458 Express

458 Calibers rise and fall

Sudanese Revolt, Indian revolt, Time line, Change, The TYPE of firearm, Hunting clients and their rifles, .458's in use

The late 1800's

Sudan

In 1869 the Suez Canal opened and quickly became Britain's economic lifeline to India and the Far East. To defend this waterway, Britain sought a greater role in Egyptian affairs. In 1873 the British government therefore supported a program whereby an Anglo-French debt commission assumed responsibility for managing Egypt's fiscal affairs.

At this stage the areas of Egypt and Sudan was combined as a British colony. The Sudan was known for its splinter groups and religous difference in the communities arranged for a explosive scenario. Conflict between Sudanese and Egyptian militia factions was very common during this period.

In Sudan - early in 1882, one year after the Revolt started in 1881, the Ansar, armed with spears and swords, overwhelmed a 7,000-man Egyptian force not far from Al Ubayyid and seized their rifles and ammunition. The Mahdist movement, which was focused  to overthrow Egyptian rule, derived its strength from two different causes: the oppression under which the people suffered, and the measures taken to prevent the Baggara, cattle-owning Arabs from slave trading.

The British government advised the Egyptians to abandon the Sudan to the Mahdists and sent General Charles George "Chinese" Gordon (1833-1885) to oversee the evacuation of Khartoum. Gordon decided to defend the city instead. To smooth the way for the retreat of the Egyptian garrisons and civilians General Charles Gordon issued proclamations announcing that the suppression of the slave trade was abandoned, that the Mahdi was sultan of Kordofan, and that the Sudan was independent of Egypt. These proclamations came into affect early in the 1900's but some souces reckom the operating style of Genl Gordon "enforced" these proclamations before administrative procedures was in place.

General Charles Gordon decreed a "government monopoly" of the ivory trade, banned imports of munitions, and halted the creation of private armies. He reorganized the financial system and established military stations there, with a headquarters at Lado.

Gordon operated twice in The Sudan:

1. 1877-1880

2. 1884 until his death by the Rebels in Khartoum in 1885.

There are many descriptions for Charles Gordon, some say he was a "legend", other say he was a drunk and manic depressive. It is not my intention to give a character reference in this chapter, but want show the fact the Charles Gordon did do things his way and disobeying direct orders was not uncommon behavior from him.

Governor and General. Charles - "Chinese" Gordon.
Pictures from the Internet

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India

In India the "North West Territories Province" played the most significant role in the arms debacle. Clans living in this area refused to acknowledge and obey any British rule and it comes at no surprise that the Governors of the time dislike the average Indian with passion. The world demographics of the time must be taken into account and colonial wars were costing the British Empire a pretty penny.

Furthermore we must also appreciate the fact that the Indian nation loved their firearms and ammunition. Fireworks and even rocket displays were a common occurrence in the old Indian way. Unknown to most of us, is the fact that ammunition and rifle factories existed in India in the 1880 era, and many cheap imitations were made by crafts man on the street corners. Spare parts and reloading equipment for the firearm industry was primitive but played a role in the daily lives of many Indian people.

After the Indian Revolt of 1857 the British Government consistently followed a policy of repression. The final straw for many nationalist Indians were the Vernacular Press Act in 1878, and, the Arms Act of 1879. These two acts touched the hearts of many Indians and the uprising started to brew again! A significant change in the arms and ammunition period came with the ruling of Lord Lytton in India during the period 1876 onwards. Lytton enforced laws vigorously and only had disgust for the Indian people labeling them as "...the product of a very shallow English education..." Lord Lytton was hated equally and his actions during the famine of the time caused an estimated death of 10 million people. These figures are not quantified and should rather just be seen in context more than literal counts of bodies, tragically these figures could also be higher.

Picture from the Internet

Lord Lytton in India 1880's

Lord Lytton saw his "tribal control" activities as a war that had to be won, and that all subjects will obey the Queen. Desperate people made desperate moves and General Sir William Lockhart suggested the manufacture of "dummy" ammunition packed with high explosives with the objective of destroying weapons and limbs of "tribal" forces. It seems that war crimes started a very long time ago. Fortunately he was opposed and more legitimate warfare methods were adopted. Public outcry started to hurt the British Imperialists.

A firearms committee was established by the government and the two members of this committee were:

• Major General L.H.E. Tucker.
• Colonel W. Hill.

