are heavier and were considered as the minimum cartridge necessary when hunting dangerous game.

The almost disappeared .450/400 Nitro Express is yet another slow big caliber, identical in performance to the .450 Marlin and modern .45-70.  The .450/400 NE sees tiny use today, kept alive by a small handful of enthusiasts for nostalgia- although it was once very popular.

Ruger No.1

Ruger No.1 Tropical1

• Currently, .450/400 Magnum Nitro Express is chambered in the Ruger No.1 Tropical model single-shot rifle, with falling block action. It is an old classic in a modern form combined with the .450/400 cartridge, can span the range from European deer to Cape buffalo, and at more affordable price than a custom gun or vintage gun (from an auction) in this cartridge chambering.

• The Tropical version can handle powerful big game cartridges, like the old .450/400 Nitro Express cartridge, which meant the mixture of a great old caliber with a classically styled rifle.

.450/.400 Nitro Express 3 1/4" - 10.4x82 mm R

Sinonimi:   .450/.400 Express 3 1/4", .450/.400 Express 3 1/4" FRASER, .400 CERTUS, .450/400 Extra Long, .450/.400 Fraser, .450/.400 Magnum Nitro Express 3.25" Hunting, .450/400 3¼-inch BPE (Nitro For Black)/Nitro Express

Kada govorimo o municiji i kalibrima engleskog porekla, prva stvar koju treba razjasniti je da prvi set cifara u nazivu označava familiju- grupu metka na kojoj je zasnovan, dok drugi set obeležava prečnik zrna, a sve je to praćeno trećim nizom brojeva koji služe za opis dužine metka. Kao primer uzećemo metak poznat kao “.450/400 3¼ -inch“, čiji naziv nam kaže da potiče iz porodice metaka u kalibru .450 (u stvari kalibar ove grupe metaka varira između .405 i .411 inča; 10.29-10.44mm), sa prečnikom/kalibrom zrna od .400 inča (10.16mm) i da je njegova ukupna dužina 3 ¼ inča (82.5mm).

Kao jedan od takvih, metak .450/400 Nitro Express pripada čitavoj seriji metaka u kalibru .40 (10mm) sa čaurama u obliku boce i sa obodom/ivicom na dnu, koji su prvobitno koristili crni barut i bili namenjeni jednokuglarama i dvokuglarama – prelamačama. Bitno je reći i da su kroz evoluciju ovog metka dužina čaure menjala u rasponu od 3¼ inča do  2⅜ inča (82.55 mm - 60.33 mm).  

Kao i većina Nitro Express metaka  i .450-400 3 ¼” Nitro Express svoje poreklo vuče od starih metaka crni barut poput .450 Express čija je cilindrična čaura sužena kako bi primila manje zrno od .40 (10.3 mm). Nastao je u Engleskoj 1880 godine, ali je od 1899 godine punjen novom pogonskom smešom po imenu kordit, malodimnim barutom u obliku tankih štapića. Kao jedan od popularnijih metaka tržištu, 3 ¼” je ponuđen pod imenom NE ili Nitro Express.

Nitro varijante ovih metaka su pravljene sa dve debljine oboda na dnu čaure. Verzija Nitro for Black (metak namenjen crnom barutu) bila punjena sa 45 do 48 grejna (2.9-3.1 g) kordita i projektilima od 270 do 316 grejna (17.5 -20.5 g). Kasnije je ubačena verzija sa debljim obodom od .042 inča zbog primećenih konstruktivnih slabosti uslovljenim dugačkim vratom čaure. Dok se izbacivanje prazne čaure odvijalo glatko i bez problema u verziji na crni barut, u Nitro verziji je ispaljena čaura često zaglavljivala a obod pucao i zbog najmanjeg znaka korozije u komori metka.

Upravo je ovaj problem naterao čuvene oružare iz Londona, W.J. Jeffery & Co da elliminišu dugačak vrat i da naprave nešto kraću verziju od 3 inča u istom kalibru .40 Nitro. Napomenimo da ovaj .450/.400 Jeffery Nitro Express 3", ili još poznatiji kao .400 Jeffery nije izmenljiv sa .450/400 Nitro Express. 

.450 Nitro Express 3 ¼ Nitro-for-Black

Kada je napunjen sa 56 do 60 grejna (3.6-3.9 g) kordita Džeferijev metak postiže značajne rezultate, pa je izmerena brzina zrna od 400 grejna (25.9 g) na ustima cevi oko 670 m/s (2,200 fps) a početna energija projektila iznosi sjajnih 5,830 Džula (4,300 ft-lbs). Naravno da strelac može koristiti i lakša punjenja sa lakširm zrnima ali poenta ovih teških kalibara je da ispaljuju najteža dostupna zrna pri najvećim mogućim brzinama. Kako bi neko očekivao kod ovog kalibra, trzaj nije previše snažan, jer izmerena povratna sila od 103 Džula (76 ft-lbs) tek je za oko 50% veća od one kod .375 H&H, koju iskusni lovci smatraju prihvatljivom. Po balističkim performansama .450/400 3¼ inch NE je identičan metku .450 Marlin ili  modernoj produkciji klasičnog američkog teškaša .45-70.

Ne treba smetnuti s uma upozorenje da ovaj metak nije bezbedno koristiti u starijim puškama prvobitno namenjenim municiji na crni barut. Zbog stvaranja znatno viših pritisaka municija punjena korditom (Nitro) ima deblji obod čaure kako bi se izbegli problemi pri ekstrakciji praznih čaura.

JAMES LONDON 450-400 3 inch NITRO EXPRESS DOUBLE RIFLE

Sa druge strane, verzije na crni barut se smatraju potpuno odgovarajućom municijom za odstrel jelena laganim puškama. Za razliku od njih Nitro varijante su predstavnici najmanje britanske municije koje se smatraju odgovarajućim za kako lov opasne divljači tako i za univerzalni metak u afričkom lovu. Zapravo, istinska namena metka .450-400 3¼ inch Nitro Express je bila da pruži hitrom i sposobnom lovcu naoružanog jednocevnom ili dvocevnom prelamačom- kuglarom u gustišu mogućnost sigurnog odstrela opasnih životinja iz neposredne blizine.

Pre pojave  metka .375 H&H Magnum, ovaj Nitro Express iako nudi minimum snage za siguran odstrel opasnih zveri ipak je stekao svetsku popularnost, a posebno su ga obožavali afrički i indijski lovci za vreme “Zlatnog doba safarija”.

Što se tiče težine Nitro puške su za svoje kalibre bile poprilično teške i prelazile više od 11 funti (5 kg), a to je uglavnom bila posledica neznanja proizvođača, pošto ovakvi kalibri nisu zahtevali veće težine od 9 ½ funti (4.3kg).

Danas je metak .450/400 Nitro Express skoro kao i sva ostala spora, krupno-kalibarska municija potpuno nestao sa scene, i osim nostalgičnih lovaca  njih se sa setom prisećaju još samo čitaoci knjiga o avanturama i dramatičnim lovovima u Africi s početka XX veka.

Ruger No.1

Ruger No.1 Tropical1

• Poznati američki proizvođač oružja  Ruger, trenutno proizvodi svoju poznatu pušku sa sistemom padajućeg bloka Ruger No.1 u modelu Tropical za kalibar  u .450/400 Magnum Nitro Express. U pitanju je neprolazna klasika koja u kombinaciji sa municijom .450/400 pruža lovcu mogućnost odstreljivanja divljači veličine jelena pa sve do afričkog bivola, i to za mnogo manje novca od pojedinih ručno rađenih primeraka ili originalnih starih pušaka sa aukcija.