425 Westley Richards Magnum

[mathias]

Hi all
Hawk bullets make sevral weights and with different jacket thickness.
Mvh
Mathias

[axman]

Lee I think my brother has some original bullets for it. I'll check and get back to you.
Jim

[triggerstep]

Love reading your discussion of the .425 W.R. Magnum Express.

I purchased a Westley magazine rifle in .425 a couple of weeks ago. Made in 1924, it has all the
W.R. goodies: 28" barrel, 5-shot drop magazine, 5-leaf rear sight. For 50 pounds, W.R. is going
to certificate the rifle and send me a copy of the page from their logbook showing the
order and address to which the finished rifle was shipped in 1924.

I'm betting it was sent to the Uganda Protectorate game department. I base this on the four
deep dents in the front of the Mauser part of the mag box. Dents caused by recoil with solids in the box

Interesting that you mention the .458 being controversial. I assume you are referring to lack of
penetration. I had a .458 fail badly in penetration on a huge buff in the hills south of Lake Kariba
once upon a time. Never used it since. The PH's I knew didn't trust the .458.

Something I just remembered, I got four 10-round boxes of original W.R. ammo with the rifle. Two boxes
are steel-jacketed solids, Kynoch manufacture, and two are W.R. capped with the deep-penetrating copper
cap. Be interesting to try one on cape buff.

I knew Jack Lott a bit from back in the 1970s. He took three and four month safaris when he went. I don't
believe he ever hunted with any of his .425s.

Thanks for talking about one of the most interesting African big game rifles and cartridges.