425 Express finally arrived!

[Badboymelvin]

Hey guys,

Well after 3 months to the day of waiting for my PTA to be approved, it finally happened... my new 425 Express rifle is now in my hands!

This rifle was built by NT Firearms Gove (thank you Farmboy) and to say l love it would be the understatement of the century... it's awesome.

The rifle is a Zastava M70 that has been beautifully ceracoated and is fitted with a synthetic stock that has been bedded and fitted with a kick-eez recoil pad.
When it arrived it looked like this...

While waiting for the rifle l had accumulated some goodies for it. These were some Warne steel bases, Warne steel rings and a Leupold VXII 1-4 scope.
After 30min or so, The rifle now looked like this...

I was getting excited!
The rifle has a 24" slick barrel and as you see it in the picture weighs 8.5lbs. It points and handles like a dream and l was liking this rifle more and more by the second...

During the wait I had also managed to source some powder and projectiles for it. I choose 2206H powder to first try in it and also managed to find some Hornady 400gn DGX projectiles.
After some tinkering at the reloading table l cobbled up this...

Awesome.

To give some context to the 425 Express cartridge, here it is compared to some other stuff...

.338WM - 425 Express - .458WM - .300WM (All these cartridges are based on the same case)

.303British - 425 Express

.300 Weatherby - 425 Express

My first trip to the range was very exciting - and very quick as l only loaded up 3 rounds!
The load was;
Hornady case
400gn Hornady DGX projectile
70gn 2206H powder
CCI 250 Mag primer
This trip was to see what speed l was getting and to see if they blew up! Luckily they didn't blow up and the fired cases just fell out of the chamber. The velocity was 2271fps. Not bad, but a bit below the 2350fps l was chasing...
The next day saw me back at the range but with the powder load increased to 71gns of 2206H powder. This was the result...

Not bad and pretty close to the velocity l was chasing. I then decided to see if they would group, and they did - so l sighted it in 3" at 100m and called this my load.
As components are getting so hard to come by in Vic and as l wanted to get out in the bush and hunt with it, I didn't want to spend to much time experimenting. lf l found a load that was accurate enough and fast enough l was happy... and this ticked both boxes.
A quick play on my ballistic calculator come up with the following info...

Caliber: 425 Express
Ammunition: Hornady DGX 400gn SP
Muzzle Velocity: 2300 fps
Ballistic Coefficient: 0.315
Muzzle Energy: 4699 ft/lbs
Recoil Energy: 60.7 ft/lbs (approx.)
Firearm: Zastava M70

50mtrs = +2.0 - 4135ft/lbs
100mtrs = +3.0 - 3627ft/lbs
150mtrs = +2.5 - 3170ft/lbs
183mtrs = ZERO - 2905ft/lbs
200mtrs = - 2.0 - 2762ft/lbs
250mtrs = -9.5 - 2401ft/lbs
300mtrs = -21.0 - 2084ft/lbs

So punching out 4700ft/lbs of energy and clearly capable to 250mtrs. Groovy!

But there is one thing that l do have to mention. It's not a criticism but I feel I do have to mention it. And that thing is recoil.
It was more unpleasant than my .458WM shooting the 450gn Hydro at the same speed and the recoil of that 425 Express load in this particular rifle is fast, sharp and sudden.
As l said, not a criticism - as recoil comes with the territory when shooting DG rifles, but l have to admit it surprised me.
But recoil is fun so who cares!

So there we have it, my awesome 425 Express rifle so far. You'll all have to wait for a hunt report but you won't have to wait long! I am so eager to hunt deer with it I'm planning a trip now... so keep your eyes peeled.
But as l said earlier I'm just so impressed with this rifle. It looks great, feeds and ejects perfect and is accurate. As far as l'm concerned NT Firearms Gove just smashed it out of the park with this one...

Thanks for reading.

Russ

 

[Badboymelvin]

As a reminder, the 425 Express is the .300 Winchester Magnum necked up to .423" -although I didn't use .300WM brass - l used Hornady un-formed brass.

Here's what the brass looked like when I got it... looks kinda like 458 Lott brass...

I then necked it down...

Trimmed it...

Primed it, threw in some powder and seated a projectile and l was all set

And how's this for the final classy touch...

The original idea with the 425 Express was to launch a 400gn .423" projectile at 2400fps to compete with the .416's and .404 Jeffery and I personally reached 2300fps on my second try.
My 2300fps load showed no signs of excessive pressure and l was going to try for 2350-2400fps, but after checking my ballistic calculator the extra 100fps didn't give me much improvement at all in trajectory so l left it.
With 4700ft/lbs of energy - and the right projectile, l would feel confident hunting any game in the world.

lf my dream of hunting Buffalo in Africa ever comes true this is the rifle I'm taking...

When googling the 425 Express the only criticism l could ever find was the unpleasant recoil - and it's certainly there! Snappy and rude, but it's a DG rifle and there's no free lunch. You want 4700ft/lbs... you gotta earn them. And l'm sure the lighter weight of my rifle has a lot to do with the recoil - but l would take a lighter, handier rifle over less recoil any day.
And who feels recoil in the field anyway?

