Seems like I know another fella who has used one of these on a buffalo and elephant.....hmmmm......
With the hornady factory loads I would say that is true but I would guess you are going to get around 2150-2200 with handloads unless you can find some of those old Tungsten cored TBBCs. Those things were short enough to free up some powder capacity and lower pressures.
The Hornady DGX and DGS bullets are a little bit faster because they're harder material and not as easy to deform. This builds pressure and maintains it better throughout the trip down the bore. The older interlocks are so soft that the velocity you get for the same powder charge is significantly slower. This was brought home to me when shooting the 350 grain Speer hot-cors vs the 340 grain woodleigh Weldcore. With the same powder charge, the soft speers clocked 2445 FPS while the woodleigh got an amazing 2550 FPS simply because they have a thicker jacket!
Nope both were 84 grains of Alliant PP 2000-MR. Identical powder, identical charge 100-125FPS difference in velocity.
The highest velocity powder in a manual will almost always yield the highest velocities, regardless of bullet or barrel length. All a faster powder would do is decrease muzzle flash a bit due to the lower temp and pressure at the muzzle. The faster powders pressure curve would spike much more rapidly but then dip off just as quick. You need sustained burn for the first few inches of the barrel. Even slow powders are all consumed in the first 8 inches of barrel so you're looking for the powder that produces the largest area under the pressure curve. 99% of the time, that will always be the highest velocity powder in the manual provided you are shooting tight fitting bullets. whether you're shooting soft lead bullets (not advisable in a rifle at high velocity and pressure) or solid brass bullets. At least that is what has been written by men far more knowledgeable on the subject than I am, but my own experience has born this out as well. It's all semantics in the end I guess though, as a 400 grain .416 solid bullet can reach an elephant brain from any angle when fired at only 2050 FPS so anything else is just icing on the cake and bragging rights.
Would you mind sharing the max load that Swift shows using their 400grain A-frame bullet with RL15 and Varget powder? Also, what's the fastest velocity powder they show?
Thanks!
If you run out RL15 don't be afraid to try some Norma 203B.