Their brief was: "... Enquire into the scale of tribal armament and the illicit trade in arms and ammunition within India..." Secondly the committee also had to come up with suggestions "...to alterations required in the Indian Arms Act and Army regulations...", and, certainly most important "...ensure that in future the flow of arms to the North-West Frontier would be curtailed...".

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Research

Attempts to find the exact proclamation that banned the .454 range of calibers and other weaponry is ongoing by the Author. Any assistance would highly appreciated. The British War Museum, British National Museum and other institutions from this era are contacted for assistance. You are welcome to give input at info@458express.com

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Timeline:

* Smokeless propellant era begins.

* * Revolt in India and Sudan, both British Colonies at the time.

***First American ammunition is made available and the Model 70 Winchester rifle is produced.

****The birth of the .458 Express Rimmed by Badenhorst & Booysen. The true dimensions of the .458 Express in a 3.00'' case is maintained. Not to be confused with the previous attempt of others to steal the .458 Express design!

Please use a moment to take a look at the RIGBY timeline on the company's domain. Rigby must surely be some of the finest custom weapons in the world!

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Change

The late 1800's saw two significant changes in the non military and military caliber timeline.

First Change:

It was due to the stolen weapons of the militia in India and Sudan that the British field officers had the politicians declare any ammunition in the .458 caliber as illegal. The intention was to stop the supply of ammunition and possible "military materials" to the rebel militia.  It is also a fact that many different bore diameters was made for the then service weapon the 577/450 Martini Henry. The .458 ban did very little to stop the militia and the British  forces soon found that they needed much more than a "(.458) Law" to save their bacon.

Picture from the Internet

Left to right: .577 Snider, 577/450 rolled cases, 577/450 extruded case, .303 British

In this period the rich traveled to Africa with the notorious .450 Nitro Express 3.25 inch designed by Johan Rigby in 1888. The double barrel rifles were made to extreme high specifications are were fit for a king.

	The .450 NE 3.25'' now manufactured by Hornady. "Very few people in the world will doubt the success story of the .450 NE 3.25'' developed by John Rigby in 1888". The caliber was used extensively in India and Africa until the British law makers banned all .458 calibers in order to try and curb the Sudan Revolt and Indian Revolt. At the time of the Revolt the 577/450 Martini Henry was the military firearm of the British forces and was later replaced by the .303 in the 1900's, firing lighter bullets and driven by smokeless propellants.  The quest to replace the .450 NE 3.25'' was on!
Picture from Hornady domain.
.450 NE 3.25'' with a Ruger No.1

Naturally the decision did not take into account the .458 calibers in use for non-military purposes and effectively the .450 NE 3.25'' was given the death penalty! The .450 NE 3.25'' designed by John Rigby was surely the most effective cartridge in Africa at the time. Its reputation was brilliant and the big five and any other specie could be hunted with great success. The .450 NE 3.25'' was also very popular in India, and was used by guides, professional hunters and explorers.

The .450 NE 3.25'' was referred to as the .450 Rigby by many. This is actually incorrect as the .450 Rigby 2.4'' dates to the 1870's. Today we also know the .450 Rigby as a .416 Rigby case opened up to accommodate a .458 diameter bullet. (See the NORMA catalogues for photos and comparison).

Picture from Norma Catalogue (2008)

You will notice that the .450 Nitro Express 3.25 inch is a straight wall cartridge, whilst the .450 Rigby Rimless shown above has a shoulder. Both calibers shoots the .458 inch diameter bullets.

The rat race to replace the very successful .450 NE 3.25'' was on! The successes of this very famous caliber was known to every single hunter, and only the cost of a world class double barrel rifle by Rigby limited sales.

Second Change:

The development of smokeless propellant certainly changed the way weapons were looked at. The "super" fast velocities obtained, generated huge interest from British, Canadian and American manufacturers. It is easy to forget that the velocities of the Martini Henry rifles in 577/450 caliber only reached 1450 fps at most! In a matter of two years velocities of well over 2000 fps was recorded. This is a factor that just had to draw attention.

Calibers were now chambered in many actions, but in 1898 Paul Mauser produced the Mauser '98 bolt action that would become the standard in the world for all firearms. Manufacturers from Canada and America was already well aware of the accomplishments of Paul Mauser, and eagerly awaited the Mauser '98. Actions of similar type is made even more perfect today by Granite Mountain Arms, in many different lengths and left hand models. I personally would not hesitate to have a Granite Mountain Arms action on a custom rifle.