I just can't wait to get out in the field with it and show you all some game pics!

Russ

 

[Flewis]

Thanks for the write up, happy for you.

 

[geoff rath]

Anthony, of N T Firearms, Gove is a remarkable G'smith, experimenter, developer; almost a 21st Century P O Ackley, but living/working in Australia. God bless him! I have an idea for a "build" from him in the future....

 

[Hunter-Habib]

Great looking rifle, Bad Boy. Is that a Douglas Premium barrel I see ?

 

[Green Chile]

Sounds like a fun project. For what it’s worth, that’s a light gun for that caliber. That’s the bulk of what you are feeling.

 

[Badboymelvin]

Anthony, of N T Firearms, Gove is a remarkable G'smith, experimenter, developer; almost a 21st Century P O Ackley, but living/working in Australia. God bless him! I have an idea for a "build" from him in the future....

He's an amazing gunsmith/ rifle builder but he's also a top, top bloke.
l can't recount the amount of times he has helped me (and so many others) with any gun related question.
He's always only a phone call away and always happy to help.
Definitely get your 'build' done by him... you won't regret it!

Russ

 

[Badboymelvin]

Great looking rifle, Bad Boy. Is that a Douglas Premium barrel I see ?

I have no idea mate! l'll ask next time l'm chatting to him and let you know

 

[Badboymelvin]

Sounds like a fun project. For what it’s worth, that’s a light gun for that caliber. That’s the bulk of what you are feeling.

l agree 100%

Russ

 

[Flewis]

Great looking rifle, Bad Boy. Is that a Douglas Premium barrel I see ?

Does look like the long shank on a Douglas.

 

[Scott CWO]

Congrats on getting a great functional rifle and caliber. Is there a reason you decided against iron sights and QD scope mounts? I guess you could add iron sights later.

 

[Badboymelvin]

Congrats on getting a great functional rifle and caliber. Is there a reason you decided against iron sights and QD scope mounts? I guess you could add iron sights later.

Thanks mate
I guess l didn't worry about open sights because l've never had a scope fail on me while out in the field.
l'm a Leupold fanboy and l swear by the Warne steel bases and rings and when torqued up and loctited l've never had a problem...
But I also know that could change any hunt now...
And you're right, they can be added later and that could be a possible mod for the future

Russ

 

[Badboymelvin]

Oh, and l'll quickly add that for all our non-Australian friends, AR2206H is also known as H4895

Russ

 

[F. Vaccaro]

Thanks for the information Badboymelvin. 4895 either H or IMR is a great powder!

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Hey guys,

Well after 3 months to the day of waiting for my PTA to be approved, it finally happened... my new 425 Express rifle is now in my hands!

This rifle was built by NT Firearms Gove (thank you Farmboy) and to say l love it would be the understatement of the century... it's awesome.

The rifle is a Zastava M70 that has been beautifully ceracoated and is fitted with a synthetic stock that has been bedded and fitted with a kick-eez recoil pad.
When it arrived it looked like this...

View attachment 549695

While waiting for the rifle l had accumulated some goodies for it. These were some Warne steel bases, Warne steel rings and a Leupold VXII 1-4 scope.
After 30min or so, The rifle now looked like this...

View attachment 549698

I was getting excited!
The rifle has a 24" slick barrel and as you see it in the picture weighs 8.5lbs. It points and handles like a dream and l was liking this rifle more and more by the second...

During the wait I had also managed to source some powder and projectiles for it. I choose 2206H powder to first try in it and also managed to find some Hornady 400gn DGX projectiles.
After some tinkering at the reloading table l cobbled up this...

View attachment 549699

Awesome.

To give some context to the 425 Express cartridge, here it is compared to some other stuff...

View attachment 549700

.338WM - 425 Express - .458WM - .300WM (All these cartridges are based on the same case)

View attachment 549701

.303British - 425 Express

View attachment 549702

.300 Weatherby - 425 Express

My first trip to the range was very exciting - and very quick as l only loaded up 3 rounds!
The load was;
Hornady case
400gn Hornady DGX projectile
70gn 2206H powder
CCI 250 Mag primer
This trip was to see what speed l was getting and to see if they blew up! Luckily they didn't blow up and the fired cases just fell out of the chamber. The velocity was 2271fps. Not bad, but a bit below the 2350fps l was chasing...
The next day saw me back at the range but with the powder load increased to 71gns of 2206H powder. This was the result...

View attachment 549697

Not bad and pretty close to the velocity l was chasing. I then decided to see if they would group, and they did - so l sighted it in 3" at 100m and called this my load.
As components are getting so hard to come by in Vic and as l wanted to get out in the bush and hunt with it, I didn't want to spend to much time experimenting. lf l found a load that was accurate enough and fast enough l was happy... and this ticked both boxes.
A quick play on my ballistic calculator come up with the following info...

