Ready...Aim...Read On!

Seen above is Tom Bischoff firing his stainless steel Marlin 60S-CF
Caliber .22LR at the Circle S Ranch & Outdoor Shooting Range in Petaluma, California

Into the Valley of "Kaboom"
Holding my breath for a very calm half second, padded butt stock firmly against my arm, I squeezed the trigger and the world for me was never the same again.

"Holy cows! That was just...holy cows!" I said, rubbing my shoulder and smiling; I had just been introduced to a mid 1960's manufactured Model 70 .458 Winchester Magnum. It was just one of the many rifles that my father had collected over the years, one of a handful in his collection I began referring to as his "exotics". When talking of his collection amongst friends, powerful and shoulder-aching names were always about: .338 Winchester Magnum, .460 Weatherby Magnum, the 1911 introduced .416 Rigby, the 750-grain, 2,150 feet per second .577 Nitro Express, a more recent version of the popular black powder cartridge of the 1880's. Eventually, I made it through a good portion of that collection and it's well remembered recoils of 60 to 100 foot-pounds force, the typical amount measured for these "exotic" 300-500 grain ballistic wonders. The .700-Nitro Accurate Reloading made cartridge hits the meter at approximately 196 foot-pounds of force! When considers that the average .308 bolt action has a recoil force of around 20 foot-pounds one can better understand the meaning of "no shoulder to cry on". Image above: Winchester's Model 70 Super Grade. For a historical overview of the Model 70 see Chuck Hawks article The Rifleman's Rifle: Winchester's Model 70   [1]

As for the .458 Winchester Magnum, the development was an effort to duplicate the ballistics of the .450 and .470 Nitro Express ammunition, but in a cartridge that would fit in a standard bolt-action rifle. In order to achieve this the designers used a .375 Holland & Holland case that they shortened to 2.5 inches, enlarging the case opening ( also referrred to as "blown out" ) in order for it to accept the intended bullet diameter of .458 inch. The resulting cartridge was a success and was offered with Winchester's other successful package, the bolt action model 70 rifle. This heavy 300 to 500-grain bullet is a bit much for the typical North American game of elk or deer and as such, it's main target was primarily in the African Hunt where there existed larger and more dangerous game like Cape buffalo or lions. Due to the closure of it's leading competitors in the United Kingdom and of it's proven ballistics, reduced cost and availability the .458 Winchester Magnum reached it's zenith in the 1960's and remained there as one of the most popular choices for big game hunters. [2]

1898 — Birth of The Nitro Express
In 1898 the cartridge that started it all, the Nitro Express came into being. It was the creation of the world famous London gun maker John Rigby, recognized founder of the Nitro Express and the .450 double rifle that fired the cartridge. This was the beginning of the "smokeless powder" era of c.1897, a nitrocellulose-based cordite that was far more effective because it gave off almost no smoke and was three times more powerful than black powder. Higher muzzle velocity meant a flatter trajectory and therefore more accurate long range fire, out to perhaps 1000 metres in the first smokeless powder rifles. At left is an image of John Rigby, a distinguished rifleman who had competed at international level with the Irish team. It was in the early days at St. James Street, London, that John Rigby & Co. pioneered the first Nitro Express rifles, bringing the Rigby name to the fore in riflemaking.

John Rigby based his new cartridge on the common .45 caliber deer hunting cartridge of the day, one that was loaded with a large measure of black powder. Replacing the black powder with the new smokeless powder, Rigby realized huge increases in velocity over anything prior, giving him the ability to transform a deer hunting rifle into an elephant hunting rifle and forever changing the ideas of big-bore rifle design. Rigby was also among the first of the English gunmakers to recognize the potential of adapting what was to become one of the world's most reliable, esteemed and desired components in the firearms industry — the Mauser '98 bolt-action magazine design for sporting purposes.   [3]

Image: A Rigby .450EX double rifle

As for the cartridge and resuting rifle name, Nitro Express, the "Nitro" is in reference to the powder's chemical composition of 58% nitrocellulose-based cordite. As for the "Express", at the very time of Rigby's development, the British had manufactured and put into service a sensational new steam train. The train began to make record breaking runs, appearing in bold headlines in all the country's newspapers where it was named the Express Train. As such, John Rigby called his powerful new rifle, the "Nitro Express Train Rifle". A short time later, the train rifle part was dropped, leaving Nitro Express as it stands to this day.   [4]

From the Double Bore to the Single Bolt
It was the first big—bore, double rifle, big game stopper that used a smokeless cartridge and Rigby named it the .450 31Ú4 N.E. Introduced in 1898, it forged the way for a succession of other single and double rifles of various caliber and make. However, the next step for the Nitro Express came not from Rigby's company but from one of the most enduring and lasting legacy in the history of rifle technology. It was known to it's creator, Paul Mauser as simply the Gewehr 98 and within was Mauser's new turn-both style action. "To this day, no other action ever made has enjoyed more success, been more accepted, favored, respected or copied than the Mauser 98." [5]   It arrived on the scene almost simultaneously with smokeless powders, and with this combination in hand, the Mauser bolt action not only found itself speedily adopted by the military but just as speedily by the makers of sport rifles.

• The Gewehr 98 and it's controlled-feed Mauser M98 bolt-action system. A simple, safe, strong and well-thought-out design that inspired other military and sport hunting designs that became available during the 20th century.
  


• In 1905 W.J.Jeffery created the .404 Rimless N.E. or 404 Jeffery that was loaded into a standard Mauser 98 with an opened-up action and modified magazine box which incorporated the larger .404 round. Duplicating the .450 — .400 N.E. ballistics, the .404 (actually a 0.423"-diameter bullet) fires a 400-gr. bullet at 2,125 f.p.s.
  


• A second famous gunsmith who also used the Mauser 98 was Westley Richards who, in 1909, introduced the .425 Westley Richards. It was a unusual round in that it had a rebated rim or one that is smaller in diameter than the case body; the rim was turned down to just 0.467-inch in order for it to fit the standard Mauser bolt face. The cartridge length measured 2.64-inches while the head measured 0.543-inch in diameter. In spite of its peculiar shape and dimensions, the .425 WR cartridge produced an impressive ballistic record by pushing a 410-grain bullet to 2,350 f.p.s. [6]
  
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• John Rigby & Co. developed a cartridge designed around the Magnum Mauser Model 98 square-bridge action, and in 1912 unveiled the first .416 Rigby rifle, destined to become the most famous large, medium-bore of them all. According to Jon Speed in his book, Mauser Original Oberndorf Sporting Rifles, "One of the first .416 rifles was sold in August, 1912. With the advent of the .416 Rigby Magnum Mauser, the large-bore magazine bolt rifle could be considered a viable option for those who could not afford or did not wish to use an expensive double rifle."   [7]

Shooting the Big Bores — Video
   

The Nitro Express, Myths & Facts

The Urban Legend of the .577 T-Rex Nitro