Pictures from the Granite Mountain Arms brochure

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The TYPE of firearm:

Most big bore calibers were made in Double Barrel rifles. The .577 NE and the .500 NE was well known during the 1880-1900's. Shooting these calibers in black powder format created a smell and cloud of smoke enough to make many hunters look at alternatives. The price of steel in the British Empire started to rise drastically as the British forces needed many weapons to fight in most of the colonies. War was looming and generals prepared the decision makers to start producing more arms and ammunition at the beginning of the 1900's. The double barrel rifle was always expensive and seen as a firearm for the rich aristocrats. Hunting was done mainly in India and Africa with these double barrel rifles and therefore the target market was definitely the wealthy upper class. Owning a Perdy or Rigby double has always been a dream for most hunters!

	The .577 Snider was developed in 1867. "This is the mother of all later development, and the most significant is the 577/450 Martini Henry calibers that followed, the 577/450's used the .458 diameter bullets. The .577 is still chambered in sought after Double Barrel rifles today and black powder propellant is now replaced with smokeless propellant. In the same class was the .500 NE 3''.
Picture from the Internet
.577 Snider caliber

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Hunting clients and their rifles:

Africa was seen as a dark continent in the 1880's. With the outbreak of World War One, soldiers and citizens were exposed to new destinations and soon Africa was within reach of many. The Africa Safari was romanticized by many guides and soon safaris were booked by clients from not only Great Britain but also Canada and America.

As mentioned above the ban of .458 calibers by the British law makers did the .450 NE 3.25'' no favors and the .470 NE was the next step up, creating a new and fresh look. Bearing in mind that the .500 NE 3'' was up and running since 1890 in smokeless ammunition, the cost of ammunition and the weight of these rifles was very much non-American. The public was "once bitten, twice shy" and did not trust the lawmakers easily on the possibility of banning their beloved .450 NE 3.25'' and now maybe even the .500 NE 3''. The time, early 1900's, was ripe for a new caliber, in a bolt action rifle, not a single shot, using smokeless powder, that would appeal to the rich travelers from overseas.

Holland & Holland managed to accomplish the very desirable goal, and, in 1912 the .375 Holland & Holland was made available. The ballistics, cost of ammunition and fire arm type was all included in a parcel for Africa. Especially the American market loved the .375 Holland & Holland Magnum and in 1937 Winchester chambered this caliber in the Model 70 Winchester. Ammunition of good quality manufactured to a high standard was available to the public and the .375 Holland and Holland Magnum became a overnight success.

The need to have a heavy caliber available in a bolt action was developed as the safari industry grew bigger. Writers of the time did not forget the successes of the .450 NE 3.25'' and the 500 grain - .458 bullets it fired, stopping elephant and buffalo alike. Hunters also realized that the .375 H&H Magnum was good but did simply not have the frontal diameter of the historically brilliant .458's. Bolt action manufacturers scrambled to go bigger and better and eventually the .458 Winchester Magnum saw the light in 1956.

It is interesting to note that the industry developed in leaps and bounds of roughly twenty to twenty five years. It was also twenty five years later that Jack Lott developed his .458 Lott caliber. Fortunately he was not injured in an incident with an elephant and survived the day to develop a sought after improvement on the .458 Winchester.

The ball powder propellants used in the .458 Winchester Magnum and the .458 Lott combined with the harsh African sun soon proofed that the .458 Lott only generated  a lot more recoil and marginal velocity increase. This was seen time and again in the field and it lead to the development of the .458 Express by Professor Koos Badenhorst. The .458 Express is used by professional hunters for serious back up work and by hunters wanting to own the BIGGEST in the .458 diameter straight wall class of calibers. The best of all is the fact that the recoil is considerable less than its predecessors.

For the purists and connoisseurs the .458 Express R as a "rimmed" version of the .458 Express will be a collectors item mainly as a Double Barrel rifle! The .458 caliber is restored in glory one hundred and ten years after John Rigby developed the .450 NE 3.25''.

Exactly why the British designers gave names like "450" to their calibers we don not know. Fortunately for me the .458 Express and the .458 Express R is named correctly, velocities are what they suppose to be, it is caliber from Africa and all components can be bought from the shelve to reload this fabulous .458 caliber.

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(As said on the home page)

Robert Ruark wrote in "Use Enough Gun";

"... In combination with the wide range of superbly constructed bullets available, it might be flexible enough to become the mythical all round African rifle".

Maybe it is not so much the rifle we must be looking for , but the caliber and the .458 Express is the one!!!

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