Caliber: 425 Express
Ammunition: Hornady DGX 400gn SP
Muzzle Velocity: 2300 fps
Ballistic Coefficient: 0.315
Muzzle Energy: 4699 ft/lbs
Recoil Energy: 60.7 ft/lbs (approx.)
Firearm: Zastava M70

50mtrs = +2.0 - 4135ft/lbs
100mtrs = +3.0 - 3627ft/lbs
150mtrs = +2.5 - 3170ft/lbs
183mtrs = ZERO - 2905ft/lbs
200mtrs = - 2.0 - 2762ft/lbs
250mtrs = -9.5 - 2401ft/lbs
300mtrs = -21.0 - 2084ft/lbs

So punching out 4700ft/lbs of energy and clearly capable to 250mtrs. Groovy!

But there is one thing that l do have to mention. It's not a criticism but I feel I do have to mention it. And that thing is recoil.
It was more unpleasant than my .458WM shooting the 450gn Hydro at the same speed and the recoil of that 425 Express load in this particular rifle is fast, sharp and sudden.
As l said, not a criticism - as recoil comes with the territory when shooting DG rifles, but l have to admit it surprised me.
But recoil is fun so who cares!

So there we have it, my awesome 425 Express rifle so far. You'll all have to wait for a hunt report but you won't have to wait long! I am so eager to hunt deer with it I'm planning a trip now... so keep your eyes peeled.
But as l said earlier I'm just so impressed with this rifle. It looks great, feeds and ejects perfect and is accurate. As far as l'm concerned NT Firearms Gove just smashed it out of the park with this one...

Thanks for reading.

Russ

@Badboymelvin
Russ beautiful rifle, looks like Anthony does great work. Are you sure the recoil pad is thick enough. Obviously not by your comments on the recoil.
I think you may have to open it up to 500, those sambar are tough critters mate. Don't want you getting hurt when you are charged by one.
If you need help just call me and I will back you up with the mighty Whelen loaded with Woodleigh 310s to 2,455fps and 4,100fpe.
I'm sure you will enjoy using your new toy, you won't feel or hear it when you get a sambar in your sights.
Bob

 

[geoff rath]

BadBoyMelvin, Anthony's stockmaker uses Kickeze recoil pads exclusively; he's stocked at least a dozen 404s that I know of, almost all Anthony's builds. I'll stand by both of them, absolutely!

 

[Badboymelvin]

@Badboymelvin
Russ beautiful rifle, looks like Anthony does great work. Are you sure the recoil pad is thick enough. Obviously not by your comments on the recoil.
I think you may have to open it up to 500, those sambar are tough critters mate. Don't want you getting hurt when you are charged by one.
If you need help just call me and I will back you up with the mighty Whelen loaded with Woodleigh 310s to 2,455fps and 4,100fpe.
I'm sure you will enjoy using your new toy, you won't feel or hear it when you get a sambar in your sights.
Bob

Hi Bob

Thanks for the kind words mate.

That recoil pad is AWESOME but boy, that 425 kicks!
I wasn't going to mention it but l will now, that 425 Express load in this rifle is the most unpleasant recoil l have ever personally experienced.
It has knocked my 550gn@2100fps .458WM load off its perch and I could only imagine what it would be like if that Kick-eez pad wasn't fitted
But like you said, who feels recoil in the field? I never have...

As for opening it up to 500... hmmmm.... you may have a point, but l am quietly confident that the 425 Express SHOULD be able to handle Sambar... we shall soon see

And yes, l would feel very confident if you were backing me up with your much-loved Whelen. 310gns at 2455fps is a formidable load load and would be excellent on Sambar.
When you come to visit me we can try it out

Russ

 

[Badboymelvin]

BadBoyMelvin, Anthony's stockmaker uses Kickeze recoil pads exclusively; he's stocked at least a dozen 404s that I know of, almost all Anthony's builds. I'll stand by both of them, absolutely!

Yep, they are awesome recoil pads and Anthony swears by them. I am definitely grateful that my 425 Express has one fitted

Russ

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

BadBoyMelvin, Anthony's stockmaker uses Kickeze recoil pads exclusively; he's stocked at least a dozen 404s that I know of, almost all Anthony's builds. I'll stand by both of them, absolutely!

@geoff rath
I noticed you would stand by anything Anthony builds but would you stand behind one of his big boy toy and touch it off like Russ does.
HA HA HA HA HA HA
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Hi Bob

Thanks for the kind words mate.

That recoil pad is AWESOME but boy, that 425 kicks!
I wasn't going to mention it but l will now, that 425 Express load in this rifle is the most unpleasant recoil l have ever personally experienced.
It has knocked my 550gn@2100fps .458WM load off its perch and I could only imagine what it would be like if that Kick-eez pad wasn't fitted
But like you said, who feels recoil in the field? I never have...

As for opening it up to 500... hmmmm.... you may have a point, but l am quietly confident that the 425 Express SHOULD be able to handle Sambar... we shall soon see

And yes, l would feel very confident if you were backing me up with your much-loved Whelen. 310gns at 2455fps is a formidable load load and would be excellent on Sambar.
When you come to visit me we can try it out

Russ

@Badboymelvin
That may be sooner than you think but I would bring my 25 for the smaller deer. Even the Whelen would be to much for sambar. The 444 marlin was over kill with 280gn Woodleigh RNSP and almost 2,400fps. He humble 270 with 130gn ACPs was more than ample. Them that sambar ain't armour plated.
Bob