Cartridge Families (2) - Big .4x
Kim du Toit
May 27, 2006
8:25 AM CDT
Continuing with our series of cartridge “families”, today we’ll look at some of the popular large-caliber types.
Essentially, this group is made up of the “dangerous game” type (.416 Rigby and .458 Win Mag, on the right), and the rest are “lever-action” or “single-shot” cartridges. (I added the .44 Rem Mag because, even though it’s technically a handgun cartridge, it’s often used in lever actions for hunting.)
Most of these cartridges harken back to earlier times: the .458 Win Mag was introduced in 1956, the .416 Rigby in 1911, and the .45-70 Govt in 1873 (originally, of course, in blackpowder). Marlin’s .450 Marlin is essentially a hot .45-70 Govt, just as their .444 Marlin is a hot .44 Rem Mag.
The .50-70 is an offshoot of the old muzzle-loader caliber, and has a shorter cartridge case than the .45-70 simply because the case is fatter, and can therefore hold 70 grains of powder in a shorter casing.
The .416 Rigby is truly a fearsome cartridge, capable of shooting anything on the planet, and is still the favorite “go-to” cartridge among professional hunters in Africa (although I understand the new .458 Lott is getting popular as well).
Regrettably, I don’t have an example of the .404 Jefferies, the grandaddy of all the large-caliber smokeless cartridges; but if someone has a spare to send to me, I’ll happily update this post and picture. Email me if you’re interested.
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